Canadian in love with American

[Crazystoopidlove 0]

Hey everyone!

So I am a 23 year old male Canadian. I'm known as a man who knows what he wants and Never has regrets. When it comes to love It's rarely that I meet someone I feel I can trust fully.

I met a beautiful smart girl online and we have been talking every night on Skype for some time now. She invited me to come see her for a couple weeks. I took the chance and traveled from Toronto (where I was born) to California (where she is from) to spend time with her. As soon as I saw her at the airport I knew it was love at first sight. We were inseparable the entire two weeks I've been with her. Every single person sees the way we look at eachother and agrees we're a beautiful couple and everyone agrees we should never be apart.

I'm absolutely crazy about her, and she is of me..

Now re trying to figure out how to be together. As a Canadian citizen I'm only permitted a 6 month visit per calendar year. We plan on having me come for the last 6 months of this year and then continue for the first 6 months of the next year and after that we hope to get married and be together forever.

My QUESTIONs are these:

As a visitor I won't be able to work here legally for the time being here.. Is it difficult to get a work visa? I'm a professional artist in trade, with desired skills and no doubt will be able to achieve work here. Although I don't have an employer to pay a mass sum for a work visa. If its a small fee I could possibly work that though.

As for the 6 month calendar year rule. I've heard you can stay 6 months and return for a day and do another 6 months right away but I find it hard to believe.

She's jokingly suggested we just get married after a few months but that also seems unlikely to solve our issues as I'm sure something wouldn't fly for the government and we would need to spend a large amount of time away from each other regardless.

She's mentioned she knew someone a while ago from out of America who was young and had married several times in the states before and she said he made it sound easy.

Please if anyone has any suggestions, I'm absolutely in love with her and the thought of not waking up beside her kills me. I really want to find a way to be with her while we sort our our future together, and in no means do I want to marry her for any other reason but love

[GandD 5,966]

Hey everyone!

So I am a 23 year old male Canadian. I'm known as a man who knows what he wants and Never has regrets. When it comes to love It's rarely that I meet someone I feel I can trust fully.

I met a beautiful smart girl online and we have been talking every night on Skype for some time now. She invited me to come see her for a couple weeks. I took the chance and traveled from Toronto (where I was born) to California (where she is from) to spend time with her. As soon as I saw her at the airport I knew it was love at first sight. We were inseparable the entire two weeks I've been with her. Every single person sees the way we look at eachother and agrees we're a beautiful couple and everyone agrees we should never be apart.

I'm absolutely crazy about her, and she is of me..

Now re trying to figure out how to be together. As a Canadian citizen I'm only permitted a 6 month visit per calendar year. We plan on having me come for the last 6 months of this year and then continue for the first 6 months of the next year and after that we hope to get married and be together forever.

My QUESTIONs are these:

As a visitor I won't be able to work here legally for the time being here.. Is it difficult to get a work visa? I'm a professional artist in trade, with desired skills and no doubt will be able to achieve work here. Although I don't have an employer to pay a mass sum for a work visa. If its a small fee I could possibly work that though.

As for the 6 month calendar year rule. I've heard you can stay 6 months and return for a day and do another 6 months right away but I find it hard to believe.

She's jokingly suggested we just get married after a few months but that also seems unlikely to solve our issues as I'm sure something wouldn't fly for the government and we would need to spend a large amount of time away from each other regardless.

She's mentioned she knew someone a while ago from out of America who was young and had married several times in the states before and she said he made it sound easy.

Please if anyone has any suggestions, I'm absolutely in love with her and the thought of not waking up beside her kills me. I really want to find a way to be with her while we sort our our future together, and in no means do I want to marry her for any other reason but love

You can't be in the states from more than 6 months in a row. Doesn't matter that a year change occurs during that time. So, yes, you'd have to go back.

[CaroSL 68]

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I think it is great you want to spend time together before getting married. You'll learn to know each other better.

You should go visit your fiancé as you planned to do. And ask your fiancé to fill the I-129F petition for you as soon as you are in the US.(first step for you to get a K-1 visa to legally be able to marry in the US) It will be more difficult to enter the US for an extended period of time once the I-129F have been filled for you, this is why I am suggesting you enter the US first. This process is long, so you are likely to be back in canada before having an answer. It will take something between 5 and 8 months to hear back about your case, and between 8 to 12 months to get the K-1 Visa. If you fill as soon as you are in the US, you'll be separated only for a few months and not for almost a whole year like most of us here.

To answer your other questions: entering the US on a tourist visa (or whatever non K-1 visa) with the intention of getting married, then getting married and not leaving the country at the end of the permitted stay is visa fraud. Some people do it and get away with it. This is still not legal, and there are risk (the least of them is the green card is denied, the foreign spouse has to go back home and fill for a CR1 visa (10 to 12 months to get it too... so separation), the worst is being accused of visa fraud and be banned.)

