Canadian Fiance Immigrating - Halp!

[Northern_Piper]

@elninost0rm

Hence, we would like to have a civil union in a courtroom as soon as possible, but have the church wedding at some later date. I will have to get in touch with the proper Canadian parties should my attorney not be able to provide specific information on this. If it’s as individualized as being up to the priest himself, then that could cause an issue as well.

Civil marriages are not always performed in courthouses in Canada, and rarely by judges. In some provinces it is the court clerk who does it. In some provinces they’re performed by municipal officials, in other provinces by provincial officials called marriage commissioners. Again, you should contact the province in question for more information.

[grude]

@elninost0rm

The IR-1/CR-1 (spousal) visa seems to be a better looking option. It looks to be significantly cheaper due to not requiring an application for permanent residency. .

I’m pretty sure no matter what visa you use your fiancee will still need to apply for permanent residency. Unless she already has accumulated the needed period of time inside the USA needed to naturalize.

[matt_mcl]

@Northern_Piper

Civil marriages are not always performed in courthouses in Canada, and rarely by judges. In some provinces it is the court clerk who does it. In some provinces they’re performed by municipal officials, in other provinces by provincial officials called marriage commissioners. Again, you should contact the province in question for more information.

In Quebec, for example,

Clerks and deputy clerks of the Superior Court who have been specially designated for that purpose, and notaries authorized to execute notarial acts, may solemnize marriages.

Mayors, members of municipal or borough councils and municipal officers designated by the Minister of Justice may also solemnize marriages, but only within the territory defined in the instrument of designation.

Last, any person authorized by the Minister of Justice to solemnize civil unions may also solemnize a marriage. Some couples may wish to have their marriage solemnized by someone who is significant in their lives, but does not fall into one of the categories defined above. When this is the case, the intended spouses and the person they have chosen as officiant must complete the form entitled Request for the Designation of an Officiant of a Marriage or Civil Union (available in courthouses). The completed form must then be sent, preferably three to four months before the date of the ceremony, to the Direction des services judiciaires of the Ministère de la Justice.

Link for much more information about getting married in Quebec. (FWIW, as far as I know pretty much any legal marriage contracted in the States will be recognized here as a matter of course.)

[Nava]

@Northern_Piper

Marriage ceremonies are performed under provincial law in Canada, not under federal law, so it’s the province he should be consulting, not the federal government.

Maybe I’m having a language issue here, when I say “the appropriate branch of the Canadian government” that means at any levels, sorry if that was unclear. Aoiz City Hall isn’t “the Spanish government”, but it’s a branch of it (a tiny branch, with some 4600 registered voters).

[Northern_Piper]

More of a federalism issue, I’d guess :).

Here in Canada, we tend to automatically say “Is it federal pr provincial?” and saying something is done by the “Canadian government” points to the federal government. We don’t normally think of the provinces as a branch of the federal government, as each level of government is sovereign in it’s own areas.

[PaulParkhead]

@grude

I’m pretty sure no matter what visa you use your fiancee will still need to apply for permanent residency. Unless she already has accumulated the needed period of time inside the USA needed to naturalize.

The IR1 and CR1 visas confer lawful permanent residency when they are issued. There’s no need to apply separately. This is as distinct from the K1 visa issued to the fiance(e) of a US citizen, where the alien must apply for LPR status after the marriage takes place.

Because the CR1 includes LPR status, processing it can take longer, hence the dilemma here for the OP.

[elninost0rm]

@Northern_Piper

Civil marriages are not always performed in courthouses in Canada, and rarely by judges. In some provinces it is the court clerk who does it. In some provinces they’re performed by municipal officials, in other provinces by provincial officials called marriage commissioners. Again, you should contact the province in question for more information.

Yeah, it will be in Ontario for anyone that is curious.

We have contacted her local office and they do not do it there (Brampton, ON). They do, however, do them in the office at Mississauga, ON, so that will be our course of action. It appears that as long as the priest is personally okay with performing the religious ceremony after the civil union, we should be okay.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! My attorney spoke with me and recommended the CR-1 as well. The processing times have become nearly aligned (perhaps a bit shorter), but they are not far enough apart right now to really make the K-1 a practical option for us. We were actually going to consider getting hitched in Pennsylvania, but this state has a 3 day wait rule. That would unfortunately make things impractical with her place of employment.

[Eva_Luna]

@grude

I’m pretty sure no matter what visa you use your fiancee will still need to apply for permanent residency. Unless she already has accumulated the needed period of time inside the USA needed to naturalize.

With some very, very limited exceptions, you need to be a lawful permanent resident for several years, not just living in the U.S., before you are eligible to apply for naturalization.

[Northern_Piper]

@elninost0rm

Yeah, it will be in Ontario for anyone that is curious.

Here you go: Getting Married in Ontario.

[elninost0rm]

@Northern_Piper

Here you go: Getting Married in Ontario.

Thank you much!