Paper work needed for Non-USC spouse.

[torsdan 0]

I am an USC and planning to marry my Canadian finance in Feb. We have talked to a Lawyer and it will cost $3000 including form fees. She will be going back to Canada after and then we will be filing the forms. As of now we think we will be doing the paper work ourselves to save money. I will file a I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative)with the G325A (Biographic Information) and I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act.

We were told going about it this way she will have to go to Montreal for a solo interview to be approved and it’s possible she could be living here by next Christmas. Do these steps sound about right and do you file the 130 at the same time as the 864? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

[charity1214 3]

I am an USC and planning to marry my Canadian finance in Feb. We have talked to a Lawyer and it will cost $3000 including form fees. She will be going back to Canada after and then we will be filing the forms. As of now we think we will be doing the paper work ourselves to save money. I will file a I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative)with the G325A (Biographic Information) and I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act.

We were told going about it this way she will have to go to Montreal for a solo interview to be approved and it's possible she could be living here by next Christmas. Do these steps sound about right and do you file the 130 at the same time as the 864? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to VJ and congratulations on your impending nuptuals!

No, you won't be filling out he I-864 at the same time...there is a wonderful guide that most of us use that will guide you through the process so that you can do it yourself and save yourself a lot of money.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

I also encourage you to browse through the forums (click Portal too and visit other Canadian topics) and you will get a lot of questions answered. It's a little overwelming at first, but if you take your time, do each step thoroughly, and have a lot of patience, you can do it!!! The Search bar has been helpful too... the results are VISA JOURNEY housed, so you can find much of what you need just by browsing and searching and using the guide. But there are also many educated people here to help answer questions as well.

Good luck and congratulations!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

No in the Canadian forum is going to recommend doing it with a lawyer - they'll just slow the process up by being the middle man. They cannot 'help' get your VISA faster (despite what they tell you) and frequently they misadvise - many folks have had that experience.

Welcome to VJ and all of us are more then will to help...the forums are great, the personal touch in the Cdn forum is especially nice when sharing common experiences. The GUIDES are extremely helpful.

You can compare your timeline to otehr recent VISA's of the same type going through Montreala nd get a realistic idea of when to expect your honey home

Edited December 2, 2010 by Udella&Wiz

[Flames9_RN 358]

Take ur time and READ the GUIDES at the top of the forums! Everything you require (information wise) and more can be found on VJ for FREE!! lawyers in straight forward cases are just $$$$$$$$$ proof readers, thats it!! YOU still have to gather the documents (Long form birth cert, police background check, etc etc) We used a lawyer--as we had not found VJ---she was fine, but not worth the $$$$$. Take ur time and read the guides then ask questions. NO 1 cares more about your case than YOU. Welcome to VJ

[Canadiandggal 49]

I am an USC and planning to marry my Canadian finance in Feb. We have talked to a Lawyer and it will cost $3000 including form fees. She will be going back to Canada after and then we will be filing the forms. As of now we think we will be doing the paper work ourselves to save money. I will file a I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative)with the G325A (Biographic Information) and I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act.

We were told going about it this way she will have to go to Montreal for a solo interview to be approved and it’s possible she could be living here by next Christmas. Do these steps sound about right and do you file the 130 at the same time as the 864? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the wonderful Canada forum

As said above a lawyer is not the way to go in most cases, compare the prices 3000 for a lawyer or zero for all of our help I pick the free one!

You will be doing the Cr-1 process, the guides are very helpful and so are the people. Please use the search egnine when you are stuck on an issue, in most cases someone has asked the same question as you along the way. If your head is spinning out of control with confusion feel free to ask any questions as we are all very willing to help out a fellow Vjer. At the moment the Cr-1 process is taking a bit more time than usual but hopefully by the time you are at that stage the backlog will be over with. Right now from start to finish the Cr-1 journey is approximately 1 year. You will be sending the i-130 and g325a at the same time, the i130 cr-1 guide will explain it all. Once your I-130 is approved you will move onto the next stage and send in the i-863ez and the Ds230 package, then the next stage will be the interview.

Congrats on your upcoming marriage

Good luck

[Flames9_RN 358]

COMPARE THE VISAS:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[OBX 51]

Welcome to VJ. I will second what everyone above has posted...read, read and reread the guides to familiarize yourself with the process. There is an amazing amount of helpful information on VJ in the forums, guides and Wiki links. Good luck.

[Married2009 32]

I am an USC and planning to marry my Canadian finance in Feb. We have talked to a Lawyer and it will cost $3000 including form fees. She will be going back to Canada after and then we will be filing the forms. As of now we think we will be doing the paper work ourselves to save money. I will file a I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative)with the G325A (Biographic Information) and I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act.

We were told going about it this way she will have to go to Montreal for a solo interview to be approved and it’s possible she could be living here by next Christmas. Do these steps sound about right and do you file the 130 at the same time as the 864? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to VJ, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding. You can attend the interview with her. I went with my husband. It's not necessary, like it is at some of the consulates, but it is allowed. You can file electronically. It saves a little bit of time, as opposed to sending things snail mail. Just remember to take the originals to the interview.

[torsdan 0]

Will I being a US citizen have to go to the interview. We are planning on filing after she goes back to Canada.

Also we are documenting our time together. What is a good way about doing this? We have flight tickets, pictures, some phone and text record.

[Inky 1,111]

Will I being a US citizen have to go to the interview. We are planning on filing after she goes back to Canada.

Also we are documenting our time together. What is a good way about doing this? We have flight tickets, pictures, some phone and text record.

No the USC does not have to attend the interview as the interview is for the person getting the VISA. But USC is allowed at and into the consul with their USC passport if you want to go with her.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Will I being a US citizen have to go to the interview. We are planning on filing after she goes back to Canada.

Also we are documenting our time together. What is a good way about doing this? We have flight tickets, pictures, some phone and text record.

Precisely what you've done is good. Many of us have made copies or Flight tickets, copies of pictures togetehr on various vacations...phone records showing that you're calling one another - anything that shows evidence of your relationship - I'm not familiar with how much evidence is need for spousal VISAs...but someone here will be.

Never send originals - always send copies - she can bring the originals to the interview.

[torsdan 0]

Will I being a US citizen have to go to the interview. We are planning on filing after she goes back to Canada.

Also we are documenting our time together. What is a good way about doing this? We have flight tickets, pictures, some phone and text record.

Lol, I mean, Being that I will be residing in the United States and my wife will be in Canada will I have to go to an interview or is it just her going to one in Montreal?

[torsdan 0]

Thx for all the help guys. She is just freaking out alittle bit, and our phone and text records of the last 2 years would be 1000s of pages, I am sure we dont need all that.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thx for all the help guys. She is just freaking out alittle bit, and our phone and text records of the last 2 years would be 1000s of pages, I am sure we dont need all that.

You don't need to supply every month, every page....over the course of say a year...1 from the first month, 1 from the 6th and then 1 from the 12th...showing you're still calling.

I personally did not include personal emails, we had so much else to prove we were a couple like trips and pictures together that it didn't matter.