Joe D.

Maybe someone can help me on a question I haven't been able to get a
definitive answer on: My wife-to-be lives in Monteal. I live in NY.
After we get married (in Canada) and file for I-130 and K3, can she
come to visit me in NY while the K3 is being processed?

Some say yes, some say no and some say "dont ask , dont tell" at the
border.

Does anyone know whats right? I dont wanna do anything to jeopardize
our process.

thanks in advance
Joe D.

Kristin

Hi Joe - There is no "right" answer to this question, unfortunately.
There is no rule prohibiting your fiance/wife *visiting*, per se.
However, she cannot move here without the proper paperwork - i.e. she
can't cross the border with immigration intent. Someone married to a
USC is going to have to convince the border folks they don't have
immigration intent. The border agent has all the power on this and they
may not treat everyone consistently. Hence the lack of a definitive answer.

So, your fiance/wife needs to decide what she wants to do - take the
risk she will be turned away at the border, or not risk it and not visit
while she is waiting out the process in Montreal. If she decides to
visit the US, she should always tell the truth, never volunteer
anything, and bring proof that she has to return to Canada - a copy of a
lease/mortgage, info about children in her custody, a letter from her
employer, etc. My husband, who was a K-1, visited me 30-50 times during
the time our K-1 was processed, and even after it was issued, and he
never had any trouble (and never was asked to show any of his proof).
Others have reported getting denied at the border, which is very
traumatic and anxiety-provoking. So you just have to make your own mind
up about it.

One other thing - is there a reason you are not doing the K-1? As a
resident of New York, you would be using Vermont for your K-1. Vermont
is notoriously faster than the other Service Centers in processing K-1s,
and although they have slowed significantly recently by some reports,
they are still much faster, IMO, than doing the I-130 and then the K-3.
Just a suggestion you may want to look into. Kristin

Joe D. wrote:
    > Maybe someone can help me on a question I haven't been able to get a
    > definitive answer on: My wife-to-be lives in Monteal. I live in NY.
    > After we get married (in Canada) and file for I-130 and K3, can she
    > come to visit me in NY while the K3 is being processed?
    >
    > Some say yes, some say no and some say "dont ask , dont tell" at the
    > border.
    >
    > Does anyone know whats right? I dont wanna do anything to jeopardize
    > our process.
    >
    > thanks in advance
    > Joe D.

Joe D.

Thanks so much for your help kristin.
The reason we are not doing the K1 is that we want to have the wedding
in Montreal in November, and there just wouldn't be enough time to get
the K1, bring her into NY, get married, and then get her legally back
into Canada for the big wedding. We got engaged in June, so we are
kinda tight with the timelines.

Thanks again
Joe

Kristin <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Hi Joe - There is no "right" answer to this question, unfortunately.
    > There is no rule prohibiting your fiance/wife *visiting*, per se.
    > However, she cannot move here without the proper paperwork - i.e. she
    > can't cross the border with immigration intent. Someone married to a
    > USC is going to have to convince the border folks they don't have
    > immigration intent. The border agent has all the power on this and they
    > may not treat everyone consistently. Hence the lack of a definitive answer.
    >
    > So, your fiance/wife needs to decide what she wants to do - take the
    > risk she will be turned away at the border, or not risk it and not visit
    > while she is waiting out the process in Montreal. If she decides to
    > visit the US, she should always tell the truth, never volunteer
    > anything, and bring proof that she has to return to Canada - a copy of a
    > lease/mortgage, info about children in her custody, a letter from her
    > employer, etc. My husband, who was a K-1, visited me 30-50 times during
    > the time our K-1 was processed, and even after it was issued, and he
    > never had any trouble (and never was asked to show any of his proof).
    > Others have reported getting denied at the border, which is very
    > traumatic and anxiety-provoking. So you just have to make your own mind
    > up about it.
    >
    > One other thing - is there a reason you are not doing the K-1? As a
    > resident of New York, you would be using Vermont for your K-1. Vermont
    > is notoriously faster than the other Service Centers in processing K-1s,
    > and although they have slowed significantly recently by some reports,
    > they are still much faster, IMO, than doing the I-130 and then the K-3.
    > Just a suggestion you may want to look into. Kristin
    >
    > Joe D. wrote:
    > > Maybe someone can help me on a question I haven't been able to get a
    > > definitive answer on: My wife-to-be lives in Monteal. I live in NY.
    > > After we get married (in Canada) and file for I-130 and K3, can she
    > > come to visit me in NY while the K3 is being processed?
    > >
    > > Some say yes, some say no and some say "dont ask , dont tell" at the
    > > border.
    > >
    > > Does anyone know whats right? I dont wanna do anything to jeopardize
    > > our process.
    > >
    > > thanks in advance
    > > Joe D.