American/Canadian Relationship...Where to start?

[earlgreytea_hot 0]

Hi there, this is my first post to the VJ community. I met my wonderful boyfriend 2.5 years ago. He is Canadian, and I am American, and we live just across the border from each other in Windsor and Detroit, Mi respectively. We see each other 3-4 times per month, schedules permitting, as it is easy to drive back and forth between countries here. We are now planning to marry and settle in the US. The K3 visa sounds best for us, because he will want to travel back to Canada to visit his family on a regular basis. That means we will have to get married right away (but we're okay with that). I have several questions (thanks so much, in advance, for any help you can provide). I've been reading through the forums and I'm developing a little bit of a panic attack because the process is so much more involved than I was expecting. Here are my (first set of) questions:

1. We've been seeing each other quite often. Once we file for the visa, can we continue to cross the border as we have been, or is he obligated to stay in Canada until the process is complete?

2. I'm planning to buy a house and I was hoping he could move in with me rather more quickly than it sounds possible after reading this forum. Do we really have to wait the full 8-9 months (until he has the K3 visa in hand) before he can move in with me?

3. Right now, I'm going to school to be a doctor. However, I won't start working as a doctor (and thus earning money) until July. So should I just plan to have a co-sponsor on my Affidavit of Support? I suspect my Mother would agree to do this.

Thanks,

Kim

[MargotDarko 0]

The K-3 visa can't be applied for until after you're married and after you've filed the I-130 petition and received the first notice of action.... hopefully that's not just me stating the obvious!

Where do you plan to get married? From what I see of your situation, it would be best to marry in Canada. Would it be possible for you to live there with him while the K3 is processed?

[MargotDarko 0]

I find the time lines here a bit hard to read, but I think the K3 visa is more like 6 months rather than 8 to 9 months. You will then have to deal with applying for work authorisation and applying for adjustment of status.

If you have any way to live in Canada with him for a while, you should look into the CR-1 visa. You file the 1-130 and then follow that route without filing for the K3 visa. It takes a lot longer, usually over a year I believe, but it's cheaper in the longer and provides a lot of advantages.

[MargotDarko 0]

1. We've been seeing each other quite often. Once we file for the visa, can we continue to cross the border as we have been, or is he obligated to stay in Canada until the process is complete?

2. I'm planning to buy a house and I was hoping he could move in with me rather more quickly than it sounds possible after reading this forum. Do we really have to wait the full 8-9 months (until he has the K3 visa in hand) before he can move in with me?

3. Right now, I'm going to school to be a doctor. However, I won't start working as a doctor (and thus earning money) until July. So should I just plan to have a co-sponsor on my Affidavit of Support? I suspect my Mother would agree to do this.

Thanks,

Kim

Sorry for three separate posts! I'll try to answer your questions here:

1. I don't think he's obliged to stay in Canada, but with a visa in process and a wife in the US, he'll have a heck of a time convincing them he plans to return to Canada after his visit and would be pretty likely to be denied entry, which can affect the visa process. EDIT: My husband is saying that I'm being too over the top here. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences.

2. He must have a valid visa before he can live in the US with you.

3. Yep. You'll fill out the Affidavit of Support as well, but I would plan on having your mom as a co-sponsor.

Edited February 19, 2007 by MargotDarko

[MargotDarko 0]

Hehe! Yet another comment because I can't edit any of the others anymore.

Here's a good post on people discussing the Candian citizen of the couple going to the US while the visa is in process:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54824

Bottomline seems to be that if your soon to be hubby has plenty of proof of ties to Canada, he should be okay.

[riblet 0]

Hello,

I just thought I would chime in also

Eight or nine months is probably realistic... it could be less or it could be more. I filed the I129F in September and didn't receive the NOA2 until the end of January. My husband has yet to receive the packet from Montreal, and we expect it will be 4 months from that time until interviewing. But we think it is actually likely that he will have his interview for the CR1 sooner and that is the superior visa anyway.

It can be stressful to cross once you are married to a U.S. citizen, but now that we have learned to bring tons of evidence we usually don't have much of a problem. He definitely will not be able to move in with you until he has either a K3 or CR1.

And yes, you will have to have a co-sponsor as they will be looking at your proof of income from 2006.

Finally, I would NOT reccomend getting married in Ontario as I've heard it can take over a month just to get the marriage certificate from Ontario which you need before you can even get started.

Good luck!

Hehe! Yet another comment because I can't edit any of the others anymore.

Here's a good post on people discussing the Candian citizen of the couple going to the US while the visa is in process:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54824

Bottomline seems to be that if your soon to be hubby has plenty of proof of ties to Canada, he should be okay.

