Hey everyone. brand new here. Hope you are all doing well. My girlfriend and I want to get married and I want to move her here. I am not quite sure where to start. I could phone the government and ask but that process could be lengthy and time consuming so I am hoping you all could give me some insight. First thing is first though. Do we need to be legally married before I can sponsor her to live up here to get her permanent residency? I know there is a thousand dollar fee to start the paperwork but how does that all start? She is coming to visit in July and I plan to propose to her. So I don't know if we should start the process for permanent residency when she comes to visit. I would love to get her here ASAP so we can start out lives together. I hope someone can help educate me. I need all the help I can get.