TN getting married to US Citizen. What to do?

[formerairline 0]

I've been a TN since April of 2005 in sunny Orange County, California (originally from London Ontario Canada). In 2007 I met a lady, one thing led to another and, long story short, we're getting married.

My TN status is set to expire in early April, the wedding is set for late May of 2010. I assumed that once you get married it was a pretty easy process to getting a greencard like getting a TN... oh what a foolish assumption to make.

I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do given the situation. Any ideas? I suppose I could go on getting the TN. Last April it was the easiest, quickest, most pain-free renewal yet. But renewing every year is such a pain, I have to go through this whole song and dance with the DMV, I can't do work on the side etc.

I know I should get some sort of fiancee or marriage visa. But will that require me to not have my passport? I'm going home for Christmas, and my employer kind of wants to start sending me to Paris every now and then.

[smurrito 1]

Once you're married you will not be able to renew your TN. TN is based on "temporary" intent to stay, once you're married to a USC it's hard to prove that you're not going to stay here permanently.

These are the steps you will need to follow, from what I understand:

1)Renew your TN status before you get married, I'd even do it when you go home for christmas.

2)Get married in the US

3) Apply for AOS (adjustment of status) to get a green card and an EAD (employment authorization document - you will be able to work as long as your TN status isn't expired but if it expires before you get your green card, you will need the EAD to work)

4)DO NOT leave the country until you get your green card. It can take anywhere from a few months to a year.

This is a very helpful post that has all the steps:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=212749

Edited October 19, 2009 by smactley

[formerairline 0]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I thought I should follow up and outline my Visa Journey.

I last entered the US on a TN in March of 2010. I knew I could renew for up to 3 years, but I figured I'd only use as much time as I needed as my intent was to stay with my wife in the US.

I got married to my wife on May 30th in San Juan Capistrano at a beautiful little cafe, with plenty of family there (the photos resulting would come in handy later on as I would find out). We then went on our Honeymoon in Kauai the day after.

Now, down to business. Things really didn't get moving until late August when I got in contact with an immigration attorney. I figured this would be a complex process, with a lot of stuff I could screw up. So, I thought it was best to hire one despite the expense. Luckily, I talked to my boss and he said my company would handle the filing fees. After all, it's something I absolutely needed to pay in order to keep working. I paid for the lawyer, since that was my choice.

My wife and I took a bit of time doing the whole application stuff, and we finally sent our stuff in in the middle of October. I forget when. At any rate it was received on October 17th, and the checks were cashed in shortly thereafter.

My biometrics appointment was the day after Thanksgiving. They had difficulty taking my fingerprints because my hands were so dry. Make sure you moisturize before your biometrics appointment.

Waiting for the interview seemed a bit long, mainly because things were delayed a bit by the Christmas holiday. Notice of the interview was made on Christmas eve, and I didn't get the letter until after the new year. I also received travel documents at that time, allowing me to travel outside the US before my appointment. My company has operations in Paris, and they needed me at the time I filed but I couldn't go, as you well know. Regrettably, it looks like they no longer need me, and so a free trip to Paris seems to have left me.

Finally, we got our appointment notice. When was the appointment? Valentine's Day. VALENTINE'S DAY! How romantic!

We did the preparatory meeting with my lawyer, and she basically told us we had a lot of work to do. We lived together for a long while before we got married, and so lots of our things still remained separate since that's how we're used to doing things. So, I gathered up more of our Bona Fides, printed a lot of photos, changed some accounts, made sure both our names appeared on Subscriptions... with difficulty. The only subscription that I managed to change in time was our Netflix account.

We were well organized on the day of our meeting, and it ended up being a pretty simple and stress free affair. My stomach was actually churning beforehand with nerves, expecting the worst kind of prying questions and a very cold interviewer. But this wasn't the case. None of the questions probed too deeply, and we had just the right amount of documents proving my marriage is bona fide.

Unfortunately, a new procedure at this particular branch (Santa Ana) required a background check once my case was continued (either approved or denied). This was unnecessary since the background check was performed on both of us on January 27th, but they had to do it anyway. The lawyer assured us that we were probably going to be approved, but agreed that this was an anticlimactic moment.

So this week I waited for a letter. The agent in charge of our interview said to expect one Wednesday or Thursday. None came. So, we checked online and it showed that my card had been ordered for production! Official notice of congratulations on becoming a lawful resident arrived on Friday.

We're glad the whole process is over... for now anyway.

[ladybug2010 0]

Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing your story! We are looking at doing AOS from a TN, too. Would you mind sharing more about your interview? I am curious if they tried to question much on immigrant intent. My fiance, much like you, entered in TN status and now we have decided to get married!

Did you utilize an attorney or did you consult with an attorney?

Did you have to show copies of your previous I-94's showing Tn status (we only have the most current one and do not have copies of the previous ones - they were turned in each time my now-fiance went to the border to obtain a new Tn)?

Any information you can share would be great.

[formerairline 0]

Hi,

We weren't questioned at all about intent. The most detail we went into was about our meeting, and that wasn't too specific. We heard a bunch of stories of people questioning what toothpaste we use, or what we've been having for dinner, and all sorts of stuff. This questions were straight forward and simple... for us anyway.

We did utilize an attorney, and she was there with us during the interview.

They just took my current I94, and gave me a copy. I brought along my expired passport showing old TN stamps, but they weren't interested in that at all.

[ladybug2010 0]

Thanks formerairline for the response and congratulations!

[formerairline 0]

Just an update - my green card arrived in the mail today!

[Dakine10 5,452]

I last entered the US on a TN in March of 2010. I knew I could renew for up to 3 years, but I figured I'd only use as much time as I needed as my intent was to stay with my wife in the US.

Congratulations on everything working out. You might want to be careful posting things like the above quote though.