Need advice on what best course of action might be please!

[redxyz 0]

I apologize in advance if I am posting my situation in the wrong forum, but I wasn’t sure which area was best to post in.

 

If anyone can help my fiancée and I figure out the best approach to getting married, that would be very helpful.

 

We are currently engaged and wanted to get married sometime this year. However, once we found out there was a fiancée visa process, we started to wonder what might be best for us to do. She is Canadian and I am American. I am beginning graduate studies in the USA, but it is a hybrid online-on campus program so I would be able to travel back and forth as I am in school. We would want to be married in the next few months, but based on this situation, I would still be traveling back and forth between USA and Canada.

 

I have a friend who told me that it could be easier to get married in Canada because there is no official fiancée visa process to go through there and then to have her apply from Canada and go through the immigration/permanent residency/green card process that way. However, I am not sure what visas would be used if we do this, and if this is definitely the best approach for us? We just want to be married and not have troubles going back and forth as we both have our families between the two countries, I would have school, we would want to just visit each other of course, and she would be working in Canada until any paperwork filings are complete and she is legally allowed to work in the USA. I am also not sure which visas would apply to her based on which method we go with? K-1 visa? Or IR-1/CR-1 (as I understand this would be the visa used after marriage and based on being married under two years or over two years).

 

If anyone can help us out, that would be so helpful to us, and if there are any other questions to clarify anything please let me know. Thanks!

[Ontarkie 14,227]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I Need, from K1 P&P - The OP is exploring options.~~

 

 

Mod hat off

 

If you want to get married in the next few months then the Fiance visa is out. It's takes about 12 months give or take.

You can get married in either country then file for the CR1 visa while the Canadian half waits out the process in Canada. Visiting for either of you is not usually an issue during the process. 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

This is my analysis of the differences between K-1 and CR-1 visas:

 K-1

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until she receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

[geowrian 22,337]

Option 1: K-1 (fiance/fiancee visa).

Expensive. Longest to get a green card. Slightly quicker to be living in the US. Cannot work or leave the US for ~3-6 months after entering on the K-1 visa, marrying, then applying for AOS.

 

Option 2: CR-1 (spouse visa)

Least expensive. Gets permanent residency upon entry to the US. takes a couple months longer to obtain than a K-1. Can travel abroad, work, etc. right away. No AOS.

Can marry anywhere then start this process.

 

Option 3: AOS

Only available if already in the US at this time. Cannot enter on almost all others visas (or visa-less) with intent to do this.

Cannot work or leave the US for ~3-6 months after entering on the K-1 visa, marrying, then applying for AOS.

 

You can visit during the processing of either visa (options 1 + 2). For a Canadian, I concur that #2 is likely the best.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

I would suggest CR-1. Read this guide.

 

Missileman and geowrian's posts list the major differences.

 

Another thing: the "under 2 years or over 2 years" thing has nothing to do with which visa you get. It has to do with which green card you get.

 

Couples married less than 2 years get the 2-year conditional GC. You must file I-751 90 days before the GC's expiration to remove conditions and obtain the 10-year GC.

 

Couples married more than 2 years automatically get the 10-year GC and do not have to file I-751.

 

I also recommend you read about the I-751 and N-400 (citizenship) to understand what comes after the green card. The green card is only the first phase of you guys being together permanently in the US. People have had bad mistakes due to not knowing or reading everything beforehand.

Edited July 7, 2018 by mushroomspore

[redxyz 0]

Thanks for your quick replies! So would we be able to get married in the USA while she enters as a visitor and then apply for the CR-1? Or would that cause issues? We would ideally want to get married in the USA but just want to be sure it can be done while she is visiting and nothing else has to be done beforehand. Thanks again!

[mushroomspore 3,044]

1 minute ago, redxyz said:

Thanks for your quick replies! So would we be able to get married in the USA while she enters as a visitor and then apply for the CR-1? Or would that cause issues? We would ideally want to get married in the USA but just want to be sure it can be done while she is visiting and nothing else has to be done beforehand. Thanks again!

She can visit, marry you and even be in the US when you file the papers. She cannot stay though. She must go back to Canada to wait out the rest of the process.

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

Just now, redxyz said:

Thanks for your quick replies! So would we be able to get married in the USA while she enters as a visitor and then apply for the CR-1? Or would that cause issues? We would ideally want to get married in the USA but just want to be sure it can be done while she is visiting and nothing else has to be done beforehand. Thanks again!

That is perfectly legal IF SHE RETURNS TO CANADA TO COMPLETE THE CR-1 PROCESS.  She can not enter with the intent to stay and adjust status here.

[redxyz 0]

Thanks for letting me know! So she would not be allowed to even visit anymore during the process once we file for the visa? Or can she visit while waiting? Not with the intent to stay but just to visit for a little while and go back. Or would it be easier to get married in Canada if that’s what we would want? We’re open to both sides of the border, whichever makes the process easier overall. And how long does it currently take for the CR-1 to fully process?

[TM92 527]

28 minutes ago, redxyz said:

K-1 visa? Or IR-1/CR-1

With the CR-1 you can marry anywhere (US, Canada, or third-party country) but with the K-1 you can only marry in the US. For K-1: If she leaves the US without a valid Advance Parole (after submitting AOS) you will have to apply for CR-1 anyways (so the money spent on K-1 will be wasted):

 

[geowrian 22,337]

15 minutes ago, redxyz said:

Thanks for letting me know! So she would not be allowed to even visit anymore during the process once we file for the visa? Or can she visit while waiting? Not with the intent to stay but just to visit for a little while and go back. Or would it be easier to get married in Canada if that’s what we would want? We’re open to both sides of the border, whichever makes the process easier overall. And how long does it currently take for the CR-1 to fully process?

Marry wherever you want.

She can visit during the process. Just don't overstay and don't stay too long in the US (spend more time outside the US than in it). Carry ties showing that you will return back home (i.e. letter from one's employer, if any) in case they ask about it. Canadians are granted a lot of leeway / don't raise much scrutiny, but better safe than sorry.

[KBA 542]

I agree with the CR1...waiting for the K1 has been a nightmare for us so definitely do the CR1! 

[Rocko20 159]

5 hours ago, missileman said:

This is my analysis of the differences between K-1 and CR-1 visas:

 K-1

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until she receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

 

Agreed. But you forgot two things:

 

CR-1

- Still takes 10-14 months on average for approval so there is a longer wait to see your spouse (unless obviously the beneficiary resides in a visa waiver country,  which makes visits to America much easier)

- The petitioner needs the funds and time off work to travel (usually multiple days) to the country of the beneficiary to get married (not everyone might have that luxury, despite having already met)

 

Other than those considerations I would agree, the CR1 is still superior due to the low amount of paperwork and restrictions compared the the K1.

 

[Rocko20 159]

2 hours ago, KBA said:

I agree with the CR1...waiting for the K1 has been a nightmare for us so definitely do the CR1! 

You still have to wait a long time for the CR1 (10-14 months).

 

If there was a "shortcut" to this we would all know about it.

[EmmNM 179]

I agree with the general consensus. File for Cr1. If you do a fiance visa your spouse will not be able to travel outside of the US or work until they get advance parole and employment authorization. That takes about 6 months. Additionally, the wait for a green card has been close to 2 years when adjusting status.