marriage

[court 0]

I am from Canada, and my fiance is from the United States. I was looking through the K1 Visa Application process, and it seems pretty straight forward. Can't i just skip the whole K1 Visa application and just go down the USA, get married and then apply for the EAD? I talked to a friend of mine who used to travel to and from the USA, and he said you can go down on a visitors visa for six months(which i already knew) and then just come back to Canada for a few days and then head back down and you can stay in the USA for another six months. Can i do this? Or do i have to get a K1 before i can get married?

[YuAndDan 153]

There is a visa for this reason it is the K-1. Entry to the USA with the intent to immigrate is visa fraud, and attempt to circumvent the normal immigrations process.

You can enter the USA and marry however your will then be filing for a spousal visa K-3 or better yet CR-1.

I beleive the 6 month limit is PER year, so if you were in the USA for 6 months you wont be allowed to re-enter for 6 months.

Edited March 10, 2008 by YuAndDan

[Cassie 8]

I am from Canada, and my fiance is from the United States. I was looking through the K1 Visa Application process, and it seems pretty straight forward. Can't i just skip the whole K1 Visa application and just go down the USA, get married and then apply for the EAD? I talked to a friend of mine who used to travel to and from the USA, and he said you can go down on a visitors visa for six months(which i already knew) and then just come back to Canada for a few days and then head back down and you can stay in the USA for another six months. Can i do this? Or do i have to get a K1 before i can get married?

1. Intentionally going to the US to get married and stay is immigration fraud.

2. You can go to the US, stay for 6 months minus a day, come back to Canada, and then go back to the US, but be prepared -- there are limits to the amount of time you can stay in the US without immigrating. Be also prepared that the border guards will be very suspicious of your travel history and you need to be prepared to show evidence that your primary residence is in Canada and you intend to come back.

Do some research, figure out which visa is best for your situation, and apply for it.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

It is also supposed to be a limit of 6 months within one year, not visit for 6 months, go back to Canada, and then visit again for 6 months. You will be asked on various application forms to account for the time you are in the US. If you accrue out of status time, then you may find yourself with a 3 year or 10 year ban on re-entry to the US.

You cannot skip the visa process and apply for EAD. You are allowed to visit the US. If your intent is to live in the US you need to have a visa. If you intend to marry an American you cannot enter the US as a visitor, marry and stay in the US - that is considered visa fraud and will get you banned from living in the US. If you lie or falsify information to US immigration or border authorities that will also result in a ban from entering and living in the US. If you are in love with an American and wish to live together in the US, the risks are just not worth it!

You have several options. You can go the fiance route which is what my husband and I did. He submits an I-129f petition to USCIS for permission to have you obtain a K-1 visa. Once he is approved, you then apply for a K-1 visa in Canada.

You can marry your US sweetie either in Canada or in the US but you need to apply either for a K-3 visa or a CR-I visa. Both of those would require your husband to submit a petition requesting permission for you to come to the US as a family member, and again the applications are processed outside of the US.

You cannot enter the US with the intent to marry and remain in the US. You cannot work in the US without the proper visa approval, regardless of what your well-intentioned friend told you. Spend some time and read over the various options. Ask questions here. We have all gone through one or other of the processes and we are more than happy to give you the benefit of our experiences. There are others here who have listened to well-intentioned friends and are now paying the price of having to try and obtain waivers for violating US immigration regulations.

A Canadian can visit the US and enjoys a certain relationship with the US. Once a Canadian becomes a potential immigrant, however, that special relationship ends and he/she has to jump through all of the same hoops as any other intending immigrant. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions here - and to continue with your research. You can also join us over on the Regional Forums - Canada - we don't bite (usually) and have a wealth of experience.

[ga1jin 0]

It is also supposed to be a limit of 6 months within one year, not visit for 6 months, go back to Canada, and then visit again for 6 months.

That must not be a hard and fast rule because my fiancee stayed here 6 months on a B-1/B-2, returned home for a week, then came right back to the U.S. and was granted re-entry on the same visa. I agree, though, that it isn't wise to do anything that might appear to be visa fraud or trying to circumvent the system.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

If we could all just "skip the K1" process and move on down..what the heck am I doing?

If you want to live in the United States and be married to the person you love, do it the legal way with a K1 visa.

You can get married at any time but you'd have to return to Canada and do a spousal visa.

Don't burn your bridges...do it the legal way.

Best of luck!

[R de la R 2]

If we could all just "skip the K1" process and move on down..what the heck am I doing?

If you want to live in the United States and be married to the person you love, do it the legal way with a K1 visa.

You can get married at any time but you'd have to return to Canada and do a spousal visa.

Don't burn your bridges...do it the legal way.

Best of luck!

I am fully agree with Laura. I have a B2 visitor visa for travelling to US and didn´t skip the K-1 process and I am going thru this and waiting like if I didn´t have it.

Edited March 11, 2008 by YMR

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Regarding staying in the US while immigrant visas are being processed . . . (copied from another poster)

"while looking at the new Montreal consulate web page, I found a paragraph that explicitly describe their policy towards people who have immigrant visas pending and want to visit the US. See the last paragraph on this page:

http://www.amcits.com/immigration_usa_relative.asp

QUOTE

Entry to the U.S. while Petition is Pending

All persons traveling to the U.S. as visitors or students, Canadian or other nationality, under U.S. law are deemed to be intending immigrants and thus inadmissible for temporary purposes until they have an immigrant visa in hand. The burden of qualifying for any visa for entry to the U.S. rests solely with the applicant. Entry to the U.S. is solely up to a Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) officer at the Port of Entry. While intending immigrants may have and lawfully seek to exercise a dual intent to be a visitor or student now and an immigrant later, it is against U.S. law to enter the U.S. as a visitor or student with the intent to wait for or seek immigrant status while in the U.S. Anyone who attempts to enter the U.S. by misrepresentation, or unlawfully, may face severe sanctions up to and including permanent ineligibility to enter the U.S.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Kathryn41

[natasha peter 0]

If we could all just "skip the K1" process and move on down..what the heck am I doing?

If you want to live in the United States and be married to the person you love, do it the legal way with a K1 visa.

You can get married at any time but you'd have to return to Canada and do a spousal visa.

Don't burn your bridges...do it the legal way.

Best of luck!

well said laura!!!