Newbie! need some q's answered for spousal petition

[ronnieshih 0]

this is my first time and I will be petitioning my wife-to-be to come here to US. Here is what's going on. She is currently in Canada as a Canadian citizen, I am a US citizen. We will get married in Canada and receive a marriage certificate from Canada. I will come back to US and she will stay there for the moment, during this time, I will be petitioning for her to come over. I have narrowed it down that I need to petition for a K3 VISA. I need to know....

1. What forms and procedures are needed for K3? even though I've read the FAQ on this site, I still need to double-check!!

2. While I try to get the K3 VISA, she needs to go back to Canada to work and come back to US to visit me. Is this OK?

3. What forms do I need to file after I've received the K3 visa? Affidant of support and adjustment of status? This in term makes her a permanent resident? During this time, can she still go back to Canada to visit?

4. How would I allow her to start working here as soon as possible when all of the above is going on?

i know that's a lot of questions since I want to make sure this goes through smoothly, but thanks in advance!

[Rebster 0]

If you check out the "Guides" tab at the top of this screen you will get a comprehensive list of what all you need to do, but I can tell you how to get started

1) You will file the I-130 petition at your USCIS location (based on where you live.) After you get your first Notice of Action, you can then file the I-129f petition to start the K-3 process.

2) There's no law against her coming to visit, but it is at the discretion of the immigration officers so it is possible she could be denied entry. Doesn't seem to happen too often though.

3) & 4) See the guides, I'm afraid you've got a little while before you get to that stage, but there is a form for applying to work while on a K-3 visa. And it's my understanding that on the K-3 a person can leave & re-enter the country multiple times.

Hope this helps. You've got a lot of paperwork & reading ahead of you, but just remember you're not alone!

[meddykomp 0]

If you check out the "Guides" tab at the top of this screen you will get a comprehensive list of what all you need to do, but I can tell you how to get started

1) You will file the I-130 petition at your USCIS location (based on where you live.) After you get your first Notice of Action, you can then file the I-129f petition to start the K-3 process.

2) There's no law against her coming to visit, but it is at the discretion of the immigration officers so it is possible she could be denied entry. Doesn't seem to happen too often though.

3) & 4) See the guides, I'm afraid you've got a little while before you get to that stage, but there is a form for applying to work while on a K-3 visa. And it's my understanding that on the K-3 a person can leave & re-enter the country multiple times.

Hope this helps. You've got a lot of paperwork & reading ahead of you, but just remember you're not alone!

I agree with this. It might be easier for you to visit her in Canada than for her to visit you in the US. The K-3 is a multiple entry so she can leave and re-enter until it expires and hopefully by then she has had an adjustment of status. Good luck!!!

[shirlJ831 0]

I am Canadian now living in the USA. I just got my permanent resident card after a yr and half. My dh and I got married in Canada Oct 3-2003 he returned home and filed the paperwork to get me here and it took FOREVER. I went to Vancouver for my k3 visa the day I got that I booked my flight to come to the USA two days later I was in NC. Let me tell you border patrol in Edmonton told me NOt to try to come to "visit". Dh wanted to "ignore" that haha..... yes I did get turned away. we were later told my immigration that is not advicable at all to come to the USA while things are pending. Now haven said that it is the same as calling immigration you get different answers. My total time I think was 8 months in Canada waiting to get here.

[Cygnet 0]

It is true that your wife may be turned away at the border once your application is pending. However, I have also read cases here at VJ where people have crossed the border for a visit while going through the immigration process. My husband asked someone at the USCIS about visiting and they basically said it's up to the border agent.

Anyway, what we did was this... After our wedding, I went to the US with my husband for a visit. I was basically asked what I was bringing into the country. We sent in our I-130 a month after we got married because we had to wait for the official marriage certificate to be issued and mailed to my husband's address. Meanwhile, we had our honeymoon in Hawaii, visited relatives in Las Vegas, had our first Christmas together and now I'm back in Canada awaiting for the processing to finish. We also decided to apply for the K-3 at the beginning of February. Funny thing, though, is that we got the approval for the I-130 the same day we got the NOA1 for the 129-F. I won't be back in the U.S. until I get my immigrant visa. Anyway, that's just our experience.

Good luck!