Kooner

Hello,
I am a Canadian Citizen, with a Green Card and I live in the US. My
wife is a Canadian Citizen and lives in Canada. I filed a I-130 to
sponsor her almost 4 years ago. She visits me in the US 6 months of
every year. According to the INS website her case will be processed
soon. Can she have her interview in the US (while she's visiting me) or
it is mandatory that she has her interview in Canada?
Also, I have applied for US citizenship. Assume for the moment that I
become a US citizen before my wife's I-130 is processed. If I sponsor
my wife after I become a US citizen (I-485?), can she remain in the US
while her case is processed (if she doesn't exceed 6months for the
year) and have her interview here or does she have to go back to Canada
for that? When my wife is visiting the US for 6 months she doesn't
have a visa or any other paper work so it is unclear to me if she can
be in the US while her case is processed.
Kooner.

Rete

Mandatory that she return to adjudication the final steps of the I-130 at the US Consulate in Montreal. She then enters the US as a lawful permanent resident once the processing is completed at the POE on her approved immediate relative visa which the US Consulate will place in her passport.


If she is here visiting, she might be able to remain while SHE files the I-485. It is her petition not yours and you will not be filing it. It would be filed at the Chicago lockbox address on the USCIS and she can then file for permission to work as well at the same time with form I-1765. I say might because she was not to have had immigration intent when coming to visit you and she has been lucky over the last four years not to have been questioned and denied entry at the POE.

However, if this is a long tedious and expensive alternative to her returning to Canada and just completing the visa process on the I-130. You might want to check with an immigration attorney as to her options.

frrussre

Can't give you any advice, but hang on in there. Must be a tough ride for both of you.
Good luck, Frank R.

Kooner

Rete wrote:
    > > Hello,
    > > I am a Canadian Citizen, with a Green Card and I live in the US. My
    > > wife is a Canadian Citizen and lives in Canada. I filed a I-130 to
    > > sponsor her almost 4 years ago. She visits me in the US 6 months of
    > > every year. According to the INS website her case will be processed
    > > soon. Can she have her interview in the US (while she's visiting me)
    > > or
    > > it is mandatory that she has her interview in Canada?
    > > Also, I have applied for US citizenship. Assume for the moment that I
    > > become a US citizen before my wife's I-130 is processed. If I sponsor
    > > my wife after I become a US citizen (I-485?), can she remain in the US
    > > while her case is processed (if she doesn't exceed 6months for the
    > > year) and have her interview here or does she have to go back to
    > > Canada
    > > for that? When my wife is visiting the US for 6 months she doesn't
    > > have a visa or any other paper work so it is unclear to me if she can
    > > be in the US while her case is processed.
    > > Kooner.
    > Mandatory that she return to adjudication the final steps of the I-130
    > at the US Consulate in Montreal. She then enters the US as a lawful
    > permanent resident once the processing is completed at the POE on her
    > approved immediate relative visa which the US Consulate will place in
    > her passport.
    > If she is here visiting, she might be able to remain while SHE files the
    > I-485. It is her petition not yours and you will not be filing it. It
    > would be filed at the Chicago lockbox address on the USCIS and she can
    > then file for permission to work as well at the same time with form I-
    > 1765. I say might because she was not to have had immigration intent
    > when coming to visit you and she has been lucky over the last four years
    > not to have been questioned and denied entry at the POE.

But she did have immigration intent when coming to visit. She showed
the border official a copy of a letter from the INS that stated that an
I-130 was filed. She was never denied entry and I believe it was
because 1.) She has proof of her job in Canada, and 2.) before the
I-130 was filed, she had flown serveral times to visit me and they had
a record of this, making it believable that's she's just visiting.
Although it was easier to get through when she planned on visiting for
a few weeks rather than several months.
Yes, I've read other posts stating that an individual would be denied
entry to the US once their spouse filed an I-130. Maybe its just a
little easier when your visiting from Canada. I think the important
thing is that you can show that your intent really is to visit the US.
Kooner

    > However, if this is a long tedious and expensive alternative to her
    > returning to Canada and just completing the visa process on the I-130.
    > You might want to check with an immigration attorney as to her options.
    > --
    > I'm not an attorney. This disclaimer is valid in NYS!
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

ian-mstm

No, she didn't have immigration intent unless she was planning to stay in the US on that visit. Obviously, from the evidence produced, she was intending to return to Canada... ergo, no immigration intent. See how easy this is!


Perhaps because Canadians do not have the same burden of paperwork as folks from other countries, the process is somewhat looser - but you should expect this to change in the near future. I used to live in a border town and would cross into the US every few weeks... usually the conversation went something like this, "Where do you live?" "Windsor." "Okay!" Well, that was a while ago!

Ian