Marrying foreigners in North America

>>18475456
I don't know about Canada, but I went through the process in America, and it was fairly straightforward. The consulate and government building won't have time to talk to you, what you want to do is consult an immigration lawyer. If you're very poor, there are some that work on a sliding scale basis.

Your girlfriend can come in on a normal tourist visa (just don't tell the immigration officer that it's to get married), and you can get a marriage license at your local county office. Then have a quick wedding with an officiate and two witnesses.

Then, you'll need to file the paperwork that the immigration lawyer tells you to. There are two forms that record information about you and your spouse, another one that formally applies for a change of status. Then, you need to provide financial proof that if she ever fell on hard times, you're able and willing to support her so the government doesn't need to. This generally requires you to show you have a certain minimum yearly income, I forget the exact number. If you don't make enough, then you'll have to get a sponsor. Your spouse is not allowed to use her own income for this purpose.

The filing fees combined will be somewhere around 1500, plus whatever you pay the lawyer. And then you wait. It doesn't matter if her tourist visa expires--while you're filing for a change of status, your status is suspended in limbo and she won't get kicked out. But don't travel internationally just in case.

After anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years, you'll be asked to come into the office for an interview where they try to gauge if your relationship is "real". It's easy to google online how to prepare. If you pass, she'll get permanent residency for 2 years. After 2 years, you go in again to prove you're still together, at which point she gets permanent residency for life.

Citizenship is a voluntary process that she can undergo at this point by taking a test.

>>18475479
>>18475479
Thanks for the info. One thing;

It's very hard for her to get a visa to either Canada or USA, as a single Russian woman with low income especially. We haven't even attempted it but the impression she gets is that she would be refused.

>>18475488
Most countries are very eager to give out tourist visas, because tourism is great for the economy. Normally, a tourist visa requires you show proof of flights booked (including return flights) and hotels paid for. But you can skip the hotel part by just writing her an invitation letter saying you'll house her for free in your house. And the return flight that she has to book can always be cancelled later. If you book it a little farther out, planning a month or two month long vacation, you'll even get all your money back.

Honestly, a tourist visa is the easiest visa you're going to get, so if she can't even get a tourist visa, she's not gonna get much else. At which point, you might consider going to Russia to marry her, and then once you're married, bringing her into the states.

>>18475505
I think the precedent set post soviet-union was poor Russian girls coming here and becoming prostitutes and overstaying visas. God all of this is such a headache and it sucks being so poor too. I just want to live with my qt gf all the time why can't this globalised to shit world be globalised in any useful ways?

What country was the person you married from?

>>18475524
America. I myself am from China. That's why I'm so familiar with the system. We went through the process to get me a permanent residency just half a year ago.

You're worrying too much, dude. There's no harm in trying to get a tourist visa, so at least try to apply. I'm fairly confident if she acts like a normal person at all, she'll get approved. There's tons of Russian tourists all over the place in America.

>>18475505
not true.

I was in a similar situation with a South African girl. She was rejected for a tourist visa to visit the US twice.

We were in the process of getting her a fiance visa and the lawyer was very optimistic. Our relationship fell apart so we never found out for sure if it would have gone through, but it seemed OK.

For a tourist visa they're worried about whether you'll ever go home, and they are really suspicious about people from poor countries. For a fiance / spouse visa you don't ever need to go back to your country so they don't worry about that. You have a US citizen sponsoring you and taking financial responsibility for you

>>18475545
>>18475546
For whatever reason it seems North Americans going to Russia is easier (albeit more expensive) than vice versa, so I guess that's where I'll look into it. But I'll bring it up again, me and her just vacationed in Thailand neither of us needing visas, could we not do something similar somewhere where it's probably easier to get married?

fyi op this >>18475479 is straight up defrauding the government and carries a penalty of either a 10yr or lifelong ban for the foreign national, i.e. your qt, and i think 5 years in federal prison for the US citizen. dunno bout canada but if you're going to do the thing, at least do it right.

>>18475596
Good thing it's an anonymous imageboard

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>>18475647
lol

>>18475664
>he isn't stealing someone else's internet and never using his pc for anything to do with his actual identity

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>>18475664
>he isn't a 4Chan™ Gold™ Member™