My fiancee and I are getting more and more worried that her ex-boyfriend won't sign a "consent to immigrate" form or vary the custody and access court order. If we are denied a K2 visa, then I'm going to have to move to Canada, but still work in the US. Is that possible?

If we don't get that form before our interview, will the visa be outright denied, or could it possibly be approved pending receipt of it? The consulate in Montreal has not ever mentioned that such a form is necessary, but many of you on here has said it is.

I'm more stressed today after going to speak with duty counsel with Kristy than before. Do we look for an immigration attorney now, or a family law one? In the States or in Canada?

For strters

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

J+K good luck with getting that form signed.

In case the exbf doesnt sign the form (hoping he does), getting a candian visa takes around 3-4 months, but i am pretty sure you have to be married first.

Good luck, and keep your hopes up I am sure everything will work out for you.

A

I'm thinking that we may be able to apply as conjugal partners with immigration being a barrier to marriage/co-habitating.

Sure hope he signs the form. It's not as if she'll be far away. And the long term benefits for his child are not to be sneezed at.

If you do have to move you will be able to live in Canada and work in the US. A lot of couples do it on both sides of the border. That's one of the reasons for the Nexus implementation. Good luck, J&K.

Oh ya! Forgot about that! Sorry about that wrong info 3 of my friends just brought over their husbands from the middle east this year and it took 3-4 months. So you will be ok. Hopefully you wont need to come here.

I'm a bit more destressed right now. We'll just have to take things one step at a time. First, we'll try to get the form signed by him and a lawyer. Second, we'll try to change the court order, but if we get the consent to immigrate, maybe that will wait until after we AOS so she could travel to court if need be.

I know a K1 is single entry, but what about a K2? Would I be able to bring her into Canada so she could visit with her father if he actually wanted to spend some time with her?

The main thing I'm worried about is that the ex will pull a Hague Convention international abduction case against K.

I agree...it is a bit scary. But i think you are doing the right thing by looking at all of your options. After all you cant force him to sign it. Just try and stay positive and hopefully this guy will sign it.

Jeremy
K2 is the same as K1 for visiting, you would have to have AP. I just know from checking for my little K2'rs
I can't really help much with what you are going thru, but I just want you to know my thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time.
V

Did some digging and found this on the State Department's site, under the Reciprocity Schedule for Canada:



Her court orders state that she has custody, but that he has access on alternate weekends. However, this paragraph also states "divorced parent." Kristy was never married, so does this have any bearing?

OK, I really don't know much on this.............but was she common law with the "donor"?

sorry don't know anything about the kid issues. But conjugal sponsorship is generally more difficult to get-usually only works when there are laws preventing you from marrying (ie. same sex couples) not just difficulties in getting married. I'd guess that Kristy not being able to immigrate because of the ex wouldn't be considered an barrier to marriage, just to co-habitation.

If you do need to immigrate why not just get married really quick? You've already had the party, might as well make it legal.

didn't finish my train of thought...geesh

anyways if she was common law that is sometimes same as being married in the eyes of the law. I was never married to my girls "donor", but I still had paperwork showing that I have full custody (not that he cares anyways) and I did have to send it in and show it for my K1 interview.

like I said...I'm just giving my 2 cents 'cause I only know from my experience.

Nope.



Yeah, I did more digging into that, and you are right that we wouldn't be able to file as conjugal. Wouldn't want to get married until after we've exhausted most of our possibilities of still going forward with the K1+2. That's still our first choice because of the job and house market.

Conjugal Partner for a hetero US/Canadian couple is a no-go. You will get denied in no time flat. I know of someone who tried this against my advice and wasted 9 months to find out that they were denied. Your time and money would be better spent to just get married and apply for family class via marriage like most people do.

You're going to have to get married first.. definitely apply for out of Canada processing. In-Canada takes forever and leaves you in legal limbo for quite some time. A friend of mine that I am helping is a nurse and moved to Canada. We had to do In-canada for her since she wanted to live in Canada during processing as soon as she was married (tried my hardest to dissuade her of it) and needed to keep crossing the border to go to her job in the States.

