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Moving to the US - immigration question.

Moving to the US - immigration question.

Old Aug 20th 2003, 5:06 pm
  #1  
K C
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the US - immigration question.

Hi all,

I (Canadian) will be getting married in December in Canada, to a US
Citizen. We were planning on living in the US after we got married,
atleast for the first few years and then possibly moving back to
Canada.

When we called the INS they said that once we get married and have the
license in hand, we need to apply for my "green card" at the office in
Louisville, KY. Not really sure if we need to go there in person or
mail the documents in. I'm assuming that processing of these
documents will take 2-3 months at the least. I have a few questions
for any of you who have been through this or are familiar with the
process.

1. Once I apply for US Immigration after getting married, am I allowed
to leave the US? ie. We would probably want to travel back and forth
since my family is in Canada.

2. Assuming the process takes 2-3 months or more, between the time we
get married and the time I get my US status, is there any way I can
get authorization to work in the US? I don't want to sit around in
the US waiting for my green card to process when I can be working in
Canada.

3. If I got a job in the US before hand and worked on a TN visa in the
US(which I have done before) would my green card application kill the
TN visa? or vice versa? ie. can I be on a TN while wiating for my
green card to process?

The problem is we don't want to be living in different cities after we
get married but if my papers aren't going to be ready till 3 months
after we get married then we just might have to do that.

I don't think the fiance visa does any good since we're getting
married in Canada.

If anyone has any suggestions/advice that would be great!

Thanks,

KC
 
Old Aug 20th 2003, 7:08 pm
  #2  
Karen Lore
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Moving to the US - immigration question.

Hi KC,

You can apply to adjust your status by mailing/couriering the documents to
them. The entire packet of forms can be obtained from the BCIS website.
Processing of these forms is taking ages. Go to www.shusterman.com for
current processing times for your area. You will also need to file for an
employment authorization document and advance parole to travel. These
will take a few months to get. Again, see Shusterman's site for more
info.

1. If you leave the US without Advance Parole, they won't let you back
in.

2. See above. My friend went home to work while she waited for these
things, but she was taking a chance that they didn't require her to pick
up the advance parole in person. Most of the time, they just mail it to
you (in the USA), but the immigration officer told her they sometimes
request an in-person pick-up.

3. If you have a TN visa and work under it, you can still work under it
while your application is pending, but you're not allowed to travel
without advance parole.

You have to be very careful coming back to the US once you're married. If
you don't have a K-3 spousal visa and you show up at the border with all
your stuff, they will bar you at the border and you'll be stuck in Canada
for 12-18 months while your spouse applies to sponsor you. If the INS
think for any reason that you intend to stay, they won't let you in.

Good luck!

Karen :-)










K C wrote:

    > Hi all,
    > I (Canadian) will be getting married in December in Canada, to a US
    > Citizen. We were planning on living in the US after we got married,
    > atleast for the first few years and then possibly moving back to
    > Canada.
    > When we called the INS they said that once we get married and have the
    > license in hand, we need to apply for my "green card" at the office in
    > Louisville, KY. Not really sure if we need to go there in person or
    > mail the documents in. I'm assuming that processing of these
    > documents will take 2-3 months at the least. I have a few questions
    > for any of you who have been through this or are familiar with the
    > process.
    > 1. Once I apply for US Immigration after getting married, am I allowed
    > to leave the US? ie. We would probably want to travel back and forth
    > since my family is in Canada.
    > 2. Assuming the process takes 2-3 months or more, between the time we
    > get married and the time I get my US status, is there any way I can
    > get authorization to work in the US? I don't want to sit around in
    > the US waiting for my green card to process when I can be working in
    > Canada.
    > 3. If I got a job in the US before hand and worked on a TN visa in the
    > US(which I have done before) would my green card application kill the
    > TN visa? or vice versa? ie. can I be on a TN while wiating for my
    > green card to process?
    > The problem is we don't want to be living in different cities after we
    > get married but if my papers aren't going to be ready till 3 months
    > after we get married then we just might have to do that.
    > I don't think the fiance visa does any good since we're getting
    > married in Canada.
    > If anyone has any suggestions/advice that would be great!
    > Thanks,
    > KC
 
Old Aug 21st 2003, 4:58 am
  #3  
ScarlettHill
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Moving to the US - immigration question.

Originally posted by K C
Hi all,

I (Canadian) will be getting married in December in Canada, to a US
Citizen. We were planning on living in the US after we got married,
atleast for the first few years and then possibly moving back to
Canada.

When we called the INS they said that once we get married and have the
license in hand, we need to apply for my "green card" at the office in
Louisville, KY. Not really sure if we need to go there in person or
mail the documents in. I'm assuming that processing of these
documents will take 2-3 months at the least. I have a few questions
for any of you who have been through this or are familiar with the
process.

1. Once I apply for US Immigration after getting married, am I allowed
to leave the US? ie. We would probably want to travel back and forth
since my family is in Canada.

2. Assuming the process takes 2-3 months or more, between the time we
get married and the time I get my US status, is there any way I can
get authorization to work in the US? I don't want to sit around in
the US waiting for my green card to process when I can be working in
Canada.

3. If I got a job in the US before hand and worked on a TN visa in the
US(which I have done before) would my green card application kill the
TN visa? or vice versa? ie. can I be on a TN while wiating for my
green card to process?

The problem is we don't want to be living in different cities after we
get married but if my papers aren't going to be ready till 3 months
after we get married then we just might have to do that.

I don't think the fiance visa does any good since we're getting
married in Canada.

If anyone has any suggestions/advice that would be great!

Thanks,

KC
If I understand you rightly you intend marrying, then entering the US and adjusting status. Technically that's a no-no, though some seem to get away with it.

If you are married and intend to enter and remain you need to apply for a spousal visa. If you intend to enter and marry you need a fiance visa. Only if you enter to visit then suddenly decide to marry on the spur of the moment does the law allow you to adjust status. You suggest BCIS told you differently - it wouldn't be the first time. But check out the marriage-based forum and do a search. BCIS does not always inform people correctly and the results often mean problems down the line.

Suggest you post your plans on the alt.visa.us.marriage-based site and see what responses you get from the lawyers and other experts before going ahead with this plan.

From:

http://travel.state.gov/tcn.html

"Citizens of Canada do not require a visa, except as described below.
Canadian citizens travelling to the US for these purposes require nonimmigrant visas:

- foreign government officials (A);
- officials and employees of international organizations (G),;
- NATO officials, representatives and employees if s if they are being assigned to the U.S. (as opposed to an official trip).
- treaty traders (E-1) ;
- treaty investors (E-2);
- fiance/es (K-1);
- children of fiancees (K-2);
- U.S. citizen's foreign citizen spouse, who is traveling to the U.S. to complete the process of immigration (K-3);
- children of a foreign citizen spouse (K-4) described above;
- spouses of lawful permanent residents (V-1) traveling to the U.S. to reside here while they wait for the final completion of their immigration process.
- children of spouses of lawful permanent residents (V-2) described above.
Permanent residents of Canada must have a nonimmigrant visa unless the permanent resident is a national of a country that participates in the visa waiver program (VWP), meets the VWP requirements, and is seeking to enter the U.S. for 90 days or less under that program."


Wishing you all the best.

Regards
-=-
Scarlett
 

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