Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. Citiz
Jul 2nd 2007, 3:36 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. Citiz
I like to flatter myself in saying this, but I plan to marry a
beautiful woman from Canada who loves her roots but also wants to put
her medical and other skills to work in the U.S. From the date we get
married in the U.S. (I was born here and am a U.S. native citizen),
she wants to know:
1. How soon can I get a social security or tax id number?
2. How fast can I enroll the children in school there?
3. How soon would I receive a green card or citizenship?
She has her doctorate but is a practitioner. She's worked in the U.S.
already with all the limitations of a foreign worker, and I confess to
not understanding green cards, work visas, you name it. So I know
people here have
1. the answers to these questions through personal experience
2. resources on the web other than this one where we can get these
answers
3. phone numbers and office names of the appropriate government
agencies
It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
emails to [email protected]
I am a professor so we will be a union of two highly educated
professionals. Her skills are in short supply and by anyone's accout
will be an asset to the U.S. as a citizen and as a contributor to our
economy. What other variables matter?
I thank you kindly for your help.
[email protected]
beautiful woman from Canada who loves her roots but also wants to put
her medical and other skills to work in the U.S. From the date we get
married in the U.S. (I was born here and am a U.S. native citizen),
she wants to know:
1. How soon can I get a social security or tax id number?
2. How fast can I enroll the children in school there?
3. How soon would I receive a green card or citizenship?
She has her doctorate but is a practitioner. She's worked in the U.S.
already with all the limitations of a foreign worker, and I confess to
not understanding green cards, work visas, you name it. So I know
people here have
1. the answers to these questions through personal experience
2. resources on the web other than this one where we can get these
answers
3. phone numbers and office names of the appropriate government
agencies
It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
emails to [email protected]
I am a professor so we will be a union of two highly educated
professionals. Her skills are in short supply and by anyone's accout
will be an asset to the U.S. as a citizen and as a contributor to our
economy. What other variables matter?
I thank you kindly for your help.
[email protected]
Jul 2nd 2007, 4:06 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions RSVP to [email protected]
On Jul 2, 11:36 am, drbruce <[email protected]> wrote:
> I like to flatter myself in saying this, but I plan to marry a
> beautiful woman from Canada who loves her roots but also wants to put
> her medical and other skills to work in the U.S. From the date we get
> married in the U.S. (I was born here and am a U.S. native citizen),
> she wants to know:
>
> 1. How soon can I get a social security or tax id number?
> 2. How fast can I enroll the children in school there?
> 3. How soon would I receive a green card or citizenship?
>
> She has her doctorate but is a practitioner. She's worked in the U.S.
> already with all the limitations of a foreign worker, and I confess to
> not understanding green cards, work visas, you name it. So I know
> people here have
>
> 1. the answers to these questions through personal experience
> 2. resources on the web other than this one where we can get these
> answers
> 3. phone numbers and office names of the appropriate government
> agencies
>
> It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
> emails to [email protected]
>
> I am a professor so we will be a union of two highly educated
> professionals. Her skills are in short supply and by anyone's accout
> will be an asset to the U.S. as a citizen and as a contributor to our
> economy. What other variables matter?
>
> I thank you kindly for your help.
>
> [email protected]
> I like to flatter myself in saying this, but I plan to marry a
> beautiful woman from Canada who loves her roots but also wants to put
> her medical and other skills to work in the U.S. From the date we get
> married in the U.S. (I was born here and am a U.S. native citizen),
> she wants to know:
>
> 1. How soon can I get a social security or tax id number?
> 2. How fast can I enroll the children in school there?
> 3. How soon would I receive a green card or citizenship?
>
> She has her doctorate but is a practitioner. She's worked in the U.S.
> already with all the limitations of a foreign worker, and I confess to
> not understanding green cards, work visas, you name it. So I know
> people here have
>
> 1. the answers to these questions through personal experience
> 2. resources on the web other than this one where we can get these
> answers
> 3. phone numbers and office names of the appropriate government
> agencies
>
> It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
> emails to [email protected]
>
> I am a professor so we will be a union of two highly educated
> professionals. Her skills are in short supply and by anyone's accout
> will be an asset to the U.S. as a citizen and as a contributor to our
> economy. What other variables matter?
>
> I thank you kindly for your help.
>
> [email protected]
Jul 2nd 2007, 4:26 am
#3
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,687
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. C
Her education and employment skills have no bearing on her immigration. Yours do, because you will need to meet a certain income requirement in order to sponsor her immigrant visa.
A lot depends on whether you go for a fiance visa or a spouse visa. With the spouse visa, you'll get married in the USA (if that's your choice), then she'll return to Canada and go about the immigrant visa process. This whole process takes about 6+ months to happen, and she enters the USA as a permenent resident, and can work from Day 1. It will take about 2 weeks after her entry to get her SS card in the mail.
If you go the fiance visa route, you can start that as soon as you've seen each other once in the past 2 years. It still takes about 6+ months to get the K-1 visa, and then you have 90 days in which to get married once she comes to the USA on that visa. Problem with that is, there is more paperwork to file in order to get her green card, and part of that paperwork includes work authorization, so she won't be able to work from Day 1 very easily.
