USA vs Canada visa?

[Dwessie]

I have read so much that everyone is saying about visas. It's not that time JUST YET but the planning phase has gotten there as we like planning ahead.
SO MANY THINGS ARE MAKING ME SUPER NERVOUS.

I guess what I'm asking is if there's differences between US and Canada for Visas? Is one place easier? What's all this about interviews I hate interviews they're scary! How much is "enough to support each other"?
I've read a lot but official pages are so overwhelming it feels better having a person actually tell me these things.

A related forum says going there is a million times easier (I just found that forum ><) but it still sounds really hard.

(Sorry for all my nonsensical rambling)

[snow]

I can't speak for Canadian visas, but I have been through the K1 Fiancee visa stress myself and to be honest, it wasn't that bad. The only thing that is really stressful is that you have to get married within 90 days of flying to America, which for us is going to happen next week - it has been a really stressful 8 weeks to plan and get everything we needed.

The worst part of the visa process was taking US style visa pictures every couple months because they were outdated and they needed more - $30 each time, 4 times - but the filing in itself was easy, following the guides on visajourney and asking for help on their forums, which is really good for visa questions regarding US visas!
It was $340 to file for the petition, $200 for the medical exam and $150 for the vaccines that I needed and the interview at my embassy was really easy. I was in there for maybe half an hour, the consul was really nice and they only asked me a couple questions. It'll be another $900 for the Adjustment of Status process, which brings the total up to a about $1800. (Big downside - you can't leave the country without filing for AP ($445) until you get a greencard and that can take a couple years.)

[dizzyupthemeg]

Do your research on both. There are big differences between both. For example, Canada doesn't have a fiancée visa. You have to be married (or prove common law) in order to apply. My husband and I went the Canadian route. I honestly can't remember what we paid in fees. I do remember that my medical exam cost $400, including labs and X-ray. I had the exam done in Canada because it was cheaper there than it would have been for me in the states. The hardest part of the process for me is the waiting time. The average waiting time per the CIC website is around 16 months right now. We are only about 4 months into it, so we potentially have a lot of waiting left to do.

[lovefrom2800milesaway]

Haa, I love this thread! I've also been debating the same thing for the past little while as my SO and I are both starting to save up to close the distance. Like dizzyupthemeg said, there's no fiancee visa in Canada so I think another important thing to think about (if you're planning to take the Canada route), how are you going to pay for the wedding, for example? Or if he moves up to Canada before the visa gets approved, what's he going to do (job wise)? Another huge factor in our decision is careers. What are your future career prospects and his? Would you guys both be able to work in each others' country? For me, personally, I can't work with my degree in the USA (the same job in the USA requires a PharmD whereas I will only have a Bachelor's), so it makes more sense for us to be in Canada while I upgrade, earn money to support us both, and have enough time to study for my equivalency test before we even think about moving to the USA.

[Dwessie]

Do your research on both. There are big differences between both. For example, Canada doesn't have a fiancée visa. You have to be married (or prove common law) in order to apply. My husband and I went the Canadian route. I honestly can't remember what we paid in fees. I do remember that my medical exam cost $400, including labs and X-ray. I had the exam done in Canada because it was cheaper there than it would have been for me in the states. The hardest part of the process for me is the waiting time. The average waiting time per the CIC website is around 16 months right now. We are only about 4 months into it, so we potentially have a lot of waiting left to do.

That's fine that you have to be already married cause once we get there we were very very most likely gonna do that here as I have more family I still get along with and it's cheaper flying her people down here than flying all mine up there.

[Dwessie]

Haa, I love this thread! I've also been debating the same thing for the past little while as my SO and I are both starting to save up to close the distance. Like dizzyupthemeg said, there's no fiancee visa in Canada so I think another important thing to think about (if you're planning to take the Canada route), how are you going to pay for the wedding, for example? Or if he moves up to Canada before the visa gets approved, what's he going to do (job wise)? Another huge factor in our decision is careers. What are your future career prospects and his? Would you guys both be able to work in each others' country? For me, personally, I can't work with my degree in the USA (the same job in the USA requires a PharmD whereas I will only have a Bachelor's), so it makes more sense for us to be in Canada while I upgrade, earn money to support us both, and have enough time to study for my equivalency test before we even think about moving to the USA.

The job thing is what kills me. I have no idea if I'd be able to get a job there, but I flat out can't here. Since everything takes so long I'm kicking the idea of disability around just as a starter fund until I figure out how to stop sucking at life. So far the only thing that makes sense to me is convoluted as heck which is getting married here but then trying to live there, because to me it sometimes feels like "Place where one of us can get a job" vs "Place where neither of us can get a job" and wow no

[colalala]

I used the K1 fiancee visa to move from UK to US and it was not bad at all. I get very anxious about interviews etc as well, but only one was involved in the process, and it was not bad at all even though i was insanely stressed out about it, the interviewers were friendly and didn't ask anything that you wouldn't already know the answer to. My husband and I used an attorney because we didnt really know what to do or where to start and she suggested this. It only took 9 months from the time we applied to the time i moved to the US and i think we ended up spending about $4000 including the lawyer and the flights, so it is more affordable than a lot of other visa options i have seen! As for the amount to support each other, it can vary but if you dont make enough then you can have a co-sponsor who just has to say they will help him out financially if he needs it, so it doesn't really matter how much you make as long as you guys wont be homeless or anything lol