K1 or CR1 for US/Canada couple?

[epmarshall 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a US citizen currently living in Canada with my Canadian citizen boyfriend. We were going to apply for Canadian PR, but for several reasons we recently decided to go the Green Card route. I want to make sure I understand everything regarding our plan before I leave Canada. I have stayed for 5 months in Canada and it's always hard at the border. Extending my stay online is easier and I can do it from within Canada and get Canadian PR that way, so I don't want to leave the country and have issues come up with the green card process.

-My first concern is finding out if we are eligible. I do not have the income to sponsor him, I know that much. However, he has a savings account of about $50k Canadian. And even though the Canadian dollar is bad right now, that still amounts to a decent savings fund (maybe $35k?). Is this enough money to go through with the process? If not, then will we need an affidavit of support?

-I would greatly appreciate it if someone could review our plan and tell me if I'm getting this right. I've read and tried to understand the guides, but I think I'm at the point where I need another person to check my info.

From what I understand, we have 2 options, the K1 or the CR1. If we do the CR1, we'll need to get married and it will take around a year. If we do the K-1, we get married after the visa is issued and it takes about 6 months of us being apart to get the visa. (Please let me know if those times are accurate)

We are leaning towards the K1 visa because it means less time apart. Then, after the K1 is issued, my boyfriend can come to the US and we have to get married within 90 days. After the marriage, he stays here and applies for AOS. Then, he receives the green card later on.

Please excuse any ignorance on the matter, this is all pretty confusing and I'm sure everyone can relate to the stress involved.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks so much, everyone!

P.S.

I made a topic already a week or so ago, but it was in the consular forum. A mod moved my topic here, but I decided to start a new one because the old one had a title that was no longer relevant to my questions. I hope that's okay and sorry to any who have seen some of this information posted before in my old topic. Thanks to those who helped me start this whole process in that last topic by the way!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

You will need a cosponsor who meets financial guidelines. Also to restablish domicile in the USA. Montreal consulTe is very particular

[epmarshall 0]

You will need a cosponsor who meets financial guidelines. Also to restablish domicile in the USA. Montreal consulTe is very particular

Hi Transborderwife and thanks for responding! I'm not sure what you mean by reestablishing domicile in the US if I'm moving back there. NLR directed me to the domicile sticky, so I can read up on that, but I'm missing something as I don't understand why I will need to prove it if I'll be in the US when I submit the app anyway. I thought domicile was only for consular filing, which Canada isn't doing right now.

Also I guess that means his savings account doesn't suffice as an asset? How much would he need if you know an estimate offhand?

Thanks again and I hope I'm not asking too much.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

For foreign assets it is usually 5x the poverty guidelines. Read through the sticky. It'll help

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi Transborderwife and thanks for responding! I'm not sure what you mean by reestablishing domicile in the US if I'm moving back there. NLR directed me to the domicile sticky, so I can read up on that, but I'm missing something as I don't understand why I will need to prove it if I'll be in the US when I submit the app anyway. I thought domicile was only for consular filing, which Canada isn't doing right now.

Also I guess that means his savings account doesn't suffice as an asset? How much would he need if you know an estimate offhand?

Thanks again and I hope I'm not asking too much.

Domicile is not only for consular filing. A US domicile has nothing to do with where the paperwork is filed.

A US domicile means a US resident. You stated that you are currently in Canada. While it seems obvious that you will have one when you move back when your fiance gets a visa, that's not what the law requires. The law requires you to demonstrate at the time your fiance interviews for a visa that you have established a US domicile (actually having already moved back) or provide evidence that you intend to establish one when your fiance enters the US. You need paper evidence; read the Guides and search function since this is discussed often. Domicile is for the Affidavit of Support. It applies to the sponsor for every immigrant.

[JFH 12,190]

If you do the K-1 you need to bear in mind that your fiancé will not be able to work for some months (at least 3 but possibly up to 6 depending on how quickly you get married after he arrives). You mention that you don't earn enough to sponsor him. I understand he has savings of tens of thousands. If you did the K-1 you will need those to live on because he will be out of work for some time and your income will probably not be enough for all the expenses plus the visa costs. All told, it's around $1500 for the K-1 process including the Adjustment to permanent resident.

CR-1 means he will be able to work right away, the process is cheaper but takes longer.

In our situation, money made the decision for us. We cannot afford for me to be out of work that long. So it's CR-1 for us.

[epmarshall 0]

For foreign assets it is usually 5x the poverty guidelines. Read through the sticky. It'll help

Thanks, transborderwife. I read through the affidavit of support tips section and have a few more questions if you don't mind.

I understand the 5x rule now, but can we still use his assets to add to the amount available or are they just unusable altogether if you don't have 5x the poverty guidelines. Hopefully I didn't botch that question too much.

-Another question. I noticed that it said the foreign fiance's income cannot be counted on the affidavit, but that the assets are usable if they are readily convertible into cash. But what exactly does readily convertible into cash mean? It might seem obvious, but I'm confused as to what counts for that. Right now he has the money in a special account where he can't take any out, but it accrues extra interest because of that. However, in July that special account ends and he can change it back to his old account so that he can take money out of it at anytime. If he puts it back into a normal account, is that considered readily convertible to cash?

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it.

[epmarshall 0]

Domicile is not only for consular filing. A US domicile has nothing to do with where the paperwork is filed.

A US domicile means a US resident. You stated that you are currently in Canada. While it seems obvious that you will have one when you move back when your fiance gets a visa, that's not what the law requires. The law requires you to demonstrate at the time your fiance interviews for a visa that you have established a US domicile (actually having already moved back) or provide evidence that you intend to establish one when your fiance enters the US. You need paper evidence; read the Guides and search function since this is discussed often. Domicile is for the Affidavit of Support. It applies to the sponsor for every immigrant.

Oh, okay so everyone has to prove US domicile regardless of which process they go through. Thanks for explaining, Aaron. I will read more on it.

[epmarshall 0]

If you do the K-1 you need to bear in mind that your fiancé will not be able to work for some months (at least 3 but possibly up to 6 depending on how quickly you get married after he arrives). You mention that you don't earn enough to sponsor him. I understand he has savings of tens of thousands. If you did the K-1 you will need those to live on because he will be out of work for some time and your income will probably not be enough for all the expenses plus the visa costs. All told, it's around $1500 for the K-1 process including the Adjustment to permanent resident.

CR-1 means he will be able to work right away, the process is cheaper but takes longer.

In our situation, money made the decision for us. We cannot afford for me to be out of work that long. So it's CR-1 for us.

Thanks for sharing and for the information, JFH.

Yes, I only have a small online income at the moment since I am currently in Canada and can't work. However, when I go back to the US so that I can send the visa in, I am going to look for a job so that by the time he arrives I'll have an income to support us. My family has also offered to let us live at their home until we can get through this process and get settled. So we'll be paying them a smaller rent to start with.

Also, we were thinking of doing the marriage asap once he's got the visa so that we can speed things along and get permission for him to work quicker.