US citizen marrying a Canadian citizen, can he remain in CA to work while we process his green card?

[Shom 1]

Hello All,

First of all let me just say how happy I am that I stumbled upon this website. Please forgive any ignorance or redundancy in my post. I'm beyond stressed right now and would just really appreciate some answer from people that are familiar with this process. I've been advised to get an immigration lawyer but I'm a student and that's just not in my budget at all. Again thank you all!

Back story:

I'm a US citizen, my fiance is a Canadian citizen. We are planning for a mid year 2014 wedding. We had the idea that we would do the legal court wedding in a couple of months this fall, just to get started on the process of him getting his US permanent residency so that not too long after the 2014 wedding he can begin working here. But today I was told that if we get married this fall and begin the process of filing for permanent residency, then it is not advised for him to return back to Canada but rather remain in the US until the whole process in finished.

It is not feasible for us for him to remain in the US and not be able to work here,

Does anyone have any experience with this? Please advise. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

SM

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to IR-1/CR-1 Process- OP will be filing for a spousal visa ~

You get married and file the I-130. He returns home and continues to work while waiting for the I-130 approval. He will have his medical and interview there at the US consulate. After receiving his CR-1 spousal visa, he can enter the US and will have permanent residence status right away. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Shom 1]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to IR-1/CR-1 Process- OP will be filing for a spousal visa ~

You get married and file the I-130. He returns home and continues to work while waiting for the I-130 approval. He will have his medical and interview there at the US consulate. After receiving his CR-1 spousal visa, he can enter the US and will have permanent residence status right away. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Thank you for your speedy response!

Again excuse my ignorance, even the lingo is new to me but just going based upon what you said, if we file the I-130 this fall, will this have any affect and his ability to travel between US and CA while waiting for approval? We have our public wedding booked for Spring 2014.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thank you for your speedy response!

Again excuse my ignorance, even the lingo is new to me but just going based upon what you said, if we file the I-130 this fall, will this have any affect and his ability to travel between US and CA while waiting for approval? We have our public wedding booked for Spring 2014.

He can still travel, but the border agent can turn him away if he thinks he's planning to stay. He should travel with evidence of good ties to Canada, like job info (employer letter or something), home rental evidence etc. and return travel info.

[Shom 1]

He can still travel, but the border agent can turn him away if he thinks he's planning to stay. He should travel with evidence of good ties to Canada, like job info (employer letter or something), home rental evidence etc. and return travel info.

Ok so let me see if our plan is feasible

1 - We get legally married this fall and file the 1-130 at that time

2 - He can return back to Canada to work

3 - After some interval the 1-130 will be approved, then we start the application for IR1/ CR-1

**4 - He can return to the US for our Spring 2014 public wedding

5 - He can return back to Canada to work for the few month remaining before the IR1/ CR-1 is finally granted

6- we live happily ever after in US...

So as long has he can prove he has strong ties to Canada during this whole process, travel to and fro should be in an issue? He works full time there so securing a letter would be fine. We are also considering continued education for him in Canada before the move so he could possibly also present evidence of school enrollment.

Aside form the time frame of approval for the various visa, the most important thing is that there will be nothing preventing point 4! If we start this process this fall, is there any possibility that he would not be allowed back into the country for our 'white wedding?

Thanks!

[lost_at_sea 995]

Ok so let me see if our plan is feasible

1 - We get legally married this fall and file the 1-130 at that time

2 - He can return back to Canada to work

3 - After some interval the 1-130 will be approved, then we start the application for IR1/ CR-1

**4 - He can return to the US for our Spring 2014 public wedding

5 - He can return back to Canada to work for the few month remaining before the IR1/ CR-1 is finally granted

6- we live happily ever after in US...

So as long has he can prove he has strong ties to Canada during this whole process, travel to and fro should be in an issue? He works full time there so securing a letter would be fine. We are also considering continued education for him in Canada before the move so he could possibly also present evidence of school enrollment.

Aside form the time frame of approval for the various visa, the most important thing is that there will be nothing preventing point 4! If we start this process this fall, is there any possibility that he would not be allowed back into the country for our 'white wedding?

Thanks!

Yes. That sounds fine. But of course we're not the immigration officers, so we cannot make guarantees. Plenty of people (most) go through with little to no questions, others get a hard time and no one here could predict which your then-husband might get. The better the evidence, the better the odds. Further education is a good tie, BTW, yes. Edited June 25, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Shom 1]

Yes. That sounds fine. But of course we're not the immigration officers, so we cannot make guarantees. Plenty of people (most) go through with little to no questions, others get a hard time and no one here could predict which your then-husband might get. The better the evidence, the better the odds. Further education is a good tie, BTW, yes.

I appreciate all the responses, thank you!

[pushbrk 12,894]

Ok so let me see if our plan is feasible

1 - We get legally married this fall and file the 1-130 at that time

2 - He can return back to Canada to work

3 - After some interval the 1-130 will be approved, then we start the application for IR1/ CR-1

**4 - He can return to the US for our Spring 2014 public wedding

5 - He can return back to Canada to work for the few month remaining before the IR1/ CR-1 is finally granted

6- we live happily ever after in US...

