Looking for info on Green card sponsorship from Canada > USA

[cantotex 0]

Hello..

I'm looking for information on the following:

I am a United states citizen with a Canadian girlfriend. I've spent the last year living with her in Canada to quality for what is known as 'common-law relationship' which Canada sees as a 'married couple' without being married. My original intention was to apply for residency in Canada, but we have come to the long-hard conclusion it would be easier and more beneficial for her to come to the US and start our life together there.

I did a tiny bit of research and saw that she would apply as B-2 classification as a visitor, and then that can also be extended. However, my question is what are our options in the future as far working towards a green-card for her? Does common-law status exist for US immigrants? What classification would she use when it came time to work towards a green-card? I know in Canada you had to cohabitate for a year, and then work towards proving this in the end before you could be sponsored by the Canadian citizen for permanent residency (which would be our green card in the US). And while we have a lot of proof that we have already lived together in Canada, im sure they would want proof of living together in US only.. and im not even sure if that exists.

I hope what i have stated above makes sense. Im trying now to find answers on the US sites, but its a lot of information and im sure there are a lot of people here who can answer the above questions or at least point me in the right directions, as they have been through this before.

I thank you all in advance for any replies and advice and wish you all the best!

Edited February 5, 2014 by cantotex

[aaron2020 11,651]

The US immigration does not operate the same way as the Canadian system.

There is no way for your girlfriend to come to live and work in the US and wait for a greencard.

USCIS does not recognize common law marriages.

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There are only two ways for your girlfriend to immigrate to the US and get a green card.

1. Apply for a K-1 fiancée visa, enter the US, legally marry you, and then apply to adjust status to get a green card.

2. Get legally married in Canada, apply for an immigration visa based on marriage to a USC, and then enter the US and automatically get a green card.

Both takes about 6-12 months on average for a visa.

Read the Guides - the button is at the top of this page.

[cantotex 0]

The US immigration does not operate the same way as the Canadian system.

There is no way for your girlfriend to come to live and work in the US and wait for a greencard.

USCIS does not recognize common law marriages.

=========

There are only two ways for your girlfriend to immigrate to the US and get a green card.

1. Apply for a K-1 fiancée visa, enter the US, legally marry you, and then apply to adjust status to get a green card.

2. Get legally married in Canada, apply for an immigration visa based on marriage to a USC, and then enter the US and automatically get a green card.

Both takes about 6-12 months on average for a visa.

Read the Guides - the button is at the top of this page.

I thank you for your quick reply.

So no common-law.. bona-fide marriage only. I look through the links above.. and found the following.

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k3k4visa-outline.html

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k3guide

Those would be the steps taken, correct?

Which includes medical,background check,support papers, interview., she gets a k visa.. which is good for 2 years, she can come and go as she pleases between countries?... and it can be extended for 2 more years after that?

What rights will she have with a 'k-visa?' does the processing of a green card begin after this step?

Sorry for all the questions.. im looking through the links above but still have a lot of simple questions. I thank you for your patience!

[aaron2020 11,651]

I thank you for your quick reply.

So no common-law.. bona-fide marriage only. I look through the links above.. and found the following.

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k3k4visa-outline.html

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k3guide

Those would be the steps taken, correct?

Which includes medical,background check,support papers, interview., she gets a k visa.. which is good for 2 years, she can come and go as she pleases between countries?... and it can be extended for 2 more years after that?

What rights will she have with a 'k-visa?' does the processing of a green card begin after this step?

Sorry for all the questions.. im looking through the links above but still have a lot of simple questions. I thank you for your patience!

No to all your questions.

Her rights under the K-1 is that she is authorized to be in the US for 90 days after entering on the K-1. That's it. To get any other rights, you would need to comply with the K-1 requirements to marry and file to adjust her for a green card.

The K-1 is a single use visa. It is valid for 6 months after the medical exam. The K-1 can only be used to enter the US once. You need to marry within 90 days after she enters the US on the K-1. You will need to file to adjust her (and apply for AP). She will need either AP or a green card to return to the US if she leaves after entering on the K-1.

Edited February 5, 2014 by aaron2020

[NikLR 13,232]

K3 is obsolete. Look at the cr1 instead. Two things that are important to note for Canadians.

1) location. Canada only does immigrant visa interviews in Montreal. But they do non-immigrant interviews (k1) in both Vancouver and Montreal. So if you live on the west coast, even factoring the AOS cost, it may be cheaper to go the K1 route.

2) domicile. With the K1 this isnt really an issue but you will have to find some place in the USA to live and a joint sponsor if you do not have a US based income. But with CR1 this is an issue and Montreal is quite strict about it. There is a Canada regional forum on the board with a sticky post related to issue of domicle for Montreal. Again though, without a US based job you'll need a joint sponsor.

You can also look into doing a TN visa for youe girlfriend while waiting for one of the other visas. It's a non-immigrant visa so she cannot adjust her status but it would allow her to live and work in the USA legally while awaiting the results of the K1 or CR1 route. You can look up whats needed for this visa online pretty easily.

[NikLR 13,232]

Canada and the USA are very different when it comes to immigration. You have to be married or have intent to marry. She cannot live in the USA without a visa to do so and if the CBP feel she is trying to do that, they will deny her entry and possibly ban her. Long trips are looked at with suspicion and trip extensions are very rare and pretty much non-existant.