I want to be with my fiancee

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

I am looking to get married on November 10th. However, that means that my fiancee cannot come down until the 10th of August. However, as we just got engaged and I had to leave Canada 3 days later, I feel like this VISA business is trying to tear us apart. I know that's not the case, but it's making it hard.

I am starting a new job, fresh out of college, so I cannot afford a bunch of back and forth flights to Canada or for my fiancee to the US. How should we file? I know that I have to file a 129f soon, but can she enter the country as a visitor while that application is pending? Can she come into the country as a visitor and stay while the I-129f is pending?

Please. Any help is greatly appreciated. Lectures....not so much.

[TimsDaisy 0]

As long as they let her in, she can come and visit and stay for as long as she is legally allowed to. Many couples visit each other during the I-129F process.

If you search around here - I would check the Canada regional forum too - you'll find information on how to safeguard entry. I think the situation is probably slightly different for Canadians, since you may cross on foot/by car. I think you implied she'd be entering via an airport?

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

As long as they let her in, she can come and visit and stay for as long as she is legally allowed to. Many couples visit each other during the I-129F process.

If you search around here - I would check the Canada regional forum too - you'll find information on how to safeguard entry. I think the situation is probably slightly different for Canadians, since you may cross on foot/by car. I think you implied she'd be entering via an airport?

Yeah, she will be entering via airport. Do you have any idea how long she can visit for?

[robburnsefc 0]

As long as they let her in, she can come and visit and stay for as long as she is legally allowed to. Many couples visit each other during the I-129F process.

If you search around here - I would check the Canada regional forum too - you'll find information on how to safeguard entry. I think the situation is probably slightly different for Canadians, since you may cross on foot/by car. I think you implied she'd be entering via an airport?

I visited my Fiance via Atlanta then LAX on Thursday. After being grilled in Dublin last year I was very afraid. I took bank statements, copy of my police check, letters from my employer, payslips, credit card bills, mortgage statemements. I got the meanest looking HS Officer - not the friendly looking grandad type at the adjacent desk. I walked up and told him honestly that I was there to see my fiancee. "Have you set the big day yet?" he said, smiling. "Not until you guys give me my visa" I replied. He then proceeded to tell me that his wife was Australian, we exchange anecdotes about the weather, and he sent me on my way. The documents never left the bag.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

As long as they let her in, she can come and visit and stay for as long as she is legally allowed to. Many couples visit each other during the I-129F process.

If you search around here - I would check the Canada regional forum too - you'll find information on how to safeguard entry. I think the situation is probably slightly different for Canadians, since you may cross on foot/by car. I think you implied she'd be entering via an airport?

I visited my Fiance via Atlanta then LAX on Thursday. After being grilled in Dublin last year I was very afraid. I took bank statements, copy of my police check, letters from my employer, payslips, credit card bills, mortgage statemements. I got the meanest looking HS Officer - not the friendly looking grandad type at the adjacent desk. I walked up and told him honestly that I was there to see my fiancee. "Have you set the big day yet?" he said, smiling. "Not until you guys give me my visa" I replied. He then proceeded to tell me that his wife was Australian, we exchange anecdotes about the weather, and he sent me on my way. The documents never left the bag.

Did he ask how long you would be visiting for or give you a time limit?

[Krikit 1,165]

Welcome "AnewKINDofFEELIN". Yes, your fiancée can come into the country as a visitor, providing she can provide enough ties to Canada to convince CBP that she is returning (amongst the usual types of issues which may provoke a refusal. i.e. drug convictions, etc).

Unfortunately, if you plan on filing for the K-1 Fiancée visa you won't receive it by your planned wedding date (November 10th). Really, you won't be able to make any firm wedding plans (on the K-1) until the visa is in hand.

I'm not really getting the August 10th entry reference unless you are somehow tying that to the 90 day marriage rule following entry to the U.S. This rule only applies to beneficiaries with the visa in their passport.

You need to be aware that the fees will be jumping on July 30th so when you know what you want to do you should get right on it.

All the best and congratulations on your engagement.

Do you have any idea how long she can visit for?

Canadians are allowed to be in the U.S. for up to six months in a one year time period.

Edited May 29, 2007 by Krikit

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Welcome "AnewKINDofFEELIN". Yes, your fiancée can come into the country as a visitor, providing she can provide enough ties to Canada to convince CBP that she is returning (amongst the usual types of issues which may provoke a refusal. i.e. drug convictions, etc).

