Canada to United States immigration question?

Question

i am a canadian citizen, i have a fiance and 3 children who live in the united states. we live in a border town and i travel back and forth as often as possible. what is the best method for permanent entry?

Answer 1

Canada has better standards of life than usa

Answer 2

Probably the easiest since your already accustomed to commuting would be to marry your fiance on one of your visits there. You'll have to go home as just being married to a US citizen does not grant you permanent status.. Once you're married, she can file the I-130 for you.

Here are the instructions for it

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130ins...

Here is the actual form..

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130.pd...

Once that is filed, you'll get either an approval notice or a request for more information in about 2 months. Make sure to fill out everything as accurately as possible. When they ask for passport style photos, they mean US passport style as Canadian passport style are different..

After that you'll get a paper in the mail for you to designate someone to receive USCIS mail on your behalf, it's best to have it sent to her as it can take quite a while for mail to cross the border. Then, they'll send her the I-864 to file which is the affidavit of support..

Here's that form and the instructions..

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m...

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864.pd...

In advance, she'll want to make sure she meets 125% of the poverty guidelines for your household size..  For a household of 5, that's $31,000 she has to earn annually. If she doesn't quite meet that, hopefully she has a relative that is willing to take on the commitment of being a cosponsor.. Here's the poverty guidelines for you info..

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.p...

Once you file that, you'll get a bill for immigrant processing and then you'll get the DS 230 to fill out. Eventually, if all that goes smoothly, you'll get an interview date scheduled for probably Montreal. You'll bring the DS 230 into the interview and will fill out the second part at the interview under oath..

Here's the DS 230..

http://www.state.gov/documents/organizat...

I'm just adding those forms for your reference so you know what to have ready in advance. Once you send in the I-130 though, you'll get those forms sent to you in order with your own barcode on them. If you don't already have a Canadian passport, get one. You'll also need the long version of your birth certificate if you don't already have one. Canada takes forever to send you a birth certificate, so apply for the long one in advance or you end up paying high 'rush' fees.

Make sure not to overstay in the US, and, always bring proof of current Canadian employment when going to visit. Be very careful while you're there not to get into any kind of even minor trouble with the law. Once you have ties to the US, the border patrol is more likely to refuse you entry because they are afraid that you won't return to Canada. However, lying at the border can also get you into big trouble. I wouldn't stay over any longer then for the weekend..

Overall, it took my husband and I about 6 months, but, that was sending everything in as soon as we got it back..

The great thing about doing it that way is that you can continue to live and work in Canada right up until your interview. After your interview, if all goes well, you'll get your passport express mailed to you in 3 business days with your temporary permanent resident card stamped in it. You have to cross the border at that point and enter the office to have it signed off on which triggers them to send your official green card and assign you a social security number. You'll probably have a couple weeks there where no employer will touch you because you don't have your green card yet or a social security number, BUT technically that stamp is a temporary green card and permission to work. Make sure you're moving any belongings over at the same time as you get a bit more of an allotment dollarwise for how much you can take across at that point without paying duty..

Just about any of the other methods have you here for several months, but, not yet able to work..

The only drawback is that you get a 'conditional' permanent resident card which you have to remove the conditions of two years later with another $500 application (I-751)and yet another interview..

Best of Luck!

Answer 3

Go to an immigration office and ask for a Workers visa