Marriage/Visa help for clueless couple

[ZacharyG90 0]

I was directed to this website by my father who went through the K1 visa with his wife and was told it was a great help in his process. A lot of the information out there on the immigration websites and government outlets is kind of hard for me to understand and often we get a lot of conflicting information. I live in the US and my girlfriend who I am looking to make my fiancé and eventually my wife is from Quebec. We have been together for just over 2 years now and want to move forward with our lives and live together and get married. She is concerned that some of the applications or visa processes state she has to stay in the states for 2 years during the process and wouldn't be able to visit her family and friends. I was curious what is our best option for marriage and for her to move to the US. She wants to remain in Quebec and work while the process is ongoing. Is this possible? I was on reddit and there's a lot of conflicting information and we dont want to accidentally get involved with any unknowing fraud because we just want to be together. Thank you to anyone that can help steer us in the right direction!

[apnzz 264]

Based on the info you have provided in your post & that she isn't too fond of the idea of being stuck in the US unable to leave for a certain period and she wants to remain in her country and working, the spousal visa process might suit you guys better than the k1. The spousal visa takes longer, but upon approval receive the green card (no adjustment of status process) meaning you can work and travel freely immediately. 

[Ban Hammer 13,416]

moving this thread to the canadian sub forum where experienced members can provide detailed information

[Daphne . 1,888]

Sounds like for you as a couple the CR1 (spousal visa) is the best choice. Get married and start this process as soon as you have the marriage certificate. 
 

She will complete the process in Canada, and visiting the US while it’s processing is possible. 

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

48 minutes ago, ZacharyG90 said:

I was directed to this website by my father who went through the K1 visa with his wife and was told it was a great help in his process. A lot of the information out there on the immigration websites and government outlets is kind of hard for me to understand and often we get a lot of conflicting information. I live in the US and my girlfriend who I am looking to make my fiancé and eventually my wife is from Quebec. We have been together for just over 2 years now and want to move forward with our lives and live together and get married. She is concerned that some of the applications or visa processes state she has to stay in the states for 2 years during the process and wouldn't be able to visit her family and friends. I was curious what is our best option for marriage and for her to move to the US. She wants to remain in Quebec and work while the process is ongoing. Is this possible? I was on reddit and there's a lot of conflicting information and we dont want to accidentally get involved with any unknowing fraud because we just want to be together. Thank you to anyone that can help steer us in the right direction!

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 3-6 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 3-6 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
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-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.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

[Edward and Jaycel 260]

Agree 100% with the other members here that the spousal visa process seems to fit best for you guys based on the info you provided. Might I also add... with the guides and other resources available here on VJ, as well as the wealth of knowledge residing in the brains of the members who are always willing to answer questions... Please avoid any of these "Immigration Services" companies out there that try to tell you that, for a fee, they can do the paperwork  and file for you. They are nothing but headaches waiting to happen. Jaycel made friends with another Filipina here that came over on a K-1 visa 3 years ago. They hired a service to "help" them do their AOS and they got the application rejected their first time and got an RFE on their second go-around. Use the resources here for the process and try to do the paperwork yourself. If it proves too overwhelming, then if you're going to spend money anyway, hire an attorney that does nothing but immigration, preferably specializing in family-based immigration. That's my 2 cents 😁 Best of luck to you

 

[JeanneAdil 6,570]

law offices also make mistakes on petitions and u have to know u are legally responsible if its wrong

[discoverusa 277]

Good luck on your journey! You came to the right place. 

[ZacharyG90 0]

Thank you so much everyone for your responses! This has been such a help to us!