Jump to content
shad892

Which Visa is Best while we wait for our I-130? (US citizen immigration through marriage both living in Canada)

 Share

27 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

 

Me and my wife are currently residing in Canada and got married here. I am an American citizen and am sponsoring my wife through marriage and the i-130 to come back to the US. We desire very much to start our lives in the united states while we wait for this process. We have no kids. Initially we thought our only option was through consular processing here but now we are left wondering if there was any other better way to move to the US now by using a visa while we wait for the immigration process to finalize.

 

Appreciate any insight!

 

Thank you!

Edited by shad892
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're outside of the US, there's no other way, other than consular processing.

 

If you have exceptional circumstances, you could explore Direct Consular Filing (DCF), though Canadians can clarify if it's a viable option.

 

 

Coming to the US on a non-immigrant visa with intent to adjust status is immigration fraud, which can make the immigrant inadmissible. Also, AOS tends to be slow and painful for the immigrant, as they cannot leave the US or work for extended periods of time. Again, this is not an option if you're outside of the US now.

 

Edited by OldUser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, shad892 said:

Hi guys,

 

Me and my wife are currently residing in Canada and got married here. I am an American citizen and am sponsoring my wife through marriage and the i-130 to come back to the US. We desire very much to start our lives in the united states while we wait for this process. We have no kids. Initially we thought our only option was through consular processing here but now we are left wondering if there was any other better way to move to the US now by using a visa while we wait for the immigration process to finalize.

 

Appreciate any insight!

 

Thank you!

There is no way around waiting.   Canadians cannot live in the U.S. without an immigrant visa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for your replies. It just seems odd to me that there is a Visa specifically for a foreign spouse which allows them to stay in the country and get married within 90 days and there is no option for a married citizen to come to the USA with the foreign spouse and file concurrently in the US. It just seems like wasted time to wait two years abroad when you are guarenteed a greencard through marriage with a citizen. 

Edited by shad892
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, shad892 said:

Thank you for your replies. It just seems odd to me that there is a Visa specifically for a foreign spouse which allows them to stay in the country and get married within 90 days and there is no option for a married citizen to come to the USA with the foreign spouse and file concurrently in the US. It just seems like wasted time to wait two years abroad when you are guarenteed a greencard through marriage with a citizen. 

You do realize that the wait time for K-1 is about the same for CR-1, right?

 

Entering the US on a nonimmigrant visa with the intention of staying and adjusting status is illegal, whether or not you’re married to a USC.

 

No one is guaranteed a green card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, shad892 said:

Thank you for your replies. It just seems odd to me that there is a Visa specifically for a foreign spouse which allows them to stay in the country and get married within 90 days and there is no option for a married citizen to come to the USA with the foreign spouse and file concurrently in the US. It just seems like wasted time to wait two years abroad when you are guarenteed a greencard through marriage with a citizen. 

You mean K-1? Those are special types of visas to come to the US and get married. They have some drawbacks too: inabiltity to travel outside of the US and inability to work for a long period of time. CR-1 visa is superior in this sense: once an immigrant enters, they can instantly work and don't have issues travelling internationally.

 

21 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

No one is guaranteed a green card.

If I could I'd install a monument with this sentence written in gold.

Edited by OldUser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, shad892 said:

It just seems odd to me that there is a Visa specifically for a foreign spouse which allows them to stay in the country and get married within 90 days 

 

And as said above, it take the same amount of time for that visa as yours will anyway - but at least with the CR1, your spouse will be able to start work and travel straight away. So it's the better route by a mile IMO. 

 

But if you want to move sooner, another option would be to see if your wife may be eligible for another type of visa i.e. an employment based one. Depends on what she does, her education level, how in demand her skills are, but possibly something else to look at - just make sure that if she does go down that route it won't be an issue if she's applied for an immigration visa too (not all are dual intent). 

 

Good luck. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
Timeline

Usually the best bet is a transfer with her current employer to their US operation, L1, that can be very quick and is dual intent.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
Timeline
2 hours ago, shad892 said:

It just seems like wasted time to wait two years abroad when you are guarenteed a greencard through marriage with a citizen. 

Sadly, there is no visa which allows you to live in the US while waiting for the I-130 process.  K-3 visas are just not issued much at all.  Right now, there are almost 2,000,000 petitions (I-130s) waiting in line to be reviewed.  See the report I linked below.  Every one of them has to be evaluated by a human.  In total, It will take about 18-24 months for the entire process to be complete for a spousal visa.  There is no guaranteed Green card for anyone.  Welcome to Visa Journey, and good luck.  The immigration process is quite a ride.  

 

Number of Service-wide Forms Fiscal Year To Date (uscis.gov)

Edited by Crazy Cat

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Look into the K-3 Visa

 

File the i-129F

 

At best you get the visa and get in quicker.

 

Will most likely get denied. But will speed up the CR-1

 

At worst it does nothing.

 

You've got nothing to lose it's free

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
Timeline

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Brazil
Timeline
17 hours ago, shad892 said:

Hi guys,

 

Me and my wife are currently residing in Canada and got married here. I am an American citizen and am sponsoring my wife through marriage and the i-130 to come back to the US. We desire very much to start our lives in the united states while we wait for this process. We have no kids. Initially we thought our only option was through consular processing here but now we are left wondering if there was any other better way to move to the US now by using a visa while we wait for the immigration process to finalize.

 

Appreciate any insight!

 

Thank you!

Two options to consider:

 

1.  DCF (direct consular filing) spousal visa, this might work if you have a job offer in the US.  DCF is up to the US Consulate, Montreal at their discretion.  It's much faster than the regular route (a few months typically), and begins by contacting Montreal with evidence of the US job offer for the US citizen.  If they accept, the I-130 petition would go directly to Montreal for consular processing.

2.  Regular spousal visa.  If DCF does not work, you begin by filing an I-130 petition with USCIS as the first step.  This can be done online.  The process from filing the petition to a visa interview in Montreal will take 1-2 years.

 

Either way, you can continue to live together in Canada while waiting for the process, at least until a few months before the visa interview, when you will need to show that you have established domicile in the US.  Montreal is very strict on this requirement.  Most US citizen spouses move to the US a few months before the anticipated visa interview for their Canadian spouse, to get a job and establish a residence in the US.

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
Timeline
7 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

The process from filing the petition to a visa interview in Montreal will take 1-2 years.

In another thread, the OP is also asking about filing an I-601 for vax waiver.  That will delay the process for a long as a year or more after the interview.  

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...