Wishing to Marry in Three Weeks

[Patzt]

We are two seniors (widow and widower) wishing to marry. (67 years and 71)

There will not be any working involved.just companionship. We are both seniors and will not be going out to work. I'm Canadian (Guelph, Ontario) and he's American (Falls Church, VA)

We hoped to keep a small residence here in Canada and one in Virginia. We found out last evening that we should have some papers and we're not sure what we need or how to get them.

Can someone help?

[Bevdeforges]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Direct from the horse's , um, mouth

>> These Canadian citizens traveling to the U.S. require non-immigrant visas:
* treaty traders (E)
* fiancé/es (K-1)
o and the children of the foreign citizen fiancé(e) (K-2)
* a U.S. citizen's foreign citizen spouse traveling to reside in the U.S. while awaiting final completion of the process of immigration (K-3)
o and the children of a foreign citizen spouse (K-4) <<

Though that's for Canadians looking to reside in the US after marriage to an American. If you're splitting your time between the countries, you may be able to sort things out after the wedding. (Or just stay in Canada until the US paperwork is sorted out.)

Best thing to do would be to contact the US Consulate in Ottawa directly. Here's their website : AMCITS • Consular Services at the U.S. Mission in Canada - they list a phone number you can call (though, as they say, have your credit card ready - it's billed by the minute).

You may also want to contact the Canadian Consulate in DC to find out if your intended needs any particular paperwork to travel back and forth with you.

Congratulation, by the way.
Cheers,
Bev

[Patzt]

Thank you Bev.

I will let my fiance know all this. He lives in Falls Church, VA

[synthia]

If you want to marry in a country other than your own, you will be required to prove that you are not already married. This usually involves getting papers from your own consulate in addition to those needed for a visa. The US does not have an equivalent document, and if you want to be married in Canada, your prospective spouse will have to swear an http://travel.state.gov/law/info/mar...age_640.htmlat a US consulate.

I don't know if it would apply to Canadians, because there are some separate treaties involved, but in general, getting a fiance visa and then marrying in the United States is faster than getting married abroad and then bringing a spouse in.

You do need to contact repsective consulates in each country to see precisely what the rules would be. I do know that after marriage abroad, it can take up to two years to bring a spouse in as a permanent resident. Again, there may be an exception for Canadians, but I couldn't find anything in a quick look at the state department website.

[Patzt]

Well, we plan to marry here in my city of Guelph at my church on May 24

I never even imagined that we'd have a problem since we are two Senior Citizens not ever wanting to work but just be companions to each other and visit our family members both in Canada and the USA.

That's why we plan to keep my residence and his.

Thank you so very much, Synthia

[Bevdeforges]

The town hall in Guelph (or whatever office handles the marriage registrations) should be able to give you the details of anything needed to marry "a foreigner." And given that you aren't actually giving up your respective residences, the whole visa thing may not be necessary, either.

It will complicate a bit your tax situations - but that is manageable.
Cheers,
Bev

[synthia]

Nothing international is ever simple. Well, nearly never. When I lived in Japan, the process for a foreign resident to get a driver's license was to go to the police and show them their license from home. Stunningly simple. And rare.

[Patzt]

Thank you so much for all your help and suggestions.

We are weighing them all out.