Fiancee Visa or Marry in Canada

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aceface

Registered Users (C)
Fiancee Visa or Get Married in Canada and apply for GC?

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Hi everyone,

I have my US Citizenship interview scheduled in October and if everything goes great I will become citizen. Now, my girlfriend lives in Canada and we are planning on getting married.

What is the best way to get her started on her papers for the U.S. I was looking at the options available and one option is to get married in Canada and apply for her GC as a spouse. Another option is for us to do the fiancee visa option.

When considering this question, what is the best option to take which will allow her to be able to legally work in the US. And must she stay in Canada before everything is approved or can she come and live with me and file the paperwork from the U.S.?

What is the best and fastest option for us to be together the quickest.

She is a Canadian citizen.

Your help and feedback is greatly appreciated.
 
K- Ill just copy and paste something that I used when I replied to another poster. Granted, their partner is from a different country than Canada, but the rules/timeframes regarding the different visas remain the same


The fiance visa
-Positive = You can apply for it NOW without having to wait to get married (providing you are both free to marry of course and you have your citizenship), and you fiance should be able to join you in about 6-8 months.
-Negative = Your fiance will have to wait approx 3 months from marriage in the US before they can work (unless she obtains a temp EAD at JFK airport upon US entry). You also undergo costly AOS fees to obtain the greencard (currently at $1010). Also you fiance is not able to freely leave and re-enter the states until she obtains an advance parole document.

The spousal visa (there are 2)
K3
-Positive = Hmmmmm- cant think of any at the top of my head. Oh- its a multi entry visa therefore you do not have to wait for an advance parole document to leave and re enter the US.
-Negative = It takes about 8-10 months to obtain. Your spouse will not be able to get the temp EAD stamp at JFK (though the majority of K1 holders dont get it as they enter through alternative airports). You still have to suffer the AOS extortionate costs. You have to wait the same length of time for work authorisation as a K1.

CR/IR1
-Positive = Your spouse will become a permanent resident upon entry to the US with her fresh visa in hand- no need for pesky AOS and no need to shell out $1010 as is the case in the previous 2 options. Upon entry your wife will just need to sit tight and wait for her green card to be delivered (theres been a varied amount of time that people have had to wait for this. Some people have waited a mere 3 weeks, some 3 months- it all depends on the individual case).
-Negative = takes approx the same amount of time as a K3 visa therefore it is not the quickest route. Rules and processing times change all the time with USCIS. Before, this route used to take years, but now it has sped up and is on par with K3...however, there is no way of knowing whether USCIS will change it all up again mid way through your application and thus delay you and your wife reuniting.

So- if speed in both of you reuniting is more important then I would suggest the K1 fiance visa. If her working asap is most important, then Id go for the CR/IR1.

Not meaning to sound pedantic, but you have to be very careful with your choice of words......I say this because you ask whether your fiance/wife would be able to live with you during the process. Avoid using this term for her visit as when she gets to the border and tells the POE officier that she is going to live in the states while awaiting a visa then thats a sure fire way to get denied entry. So yes- your fiance/wife will be able to visit during the process for a max of 6 months (I believe thats the length of stay Canadian citizens get), but just like any other citizen who has a visa pending, she may come under scruntiny as to her intent in the states (a visa pending shows immigrant intent), therefore it is very important that she has documents to prove that she is going to leave the States when she says she will (letter from employer, mortgage/lease papers etc).

Good luck with what you decide.
 
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