captn

I am a Canadian living across the bridge from Detroit in Canada. Have
been dating a woman from Detroit for 6 years going back and forth over
the bridge. Have had very few hassles at bridge and also have a Nexus
Card which makes life much easier.

We intend to get married, my future wife is retired and and I work
seasonally in Canada and we spend time in Canada and the US traveling
back and forth between the two homes, three months in the winter in
Florida, no different than we have been doing for 6 years.

I would like to fill out any forms that identity's myself to Homeland
security (CIS) and to reduce the boarder scrutiny when I decide I want
to stay over night in the US or go to Florida for the winter.

Applying for a Green Card identify's me as a US permanent resident and
am not interested in giving up my Canadian Residency yet.

We are in the early stages of finding out what our options are and will
eventually consult a lawyer but any preliminary suggestions will be
very helpful; also does anyone have a link to explain what the
residency requirements are for US citizens and Canadian citizens.

Best regards,

David..

Rete

You are already identified by the Homeland Security through your many crossings. Nothing for you to fill out there.

However, that said, if and when you marry, you might one day find that you won't be allowed across the border any longer. In fact, your bride might find that she won't be allowed into Canada either. Why? Because the marriage itself shows intent to migrate and one needs proper documentation in form of a visa from the USCIS or the DOS if you are doing Consulate adjustment.

I'm married to a Canadian and have been for nearly seven years now and in his many crossings to visit me in New York while living in Ottawa he was truthful each and every time about going to visit a lady friend, then later a fiancee. It was only when he was up front about having started the Fiancee Visa that he was allowed across. Whenever I came to Ottawa, I was told virtually the same thing.

There are several approaches:

1. The Fiancee Visa ... allows you to enter the US for the purpose of marrying and then applying for adjustment of status to US permanent resident based on marriage to a USC.

2. Marriage first and then you return to Canada and your wife files an I-130 at the US Service Center for you. You wait out its approval and then eventually it all gets sent to the US Consulate in Montreal and you interview and if approved an immediate relative visa that you active by crossing the border and your green card is sent to you in the states at the address you had listed.

3. Or after filing the I-130 your file then files an I-129F for the K-3 visa which is suppose to be faster than the wait for the I-130 approval. You also have to interview for the K-3 in Montreal and/or Vancouver for the K-3 after the I-129F is approved.

Please note this is only the briefest of descriptions, does not go into detail about forms, fees, medicals, timelines and hassles.

I would direct you to use the alt.visa.us.marriage-based forums for your marriage based questions rather than a general US visa forum. I would also suggest you read the FAQ which lists both the K-1 and K-3 and the I-130.


Interview Experiences: http://www.kamya.com/interview/intro.html

Also note to enter the US with intent to marry and remain to adjust status is illegal. The crucial point is "intent" and you have stated your intent on the forum and believe me, the USCIS reads them and can identify you if they wanted to.

Rete

Confused on what you are looking for in regards to residency requirements? I know Canada will make the determination on whether or not you are to be considered a resident for tax purposes regardless of what you think. You have to complete a form, return it to them, and they will tell you of their final decision. Usually it is that you are no longer a resident for tax purposes. As with my husband, Canada notified him within three months of his leaving Canada to marry me that they knew he was gone and sent him the form to be completed. It took seven months for their determination to come through. He pays taxes on his military pension and property rental income as a non-resident.

captn

This was more a question for a friend that lives in Windsor who wanted
to check his options before his meeting with an immigration lawyer. I
advised him to do what I did and apply for a K1 visa and enter the
states and get married then have his status changed. This worked well
for me. Think he was getting confused and was listening to too many
people. Have advised his to go see a lawyer, its the only way to find
out his options.