Wanting to spend as little time apart (Canadian+American)

[Ryan W. 0]

Hello everyone,

I met the love of my life last year and while the decision to marry her was pretty much decided in my mind in the first 5 minutes the balls are really only getting rolling this month and I want to choose a VISA path that will allow us to see each other as often as possible and hopefully for extended periods of time. I am the Canadian and she is the American and I run my own online businesses meaning I have no ties to one city or another. Because of this freedom I'll be moving to Montreal at the end of the month to be closer to her and to be in the same city as the consulate where a lot of this process takes place(as well as Montreal being the most wonderful of cities to live in of course). Now ideally what I'd love is to either get engaged or married, before or after I head down there as a visitor and just never leave. Applying for a status change while I am living there but I'm not sure, and from what I've read doubtful, if that is even possible. I'll have a lease agreement on an apartment in Montreal for 6-12 months but I would love to be able to head down and visit her often and if possible for extended periods of time, 1-3 months or so if possible.

Obviously if any of this would jeopardize or cause delays in the long run then I'll happily pine away for my love in Montreal but I was hoping to get some feedback on the best route to take.

Thanks so much for your advice, I can't express my gratitude enough for this amazing website and community of amazing people

[Pitaya 2,577]

Hello everyone,

I met the love of my life last year and while the decision to marry her was pretty much decided in my mind in the first 5 minutes the balls are really only getting rolling this month and I want to choose a VISA path that will allow us to see each other as often as possible and hopefully for extended periods of time. I am the Canadian and she is the American and I run my own online businesses meaning I have no ties to one city or another. Because of this freedom I'll be moving to Montreal at the end of the month to be closer to her and to be in the same city as the consulate where a lot of this process takes place(as well as Montreal being the most wonderful of cities to live in of course). Now ideally what I'd love is to either get engaged or married, before or after I head down there as a visitor and just never leave. Applying for a status change while I am living there but I'm not sure, and from what I've read doubtful, if that is even possible. I'll have a lease agreement on an apartment in Montreal for 6-12 months but I would love to be able to head down and visit her often and if possible for extended periods of time, 1-3 months or so if possible.

Obviously if any of this would jeopardize or cause delays in the long run then I'll happily pine away for my love in Montreal but I was hoping to get some feedback on the best route to take.

Thanks so much for your advice, I can't express my gratitude enough for this amazing website and community of amazing people

Welcome to the forum.

Check out the Guides, located at the top of the forum page for explanation and comparison of fiance(e) and spousal visa options available to you. The Canada regional forum would also be a good place to glean information.

Good luck on your journey.

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Canada regional forum.

[SF2007 48]

Now ideally what I'd love is to either get engaged or married, before or after I head down there as a visitor and just never leave.

Bad news first: what you suggest doing here is illegal. Going in the U.S. with a visitor visa with the intent of getting married and not leaving while adjusting status in the U.S. is fraud. If you enter as a visitor, you must leave as a visitor without overstaying. 2nd bad news, running your own business and having little ties to Canada as you said might be an issue when they question you about the purpose of your visit and they learn you have a USC fiancée/spouse. Also, visiting her for extended periods might make your trips more suspicious than if you were to visit couple weeks at a time. You will need to travel with as many proof of ties to Canada as you can.

It is not necessary to move to Montreal for the process but if that makes you two closer, great. You will have to go to there only once (for medical exam and interview).

That being said, very happy you found the love of your life I would recommend you read the K1 and CR1/IR1 guides here.

K1 visa is typically a little faster but once you activate your visa and move to the U.S., you will be stuck in the U.S. until you receive Advance Parole or your GC , which is at least 3-6 months from the moment you petition for AOS. Also, no matter which visa you choose, your fiancé/spouse will have to sponsor you, which means she needs to prove she is able to support you. Unfortunately, you cannot use your own assets for the U.S. immigration process.

Good luck!

[Kazulie 132]

To knowingly come to the US to marry and stay is immigration fraud and shouldn't happen. I would move to Montreal so u could visit as much as possible while still keeping it legal.

[alizon 77]

Ditto to SF2007. Coming to the US as a visitor, getting married, and staying = not okay. Coming to the US as a visitor, getting married, and going back = okay.

K-1 might be marginally faster than CR-1, but it is also about twice as expensive. Check out this comparison chart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Edited March 11, 2012 by alizon

[SF2007 48]

What Alizon says about the delays and expenses are correct K1 is slighly faster but not by that much. What's a couple months extra when you have to wait for about a year either way.

What personally made me choose a K1 (fiance) over a CR/IR1 (spouse) visa is mainly the fact I wouldn't spend my first married year away from my husband. To me it was well worth the extra $.

[keysjangle 145]

SF2007 pretty much covered it. You're better off going on shorter visits as opposed to super long ones. When you travel you must, must, must bring ties back to Canada to prove that you aren't trying to take off to the States (as this is a big no-no.) Lease agreements are one of the more solid means of evidence you can use. If you convince the Border Officer you're not trying to live in the U.S. as a tourist, you might get issued a B2 visa at the border (a stamp in your passport.) As Canadians we don't have to apply for them and can are granted depending on the officer you talk to. It gives you six months/180 days of unlimited travel between the U.S. and Canada. The stamp should include the date that the visa expires (mine always did - I've gotten three. One for a two week visit, two for summer long visits.) In general, when preparing to travel just put yourself in the shoes of the officer and think how they would. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

As for marriage/spousal visas, it really depends on the lives you two are living. Either way, she needs to show a certain level of income based on who will be living in her household, assuming there will just be the two of you. It varies depending on the state as well and if she's in the military, which I'm assuming she isn't. A lot of people forget about this vital part of the process. If she doesn't make the mark she can use a co-sponsor. Here is the table that shows her income requirement: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf She'll need tax transcripts to back this up.

My husband (he's the USC) and I went with CR-1 (get married, then sit out most of the process apart) because I was still in university and didn't want my school to be interrupted by a move to the U.S. It just made more sense for us overall, and yeah being cheaper than a K-1 helps too. You can still travel to see her while the Visa is being processed, but it gets riskier and your ties need to be pretty damn great. I haven't been to the U.S. since last summer, but he's been here once - I didn't want to risk a denial at the border.

Good luck! Once you start to read over the information in guides and government websites things become a little more clear.