Moving to US while K3 is in process

[the_joker_40 0]

Hello all. I"m hoping someone can give me some advice. I"m a US citizen and my wife is Canadian. We both live in Toronto and have filed our K3 so we can both move to the US together. I've been told from a friend who has done the samething that the immigration officer in Montreal during her interview that most people apply from within the US. Could we move to the US while our paperwork is in process? I know my wife wouldn't be able to work, so I assume we'd need to file for a work permit. We'd move in with my parents while her paperwork was being reviewed. It's been 4 months now and the other words we've recieved is that they have gotten the paperwork we mailed off to Vermont and then a couple months later they said that they had to send it over to California. I dont' know why they did that, mabye caue Missouri is in their jurisdiction. Could someone give advice about moving early?

thanks

Chris

[YuAndDan 153]

Most people apply for K-3 the US Citizen is living in the US and the foreign citizen remains in the foreign country, the foreign citizen then moves to the US with the K-3 visa, they cannot just move to the USA with out it.

If your wife were to "move" to the USA before the K-3 is issued, a work permit is not an option because she will be just a visitor that is allowed to be a visitor for only 90 days, then will need to return home or be considered out of status, and that may cause problems for the K-3 visa.

[the_joker_40 0]

Most people apply for K-3 the US Citizen is living in the US and the foreign citizen remains in the foreign country, the foreign citizen then moves to the US with the K-3 visa, they cannot just move to the USA with out it.

If your wife were to "move" to the USA before the K-3 is issued, a work permit is not an option because she will be just a visitor that is allowed to be a visitor for only 90 days, then will need to return home or be considered out of status, and that may cause problems for the K-3 visa.

thanks for your help. I sure would like this to move along. I filed my I-130 in Feb-2007 to Vermont and got a letter saying that they recieved it and then a few weeks ago got a letter saying they transferred it to the California offices. I guess I thought it would be faster for a US citizen applying to get his wife to move with me to the US. It's been 4 months and dont' have a status yet. I'll have to call them.

[YuAndDan 153]

Most people apply for K-3 the US Citizen is living in the US and the foreign citizen remains in the foreign country, the foreign citizen then moves to the US with the K-3 visa, they cannot just move to the USA with out it.

If your wife were to "move" to the USA before the K-3 is issued, a work permit is not an option because she will be just a visitor that is allowed to be a visitor for only 90 days, then will need to return home or be considered out of status, and that may cause problems for the K-3 visa.

thanks for your help. I sure would like this to move along. I filed my I-130 in Feb-2007 to Vermont and got a letter saying that they recieved it and then a few weeks ago got a letter saying they transferred it to the California offices. I guess I thought it would be faster for a US citizen applying to get his wife to move with me to the US. It's been 4 months and dont' have a status yet. I'll have to call them.

The process is not fast, but is quite quick for Canada when compared to other consulates, China takes over 1 year for a K-3.

What you can do while waiting is gather the police cert from Canada, and Canadian Birth Cert if needed, as well as make sure Canadian passport has not expired or is close to expiring.

[the_joker_40 0]

Most people apply for K-3 the US Citizen is living in the US and the foreign citizen remains in the foreign country, the foreign citizen then moves to the US with the K-3 visa, they cannot just move to the USA with out it.

If your wife were to "move" to the USA before the K-3 is issued, a work permit is not an option because she will be just a visitor that is allowed to be a visitor for only 90 days, then will need to return home or be considered out of status, and that may cause problems for the K-3 visa.

thanks for your help. I sure would like this to move along. I filed my I-130 in Feb-2007 to Vermont and got a letter saying that they recieved it and then a few weeks ago got a letter saying they transferred it to the California offices. I guess I thought it would be faster for a US citizen applying to get his wife to move with me to the US. It's been 4 months and dont' have a status yet. I'll have to call them.

The process is not fast, but is quite quick for Canada when compared to other consulates, China takes over 1 year for a K-3.

What you can do while waiting is gather the police cert from Canada, and Canadian Birth Cert if needed, as well as make sure Canadian passport has not expired or is close to expiring.

I haven't worked on the I-129F yet either so I can do that. I didn't work on it yet cause I thought they would send me some paperwork that I would need to complete the I-129F. I was afraid to start the police cert from Canada just yet cuase it could be pretty old before they need it submitted and I figured they would want a new one. According to my timeline, they said that if I dont' hear anything about my I-130 by August then give them a call. I guess it's pointless to call ahead for a status check

thanks

Chris

[Lance27 19]

Canadian Citizens can visit the US for 180 days as opposed to 90 for other VWP countries. So technically she could stay with you in the US and hope that you get your interview and Visa stamped before the 180 days are up. The only problem here is that CBP officer at the border could deny your wife entry into the US.