Canadian citz. to marry US citz. and live in US - K1 or an other option?

J

JustJ

Registered Users (C)
I am a Canadian citizen soon to be engaged to a US cititzen. We want to be together right away, we miss each other terribly and life is too short not to be with the one you love so we want to know the best legal way for us to go about this but the information I am finding is very confusing.

We want me to move to the US to live with him by the end of summer 2011(maybe sooner if we can) and in the meantime we have planned and are planning as many visits as we can afford. From what I can tell the K1 Fiance Visa might be the best option.
What paperwork and when do we need to fill it out to make this happen?
Can I go there and live with him right away without any paperwork?
If I have enough savings not to have to find a job what are our best options?
Once I get there I don't really want to come back (except to for family visits on special occassions) so what are the best options to make this happen?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
It depends on how soon you want to get married. You can marry immediately and he can file an I-130 to immigrate you. Consular processing will take some time but you should be able to immigrate by the time you have expressed. He could file an I-129F and bring you as a fiance perhaps a few months sooner than the I-130 route, then you enter, get married and file for adjustment of status within the U.S.

Since you already have an immigrant intent, just coming to the U.S. as a tourist and getting married and staying and filing for adjustment, is illegal. You can proceed that way BUT there is a likelihood of the adjustment being denied and forcing you to go abroad to do the consular processing anyway. This would add expense and waste a bunch of time AFTER marrying and living together for some months including a forced seperation at an early stage of the marriage during the adjustment period when you are still getting used to living together.

Either delay the marriage OR delay the living together up front to get the immigration seperartion over with in the least painful way.

That's what I would do. You, of course, must do it the way you see as the best way for you.
 
Thanks so much BigJoe5... total above board and legally is how we roll. Don't want any chance of never being able to cross the border for any reason - all my best friends live in the US too.... and we couldn't stand to be apart after being together, it's been hard enough parting after visits. From what I can tell the I-129F is the way to go, we just have to be patient and do it right. Thanks again for your input :)
 
K1 and children question

We are working on the I-295F and are not sure what to put in the Part B section: Children of your Alien Fiance. I have a daughter but she is 19, lives with her father and will not be part of the application. Do I still have to put her information in this section if she will not be coming with me? Thx
 
JustJ said:
We are working on the I-295F and are not sure what to put in the Part B section: Children of your Alien Fiance. I have a daughter but she is 19, lives with her father and will not be part of the application. Do I still have to put her information in this section if she will not be coming with me? Thx
Click to expand...

Yes, list her, if sometime in the future she wanted to immigrate and she wanted you to file for her, she would seem like a "magically appearring" fraud daughter to USCIS and DOS. Did you ever think you'd be doing what you are doing now when you were a kid?

IF she wanted to come to the U.S. now she could get a K-2 visa because she is under 21, if she is unmarried, that is.
 
Good point BigJoe... she won't be coming now or nor is she interested but you are right, who knows in the future, not likely but wouldn't want her to appear to be a fraudulent child and have trouble later. Thanks again!
 
Triple Citizen said:
K-1 is the way to go. Being apart is not that difficult. Contrary to popular belief, harmones can be controlled :)
Click to expand...
LOL - yes, we're old enough now to be able to handle the hormones but also old enough to know life is short amd look forward to spending the rest of it the love of our life... good things come to those who wait.
We've started the paperwork and should have started the filing mid January and with 5 - 6 month wait times it's all working out well.
 
K1

It sounds like a K1 visa would be most appropriate in this situation. You can go the other route, but it's best to be a little more patient in the beginning than end up wishing you had done so later!
 
These forms are not too difficult but getting information on exactly what they need is not too easy or clear.
My next question is they are asking for ex-spouses names... it that the name now (she's remarried) or at the time of the divorce?
Thanks again for all your encouragement and help!
 
Write the name your ex-spouse is using today. This will cover the worst case scenario, if USCIS wants to contact her.

JustJ said:
My next question is they are asking for ex-spouses names... it that the name now (she's remarried) or at the time of the divorce?
Click to expand...
 
UPDATE: Spent New Years eve together in Seattle and it was magical, got my beautiful ring, we got matching tattoo's and he met some of my other friends... mid February I'm going to visit him in Japan for 10 days where he is working for the next 3 months, it will help break up time while we wait for our K1/I-129f to be processed.
Yesterday we received our USCIS Confirmation of Acceptance and receipt number and the forms are now off to the Vermont Service Center for processing. WOO HOO!!! I guess this is where the 5 month wait begins? A few questions:
Any advice as to what to prepare while waiting for the next step? Any one have a check list of things I should be getting together for my consulate appointment?
The email said they were sending the Receipt Notice Form I-797. Is this a form that has to be filled out or any action taken? As he is out of country it may take a bit for his family to forward the form so we need to decide if it should go to him or to me in Canada.
Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top