Go to www.uscis.gov for further information. Do a search on that site under: How do I bring my spouse to the USA? or How do I bring my fiance to the USA?
Rene
A lot depends on whether you go for a fiance visa or a spouse visa. With the spouse visa, you'll get married in the USA (if that's your choice), then she'll return to Canada and go about the immigrant visa process. This whole process takes about 6+ months to happen, and she enters the USA as a permenent resident, and can work from Day 1. It will take about 2 weeks after her entry to get her SS card in the mail.
If you go the fiance visa route, you can start that as soon as you've seen each other once in the past 2 years. It still takes about 6+ months to get the K-1 visa, and then you have 90 days in which to get married once she comes to the USA on that visa. Problem with that is, there is more paperwork to file in order to get her green card, and part of that paperwork includes work authorization, so she won't be able to work from Day 1 very easily.
Go to www.uscis.gov for further information. Do a search on that site under: How do I bring my spouse to the USA? or How do I bring my fiance to the USA?
Rene
Jul 2nd 2007, 5:01 am
#4
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,687
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. C
If she enters the USA on an Immigrant Visa as your spouse, she should get her SS card within a few weeks after entry. She should check the "yes" box on the immigration form which asks if she wants a SSN assigned to her.
If she enters on the K-1 fiance visa, she can apply for the SS card about 10 days after she arrives. It takes about 2 weeks to come in the mail.
As soon as they enter the USA with her on the Immigrant Visa, or as soon as they enter on K-2 visas if she goes the fiance visa route.
If she enters the USA on an Immigrant visa as your spouse, she becomes a US permanent resident upon entry. She will receive the I-551 stamp at the POE and will receive the plastic card in the mail a few weeks later. Once she has been a PR for 3 years minus 90 days, and is still married to you, and meets all the other eligibillity requirements, she can apply to become a USC.
If she enters on the K-1 fiance visa, she will need to apply for her Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident (AOS) after you get married. The AOS length of process depends on your local office backlog. It can take as little as 3 months or as much as a year or more to get AOS approval. She won't get her green card until the AOS is approved.
Hope that helps.
Rene
If she enters on the K-1 fiance visa, she can apply for the SS card about 10 days after she arrives. It takes about 2 weeks to come in the mail.
2. How fast can I enroll the children in school there?
3. How soon would I receive a green card or citizenship?
If she enters on the K-1 fiance visa, she will need to apply for her Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident (AOS) after you get married. The AOS length of process depends on your local office backlog. It can take as little as 3 months or as much as a year or more to get AOS approval. She won't get her green card until the AOS is approved.
Hope that helps.
Rene
Last edited by Noorah101; Jul 2nd 2007 at 6:01 am.
Jul 2nd 2007, 5:20 am
#5
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. C
[QUOTE=Drbruce;4998806]It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
emails to [email protected]/QUOTE]
If you want personalized, private responses to your questions you should hire the appropriate professional.
Answers here are posted publically the benefit the maximum number of people (that's how we all learned most of what we know about immigration) and to protect you from incorrect information that we learned from reading a bunch of blather online.
Your Canadian wants to become a US Permanent Resident via marriage to a US citizen. Start with the uscis.gov (official) site and work your way down from there.
Most basic level? It will be about 9+ months before she can immigrate based on that relationship.
emails to [email protected]/QUOTE]
If you want personalized, private responses to your questions you should hire the appropriate professional.
Answers here are posted publically the benefit the maximum number of people (that's how we all learned most of what we know about immigration) and to protect you from incorrect information that we learned from reading a bunch of blather online.
Your Canadian wants to become a US Permanent Resident via marriage to a US citizen. Start with the uscis.gov (official) site and work your way down from there.
Most basic level? It will be about 9+ months before she can immigrate based on that relationship.
Jul 2nd 2007, 5:59 am
#6
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,469
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. C
[QUOTE=meauxna;4999187]
Also it will be 3 years after she becomes a [c]pr before she is eligible to apply for naturalization based on marriage to a US citizen. She must still, at that time, be married to and living with the same US citizen for three years.
It's certainly OK to post to the list, but I would also appreciate
emails to [email protected]/QUOTE]
If you want personalized, private responses to your questions you should hire the appropriate professional.
Answers here are posted publically the benefit the maximum number of people (that's how we all learned most of what we know about immigration) and to protect you from incorrect information that we learned from reading a bunch of blather online.
Your Canadian wants to become a US Permanent Resident via marriage to a US citizen. Start with the uscis.gov (official) site and work your way down from there.
Most basic level? It will be about 9+ months before she can immigrate based on that relationship.
emails to [email protected]/QUOTE]
If you want personalized, private responses to your questions you should hire the appropriate professional.
Answers here are posted publically the benefit the maximum number of people (that's how we all learned most of what we know about immigration) and to protect you from incorrect information that we learned from reading a bunch of blather online.
Your Canadian wants to become a US Permanent Resident via marriage to a US citizen. Start with the uscis.gov (official) site and work your way down from there.
Most basic level? It will be about 9+ months before she can immigrate based on that relationship.
Jul 2nd 2007, 10:55 am
#7
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 38,865
Re: Three Simple, Critical Questions About Marrying a Canadian in the U.S. and U.S. C
