K Visa Visiting US, possible plans to marry later

[kittykins]

I am a canadian citizen, and I am planning a visit to my boyfriend and my cousin later on this year. My boyfriend is helping me with expenses, getting there and even while I'm in the US. However recently talk of possibly getting married has come up. We have done alot of research, and I do know about the K1 visa, my question is, if we desided that this is what we want to do, can I get that K1 visa while I'm still there or do I have to come home (Canada) to obtain that visa?

 

[NYClex]

You cannot get the visa from within the U.S. You only need the visa if you are abroad. If you marry while you LEGALLY are in the U.S. you could apply for legal permanent residency right away. I have written about the process a couple of times here in the forum.

If you plan to do this, just make sure that you will be given an I-94 form at the border, because without this you might have major trouble getting your applications accepted. And of course do not overstay! And do not tell the border officers that you PLAN to marry, because that could bring trouble, too, since admission as a tourist normally requires you not to have any intent to stay permanently.

So, if you already are SURE you want to marry, you are better off applying for the K-1 while you are still at home and enter the US under that visa.

 

[kittykins]

TY, I'm really new to this forum, and I havn't seen your past posts, and well, I'm new to all of this stuff. What exactly is the I-94?? And will that make it so I can marry in the us if we do desided to do so?? We have already talked about getting the K-1 visa before I go, but we're not 100% sure that we want to get married, and we do know that we don't want to have to deside that we do and get married within the 90 days it allows. However we had considered that option if we needed to, but that is a little rushed, for both of us. If possible even if you could give me links to your past posts on this subject, any and all advice that helps is greatly apreciated. Also, with this I-94 how long would we have to get married for us not to have any hassle in my staying in the US?

 

[kittykins]

Ok, and I forgot one thing, how do I get the I-94??