Long Term Stay in USA

[MrJDC 0]

Hello,

I’ve been reading over this forum and had a few questions of my own. I apologize if these questions have already been answered.

I am a Canadian citizen, living in Canada, and I was planning to visit my girlfriend in the USA. She is an American Citizen. I was planning to go there for about 11 weeks, or 77 days. I was planning to go there in the middle of December. I previously visited her last May until the end of August and was there for about 98 days.

She also came to Canada in October for two weeks and I entered the United States briefly when she left to drive her to the Buffalo-Niagara airport. So, my total time in the USA this year has been 99 days.

My questions:

1: Would there be any issue specifically with my amount of time that I am trying to go there for again? It would bring my total time in the USA to 176 days. From what I’ve read, Canadian’s can be in the USA for 182 days in a 12 month period. (Not sure entirely how accurate this is).

2: Do I need to fill out a tax form with being there for this amount of time? (I have not been in the USA prior to my entry in May). I was reading about Form 8840 (the Closer Connection Exception Statement for Aliens). If so, would I need to fill this out prior to going, while there, or when I returned?

3: I know the big issue with entering the United States is about showing that you plan to return to your home country. I currently don’t work and live with my parents. So, to show any ties to Canada, I would have the following:

-Active cell phone bill.

-Bank accounts, credit cards and Tax Free Savings Account investment portfolio.

-A scheduled medical procedure for when I return to Canada.

-A medication prescription that lasts until my date to return to Canada.

-Return flight to Canada.

-Travel medical insurance that expires for when my return flight to Canada is.

-Sufficient money to support myself while in the United States (At least ten thousand dollars.)

-Currently enrolled in school. But, with this, I don’t have very much money invested in it. It isn’t a college or university. It is just an adult education centre to obtain some credits I was missing. So, I’m not sure how much merit it would have for me, and I’ve only been actively enrolled for about two months.

I’m not sure if it helps that I was previously in the USA for three months and left like I said I was going to.

Is there any issues with my plan to go there for another 77 days in December, and is there any other information or forms that I should be aware about?

And one final question – we are engaged and plan to file the K-1 form in the future. Does it matter if I say I am going to visit my fiancé, or should I say girlfriend?

Thank you.

[canadian_wife 1,785]

1. There might be if the officer admitting you thinks that there is. But good thing that CBP is lenient with Canadians.

2. I doubt it since you'll be in Canada for 180+ days

3. You have what you have, you can't manufacture stronger ties.

Will it be ok? Lots of people post on here looking for absolutes. Your lack of a job or rental/mortgage property is not ideal, but your other ties seem ok. All you can do is try and be honest. There was a recent post on here about a man that was denied entry to the US because (well, for many reasons but one...) he said 'girlfriend' instead of 'fiancé. Again, answer the question honestly because if they find out, and if they want to find out they will, it will be a bad day for you.

good luck

[HFM181818 748]

the lack of a job is obvious, as anyone with a real job could not spend 6 months in a foreign country....neither is the 'school'....for the same reasons....you might be admitted, you might not be...all the other things mentioned are fluff and do not prove intent. RT airline tickets can be changed, bills paid from a distance...being enrolled in a 'school' that you can also attend from a distance is not a reason to return to Canada....don't know why people believe that having a cell phone or a credit card binds one to one's own country....

Edited November 26, 2015 by HFM181818

[MrJDC 0]

1. There might be if the officer admitting you thinks that there is. But good thing that CBP is lenient with Canadians.

2. I doubt it since you'll be in Canada for 180+ days

3. You have what you have, you can't manufacture stronger ties.

Will it be ok? Lots of people post on here looking for absolutes. Your lack of a job or rental/mortgage property is not ideal, but your other ties seem ok. All you can do is try and be honest. There was a recent post on here about a man that was denied entry to the US because (well, for many reasons but one...) he said 'girlfriend' instead of 'fiancé. Again, answer the question honestly because if they find out, and if they want to find out they will, it will be a bad day for you.

good luck

Thank you for your response. Do you happen to have the link for the post that you're referencing? After a lot of reading, I see it's better to just say fiance, if she is in fact my fiance. In regular talk, I would just say "girlfriend" when speaking with someone that I know personally. But, I could see how this could be seen as attempting to mislead.

the lack of a job is obvious, as anyone with a real job could not spend 6 months in a foreign country....neither is the 'school'....for the same reasons....you might be admitted, you might not be...all the other things mentioned are fluff and do not prove intent. RT airline tickets can be changed, bills paid from a distance...being enrolled in a 'school' that you can also attend from a distance is not a reason to return to Canada....don't know why people believe that having a cell phone or a credit card binds one to one's own country....

Thank you for your post, the information is appreciated. I saw that you were a retired officer in this field of work, so I've read over a lot of your previous posts to other people to gain further insight.

Another question for you: You mentioned that a lot of it is fluff. Would having 5000-10000 dollars frozen in a bank account that could only be released by me appearing at the branch in person be considered a strong tie to having to return to Canada? I would have a document from the bank stating such.

While reading through some of your posts in other threads, I had encountered another poster who referenced something like this. So, I contacted my bank and they informed that I could put a hold on my funds and they'd issue me a document stating that I would have to appear in person to release them.

[HFM181818 748]

No....posting such bonds is worthless.....there are way too many loopholes allowing people to get their money back, and posting such a bond does not prevent you from doing an AOS.

Intent is the key, combined with very strong reasons to return....none of what you mentioned appears all that strong, even collectively.

[canadian_wife 1,785]

Thank you for your response. Do you happen to have the link for the post that you're referencing? After a lot of reading, I see it's better to just say fiance, if she is in fact my fiance. In regular talk, I would just say "girlfriend" when speaking with someone that I know personally. But, I could see how this could be seen as attempting to mislead.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/576722-can-i-receive-a-k1-visa/ <-- post #6

Further, it is always best to tell the truth. You asked her to marry you, she said yes...isn't that the definition of fiancé?

Good luck