Canadian Fiance - K1 or K3 route?

[ClevelandSue 0]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

K-1 will have a re-entry "restriction" attached after initial entry on the visa and until Advance parole is approved (after marriage and is filed with the status adjustment application). This might hinder the flexibility you need/want.

Dual citizenship not possible for 3+ years or so after you have become a Permanent resident, which is the minimum time needed to even qualify

Edited January 16, 2009 by payxibka

[pushbrk 12,602]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

Marriage followed by the CR1 visa, not a K3.

[YuAndDan 153]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

Marriage followed by the CR1 visa, not a K3.

Exactly, CR-1 is WORK AUTHORIZED, K-3 is NOT. CR-1 costs much less than K-3 when considering Adjustment of status, CR-1 gets a green-card upon entry to the USA K-3 does not.

CR-1 on average takes about 1 month longer to get than K-3.

Since CR-1 gets green-card at entry to the USA, this will shorten the time to citizenship, by eliminating the time waiting for adjustment of status from a K-3.

Edited January 16, 2009 by YuAndDan

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

Marriage followed by the CR1 visa, not a K3.

Exactly, CR-1 is WORK AUTHORIZED, K-3 is NOT. CR-1 costs much less than K-3 when considering Adjustment of status, CR-1 gets a green-card upon entry to the USA K-3 does not.

CR-1 on average takes about 1 month longer to get than K-3.

Since CR-1 gets green-card at entry to the USA, this will shorten the time to citizenship, by eliminating the time waiting for adjustment of status from a K-3.

The CR-1 doesn't shorten the time to citizenship. It is still 3 years based on marriage to a US citizen. Even a CR-1 is required to apply to remove conditions if their marriage is less than 2 years old when the CR-1 is approved. The 2 year conditional status still counts towards the 3 years of permanent residency required for marriage -based citizenship.

Edited January 17, 2009 by Kathryn41

[pushbrk 12,602]

Hi, I've been reading so many things and hearing so many different stories I'm just not sure which approach is right for us.

Any help would be much appreciated. We will live in the US once everything is complete.

My fiance:

is Canadian and often visits me in the states since it's easy to get back and forth between US and Canada.

has two children that will remain in Canada after we marry.

often travels out of the country.

would love to set up a dual citizenship if possible.

Can anyone offer advice on which legal route we should take?

I want to be sure he can still travel out of country easily during this process since he has kids in Canada but then still work in the US as soon as possible, and also be covered by my medical insurance as soon as possible.

What's the best option?

Thanks.

Marriage followed by the CR1 visa, not a K3.

Exactly, CR-1 is WORK AUTHORIZED, K-3 is NOT. CR-1 costs much less than K-3 when considering Adjustment of status, CR-1 gets a green-card upon entry to the USA K-3 does not.

CR-1 on average takes about 1 month longer to get than K-3.

Since CR-1 gets green-card at entry to the USA, this will shorten the time to citizenship, by eliminating the time waiting for adjustment of status from a K-3.

The CR-1 doesn't shorten the time to citizenship. It is still 3 years based on marriage to a US citizen. Even a CR-1 is required to apply to remove conditions if their marriage is less than 2 years old when the CR-1 is approved. The 2 year conditional status still counts towards the 3 years of permanent residency required for marriage -based citizenship.

CR1 shortens the time from entry to citizenship because the three year clock starts at entry instead of after AOS is approved. So citizenship can be achieved from 3 months to a couple years sooner depending on how long AOS would have taken. That's pretty unpredictable.

[YuAndDan 153]

The CR-1 doesn't shorten the time to citizenship. It is still 3 years based on marriage to a US citizen. Even a CR-1 is required to apply to remove conditions if their marriage is less than 2 years old when the CR-1 is approved. The 2 year conditional status still counts towards the 3 years of permanent residency required for marriage -based citizenship.

CR1 shortens the time from entry to citizenship because the three year clock starts at entry instead of after AOS is approved. So citizenship can be achieved from 3 months to a couple years sooner depending on how long AOS would have taken. That's pretty unpredictable.

That is exactly what I meant,

K-3 has to adjust status which can take 4 months to years depending on how long AOS can take, this will delay when a person could file for citizenship by that length of time.

[Reba 2]

Get married and then go CR1.

[ClevelandSue 0]

Thank you so much for your guidance. The CR1 does sound like the right approach for us.

Few more questions:

1. So many friends in similar situations (Canadian marrying American) say to go the Fiance Visa route. Is there any reason why they feel this is better? To me it sounds like they are waiting on the government to tell them when they can get married.

2. What kind of hassle should I expect when trying to cross the Canadian/US border or international borders if we are married but he is not a US citizen yet?

3. What happens if a baby is born between the two individuals prior to the Canadian legally becoming an American?

Thanks again!

[payxibka 10,045]

Thank you so much for your guidance. The CR1 does sound like the right approach for us.

Few more questions:

1. So many friends in similar situations (Canadian marrying American) say to go the Fiance Visa route. Is there any reason why they feel this is better? To me it sounds like they are waiting on the government to tell them when they can get married.

2. What kind of hassle should I expect when trying to cross the Canadian/US border or international borders if we are married but he is not a US citizen yet?

3. What happens if a baby is born between the two individuals prior to the Canadian legally becoming an American?

Thanks again!

3) The child may have a claim to dual citizenship based on parentage.....

[Reba 2]

The child will definitely have a claim to both citizenships. If the child is born in the US, it is automatically a US citizen. Then you can also register the birth with the Canadian consulate, in order for the baby to receive a Canadian citizenship card, and/or passport.