However, you can get married, fill for CR1, leave at the end of the 6 months. You can always try to re-enter after that but I doubt if would be successfull if iti is for an extentde period of time (read "Yes you can visit")

And lastly: yes, this is difficult to get a work visa. Very. It is long too....best would be to work online for a canadian company. where you really are doesn't matter then, as long as you do your job. If you want to be self employed.....gosh, this becomes complicated, you definitly need a visa, but which one I don't know. Try the work visa section of the forum.

[Crazystoopidlove 0]

You can't be in the states from more than 6 months in a row. Doesn't matter that a year change occurs during that time. So, yes, you'd have to go back.

Thank you for your reply.

If I were to stay from June to December this year and return to Canada for a week until after January 1st of the new year could I stay for another 6 months?

[ricnally 258]

Hey everyone!

So I am a 23 year old male Canadian. I'm known as a man who knows what he wants and Never has regrets. When it comes to love It's rarely that I meet someone I feel I can trust fully.

I met a beautiful smart girl online and we have been talking every night on Skype for some time now. She invited me to come see her for a couple weeks. I took the chance and traveled from Toronto (where I was born) to California (where she is from) to spend time with her. As soon as I saw her at the airport I knew it was love at first sight. We were inseparable the entire two weeks I've been with her. Every single person sees the way we look at eachother and agrees we're a beautiful couple and everyone agrees we should never be apart.

I'm absolutely crazy about her, and she is of me..

Now re trying to figure out how to be together. As a Canadian citizen I'm only permitted a 6 month visit per calendar year. We plan on having me come for the last 6 months of this year and then continue for the first 6 months of the next year and after that we hope to get married and be together forever.

My QUESTIONs are these:

As a visitor I won't be able to work here legally for the time being here.. Is it difficult to get a work visa? I'm a professional artist in trade, with desired skills and no doubt will be able to achieve work here. Although I don't have an employer to pay a mass sum for a work visa. If its a small fee I could possibly work that though.

HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT YOU'LL GET A WORK VISA.

As for the 6 month calendar year rule. I've heard you can stay 6 months and return for a day and do another 6 months right away but I find it hard to believe.

AFTER A 6-MONTH STAY YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING BACK IN THE 2ND TIME, IF YOU'VE ONLY BEEN OUT A FEW DAYS. I'VE DONE STAYS OF 1 MONTH, FOLLOWED BY 2 MONTHS BACK IN CANADA, FOLLOWED BY A 3-MONTH STAY BACK IN U.S. WITHOUT INCIDENT--AND FOR THE 3-MONTH ONE, THEY DIDN'T ASK FOR (NOR DID I HAVE) A RETURN AIR TICKET. BUT I'M OLDER (IN MY 50S) SO PERHAPS THAT KEPT RED FLAGS FROM BEING RAISED.

She's jokingly suggested we just get married after a few months but that also seems unlikely to solve our issues as I'm sure something wouldn't fly for the government and we would need to spend a large amount of time away from each other regardless.

She's mentioned she knew someone a while ago from out of America who was young and had married several times in the states before and she said he made it sound easy.

Please if anyone has any suggestions, I'm absolutely in love with her and the thought of not waking up beside her kills me. I really want to find a way to be with her while we sort our our future together, and in no means do I want to marry her for any other reason but love

HERE'S A SUGGESTION: YOU GO THERE FOR 6 MONTHS, THEN HAVE HER COME TO CANADA ON A WORKING HOLIDAY VISA. SHE'LL BE ABLE TO STAY UP TO A YEAR AND CAN WORK WHILE SHE'S HERE.(UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO RECIPROCAL WORKING HOLIDAY VISA FOR CANADIANS GOING TO USA).IT TAKES A WHILE TO PROCESS THE VISA, I THINK, SO YOU COULD GET STARTED AS SOON AS YOU START YOUR 6 MONTHS THERE. WHILE SHE'S HERE, MAYBE YOU CAN START WORKING ON THE K1.

[Crazystoopidlove 0]

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I think it is great you want to spend time together before getting married. You'll learn to know each other better.

You should go visit your fiancé as you planned to do. And ask your fiancé to fill the I-129F petition for you as soon as you are in the US.(first step for you to get a K-1 visa to legally be able to marry in the US) It will be more difficult to enter the US for an extended period of time once the I-129F have been filled for you, this is why I am suggesting you enter the US first. This process is long, so you are likely to be back in canada before having an answer. It will take something between 5 and 8 months to hear back about your case, and between 8 to 12 months to get the K-1 Visa. If you fill as soon as you are in the US, you'll be separated only for a few months and not for almost a whole year like most of us here.

To answer your other questions: entering the US on a tourist visa (or whatever non K-1 visa) with the intention of getting married, then getting married and not leaving the country at the end of the permitted stay is visa fraud. Some people do it and get away with it. This is still not legal, and there are risk (the least of them is the green card is denied, the foreign spouse has to go back home and fill for a CR1 visa (10 to 12 months to get it too... so separation), the worst is being accused of visa fraud and be banned.)

However, you can get married, fill for CR1, leave at the end of the 6 months. You can always try to re-enter after that but I doubt if would be successfull if iti is for an extentde period of time (read "Yes you can visit")

And lastly: yes, this is difficult to get a work visa. Very. It is long too....best would be to work online for a canadian company. where you really are doesn't matter then, as long as you do your job. If you want to be self employed.....gosh, this becomes complicated, you definitly need a visa, but which one I don't know. Try the work visa section of the forum.

