How to marry an American without moving to the US. K-1?

[lucky_guy 0]

My American fiancée and I (Canadian) want to cohabit eventually, but have good jobs in our respective countries and don't yet know whether better opportunity will lie in the US or Canada. We also don't want to undermine the eventual immigration that one of us will have to do when we get married. My questions are:

- I know about the K-1, but when we get married a year from now, no matter what I won't be ready to live in the US at that point. Is it still worth getting in case of possible later immigration? Or would I have to pursue permanent residency right away?

- If we planned our wedding in the US, would I be likely to be denied entry for a visit to do the wedding ceremony if I don't get a K-1, even though I have no desire to live there?

- What happens once we are married? Will I be denied entry for the same reason (overstay risk) - so casual visits would be out until we could arrange for me to immigrate to the US (or for her to immigrate to Canada)?

Given our situation, maybe it would be better to stay "under the radar" as "girlfriend"/"boyfriend" as long as possible and delay our marriage to facilitate visits until we know where we both will live for the long term. What do you think?

Thanks in advance for any advice you're able to offer!

 

 

[KazuriSana 324]

You marry the American in a church, in a civil ceremony, through 'come-we-stay', or any one of a myriad ways, and live together happily ever after anywhere on earth, minus the US.

 

All said, you do not need any kind of visa to marry an American, especially since you do not want to join the American in the US.

[Ontarkie 14,234]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I Need, from K1 P&P - The Op is exploring their options well in advance.~~

 

 

Mod hat off

 

If neither plans to immigrate yet then no need to start anything until you know where you want to live. You can marry in Canada or the US without a K1 and it's perfectly legal as you don't want to stay. 

Each of you keep your respective place to live and jobs as ties to your Country and help show you do not plan to move. That helps a lot and if asked you can clearly tell CBP that neither are ready to move and you both haven't decided which Country you will live in. 

 

Now in all the years I've been on JV I've come across a few threads of couples who did just that. Here is where it can get tricky after going back and fourth for years CBP finally told them to pick a country and make the move. The Canadian of one couple was no longer allowed to travel to visit her Husband in the US. If I remember right neither ever over stayed and never had an issue up till that day. They were waiting for retirement which was just around the corner to make the move. 

Like I said it has come up a few times on here, so it's not unheard that they will tell you to pick a Country and start the process, but really they can do that now even as BF/GF.  So don't let that stop you from getting married. Just be prepared to show ties and that you two haven't made up your mind where you want to settle down at yet. 

[lucky_guy 0]

Dear Ontarkie: thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences - it's reassuring to hear we should be able to straddle the border for a while!

 

It sounds like it would be a good idea for the two of us to travel with documents attesting to our ties to our homes. I'll start a file for this.

 

As the date of our wedding nears, maybe it would make sense to attempt a border crossing a few days in advance, so there is time to figure out how to cross in time for the ceremony if I get a border officer who sees things differently?

 

Also, if I have not applied for anything and just drive across the border. I guess I am technically crossing on a tourist visa. When asked on this crossing about the reason for my visit, I presume it would be best to be explicit about the reason for my crossing, "to get married"?

[NikLR 13,227]

How much detail you go into at the border crossing depends on you.  Personally I would say to get married but others can say to visit friends or vacation, etc... My husband had zero issues crossing into Canada saying he was getting married and I never had an issue going into the USA to visit him when I said I was visiting my husband.  

 

Remember you are supposed to declare the rings of they end up in a different country than purchased.