However, there are some HUGE tax headaches with people working in the US and living in Canada. It's going to cost you some big dough, especially with the Loonie being worh more than the USD...

I surely don't know any of the ins and outs of bringing children to the US from Canada, but did want you to know that I'm thinking of you both right now!

Sometimes "ex's" can be surprising! You live so close to the border, I'm sure a meeting of lawyers could resolve this. Maybe the visits have to be less frequent, but for longer periods, I don't know...just a suggestion.

Anyway, keep us advised, and know we're thinking of you!

Carla

If you're thinking about immigrating to Canada, then I'd recommend these three sites:

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada (The official Canadian citizenship & immigration site)
• CanadaVisa.com - Canada Immigration Lawyers (Canadian immigration & visa advice from Canadian attorneys)
• Road to Canada (The Canadian version of VisaJourney)

Hopefully, that should help some.

it is possible to cross the border for work while living in canada. i did it for a year and a half, no problems, though, i would suggest getting a nexus right away, because it does take awhile and there are odd times when traffic's so bad you'll be late to work. there are 2 options in your case if you're looking into immigrating to canada. you can apply as a fiancé or as a spouse, if you are married. you can either apply while living outside or inside of canada. to apply from inside, all you have to do is go to the POE and tell them that you plan to apply to immigrate and they will issue you a temporary residence permit on the spot, which is usually valid from 6-12 months. it will take about a year and about $2,000 to become landed, but unlike US immigration it's just one step and you're an official permanent resident. let me know if you have any more questions. i'm an LPR here.

Ah HA... another smartie Canadian thing. So, while you are applying to live in Canada, you may leave and come back as many times as you please before your residency is final? You're not stuck there like you'd be stuck in the States?

This is very good news.......

I just asked the same thing in PM...

No, you are not stuck in Canada and can usually come and go as you please. You would be documented on a visitor record (not allowed to work or study) and usually CIC will renew the visitor record past 6 months as long as you are keeping up with your Canada immigration process. Please note that it's not intended for the use of "hanging out" in Canada while your spouses US immigration case is pending. You must show your intend is to immigrate to Canada - meaning filing the appropriate paperwork diligently and paying the fees.

Cool. I'm not going down that route until/unless we get denied the US visa for whatever reason. And then it would be my intention to immigrate there, and not just "hang out." I'm just afraid at how long/how much money I'd lose trying to sell my house, if it did come down to that. Although, I could probably rent it out.

Neiks would know better, but I was told while I was on the TPR that it could be taken away from me whenever I left Canada. But it never was, I guess the border guards didn't want to have to issue me another one when I came back. My TPR was valid for 6 months and was just issued when I crossed the border with all my stuff. Renewal costs $75 and takes 2-3 weeks. One thing to keep in mind if you do go this route, Canadian citizens and PRs can't drive non-Canadian plated vehicles in Canada. so, you'll have to import your car quickly. I did all that while I was waiting for my landing papers.

Also, the fees have been reduced since h_bomb and I immigrated-I think now it's about $1000 paid all at once. I really found the Canadian immigration process much easier and definitely much faster than the US. Plus as long as you and Kristy live together 3 out of 5 years, you keep your PR status reguardless of where you actually live.

I didn't find Road to Canada very helpful-maybe it's more active now. I liked Britishexpats.com many are skilled worker immigrants but there seemed to be several other family class immigrants. the people arn't as nice as visajourney but most of my questions got answered

If you need someone to teach the donor a "lesson", count on my budgies...
I hope you guys get this resolved. Why the blip is the donor being such an azz.... arghhhhh.
Keep us posted!!!!
L.

Cuz he can...I'm dealing with one of those too...grrrrrr!

Just had to say I agree about the Canadian process...definetly easier and faster...

will give you the link to the group I used on Yahoo while going through the Canadian process... I havent been there in a couple of years but its still very active...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canadian_immigration/