Question about starting K-1 while in the US

[s725 14]

I am a Canadian citizen engaged to a US citizen. I am currently in the US as a visitor (no visa as Canadians don't need a visa to enter typically). Can my fiance and I start the application while I am here and will I be able to stay the 180 days Canadians are usually allowed while the process starts? I see on the application it asks about a I-94 record number. Do I need something like that if I want to start the process while visiting. I have been searching online for answers and everything is really unclear. If anyone has first hand experience or knows for certain please let me know. Thanks in advance!

[CaLi90 56]

4 minutes ago, s725 said:

I am a Canadian citizen engaged to a US citizen. I am currently in the US as a visitor (no visa as Canadians don't need a visa to enter typically). Can my fiance and I start the application while I am here and will I be able to stay the 180 days Canadians are usually allowed while the process starts? I see on the application it asks about a I-94 record number. Do I need something like that if I want to start the process while visiting. I have been searching online for answers and everything is really unclear. If anyone has first hand experience or knows for certain please let me know. Thanks in advance!

I don’t see a problem with you submitting the I-129F whilst visiting in the US, just as long as you don’t overstay the time allowed for you to be there and of course if you were to get a K1 interview sooner to go back for that.

 

Hopefully others that have done this can chime in, but I don’t really see a big problem.
 

Good luck with your journey! 

[Mike E 11,741]

10 minutes ago, s725 said:

I am a Canadian citizen engaged to a US citizen. I am currently in the US as a visitor (no visa as Canadians don't need a visa to enter typically). Can my fiance and I start the application while I am here

yes, but why don’t you get married and do the cr-1 process instead?

 

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and will I be able to stay the 180 days Canadians are usually allowed while the process starts?

yes 

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I see on the application it asks about a I-94 record number. Do I need something like that if I want to start the process while visiting.

you can look up your I-94 online 

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Edited September 29, 2022 by Mike E

[s725 14]

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

yes, but why don’t you get married and after the cr-1 process instead 

 

yes 

you can look up your I-94 online 

 

We want to be together sooner and the process to get married would delay our ability to start the process.
AFAIK an I-94 is something that needs to be applied for. I have never applied for one, so do I need to do that before we go ahead with the application. Or am I exempt from needing one since I am Canadian?

[Mike E 11,741]

6 minutes ago, s725 said:

We want to be together sooner

The K-1 process takes longer 

6 minutes ago, s725 said:

and the process to get married would delay our ability to start the process.

You can be married as early as today,. Definitely by tomorrow.  With a marriage certificate in hand. 
 

6 minutes ago, s725 said:

AFAIK an I-94 is something that needs to be applied for. I have never applied for one, so do I need to do that before we go ahead with the application. Or am I exempt from needing one since I am Canadian?

Every alien who enters the USA has an I-94 unless the CBPO made an error.  Have you tried to lookup your I-94?

 

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home

 

 

Canadians have always been exempt from paper I-94s when visiting for tourism. When I-94s became electronic, Canadians were no longer exempted. 

[powerpuff 6,744]

10 minutes ago, s725 said:

We want to be together sooner and the process to get married would delay our ability to start the process.
AFAIK an I-94 is something that needs to be applied for. I have never applied for one, so do I need to do that before we go ahead with the application. Or am I exempt from needing one since I am Canadian?

Google I-94, input info and get your travel record.

 

Just an FYI, that K1 takes as long as CR1

 

 

[Boiler 45,731]

Strongly suggest you seriously consider your options 

[s725 14]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Strongly suggest you seriously consider your options 

What do you mean by this? The CR1?

[CaLi90 56]

55 minutes ago, s725 said:

We want to be together sooner and the process to get married would delay our ability to start the process.
AFAIK an I-94 is something that needs to be applied for. I have never applied for one, so do I need to do that before we go ahead with the application. Or am I exempt from needing one since I am Canadian?

I only ever went online to print my I-94 record for K1 and adjustment of status. This is perfectly fine. 
 

33 minutes ago, s725 said:

What do you mean by this? The CR1?

If I was starting the process now, the CR1 and K1 have similar processing times, so if you are ready to be married, it’d make more sense financially and when you enter the US with a CR1, you can work pretty much right away, with a K1 adjustment of status, you could be waiting anywhere from 6months to even over a year depending on US location on top of the long process of the K1. 
 

You could always do a wedding at a registry office and then a proper celebration whenever you had planned. Even though I did K1 (which was a mistake I feel now because I almost had to wait two years for it). When I came to the US, Covid restrictions still were not allowing tourists to come over, so we had a small (6 of us) wedding in Central Park and we are having people over from the UK next year for a big celebration so we had time to organize, but it means you could file CR1 after you get marriage certificate, if you are ready, it really wouldn’t delay it by much and a lot more benefits to go CR1. But of course it’s your choice 🙂. 

Edited September 29, 2022 by CaLi90

[Crazy Cat 41,983]

1 hour ago, s725 said:

What do you mean by this? The CR1?

You have 3 options:

1.  Marry and start adjustment of Status process.  You remain in the US for up to 8 months before you can leave the country.

2.  Start Fiance Visa Process.  You return to Canada.

3.  Marry and start CR-1 spousal Visa process.  You return to Canada and visit until you get the visa.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Kaleb8082 7]

I actually have first hand experience with this situation. My then fiancée and I applied for a K-1 while she was in the US on a B1 tourist visa. The process was exactly the same except we input the I94 information and if I recall correctly, it asks if you are currently in the US and we marked down that she was.  Besides that, there was nothing different and it was never mentioned in our immigration process. 

[Scandi 4,173]

I went through the K-1 route myself and can't recommend it. If I were to do it all over today, I would choose the CR-1 every day of the week. But in the end it's a personal choice. 

With that said - YES you can absolutely send in the i-129f petition while being in the US, I did the same thing. It was very convenient to be able to fill out the forms together in person, put wet signatures on everything, take passport photos at Costco etc. This also made it easier for both of us knowing exactly what was in the package, to double check everything etc. 

I assume even Canadians get an i-94, it's on CBPs' website. Just google i-94 (should be the first link that pops up), insert your travel info and print the i-94. 

[SalishSea 17,970]

12 hours ago, s725 said:

What do you mean by this? The CR1?

Yes.   K-1 requires adjustment of struts.   You should do some research.

[mam521 2,111]

Echoing others - you need to do some research.  You'll want to enter the US and not have to adjust status because you'll want to work and you'll want to be able to travel outside of the US if you need to (which you can't until you get Advanced Parole if you adjust).  You can still visit each other just as you would through the K-1process.  You'll just need to keep in mind that the CO may ask for you to demonstrate strong ties to Canada before admitting you.