From Philippines to Canada to America.

[flyboyof3 2]

I have a friend who is a Filipina and still in the Philippines. soon she will be moving to Canada to live with her son and daughter in law. later I will be going there to meet her and her family there. Then I want to bring her here to America to get married. What is the prosecc for her to come here. will she have to go back to the Philippines to do the process to come here or will she do it all from Canada. 

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

If she is legally residing in Canada, she can complete the process there. 

I would strongly suggest you consider a CR-1.

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

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/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 6-8 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.
    A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
    In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice   
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
    

CR-1
    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
   

 

 

[Chancy 6,243]

*** Moved from US Citizenship General Discussion to What Visa Do I Need -- OP asking about US immigration options for friend/spouse-to-be ***

 

28 minutes ago, flyboyof3 said:

I want to bring her here to America to get married.

 

I also recommend CR1.  Marry her in Canada, then file an I-130 petition to start the spouse visa process.  As mentioned above, if she gets a Canada PR card, she may complete her US immigration process in Canada.  Check the VJ guide here -- https://www.visajourney.com/guides/ir1-spouse-visa/

 

Whichever visa process you decide on, I strongly recommend your Filipina friend get multiple copies of her official documents from the Philippines before she moves to Canada, like her PSA birth certificate and NBI clearance.  If she was previously married to her son's father, she would also need copies of her PSA marriage certificate and her late husband's PSA death certificate.

 

[powerpuff 6,744]

I also recommend CR1 path as K1 has many disadvantages and the wait time is practically the same.

 

Either way, CR1 or K1, the timeline for her to join you in the US is about 18-24 months.

[Boiler 45,770]

Another vote for CR1

[Rocio0010 5,580]

It's weird that you call your future wife "a friend"🤔

[flyboyof3 2]

3 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

It's weird that you call your future wife "a friend"🤔

yes you are right. she is my future wife but as of now I have not even proposed to her yet. she still has over 1 year before she moves to Canada. she is a school teacher in the Philippines and will retire then. then she will go to Canada.

[Chancy 6,243]

1 hour ago, flyboyof3 said:

she is my future wife but as of now I have not even proposed to her yet. she still has over 1 year before she moves to Canada. she is a school teacher in the Philippines and will retire then.

 

Was she married to her son's father?  This is a critical question for all visa applicants born in the Philippines.  Your spouse-to-be will need a PSA CENOMAR/CEMAR eventually, for her US visa processing.  I didn't list it in my previous post as CENOMAR/CEMAR is only valid for 1 year after issue date, so not recommended to get one before petition approval.

 

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

19 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

It's weird that you call your future wife "a friend"🤔

It's quite common here to call someone we are a dating here a "friend." Especially by mature people around others we are not close to. There is nothing "weird" about it. He was just looking for information not criticism. No wonder new people don't stay here and post.

[Rocio0010 5,580]

11 minutes ago, Carpe Vinum said:

It's quite common here to call someone we are a dating here a "friend." Especially by mature people around others we are not close to. There is nothing "weird" about it. He was just looking for information not criticism. No wonder new people don't stay here and post.

I was just thinking of what an IO will think if he calls his future wife a friend. Plus, this wasn't posted in the Philippines regional forum. Had it been there I wouldn't have commented

[mam521 2,113]

25 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

I was just thinking of what an IO will think if he calls his future wife a friend. Plus, this wasn't posted in the Philippines regional forum. Had it been there I wouldn't have commented

Yeah, but on the other end of that scale, calling her his "wife" would potentially cause other issues, too.  Nothing wrong with "friend".  It's just a cultural difference.