Thank you for your in depth reply.

Do we need to wait for a reply from the I-129f before sending the k-1? Or can we send both relatively same time? That way the 6 months I'm here could count for both the wait times of the I-129f and the k-1? Or do I need to do the k-1 (wait additional 8-12 months) after the 5-8 month wait from the I-129f?

My trade is considered contractor work. I'm payed by a business, to do a job that was given to them. So I would be working under a buisiness that's already established as a contractor. Is that still going to cause issues?

What if I came on a tourist visa and got married and still leave at the 6 month mark, is that possible?

[CaroSL 68]

You are welcome

Yes you need to wait. Here is how K-1 visa works:

- The US citizen (the petitioner) fills the I-129F for his/her foreign fiancé (the benificiary) and send it to the USCIS

- After a week to a month, the USC gets a receipt called NOA1. It means that the case has been recieved and accepted by USCIS. It will now be sitting for months in a pile, waiting to be adjudicated.

- After 5 to 8 months (depends on how busy the service centers are), a USCIS adjudicator will open the I-129F petition sent by the USC. The adjudicator will then do one of the 2 following thing:

1) approve the petition and send a reciept called NOA2 to the USC

2) Send a RFE to the USC (request for evidence). This happens when the adjudicator thinks there are not enough evidence of meeting in the past 2 years, of an ongoing relationship, when something is missing on a form, when forms are not signed etc. The USC then takes time to assemble whatever was missing and send it back to the USCIS. If all goes normally, the petition will be then approved and a NOA2 will be sent to the USC.

In very rare cases I-129F can be denied (if you didn't mean the requirement: ie, one of the fiancé is not legally able to marry because under age, already married, etc, the petitioner and benificiary didn't meet at least once in the past two years, or too many things are missing from the case (forms, no evidence at all, etc).

To avoid RFE or denial, I higly recommend to follow this: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide (and read the I-129F instructions available on the USCIS website)

- The petition is then tranferred to NVC. NVC will run (or not) additional background checks, give the case a new number, a visa application number, and send it to the appropriate embassy or consulate.

- When the embassy recieve the case, they will contact the benificiary (foreign fiancé), who will have to send more forms and documents, have a medical exam, and go to the embassy for an interview before finally getting a visa.

I hope this helps you to get the whole picture. Check this to have a better idea about each step of the process for the K-1: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

I don't know anything about work visa in general. I just know a bit about HB1. This is very complicated to get because: there are quotas, the employer has to prove they couldn't employ a USC to do the job, the employer has to take an attorney, it cost about $10000 all in all, and it they are all afraid that you are gonna take the visa and go work somewhere else as soon as they paid for it (which is not technically possible but employers still fear that.) As soon as you say work visa to a potential employer, you are out of the picture. But there might be an other way for you, and HB1 is probably not what you need... There might be special work visa for canadian citizen (it does exist for certain nationalities, seriously)

You can go in the US on the tourist visa, get married (then fill CR1), and leave at the end of the 6 months. Totally legal. You'll come back in the US to live permanently once CR1 is approved.

Ricknally suggestion seem also a good idea if you guys want to spend some time together before getting married. The advantage of his suggestion is that you'll both be able to work, which probably won't be the case if you go to the US.

[TBoneTX 45,324]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to General Immigration Discussion -- OP is weighing options. ***

[CaroSL 68]

Just to be clear, the whole process is 8 to 12 months, for the moment you send the I-129F to the moment you have you visa. For us it took 8 months and 2 weeks to the interview, I'll get my visa in a few days, so all in all it has been around 9 months. You don't have to wait 8 months twice! (sry about that!)

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Thank you for your in depth reply.

Do we need to wait for a reply from the I-129f before sending the k-1? Or can we send both relatively same time? That way the 6 months I'm here could count for both the wait times of the I-129f and the k-1? Or do I need to do the k-1 (wait additional 8-12 months) after the 5-8 month wait from the I-129f?

My trade is considered contractor work. I'm payed by a business, to do a job that was given to them. So I would be working under a buisiness that's already established as a contractor. Is that still going to cause issues?

What if I came on a tourist visa and got married and still leave at the 6 month mark, is that possible?

I suggest you start reading the guides section, you dont' understand this process

The I129F is a petition the US citizen sends in. The K-1 is a visa that you will apply for in Montreal (not Toronto).

It is unlikely you can stay in the US for 180 days (not 6 months) return to Canada for a week then be granted entry for another 180 days. You cannot stay for more than 180 days in a calendar year, so from June 2013 - June 2014 it is 180 days. Without work ties, clearly no home ties, what can you show that you do not intend to stay there illegally?

This process takes 8-10 months from start to finish. 5 months at USCIS and 3-5 at the consulate on average, you need a police certificate from Canada, the medical and interview done there. Separation is to be expected. You may get married, but you must be sure to leave when your authorized stay is over.

Good luck