This post will discuss two types of Immigrant Visas available for a Canadian Spouse or Fiance:
Additionally, the Adjustment of Status filing option will be discussed.
Montreal!!! The only US Consulate that processes Immigrant Visas in Canada is the US Consulate in Montreal. The following Consulates and Embassy DO NOT process Immigrant Visas:
An Immigrant Visa CANNOT be transferred to any other US Embassy/Consulate in Canada. It must be processed at the Montreal US Consulate’s Immigrant Visa Division.
An Immigrant Visa processes at the US Consulate in Montreal under the DOS, whereas Adjustment of Status processes at a USCIS Field Office within the United States.
Most Canadians are allowed to enter the US on their “automatic” Visa Waiver/Tourist Visa. However, a tourist can be punished for “visa fraud” if they stop acting like a tourist and try to immigrate from a non-immigrant status (tourism). There are some special exceptions, such as:
If a special exception does not apply to a Canadian, then an Immigrant Visa should be pursued.
In order to make navigation easier, the following items can be clicked for a drop-down to occur:
The IR-1 / CR-1 Spousal Immigrant Visa is the visa that would allow a Canadian spouse to receive a Green Card Visa and immigrate to the US. The process has 2 general steps:
However, a more in-depth overview of the process in its entirety provides a better understanding:
The Fiancee Visa has 3 steps:
Although the K-1 Fiance is frequently confused as a non-immigrant visa, it is 100% handled and treated as an immigrant visa. The K-1 Fiance Visa CANNOT be treated like a tourist visa. It cannot be scheduled at any time. The ABOVE steps must be followed.
More information can be found here: /immigration/k-1-fiance-visa/is-the-k1-fiance-visa-an-immigrant-or-non-immigrant-visa/
A more thorough review of the Fiance Process is as follows:
There are two documents that frequently cause some confusion when a Canadian is attempting to acquire a US Immigrant visa, and they are a (1) Long Form Birth Certificate and (2) an RCMP Police Certificate.
Our office has detailed information on both documents here:
The Canadian Letter of Intent MUST be a promise to marry within Thirty (30) days versus the general ninety (90) days. A template can be found here:
The Montreal Embassy provides the following instructions for consular interviews: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/MTL-Montreal.html
Our office has created two really good guides for both the I-130 Petition and I-129F Petition:
Joint Bona Fide Documents: How to Start meeting the USCIS I-130 Evidence Requirement for a Marriage
If doing Consular Processing, the Fiance Visa and Spousal Visa start with a USCIS Petition:
The below blog post helps locate the USCIS Tool to see up-to-date processing times. If a filing is taking too long, it is best to see if it is processing at the same pace as others.
AFTER THE PETITION, the Visa processing depends 100% on NVC Processing Times (found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html ). Additionally, every Embassy and Consulate process at different speeds, which the speed fluctuates throughout the year, AND there is NO processing time tools or sources.
In order to Sponsor a Canadian Fiance or Spouse, the US Citizen is required to either:
For Example:
The I-864P Guidelines can be found here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p
The Following Documents are usually required:
Driving and Flying are both available once the Immigrant visa is in hand.
Technically, an Immigrant Visa Holder CANNOT use a foreign drivers license to drive in the United States. As a permanent resident or soon to be permanent resident, the Canadian Fiance or Spouse will be held to the same standards as US citizens.
The Local DMV usually requires:
Our office has created two really good guides for both the Fiances and Spouses.:
The post US Citizen’s Guide to US Immigration of a Canadian Spouse or Fiance appeared first on Fickey Martinez Law Firm.
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