Laureen

I am a Canadian wanting to marry an American and move to the US. I have
been told to just go down there and visit and get married and then start the
whole process versus going the fiancee route. Is this wise? How long has
the whole process taken as of late. I have read lots of stories in the late
90's but want to know what it is lately?

thanks,

Laureen

Ronald Austin

Laureen, Check postings for the last couple of weeks - there has been a
quite heated discussion of adjusting status on a tourist visa. One group
would think you've already committed immigration fraud just by having the
thought of coming here on a
tourist visa and getting married. ;-)

This is only half in jest. Study all the options and make an informed
decision.





"Laureen" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I am a Canadian wanting to marry an American and move to the US. I have
    > been told to just go down there and visit and get married and then start
the
    > whole process versus going the fiancee route. Is this wise? How long has
    > the whole process taken as of late. I have read lots of stories in the
late
    > 90's but want to know what it is lately?
    > thanks,
    > Laureen

Ronald Austin

Laureen, Check postings for the last couple of weeks - there has been a
quite heated discussion of adjusting status on a tourist visa. One group
would think you've already committed immigration fraud just by having the
thought of coming here on a
tourist visa and getting married. ;-)

This is only half in jest. Study all the options and make an informed
decision.





"Laureen" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I am a Canadian wanting to marry an American and move to the US. I have
    > been told to just go down there and visit and get married and then start
the
    > whole process versus going the fiancee route. Is this wise? How long has
    > the whole process taken as of late. I have read lots of stories in the
late
    > 90's but want to know what it is lately?
    > thanks,
    > Laureen

meauxna

Sorry Laureen, you're the latest test case.

So, Matt/Patrick et al, how do we handle this? I think Ronald's answer is pretty good. Maybe we should complile our recent threads and just email all of it to anyone outside the US who poses "The Question".

Laureen, back to you. If you "have been told" by someone's who's advice you're willing to stake your future on, I'm not going to come track you down.

If you want to know the "right" way, do a fiancee visa. "Is this wise" is a question only you and your intended can answer for yourselves.

Your timeline will depend primarily on which state your USC lives.

Please feel free to read the newsgroup FAQ at: http://www.txdirect.net/users/mike38/k1faq.htm

Good Luck!

meauxna

Additionally, this poster is already 'tainted' by the thought of entering.

Again, how "should" this be handled?

Rete

Lost my ten foot pole ... darn it.

Do it honestly and apply for a fiancee visa.

Being married to a Canuck and having many friends these days who are marrying Yanks, I know of at least three that were told to do it that way by INS officials on the phone, in person at local INS offices, by the agents at the POE and attorneys. Some people say there is a double standard for Canadians. Don't be the one to test the theory of that standard.

Have your fiancee start the filing for the K-1 and go the prescribed way. At least that way you can sleep at night without worry.

Rete

Oh there it is ... I should have remembered where I left that pole. ;-)

Rete

Rather like walking on hot coals without benefit of flame retardant footwear.

Definitely a dilemna of the first sort.

Rete

Just Jenney

Hi Laureen, welcome to the NG.

Like Rete, I suggest that you and your fiancé apply for a K-1 fiancé visa. This is done BEFORE you're married, not after. If you've married, you are no longer a fiancée but a spouse, and that requires a different visa altogether. Generally speaking, the fiancé visa process takes less time than a spousal visa.

A good place to get started (aside from this NG) is the K-1 FAQ page, found at http://www.txdirect.net/users/mike38/k1faq.htm. From there you can find some links to other very helpful K-1 sites.

As for how long it takes, that depends on many factors, of course. Being from Canada *should* work in your favor; Canadian applicants typically have a faster approval process. Other factors which might affect timelines are things such as the foreign fiancé having a criminal record, how quickly you gather all your paperwork, and which INS service center is used for initial processing. Vermont, for instance, is historically quite fast; Nebraska is typically very, very slow.

On this page -- http://www.ins.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/statemap.htm -- you can look up your fiancé's state and see which service center's jurisdiction it falls under. I've read many times on this NG people who've suggested moving to a "friendly service center state" before you file, if your service center is currently Nebraska or Texas. It might be one of the few ways that you could have some control over the processing, at least a little bit, anyway.

To get an idea on processing times, check out the Dave Hollis K-1 Timelines at http://www.davehollis.com/k1/list.php -- you can sort them by service center, country, date submitted, etc.

My British fiancé and I are going through the K-1 process at the moment. The UK and Canada are considered *lucky* places to be processing through, as they tend to be faster than other countries. Still, while reading that some people get their K-1 visas in as little as 3 months, Mark and I accepted that it might take as long as 6 months (despite having the *golden* Vermont-London route to take advantage of). This has made the waiting easier in that our timeline so far is as expected. Just something to think about...

And, of course, continue to read the threads on this NG regarding K-1 visas. There are many people here who have very valuable advice to give, and it's good to hear it from all sides.

Best of luck to you...

~ Jenney

meauxna

<sigh>

Yeah, although not really. This really is a clear cut case of where the post should be answered just exactly as Jenney has. Plus adding the penalties, or explaining out and out that should the OP do what she 'was told', she would be commiting visa fraud and the penalties and such and so. I guess we'll just have to join the Cult of Matt(tm) and hold 'em away at the border until they've done their Service Center Sentence!

Ow! Just kidding about the CoM(tm)!!!

But Laureen, seriously, don't do illegal stuff!
(I don't want to type such a long post as Jenney's each time )

Just Jenney

Oops, sorry Laureen.... I misread your statement!! I didn't see the word "versus" in there, and thought you'd said, "I have been told to just go down there and visit and get married and then start the whole process going the fiancee route."

Funny how one little word changes the entire context of a sentence!!

Just wanted you to know I wasn't trying to be condescending...

~ Jenney

cdnclv

Hi Laureen:

In addition to the excellent sites that Jenney mentioned, you should check out the CanAm Couples group. The members there generally agree that the K-1 is generally the safest route to go if you are not already in the US. There's lots of information regarding the consulates in Vancouver and Montreal, crossing the border and other problems specific to Canadians going through the K-1 fiance(e) visa process. You can find it at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canamcouples/

Good luck with your decision and hope to hear from you soon.

Christine

Rete

Agreed! This is a clear cut case that leaves no room for miscommunication.

Rete

Folinskyinla

Hi:

As mentioned by others, this is a topic of conversation.

Is it "wise?" IMHO, I think its dumb, but you are entitled to your own opinion.

What I will say in very short summary is: It is illegal.

Will you get away with this illegal act? Your life, not mine. Wasn't there a mention of a 10-foot pole by someone?

Good luck.

[Please forgive the testy tone which may be coming through -- this HAS been discussed at length quite recently on this NG.]

PEACHSTER

I would file for a K-1. I am the US fiance & will be marrying a Canuck in a few months. He was here for 2 visits & the 2nd one I didnt want him going home. We went over wether he should just stay here & we marry then file paper work but then thought what if something went wrong. We didnt wanna risk something bad happening so went the K-1 route. I am glad we did too. It took 8 months for him to get back here but was well worth it.