Canadian marrying her American boyfriend and trying to immigrate ASAP to US

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katrina665

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

I have rekindled a relationship from ten years prior and we are very much in love. We have pictures from 10 years ago and lots of text messages and phone calls from the last couple months. We want to get married and do not want to be appart any longer. (I am in Canada, he is in the US)

I'm sure I am going about this the entirely wrong way but I plan to enter the US as a visitor (at the Can/US border so doubtful I will get a I-94 or stamp of any kind) We would get married while I was there and apply for the GC immediately afterward. I would like to stay with him while my GC is processed (I'm sure beyond the amount of time that is allotted). I'm a little confused since I've read that I'm supposed to wait in my home country but for the GC they want documents showing mutual property, joint banks accounts, etc. which I can't see how you can accomplish without living together.

If anyone could offer some advice or comments it would be greatly appreciated. Would my staying in the US during this process affect my GC application?

Thanks in advance!
 
If you interview for the GC at a consulate in your country, instead of remaining in the US to pursue the GC process to completion, they don't expect you to have joint property or living arrangements at that time. They will look for other evidence of you knowing each other. Then they'll evaluate the joint finances and property 2 years later when your conditional card expires.

I'm sure I am going about this the entirely wrong way but I plan to enter the US as a visitor (at the Can/US border so doubtful I will get a I-94 or stamp of any kind) We would get married while I was there and apply for the GC immediately afterward.
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You're correct that it's the wrong way to do it. They won't let you into the US as a visitor if they know that's what you're planning to do.

However, you can enter as a visitor, then have him file the papers indicating consular processing in Canada. Then you remain in the US until it's time for your consular appointment (which should be less than 6 months). Then you go back to Canada, do the interview and other formalities at the consulate, return to the US with an immigrant visa which will activate your green card upon your first entry to the US.
 
Thanks for the response!

Jackolantern said:
However, you can enter as a visitor, then have him file the papers indicating consular processing in Canada. Then you remain in the US until it's time for your consular appointment (which should be less than 6 months). Then you go back to Canada, do the interview and other formalities at the consulate, return to the US with an immigrant visa which will activate your green card upon your first entry to the US.
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This meaning that on the forms I would indicate my address as a Canadian address? And not showing residence in the US with him? Does this mean I am not eligible for "Adjustment of Status" or "Concurrent Filing"? And does the consular processing taking much longer then concurrent filing?
 
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katrina665 said:
This meaning that on the forms I would indicate my address as a Canadian address? And not showing residence in the US with him? Does this mean I am not eligible for "Adjustment of Status" or "Concurrent Filing"? And does the consular processing taking much longer then concurrent filing?
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Technically you would be eligible for Adjustment of Status (AOS), but filing for AOS immediately after entering as a visitor is a no-no, because visitors are not supposed to have the intent to immigrate on the same trip. After you are already here, they usually will hold their nose and approve you anyway if you are married to a US citizen, but if they know or suspect at the port of entry that you're planning to do that they'd refuse your entry as a visitor. And the rapid sequence of entry-marriage-AOS could set you up for a hostile interview.

Whereas if you pursue consular processing there is no issue of immigrant intent. And for CP your spouse doesn't have to be there for the interview, and the burden of proof for showing a life together is lower.

"Concurrent filing" is filing the I-130 form along with the I-485 form (which is for AOS) at the same time. For consular processing, only the I-130 is filed, with the desired consulate indicated on the form, and then you follow up with the rest of the process in Canada.

I am not sure how fast or slow the consulates in Canada are, so I don't know if it would be slower or faster than AOS.
 
Oh dear, well I don't want to set us up for failure. Would waiting a month or two months to get married after I arrive be a bad idea? I would like to file conccurently and have this process done as quickly as possible. I have heard that the consulates in Canada are very slow and we do not want to be apart.

Thanks again for your input you have been really helpful!
 
Do it the legal - not necessarily the fastest - way. You will be together long enough that the wait will be insignificant. If it is too long, then your relationship is not strong enough to stand the test of time.
 
That is my intention - to do it the legal way. I'm just trying to figure out what my options are in my situation. Thanks.
 
katrina665 said:
I have heard that the consulates in Canada are very slow and we do not want to be apart.
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I doubt they are so slow that it would take much longer than 6 months. Remember you can stay in the US for 6 months as a visitor without a problem while you wait for the consular processing (provided you get married and your spouse files the papers after you are already in the US), so you wouldn't have any long period of separation if the processing is done within 6 months.
 
Oh ok.. that's not too bad then. :) In order to do that we would marry and he would send in the I-130 and upon approval of the I-130 send to the NVC? And at the end of the visitor stay go back to Canada and finish the wait and attend the interview?

Thank again for your assistance.. what I need to get done is getting much clearer to me now.
 
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katrina665 said:
Oh ok.. that's not too bad then. :) In order to do that we would marry and he would send in the I-130 and upon approval of the I-130 send to the NVC? And at the end of the visitor stay go back to Canada and finish the wait and attend the interview?
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Yes. And you might get that interview before your 6 months as a visitor has expired, so you'd cut your 6 months visit short to go back to Canada to do the interview and other processing. Note that it's not just an interview ... when in Canada, you'll also have to do a medical exam and give fingerprints and gather up some documents.
 
Katrina665,

I'm now starting to go through a similar process and trying to find all of the information is a nightmare!

Let me know how it goes - I'll be heading to the US next month to visit my boyfriend, and then heading back in June to get married. I hope all goes well for you! I know how difficult this process must be!
 
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