Unfortunately, if you plan on filing for the K-1 Fiancée visa you won't receive it by your planned wedding date (November 10th). Really, you won't be able to make any firm wedding plans (on the K-1) until the visa is in hand.

I'm not really getting the August 10th entry reference unless you are somehow tying that to the 90 day marriage rule following entry to the U.S. This rule only applies to beneficiaries with the visa in their passport.

You need to be aware that the fees will be jumping on July 30th so when you know what you want to do you should get right on it.

All the best and congratulations on your engagement.

Did he ask how long you would be visiting for or give you a time limit?

Canadians are allowed to be in the U.S. for up to six months in a one year time period.

Yeah, it was regarding the 90 day limit on the fiancee visa. If I file the application within the next couple weeks, we should have it by August or so, right?

[msu17 0]

Do you go through Vancouver or Montreal. One is slow and one is fairly quick. Either way, it's running around 3 months to get aproval from CSC and since its almost June, you are looking at end of August/beginning of Sept for that assuming there isnt a slowdown. You then have to get through NVC which will take several weeks. The embassy needs to get the paperwork, send you out packet 3, you need to fill that in, they need to get it and send you the interview date. You then have to wait a while to get that. Look at similar timelines above for a more realistic timeline.

You also dont want to marry on exactly day 90 as its streching it for AOS. If you want to wait till later in the process I'd get married in the mid 80's, but that's just my opinion

Edited May 29, 2007 by msu17

[TimsDaisy 0]

Welcome "AnewKINDofFEELIN". Yes, your fiancée can come into the country as a visitor, providing she can provide enough ties to Canada to convince CBP that she is returning (amongst the usual types of issues which may provoke a refusal. i.e. drug convictions, etc).

Unfortunately, if you plan on filing for the K-1 Fiancée visa you won't receive it by your planned wedding date (November 10th). Really, you won't be able to make any firm wedding plans (on the K-1) until the visa is in hand.

I'm not really getting the August 10th entry reference unless you are somehow tying that to the 90 day marriage rule following entry to the U.S. This rule only applies to beneficiaries with the visa in their passport.

You need to be aware that the fees will be jumping on July 30th so when you know what you want to do you should get right on it.

All the best and congratulations on your engagement.

Did he ask how long you would be visiting for or give you a time limit?

Canadians are allowed to be in the U.S. for up to six months in a one year time period.

Yeah, it was regarding the 90 day limit on the fiancee visa. If I file the application within the next couple weeks, we should have it by August or so, right?

Probably not. Check out "immigration timelines" here on VJ for a good idea of how long it take. From start to finish, 7 months is the rule of thumb these days. Varies, of course, but that's a good guess.

It's great, though, if Canadians get 6 months for a visit without having to get a visa, etc. VWP countries (most of Western Europe and some others) get only 90 days.

And she CAN be here and you even can either have a non-legal, wedding party before you get the visa, OR, have a legal ceremony BUT ditch a K1 and go with a K3 here in the US.

All that is prohibited is coming in with the intent to STAY HERE without the proper paperwork. There are other pitffalls to be avoided (misunderstandings at the border = uncool), but you have options.

Don't panic. But also start making your expectations more realistic, timeline wise.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Do you go through Vancouver or Montreal. One is slow and one is fairly quick. Either way, it's running around 3 months to get aproval from CSC and since its almost June, you are looking at end of August/beginning of Sept for that assuming there isnt a slowdown. You then have to get through NVC which will take several weeks. The embassy needs to get the paperwork, send you out packet 3, you need to fill that in, they need to get it and send you the interview date. You then have to wait a while to get that. Look at similar timelines above for a more realistic timeline.

You also dont want to marry on exactly day 90 as its streching it for AOS. If you want to wait till later in the process I'd get married in the mid 80's, but that's just my opinion

She lives in Vancouver, so that's where she'll be going through. It's just hard, because we had to try to set a date far in advance so that her family would be able to plan to get down here. I just wish she could move down here and live with me until we get married, but it is clear that is not an option.

[~Nini~ 2]

Not so. The visa process takes different times to get approved for each case. Once visa applicants with approved K1s enter the United States, they only have a 90 day time period to marry their USC. As Krikit said, you may not get the visa by your planned wedding date, and it's usually not wise to plan anything ahead in case your visa application is delayed for any kind of reason. We'd hate to hear that you lost your money on deposits!

If you want to check the timelines, you can get a rough idea as to how long the process takes, but take it with a grain of salt. It can honestly swing both ways depending on your particular case.

Congratulations on the engagement, and welcome to VJ!

