Civil marriage in the US and subsequent Consular processing

[ohrazasaurusrex 1]

Hey guys. I imagine this question has come up multiple times before. I am a Canadian citizen and my fiance is a USC. We intend to get a court marriage done in the US, but I fully intend to return to Canada after marrying and spending a few days, since I have family, work and bills to pay in Canada.  I do however intend to go through CR1 Consular processing eventually from Canada. Hence, the K1 visa did not sound suitable. 

 

Question is two fold. Firstly, is the above legal? Secondly, how should I approach the border officer regarding the purpose of the visit? I'm just a little worried they will deny me entry if I state "I have a court marriage with my fiance and I want to spend a few days with her and come back" ....I am carrying with me a bunch of docs proving my ties to canada and my intent to return. Is "visiting my fiance" too vague of an answer?

 

Anyways, I want to do it right. But there is a whole bunch of conflicting/confusing info on this topic online. Please advise. 

[Crazy Cat 41,810]

1.  Yes, legal.

2.  Take evidence of your strong ties to Canada such as lease, employment letter, etc. which will show reasons to return.

[pushbrk 12,869]

11 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

1.  Yes, legal.

2.  Take evidence of your strong ties to Canada such as lease, employment letter, etc. which will show reasons to return.

It's also wise to state a more generic but truthful reason for your visit.  You are no more required to mention you will attend a wedding (even your own) than you are to disclose you will visit a public library.  Try something like "a short holiday" as your reason for visiting the USA and have your return date in mind, if asked.

[ohrazasaurusrex 1]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

It's also wise to state a more generic but truthful reason for your visit.  You are no more required to mention you will attend a wedding (even your own) than you are to disclose you will visit a public library.  Try something like "a short holiday" as your reason for visiting the USA and have your return date in mind, if asked.

Thank you.  Wouldn't this be construed as misrepresentation/hiding the real intent though?  And wouldn't it be a problem for my subsequent visits, where they may discover I suddenly have a spouse in the US now? 

 

Just doing my due diligence before travelling. 

 

[pushbrk 12,869]

1 hour ago, ohrazasaurusrex said:

Thank you.  Wouldn't this be construed as misrepresentation/hiding the real intent though?  And wouldn't it be a problem for my subsequent visits, where they may discover I suddenly have a spouse in the US now? 

 

Just doing my due diligence before travelling. 

 

Not misrepresentation at all.  You'll be doing a lot of things during your stay, and spending about an hour at most attending your wedding.  Relax.  

[ohrazasaurusrex 1]

Thank you both for your valuable feedback.  Another question on this, does it make much difference going through air or land border?

[pushbrk 12,869]

9 minutes ago, ohrazasaurusrex said:

Thank you both for your valuable feedback.  Another question on this, does it make much difference going through air or land border?

No