Fastest visa route for fiancee

[spa 12]

Hi all!
I've been browsing this website and the guides and timelines, and would really appreciate some guidance as to which visa route (K1, CR1/IR1, or K3) may be the best for my situation.  Thanks in advance!

 

Me: U.S. Citizen

Fiancee: Canadian Citizen

We plan to live in the U.S. after marriage

 

We have our wedding (the religious ceremony) in Fall 2017 in Canada.  Our goals are to minimize the amount of time we are separated (meaning, after the Fall 2017 wedding ceremony), and hopefully get work authorization as soon as reasonably possible (maybe early 2018).  If need be, we can do a civil/court marriage in Canada or the U.S. prior to the Fall 2017 wedding ceremony.  

 

What would be the best option to get my fiancee to move and live in the U.S. after the Fall 2017 wedding ceremony and work authorization soon thereafter?  Should I do a court marriage now and then file for CR1/IR1 or K3? Or wait until the Fall 2017 wedding ceremony to do a CR1/IR1 or K3?  Or would the K1 fiancee visa be an option?

 

Thanks so much!

[Georgia16 2,858]

CR-1 (spouse visa for marriage under 2 years)

 

IR-1 (spouse visa for marriage over 2 years)

 

K-3 they don't really give out more 

 

K-1 you will have to get married in the US.

 

SO CR-1 visa and it'll take around a year to get.

 

If you want it that fast then get married now and apply then have your big wedding later. then the process is going.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Georgia16

[geowrian 22,337]

First, K3 is obsolete. It's a waste of money going that route...it will just turn into a CR-1 anyway.

 

If you plan to marry in Canada, then a K-1 is not possible. You must marry within the US for a fiance visa, and not be married prior to entry using said visa. You would have to wait until after you marry, then file for a CR-1 visa, which will take (on average) 10-12+ months. Given the current processing timelines for a K-1 (6-8 months), marrying civilly in the US then going to Canada to have a formal ceremony/reception isn't practical. Once you enter on a K-1, you cannot leave the US until you get AP, which is about 3 months after you file for AOS (after marriage).

 

Edit: Quickest option to do what you want would be to marry now, file for a CR-1, then come over to the US in the 10-12+ months. You will be able to work and leave the US at that time, too (unlike the K-1 which has that period of being unable to work or leave the US).

Edited March 9, 2017 by geowrian

[Unlockable 7,314]

The only visa that MAY be completed by fall is the K1 fiance visa. If you marry before then you will NOT be eligible for it. The K3 visa obsolete and rarely used. If working immediately after visa issuance is important then the CR1 (spousal visa) is best option.

 

Fortunately you and your fiance have the privilege of being able to visit each other. She can come in fall for the wedding on a VWP and get married. But she must return. Coming to the US on a VWP with the intentions to get married and stay is visa fraud. The CR1 takes about a year but she will be able to work immediately.

 

With the K1, she would have to enter, get married in 90 days, then she would have to adjust her status for a GC and apply for work authorization which could take 3 months.

[spa 12]

Thanks for the replies!  So K3 is out, and per geowrian K1 route would not work if we need to return to Canada for the religious ceremony in the fall.

 

So if we do court marriage relatively soon (not sure if we should do it in Canada or the U.S.?), and then I file the 1-130 immediately thereafter and begin the CR-1 process, my finance can stay in Canada until the Fall 2017 wedding, and then the day after the Fall 2017 wedding she can come and stay with me in the U.S.? We ideally want to be together in the U.S. after the Fall 2017 ceremony but she remains in Canada until then (other than a few occasional visits during the summer, which I understand she will be asked about at Customs).

 

While the CR-1 is pending (about a year), she is free to come to the U.S. as a visitor and can even work in the U.S.?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, spa said:

Thanks for the replies!  So K3 is out, and per geowrian K1 route would not work if we need to return to Canada for the religious ceremony in the fall.

 

So if we do court marriage relatively soon (not sure if we should do it in Canada or the U.S.?), and then I file the 1-130 immediately thereafter and begin the CR-1 process, my finance can stay in Canada until the Fall 2017 wedding, and then the day after the Fall 2017 wedding she can come and stay with me in the U.S.? We ideally want to be together in the U.S. after the Fall 2017 ceremony but she remains in Canada until then (other than a few occasional visits during the summer, which I understand she will be asked about at Customs).

 

While the CR-1 is pending (about a year), she is free to come to the U.S. as a visitor and can even work in the U.S.?

Yeah, K-1 wouldn't work in the desired timeframe. it would be, at best, mid winter by the time she got AP and could travel to Canada for the formal event.

 

She cannot "stay" in the US with you. She is permitted to visit you assuming she can show sufficient ties to return home at POE. She cannot work in the US as a visitor.

 

Just as a technical note, Canadians don't enter the US under a VWP....they have their own program (but it is virtually the same thing nowadays).

[Unlockable 7,314]

If you marry first in CAN, your wife will be able to visit periodically until she receives her visa. She will NOT be able to work while on a visitor visa. This is a big violation and can result in ber getting a ban from entering the US. The only thing she can do on a visitor visa is visit. 

 

Also, keep in mind that the CR1 visa may not be ready by Fall 2017. So if she still has not received it by then she will not be able to stay. She can continue to visit periodically. But not stay and live or work.

Edited March 9, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[spa 12]

Yes, by "stay" I mean "visit" .  She'll have strong ties still to Canada, including a lease and round-trip tickets for each visit and family and even a job.  