So as long has he can prove he has strong ties to Canada during this whole process, travel to and fro should be in an issue? He works full time there so securing a letter would be fine. We are also considering continued education for him in Canada before the move so he could possibly also present evidence of school enrollment.

Aside form the time frame of approval for the various visa, the most important thing is that there will be nothing preventing point 4! If we start this process this fall, is there any possibility that he would not be allowed back into the country for our 'white wedding?

Thanks!

As long as he has never abused his Canadian visitor privilege, this plan should work fine, but there is nevera guarantee of entry. Generally, we advise people to hold off on wedding plans that require non-refundable deposits or other cash outlays that can be lost, UNTIL the visa is in hand. Buyer beware.

[Shom 1]

As long as he has never abused his Canadian visitor privilege, this plan should work fine, but there is nevera guarantee of entry. Generally, we advise people to hold off on wedding plans that require non-refundable deposits or other cash outlays that can be lost, UNTIL the visa is in hand. Buyer beware.

S

The lack of guarantee is what I'm afraid of. To go ahead and plan the wedding for next year with even a 1% possibility of him not being allowed to enter the US for the wedding seems too risky. But then the idea of being apart for another two years is more than unpleasant.

After search more through the forum, I was considering the idea of getting married soon rather than later. Then applying for him with a co sponsor (because I'm a student with no come for at least one more year) and then pushing the white wedding back to 2015 rather than doing it next year. So far we have $1000 deposit down on the venue and no other monies have been spent. But its worth losing the deposit than risking the possibility of spending much more and he may not even be able to enter for the wedding!

The other option is to not begin the process until after the white wedding in summer 2014 but that would been that we will be apart for another 2 years. Ugh!

Anyone have any suggestions or insight?

Thanks!

[pushbrk 12,894]

I understand the "white wedding" is important to you. Why not just marry, get him here, then plan the big wedding. Far less stressful that way. Any other route to be together will have him in the USA 4 months or more without authorization to work.

[Shom 1]

I understand the "white wedding" is important to you. Why not just marry, get him here, then plan the big wedding. Far less stressful that way. Any other route to be together will have him in the USA 4 months or more without authorization to work.

True. I actually don't have a problem delaying that 'white wedding', funny enough he might have more of an issue with it than me lol

But do you see my dilemma with school? I wont have an income until the summer of 2014. For my understanding through reading this forum, that means I wont be able to sponsor him right? Is it feasible that if I get my mother to co sponsor with me, I will be able to get married ( civil) asap and begin the process of getting him here even as a student with no income?

[lost_at_sea 995]

True. I actually don't have a problem delaying that 'white wedding', funny enough he might have more of an issue with it than me lol

But do you see my dilemma with school? I wont have an income until the summer of 2014. For my understanding through reading this forum, that means I wont be able to sponsor him right? Is it feasible that if I get my mother to co sponsor with me, I will be able to get married ( civil) asap and begin the process of getting him here even as a student with no income?

Yep. That's fine so long as she has adequate income for her household + him.

[pushbrk 12,894]

True. I actually don't have a problem delaying that 'white wedding', funny enough he might have more of an issue with it than me lol

But do you see my dilemma with school? I wont have an income until the summer of 2014. For my understanding through reading this forum, that means I wont be able to sponsor him right? Is it feasible that if I get my mother to co sponsor with me, I will be able to get married ( civil) asap and begin the process of getting him here even as a student with no income?

Yes, that will work but the financial part is submitted months after the petition. So, it will be the circumstances at that time, you'll be concerned with. My advise is to just stop all planning for a big formal ceremony until after the visa is in hand.

[stevie b 141]

The lack of guarantee is what I'm afraid of. To go ahead and plan the wedding for next year with even a 1% possibility of him not being allowed to enter the US for the wedding seems too risky. But then the idea of being apart for another two years is more than unpleasant.

After search more through the forum, I was considering the idea of getting married soon rather than later. Then applying for him with a co sponsor (because I'm a student with no come for at least one more year) and then pushing the white wedding back to 2015 rather than doing it next year. So far we have $1000 deposit down on the venue and no other monies have been spent. But its worth losing the deposit than risking the possibility of spending much more and he may not even be able to enter for the wedding!

The other option is to not begin the process until after the white wedding in summer 2014 but that would been that we will be apart for another 2 years. Ugh!

Anyone have any suggestions or insight?

Thanks!

personally, i think it is dangerous to make these plans without the visa in hand

too many unpredictable variables

[Shom 1]

personally, i think it is dangerous to make these plans without the visa in hand

too many unpredictable variables

Well let me ask this question. He currently has a 10 year travel visa for the US. He has CA citizenship but he's been using the 10 year visa to travel back and forth since 2010 (He got this visa originally to be in the wedding party of the wedding were we met). Since he has this visa that is still current for another 6 years, can he use that to go back and forth between the 2 countries while we are processing his permanent residency or is that visa somehow affected by the process?