Moving my things across the border? and general questions about my timeline

[Klee 6]

Hi everyone, so a bit of background. My K-1 visa was approved and I received it in the mail in early December. The expiration date on my visa says May 24th, so the plan is to enter at the Detroit Windsor border in the first week of May or last week of April at which point I should get an i-94, correct? We are set to be married on July 8th, which will be less than three months from the POE and at that point I will send off all my forms for AOS. Is there any issue with this? I already asked this question in another thread, but I guess the answer wasn't totally satisfactory to stop me from worrying. I just worry that they will give me a hard time for entering so late after receiving my visa. The reason for doing this was to spend a bit more time with my family, save up some more funds and plan for a wedding. Has anyone else done anything similar? How did it go?

Okay and then the reason I came to this thread is to ask how people handled the moving situation. I'm living with my parents at the moment and don't have a lot of possessions that I plan to bring with me. I have no furniture that I'm bringing. All my possessions consist of clothing, a few electronics and books and then some of my beauty supplies etc. My fiance was going to fly down from Washington, we were going to cross together and then drive across the country to Washington. The issue is that I don't have a car that I'm bringing with me and I don't have enough possessions to rent a uhaul which seems to be the only company that allows you to rent vehicles in Canada and then drop them off in the US. We came up with two ideas and I don't know if either of these would be good or not. OPTION #1: Since we are so close to the border, my fiance can fly in from Detroit and take a rental car with him to Windsor. We will pack my things and then leave together and drop the car off in Washington or OPTION #2: My parents cross the border with us and all my belongings. They drive us to a rental place where we transfer my few boxes to a rental car and then my fiance and I leave to Washington and they head back to Windsor. Which of these options if any, would give us the least amount of hassle? Has anyone done something similar? What was your experience? Thanks everyone!

[mrsu 2]

So it would totally be fine to have your parents bring your things. When me and my kids were moving down my husband drove up from Nebraska with truck and horse trailer and took our things. I didn't have a lot either, sold most of my big stuff in Canada,  was just easier.  If you send your things with someone else you need to provide a letter stating that they are moving your things and it must be signed. Also, you must provide a numbered list of boxes. So when you pack your boxes just number them and put a quick description on the list of what is in them. This is how the border asked us to do it. They looked over the list, opened the trailer, picked a box and opened it to ensure the contents matched what had been written on the list. My husband was through in less than 5 minutes and we were not along.  

 

As far as waiting to move,  you will be fine. I had to finish out a work contract and could not move til end of December and our expiry date was March 1. It's just important that you get there before expiry date

 

Congratulations on getting yourself approved, I know it's a long process and I had a ton of worries through it all and there will be ongoing stuff to deal with once you are down here but honestly the toughest/longest part is over. Just get yourself moved and concentrate on your wedding. 

[KimchiLumpia 315]

It sounds like you have everything well planned.  I've known a few couples that also entered the US a few weeks before their visa entry expiration date and had no problems.  According to the dates you provided, you will be fine.  If for some strange reason a border agent asks you why you waited so long to enter, just tell them the truth as you explained in your post.  It is understandable one would take their time to finalize things in their current country, before moving to a new country.

 

 @mrsu's information on providing a detailed contents packing list is great advice! Thank you for that.

 

Also, welcome to Washington State.  I live in Seattle and my fiance lives in Vancouver Canada.  North Bend is a beautiful area, very close to the mountains with skiing and snowboarding.  

 

Congrats on your K1 Visa.  From everything I've read and been told, you've already passed the hard part of the process.  Good luck the rest of the way!