[KierenHby 899]

3 hours ago, spa said:

Thanks for the replies!  So K3 is out, and per geowrian K1 route would not work if we need to return to Canada for the religious ceremony in the fall.

 

So if we do court marriage relatively soon (not sure if we should do it in Canada or the U.S.?), and then I file the 1-130 immediately thereafter and begin the CR-1 process, my finance can stay in Canada until the Fall 2017 wedding, and then the day after the Fall 2017 wedding she can come and stay with me in the U.S.? We ideally want to be together in the U.S. after the Fall 2017 ceremony but she remains in Canada until then (other than a few occasional visits during the summer, which I understand she will be asked about at Customs).

 

While the CR-1 is pending (about a year), she is free to come to the U.S. as a visitor and can even work in the U.S.?

Once married, court or wherever, I would label the Fall 2017 event as a ceremony. File the CR1 petition as soon as the court issues the wedding certificate, and she interviews at the Montreal consulate. 

 

She may visit the US while CR1 pending, but entry is at CBP discretion and never guaranteed. She can not work in the US on a B2. 

[NovaSprings 89]

I too had an opportunity to get married in a civil wedding 8 months before my church wedding.  We didn't do it and we wish we did.  The reason being that after we were married it took 4 months to gather the paperwork and submit the application.  For example it takes 1 month (in Nova Scotia ) to get a marriage license issued and that is after the paper work is delivered and processed by vital stats....so read here 2 plus months.  My passport was due to expire 4 months after my wedding, so once we received the marriage lic, I changed my name on my  DR lic and applied for a new passport.  This was a good thing in my opinion as my whole visa app was in my married name, no need to fuss with a name change later.  Just my 2 cents...go for the civil wedding.

 

Good luck on your journey.

[spa 12]

Thanks for sharing your experience NovaSprings.

 

Why do folks on this website think the K3 is obsolete or not worth it?  I understand that there is a good chance the I-130 gets processed first in which case the K3 is unnecessary, however, aside from another filing fee and some paperwork to file the I-129F why not still try doing the K3 process simultaneously and see which goes through first?  

[geowrian 22,337]

14 minutes ago, spa said:

Why do folks on this website think the K3 is obsolete or not worth it?  I understand that there is a good chance the I-130 gets processed first in which case the K3 is unnecessary, however, aside from another filing fee and some paperwork to file the I-129F why not still try doing the K3 process simultaneously and see which goes through first?  

K3 was common back when the CR-1/IR-1 process was taking a few years to process. Now that they are only within a few months of each other, NVC doesn't see the need and administratively close the I-129F petition when they get them for K-3s. Less than 0.5% of K3s were issued in the most recent fiscal year recorded compared to prior years. In terms of raw numbers, I think it's like 186 in FY 2015 if memory serves me correctly. 182 were issued compared to 31k K-1s and several hundred thousand IR-based visas in the same year.

Edit: Data: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2015AnnualReport/FY15AnnualReport-TableXVIB.pdf

 

Sure you can try if you really want, but the advice is that it's a waste of time and money to pursue it for an extremely slim chance to enter the US a couple months sooner (and still have many of the other drawbacks of doing a K-1 compared to just waiting a couple months for the CR-1 and avoiding those issues).

Edited March 10, 2017 by geowrian

[USC1961 251]

To the OP congratulations on your engagement.  You've come to the right place to get help with your visa, as the posters here have extensive knowledge and experience concerning the process. 

 

First rule of thumb when it comes to immigrant visas and planning weddings, ceremonies etc is be flexible.  Anything can happen during the visa process, thus quoted times are simply guidelines.   If you have your heart, money and plans set on a scheduled event, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.  Taking time to read through others experiences here on the site, you will find many who have ran into unexpected delays that have affected their plans.  In your specific case, as already pointed out by others, expecting your now fiancee to come to the US right after a fall 2017 ceremony, seems highly unlikely to be possible.  For all intents and purposes it's not a realistic option. Whether that means you change the time of the religious ceremony, or you are ok with her living in Canada for at least a few months afterwords, is a decision for you to make.   As I already mentioned, flexibility.

 

1 hour ago, spa said:

Why do folks on this website think the K3 is obsolete or not worth it?  I understand that there is a good chance the I-130 gets processed first in which case the K3 is unnecessary, however, aside from another filing fee and some paperwork to file the I-129F why not still try doing the K3 process simultaneously and see which goes through first?  

Assuming that the K-3 does get approved, I wouldn't bet on a Fall 2017 deadline.  The unfortunate theme here is these applications take time.  I wish you the best on your upcoming journey! 

[KierenHby 899]

I too looked at a K3, but was persuaded by my then lawyer to go for a CR-1.  The CR1 is less messy and less expensive overall. 

[spa 12]

1 hour ago, Cruise77 said:

First rule of thumb when it comes to immigrant visas and planning weddings, ceremonies etc is be flexible.  Anything can happen during the visa process, thus quoted times are simply guidelines.   If you have your heart, money and plans set on a scheduled event, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. 

Thanks! We are set on the Fall 2017 wedding in Canada (venue etc. is booked), so for sure she has to be in Canada or able to go to Canada then.  However, we are prepared to live separately for a few months after that (if we do civil marriage now to get the paperwork going) and we can just visit each other.  This allows her to continue working in Canada.  That's why I think the CR-1 approach works in this situation so she can stay there and only visit the U.S. periodically.  

 

This site has been a tremendous help!  And all of you too, thanks so much