[MargotDarko 0]

Finally, I would NOT reccomend getting married in Ontario as I've heard it can take over a month just to get the marriage certificate from Ontario which you need before you can even get started.

Good luck!

Whoa! That's a long time. Sounds like marrying in US might be better then - I was just worried about the grey area of entering with intent to immigrate... even though it's not actual intent on that entry, but rather intent in the near future. But really, as long as the OP's future husband brings plenty of evidence that he will return to Canada after the wedding, that should be okay from what I've read.

[earlgreytea_hot 0]

Sorry for three separate posts! I'll try to answer your questions here:

1. I don't think he's obliged to stay in Canada, but with a visa in process and a wife in the US, he'll have a heck of a time convincing them he plans to return to Canada after his visit and would be pretty likely to be denied entry, which can affect the visa process. EDIT: My husband is saying that I'm being too over the top here. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences.

2. He must have a valid visa before he can live in the US with you.

3. Yep. You'll fill out the Affidavit of Support as well, but I would plan on having your mom as a co-sponsor.

Hello,

I just thought I would chime in also

Eight or nine months is probably realistic... it could be less or it could be more. I filed the I129F in September and didn't receive the NOA2 until the end of January. My husband has yet to receive the packet from Montreal, and we expect it will be 4 months from that time until interviewing. But we think it is actually likely that he will have his interview for the CR1 sooner and that is the superior visa anyway.

It can be stressful to cross once you are married to a U.S. citizen, but now that we have learned to bring tons of evidence we usually don't have much of a problem. He definitely will not be able to move in with you until he has either a K3 or CR1.

And yes, you will have to have a co-sponsor as they will be looking at your proof of income from 2006.

Finally, I would NOT reccomend getting married in Ontario as I've heard it can take over a month just to get the marriage certificate from Ontario which you need before you can even get started.

Good luck!

Thanks to both of you for your input! Once this whole process is started, can I (being the US citizen) travel to see him in Canada? That might be satisfying enough for us and eliminate the worry of having enough evidence. We were planning to get married here in the US (though we're just signing the papers, etc, because neither of us can afford a wedding at this point).

Edited February 19, 2007 by earlgreytea_hot

[MargotDarko 0]

Thanks to both of you for your input! Once this whole process is started, can I (being the US citizen) travel to see him in Canada? That might be satisfying enough for us and eliminate the worry of having enough evidence.

Glad to help.

My instinct is to say yes, and that it seems like it wouldn't be as hard, but I don't want to say anything definite since it's not something I've experienced or really seen discussed before. I imagine it would be kind of the same, where you would bring proof of your ties to the US, and probably proof of the visa you filed to show your intentions to live in the US with him and not try to stay in Canada.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hopefully Yodrak will chime in on this thread as he is very familiar with the Windsor/Detroit border.

Before I met and married my husband I dated an American for a few years - we weren't engaged or anything - but I crossed the border almost every weekend. He had joint custody of his two sons so it was easier for me to do the travelling rather than him. I crossed the border often enough to become well known to the border officials who saw me both coming and going (I often used the smaller crossing points at Sombra and Walpole Island as they were closer than Windsor). Early on in that relationship I was stopped and told that I needed to prove my continuing residence in Canada. He let me cross that time but I made sure I brought a packet of information every time afterwards including most recent rent receipts, paystubs, utility bills, vet statements for the cats, insurance documents, etc. I had to show them once and from then on had no problems. My then boyfriend had to bring letters of permission from his exwife for the boys to cross the border when they came to visit me, along with proof of his ties to the US. Living in Windsor and living in Detroit you will probably not have too many difficulties in crossing the border; bring proof of your residential ties in your own countries - including copies of any of the immigration paperwork you have filed - and both of you should be able to continue to travel back and forth until he gets his visa and can move over permanently. Be sure to check out the Canadian Forum on this site as well as you will find a lot of American/Canadian couples who will be able to provide you with lots of useful information from their experiences.

Edited February 20, 2007 by Kathryn41

[misa 2]

This is probably obvious, but when your boyfriend visits you in the U.S. also make sure his car doesn't contain items that make it look like he's moving there.

[Reba 2]

Not sure that you would need a co-sponsor, because by the time you get to the interview stage you'll have a job with income. I imagine doctors make a living wage here in the US eh? Even just starting out.

[earlgreytea_hot 0]

Not sure that you would need a co-sponsor, because by the time you get to the interview stage you'll have a job with income. I imagine doctors make a living wage here in the US eh? Even just starting out.

That would depend on whether or not I need to submit my tax forms. I haven't filed taxes in three years, since I have been in school and not making any money. But yes, I'll have a decent income by that time.

Thanks!

Kim