getting married

ok heres the scoop... my fiance and I are gonna be married in canda in sept. the wedding will only be for her to have the wedding of her dreams. we are wanting to come back to the states and get married and make it official. we are driving from canada to the USA. she overstayed when she was here this time around.. but didnt have any issues going home. my question is if we drive across the border to start the paperwork on this side of the border will we have any issues at the border to come back in. thanks again

Why would you need to get married again in the US to "make it official"? A marriage ceremony in Canada is legally binding if performed by someone licensed to do so by the government. A legal marriage in Canada is legal in the US (except unfortunately for same sex partners).

You will not be able to just turn around and have her enter the US immediately following the ceremony. You will have to petition for her for a spouse visa. Either K3 or CR1, both of which take about a year to process. Once you're married, if she turns up at the border with all her worldly goods and a flashy new ring on her finger, they'll deny her outright, and possibly ban her until she gets the proper visa.

For marriage based immigration info to the US please see http://www.visajourney.com ALL the information you need is there, including message forums, example forms, and detailed guides for the paperwork and how to choose which visa is best for your situation.

we werent gonna get a marriage license in canada... and were not gonna claim we were married.. she was just gonna cross with me like she was going on vacation..

-- Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:13 pm --

The time line to get the visa is a year??? we were told 4-6 months.. thats why we are doing it this way..

A licesed cleric in Canada is not likely to perform a wedding ceremony without you having a marriage license. The only way you can do a non-legal marriage ceremony in Canada is to have it performed by someone not licensed to do so. Like a friend or brother or something.

Lying to border officials is NEVER a very good idea. It'll jump up to bite you in the ass sooner rather than later. I would seriously reconsider your plans here. If you lie when you enter the country, and then apply for adjustment of status and it comes up at the interview, or somewhere in the paperwork that you had a wedding ceremony in Canada before you came to the US and got married again, this could result in an automatic denial of her application, and then she'll be deported with no right to appeal the decision.

Seriously.

we have someone to just do the wedding without the marriage licence. we are going on vaca to vegas. but we are gonna get married once we are here. we have already spent so much time apart and dont want it to be that way.

So she will be entering the US with intent to get married and then stay, is that what you're planning?

If so, it's not entirely legal, and again runs the risk of denial of applicatoin to adjust status and deportation, and bannishment.

Again, I would seriously suggest you re-think your plans.

Visa Journey is a wonderful source of information.