US Citizen Marrying a Canadian Citizen Question

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Robert RyanNew Member
Topic author
Posts: 1
Joined: 28 Sep 2008
Location: ATLANTA, GEORGIA

US Citizen Marrying a Canadian Citizen Question

Post Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:06 pm

I am an american citizen, and my fiancee is canadian.
we want to get married, but im not sure if there is a time frame of how long we have to be married before she can get her green card.
Will they let her come over here to the states and live with me?

also does it make a difference if we marry in the US or Canada?

im so clueless to this whole thing. help please!
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flames9CanuckAbroad VIP
Posts: 602
Topics: 1
Joined: 8 Mar 2007
Location: Managua Nicaragua

Post Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:53 pm

check out http://www.visajourney.com/forums/ and read the stickies at top, especialy k1, k3 and cr-1

COMPARISON OF THE 3:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index ... ge=compare
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texcanuckNew Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 1 Oct 2008
Location: USA

Post Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:16 am

When I moved here 6 years ago to marry my American fiance I was advised to apply for a K-1 visa. (fiance visa) and to definitely NOT marry then apply to move to the US. The process took 5 months from application to permission to move was granted. We did it without the use of an immigration lawyer however it can be done with but it will take longer. Just be sure to FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS on the application.any things missed will delay your application. It took me 8 months after moving to the US to get my Green card. It may not take that long now as I was being processed during a time of rule changes due to switching of the INS to Homeland Security.A warning do not shortcut or lie during the process or your case will be denied and it may take a lot longer to get your partner into the US.
The forms and rules may be found on the Homeland Security website and I found several forums that were helpful in expaining the process via others' stories.
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Reba

Post Wed Oct 01, 2008 3:18 pm

everything is actually taking longer than it did a few years ago. USCIS is backlogged pretty much everywhere. K1s are taking nearly a year to process, and then the subsequent AOS to green card can be anywhere from a few months to a year or more, depending on what are of the US you live in.

I wouldn't recommend getting married and then have her stay to adjust status, because it is difficult (now that you're already thinking about it especially) to prove non-intent to immigrate. Either get the K1 and then after that get married in the US, or get married now in either Canada or the US, and then she'll have to return to Canada to wait out the petitioning and application for a spouse visa (K3 or CR1).

See Visa Journey (posted by flames already) for detailed info
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