To add to the visiting part, I know I entered the States to visit my fiance while my application was processing, and didn't encounter any trouble. The customs official at the airport looked at my itinerary and saw that I was intending to return in two weeks, and told me to have a great trip.

EDIT: grar, lots of people replied before I did

Edited May 29, 2007 by Nini & Bee

[Krikit 1,165]

If I file the application within the next couple weeks, we should have it by August or so, right?

You would only have the approval by August or so. The entire process takes some months longer. A straight-forward case is currently taking approximately 7-9 months, I believe. (You can check the timelines page for verification.)

[msu17 0]

Do you go through Vancouver or Montreal. One is slow and one is fairly quick. Either way, it's running around 3 months to get aproval from CSC and since its almost June, you are looking at end of August/beginning of Sept for that assuming there isnt a slowdown. You then have to get through NVC which will take several weeks. The embassy needs to get the paperwork, send you out packet 3, you need to fill that in, they need to get it and send you the interview date. You then have to wait a while to get that. Look at similar timelines above for a more realistic timeline.

You also dont want to marry on exactly day 90 as its streching it for AOS. If you want to wait till later in the process I'd get married in the mid 80's, but that's just my opinion

She lives in Vancouver, so that's where she'll be going through. It's just hard, because we had to try to set a date far in advance so that her family would be able to plan to get down here. I just wish she could move down here and live with me until we get married, but it is clear that is not an option.

That's good I think they are fairly quick. Definitly check others timelines to get a better picture of the process.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Welcome "AnewKINDofFEELIN". Yes, your fiancée can come into the country as a visitor, providing she can provide enough ties to Canada to convince CBP that she is returning (amongst the usual types of issues which may provoke a refusal. i.e. drug convictions, etc).

Unfortunately, if you plan on filing for the K-1 Fiancée visa you won't receive it by your planned wedding date (November 10th). Really, you won't be able to make any firm wedding plans (on the K-1) until the visa is in hand.

I'm not really getting the August 10th entry reference unless you are somehow tying that to the 90 day marriage rule following entry to the U.S. This rule only applies to beneficiaries with the visa in their passport.

You need to be aware that the fees will be jumping on July 30th so when you know what you want to do you should get right on it.

All the best and congratulations on your engagement.

Did he ask how long you would be visiting for or give you a time limit?

Canadians are allowed to be in the U.S. for up to six months in a one year time period.

Yeah, it was regarding the 90 day limit on the fiancee visa. If I file the application within the next couple weeks, we should have it by August or so, right?

Probably not. Check out "immigration timelines" here on VJ for a good idea of how long it take. From start to finish, 7 months is the rule of thumb these days. Varies, of course, but that's a good guess.

It's great, though, if Canadians get 6 months for a visit without having to get a visa, etc. VWP countries (most of Western Europe and some others) get only 90 days.

And she CAN be here and you even can either have a non-legal, wedding party before you get the visa, OR, have a legal ceremony BUT ditch a K1 and go with a K3 here in the US.

All that is prohibited is coming in with the intent to STAY HERE without the proper paperwork. There are other pitffalls to be avoided (misunderstandings at the border = uncool), but you have options.

Don't panic. But also start making your expectations more realistic, timeline wise.

My main problem all along has been that I don't know what realistic expectations for this are. So, we can ditch the K1 once we get married in the US? I am a fairly smart person (mechanical engineer) but this has all been REALLY confusing to me.

[TimsDaisy 0]

Do you go through Vancouver or Montreal. One is slow and one is fairly quick. Either way, it's running around 3 months to get aproval from CSC and since its almost June, you are looking at end of August/beginning of Sept for that assuming there isnt a slowdown. You then have to get through NVC which will take several weeks. The embassy needs to get the paperwork, send you out packet 3, you need to fill that in, they need to get it and send you the interview date. You then have to wait a while to get that. Look at similar timelines above for a more realistic timeline.

You also dont want to marry on exactly day 90 as its streching it for AOS. If you want to wait till later in the process I'd get married in the mid 80's, but that's just my opinion

She lives in Vancouver, so that's where she'll be going through. It's just hard, because we had to try to set a date far in advance so that her family would be able to plan to get down here. I just wish she could move down here and live with me until we get married, but it is clear that is not an option.

I'm not familiar with Canadian laws and processes generally - you might want to check out that regional forum if anyone has other stories there.

She may, though, be able to stay with you for a good portion of time while things process. I can't say that with confidence, but with the right planning and scheduling, you may only have to be apart a short period of time, comparatively speaking. There's a way to follow the law and still not be separated for too long, I'm sure.