Canadian marrying US Citizen, need to continue commuting

[CanadaMD 0]

I am in a fairly unique situation and despite my extensive searching I am really still lost in what my options are. I am currently engaged and wish to get married in December of this year, I have been together with my fiance for five years. I am a Canadian citizen who previously attended university in the US, which is where we met. I currently hold no visa in the US but am a NEXUS cardholder. I am currently in my third year of medical school in Canada and will be graduating in May 2013. Although we hope to get married in December 2012 (in the US), I have no intention of residing or working in the US at this time as I need to return to Canada. Similarly, she will not be able to come to Canada as she is in veterinary school in the US. However, I would still like to be able to visit my fiance (wife at that point) every few weeks as I have done for the past two years. I have heard that I may may run into problems with visiting since I will be "married" and may as a result be denied entry? It is impossible for me to remain in the US for any period of time to wait for paperwork to be filed, and I need to be able to visit the US as I will be applying for my medical residency (specialization) in the US and need to be able to attend interviews.

My further problem is the whole issue of my medical residency (specialization). It is a lottery where you apply and then get chosen to a certain location, but then don't have any choice in the matter. I will be finding out where I "matched" in the middle of March, while our program starts at the beginning of July. If I match in Canada, the same situation as before would continue. However, if I match in the US, I would move to the US and would need to be able to work there as of the beginning of July. I know many international students who do this do it via a J1 or an H1B visa. Being married, I know applying for a K1 visa or K3 takes much longer than this short period of time.

So in summary, I feel a little lost on what to do. Both me and my fiance are in professional schools and can't move, I need to be able to continue to enter/leave the US, and it is impossible for me to remain there for months at a time. Further complicating the fact is that I don't know where I'll end up for my residency.

Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciate!

[Inky 1,111]

Well you cannot file a K-1 because you will be married. It is only for fiance(e).

The K-3 is also not an option because it is no longer processed and is closed by the NVC.

You need no visa and there is no point in you getting a green card at all because the requirement is to LIVE in the USA on the green card.

There really is nothing you can do with your situation as you cannot live/stay in the USA right now.

You just bring ties to Canada every time you cross and hope they don't stop you from entering.

[configuration 2]

I am in almost exactly the same situation as you. I wouldn't worry too much. Here's what you should know.

First, in principle, any visitor to the US can be denied entry at any time, for reasons entirely up to the discretion of the border agent. The odds are a lot lower if you are (a) a Canadian citizen, (b) a Nexus card holder and © someone with an obvious job or education to return to Canada for. I have all these three, and have never faced any problems, either before I was married (when my wife and I were just dating), or now, post-marriage, when we travel to see each other. Always travel with documents showing that you have a home and life in Canada to which you must return.

Second, for now it doesn't seem as though there is any point in your spouse filing a I-130 peition for you to immigrate to the US (which in any case can only happen after the marriage) because it is not clear that you will live in the US long-term. If you are matched to the US in the future, apply at that point.

Third, it's a bit of a tricky situation for the next few months before you are married. Until that point, your girlfriend/future wife is your fiance, and border agents may be concerned that you are traveling to the US solely to get married and then adjust status to stay there. You may occasionally need to convince them that even though you do plan to get married, and that the wedding will be in the US, your intention is not to stay in the US after marriage and immigrate permanently. Use the documents from point one above to make your case.

Overall, Nexus makes life easy, and even when I tell agents that I am going to visit my wife for a short period they usually just wave me through without any further questions. Good luck!