Desperate Dan

Canada crossed my mind but it's coming up to winter and the snow could be a negative. I did also wonder about swimming to the East coast but I didn't know if he owned a wet suit.

ian-mstm

You understand, don't you, that the immigration officials are allowed to lie to you to get whatever point across that they wish to make? It simply doesn't make it true... it makes it what you've heard. We've heard differently - a thousand times over the years - and it's not our job to do your research for you.

Ian

crg

I don't know why you would assume that immigration is loaded with MENSA members or they didn't intentionally mislead you. If this guy ends up with a green card, or a US passport, why would they feel like delving into a VWP Refusal each and every time he crosses? What if he drives to Mexico 5 times a week? What if the guy ends up driving a taxi back and forth to Canada 5 times a day? Do you think they want to clog their waiting area with nonsense? Of course they don't.

They have a process for getting the old information from triggering such needless delays. Of course, you talked to two guys who may get ink from their stamps all over their faces when they scratch their noses so that information must be correct.

"CBP INFO Center

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/...s_problems.xml

If you know you were stopped or delayed because of a previous incident involving CBP or one of its legacy components (Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Border Patrol or U.S. Customs Service) but believe that this matter should no longer be a factor in your clearing customs and immigration, you may ask CBP to review and possibly amend your records. If you want to ask why you were stopped, then you may ask the CBP INFO Center.

The CBP INFO Center responds to travelers’ general or specific questions or concerns about a CBP examination. You can contact us in one or three ways:

* Telephone: at 1-877-227-5511 for U.S. callers during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time;
* Online: through the "Find an Answer, Ask a Question" link ( Find an Answer, Ask a Question )
* Mail: by sending a letter to CBP INFO Center (Rosslyn VA), 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20229."

Marocco

I don't think it's necessarily ludicrous. The UK has laws restricting freedom of speech which don't exist in the US. The introduction of the European Arrest Warrant also means someone could be arrested in the UK and deported to other EU countries for crimes which don't even exist in the UK. And perhaps even someone in a situation similar to Salman Rushdie's or the Jyllands-Posten cartoonists' may have a good claim for asylum.

uksalesmanager

Yes i did thanks; only about an hour before i got on the plane though!

uksalesmanager

The one bit of positive advice that CBP gave me was that it might be just as credible an option to get married in the UK (and for my fiancee to apply for the correct visa, naturally!) and then to petition for an I-130 spousal visa - apparently this can be obtained quicker than a K-1 and is cheaper, the downside being that the applicant can't live & work in the US until it is granted (whereas on a K-1, one can work even before getting married, as long as the marriage takes place within 90 days)

Marocco

By the way, the new UK government has announced that it will scrap the "Certificate of Approval", which some foreigners need in order to marry in the UK, late in 2010 or early in 2011. I'm not sure if this implies that they won't need a visa either. So, depending on when this happens, it's possible that your fiancee won't need a visa in order to get married here.

discoviking

That's not entirely correct. In the old days, they used to put an 'Employment Authorized' stamp in your passport when you entered on a K1 visa through JFK, but I believe they no longer do this. At any rate, you can't legally work until you have received employment authorization. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization is part of the AOS package you submit after you have married within the 90 day window of having entered on your K1.

I would not rely on CBP as a source of reliable immigration information if I was you.

Also, processing time for a K1 visa is typically less than for a CR-1 or IR-1 immigrant visa. (usually around 6 months vs 8-10 months) The difference is that while a K1 typically gets you to the US a couple of months faster, you have to file for adjustment of status (AOS) after you have married. With an immigrant visa you enter as a permanent resident authorized to reside and work in the US from day 1.

The difference between a CR-1 and IR-1 visa has to do with the length of your marriage at the time you are issued the visa. If you have been married less than 2 years by the time you get the visa, you get a CR-1 and become a conditional resident upon entry to the US. You then have to remove conditions on your residency within the 90 day window before your 2 year green card expire. If you do not remove conditions in time, you may be removed from the US.

If you have been married for more than 2 years at the time the visa is issued, you will get an IR-1 and become a permanent resident upon entry to the US, with no conditions to remove after 2 years. Your green card would be valid for 10 years. Only the card expire, permanent residency does not.

If you enter on a K1, get married within the 90 day window and file for AOS, you would also become a conditional resident, and would have to remove conditions after two years minus 90 days of becoming a resident.

Except for the requirement to remove conditions after two years, conditional and permanent residency is essentially the same.

It's your choice of which route to take of course, but if the end goal is for you and your fiancee to reside in the US, the K1 route seems the most logical one, given your current situation - as it does not involve the added complication of your fiancee having to obtain a visa to marry in the UK.

uksalesmanager

Some very sound and sensible advice there - thanks! Someone i know who has helped a colleague through the process recently suggested that my fiancee and i get married in the UK, then i apply directly for a Green Card, thus eliminating the need for a visa application; it is apparently more expensive, but can also be quicker. Any thoughts?

scrubbedexpat099

K1 is quicker

CR1 gets you in with a GC.

Your call.

PS What did they put in your passport?

uksalesmanager

Thanks David -Yeah you're right about the CR1, i just found that out. Oh and there is nothing in my passport!

fatbrit

Either on a piece of paper or in your passport are a string of letters and numbers. You need to find them and look up why you were removed. Some removals have no great consequences for future immigrant visas, and some ban you for life. It'd be useful to know which you got for making your plans.

scrubbedexpat099

Ditto, there will be something.

ian-mstm

The "someone" you know is an idiot. You must have a visa if you want to live/work in the US. You can't apply "directly for a Green Card"... you can only apply for an immigrant visa. When you enter the US with that IV, then - and only then - will you become a PR and get a GC.

Ian

Marocco

It sounds like they just got their terminology mixed up - by "green card" they meant "immigrant visa". Lots of people confuse them (sometimes with disastrous consequences).