Advice for American with Canadian spouse?

[robinde 0]

I'm a dual American-Canadian citizen living in Ontario with my husband, a Canadian, and our two kids, both dual American-Canadian citizens. We've been living in Canada for 11 years (married for almost 9 years) and are planning to move down to the US this summer. Unfortunately I didn't research the waiting periods for getting an immigrant visa earlier, as I had assumed that we would be able to do DCF at Toronto (not an option now). It sounds like DCF at Montreal involves a long waiting period, if that's even still an option. I just filed the I-130 form at the Chicago lockbox earlier this week. Based on what I've read on these forums, it sounds like my husband's immigrant visa will take several months in processing and isn't going to be available by July.

My question is - do I need to file for a K3-spouse non-immigrant visa for my Canadian husband in order for him to legally enter the US in mid-July? He isn't planning to work in the US until he gets a green card. He would also be returning to Canada for short periods (two weeks or less) to finish up business matters here. Our plan was to file the forms for his permanent residence/green card while he is living with me in the US. As I understand it, Canadians are legally allowed to enter the US as short-term visitors without filing for a visa. We have Canadian friends who temporarily reside in the US for the winter months, and return to Canada during the summer. But we're concerned that we could be hassled at the border if it appears that he is moving down to the US to actually live there, and not just staying as a temporary visitor with intent to return to Canada. Do I still need to get the K3 visa if he's Canadian? Is there a different (cheaper?) visa I can fill out at the border that will enable him to stay for a longer period of time as a visitor?

thanks for any advice you can give me!

[Boiler 46,130]

K3 is no more.

IR1 is the one you are looking at.

[robinde 0]

thanks! I'll repost my question under the IR1 topic.