Visa Interview in Vancouver... FINALLY getting a visa!

My hope is that the following post is useful to those who might be going through the visa/green card/immigration process themselves... if that is you, I know your pain!

Boy meets girl...

... yes, this is what we looked like on the night we met
 

Boy and girl fall in love... 

Boy and girl get engaged...

 

Boy and girl get married and live happily ever after???

 

... umm, not so fast!

I love that my wife is from Canada, however starting our life together whether here in Colorado or in Canada presented a big challenge for us. Either way one of us would be leaving our home and moving to another country. The following will give you an idea of the choices we made and processes we've had to go through getting my wife, Lise, her green card.

Fiance Visa (K-1) vs. Spousal Visa (K-3) - There are several options for getting a visa to the U.S. Work visas, student visas, tourist visas, etc. From all the research we did it appeared that getting a fiance visa would be the best option for us. I applied for a K-1 visa two months prior to our actual engagement. Here is what you can expect the costs for the petition to receive a K-1 Visa:

I-129F (K-1 application) - $340

Passport photos and verified express shipping - $20 

Total Cost: $360

Total Waiting Time for Petition Approval for us: 4 months

Getting the Visa...

Once the I-129F petition is approved then you must schedule a visa interview and medical appointment... This information is given to you as to where you must go to do this. In our case this meant preparing even more redundant documents and flying to Vancouver. Unfortunately, only certain consulate offices can process fiance and spousal visas so we were forced to go to Vancouver even though there is an embassy in Winnipeg. I didn't have to go with Lise but didn't want to pass up a trip with her to see the city. Her visa was approved the day of the interview (which was very short and simple as long as you have ALL of your documents together properly) and we received it back with the passport in the mail less than 5 days later. Here is what you can expect for the costs of getting the visa:

Background check - $40

Visa Application Fee - $260

Medical Appointment Fee- $280

Flights - $225 (we used frequent flyer miles otherwise it would've cost $800 for the two of us to go)

Hotel - $160 (we stayed for 2 nights on my Westin employee rate and another 2 nights at a friend's place)

Food and transportation in Vancouver - $200

Total Cost for us: $1,165 (this could easily have been more without some of the ways we saved money)

Total Waiting Time from I-129F approval to visa interview date: 2 months

Moving Day and Applying for a Green Card

Once you receive your "visa packet" and visa you are then allowed to move yourself and all your belongings across the border. For us this meant a 1,200 mile drive from Winnipeg to Colorado including a relatively quick and easy border crossing (and $6 fee). The K-1 Visa requires you to marry within 90 days of entering the U.S. and at that point your are then allowed to apply for permanent residency (your green card). Send in a copy of the marriage certificate, a couple of additional forms, and a lovely $1,070 check to USCIS and then the wait once again begins, albeit much less painful having my new wife here with me. Hopefully, in a few months I'll be able to write an update on how long it took to get the green card. Currently 36 days and counting...

So, for those looking at having your fiance come to the U.S. you can expect about a 6 month wait and $1,500-2,000.  When you add in the green card and fees and it will come to around $3,000 and almost a full year of waiting, all totally worth it if you ask me. For those in need, please don't hesitate to contact me if you are in this situation and needing help, after all the time and work I've put into this, I'd be more than happy to help anyone going through the same trouble we've had.

We were very fortunate to have Lise's visa interview in Vancouver as opposed to somewhere cold and awful/French. As always, thanks for reading my blog and enjoy the photos!

-Bryan