Going to marry in the US / no K-1 / border questions

[craftwander 0]

I have two parts to this post that I would really love some input on and personal experiences would be hugely appreciated! I've easily spent hours upon hours reading through similar accounts on this forum but I'm still having anxiety over it all so sorry for the repeating topics; I've been struggling a bit trying to find some solid answers for our situation. 

 

1) I'm Canadian and planning to marry an American. We're aiming for the CR-1 over the K1. The current plan is to marry in the US. This is the best way to go about it in our current situation. My first question is, when entering at the POE (airport for me), is it best to simply say that your intention is to get married? My plan is to go in, marry, and return to Canada very soon after and I have the return ticket. And as far as I can see this is perfectly legal. I have zero intention of staying. However I'm still SUPER nervous about being turned away at the border if I say that my intent is to marry (and come back, of course.) 

 

For more background: I've visited the US many many times to visit my SO over many years now and have never been denied entry, never overstayed, never had major issues at the border (just extra questions a few times). So everything is good on that front. I'm just so nervous for this particular case with the marriage happening. 

 

I've read other opinions on the forums that it's perfectly fine to say that you're simply visiting and that you don't necessarily have to specify that your intent is to marry unless they ask further. But I'm not sure if this is a smart option as I would like to be as honest/upfront as possible and I want to have zero issues later on with the CR-1 applications. I just don't want to mess anything up. I've stated in previous visits that I'm visiting my SO, which was true. So is it better/okay to say this again this time? 

 

2) My other concern is that I'm not sure I have super solid proof of ties back home. I'm used to these questions in all my previous visits when I crossed the border, and I usually just talk about our relationship, our jobs, my intent to return, etc. I do spend the majority of the year in Canada and only visit 1-2 times a year. However I don't personally own property and am self employed; so I'm not quite sure how to provide solid proof should they ask for more.   

 

I'm just extra nervous that they may require more proof if I state that my intent is to marry there and return. Right now all I can think of as "proof" is just my word, my return ticket, discussing our plans on handling the CR-1 as soon as we marry, and hoping that the proof on my passport over the years of always returning to Canada is enough proof. Is there anything else that I can provide? 

 

Anything else I should keep in mind or be aware of? Sorry as I may be overthinking a lot of this! But I hope others can relate to the stresses of these things. I really don't want to mess up any part of this process and want to be as prepared as possible.

[JFH 12,191]

You only have to answer the questions that are asked. If you are asked "are you getting married?" you must not lie. I married on a visit. It's not as scary as it sounds. Those of us from low-fraud countries with a good history of returning on time don't usually have any issues. I always said I was visiting my boyfriend/fiancé/husband. I don't follow the school of thought that recommends saying you're going sightseeing or shopping. That's an insult to the intelligence of the CBP officer who can see that you have entered, alone, numerous times, staying at a residential address, not a hotel, miles away from any tourist sights. And even if your partner lives in somewhere with a lot of tourists such as Manhattan, just how many times do people think they can convince CBP that they just have to see the Statue of Liberty again, even though they were there just three months ago. They know what's going on. They ask you the questions to see if you'll lie, not because they don't know the answers. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by JFH

[craftwander 0]

On 5/1/2018 at 8:40 PM, JFH said:

You only have to answer the questions that are asked. If you are asked "are you getting married?" you must not lie. I married on a visit. It's not as scary as it sounds. Those of us from low-fraud countries with a good history of returning on time don't usually have any issues. I always said I was visiting my boyfriend/fiancé/husband. I don't follow the school of thought that recommends saying you're going sightseeing or shopping. That's an insult to the intelligence of the CBP officer who can see that you have entered, alone, numerous times, staying at a residential address, not a hotel, miles away from any tourist sights. And even if your partner lives in somewhere with a lot of tourists such as Manhattan, just how many times do people think they can convince CBP that they just have to see the Statue of Liberty again, even though they were there just three months ago. They know what's going on. They ask you the questions to see if you'll lie, not because they don't know the answers. 

Thank you for your input! Your reply is pretty much the gist of what I've read through the forums. I am always very clear that I'm visiting my SO; so I assume they will likely have a record of that, and I'm thinking (hoping) that it should be fine to say that again in this case.

[nightingalejules 678]

Just my 2 cents... I would probably tell them about the wedding as part of the total plan. "I'm going down to get married, then returning on the 19th (or whatever) and we'll be filing the I-130 for my CR-1 visa." If you make it clear that you know what the rules are and you have every intention of following them, you will likely not show as many signs of stress (which might read to the officer as lying.)

If they see that you're nervous (because you're mentally editing your answers) they might think you're lying. If they ask further questions and you have to tell them you're getting married, they might wonder why you didn't just say that in the first place, unless you were intending to stay illegally.

 

I know that current wisdom is not to offer information - just answer the questions. I just think that in this case, giving them more information (that proves that you know and are following the rules) might be the best bet.

[Ryan H 3,829]

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to General Immigration-Related Discussion.