In over my head!

[thom n ally 0]

Hi all.I am in need of some guidence and I'm not sure where to look for it.

I am a Canadian who married a USC Dec 2010. I came down in the fall of 2010 with my 3 teens for a vacation and to spend time with my now husband, and crossed the border fully intending on going back. Basically I was goin to do the "snowbird" thing. In the middle of my visit my husband proposed and I accepted. We sought out an immigration lawyer and he told us that for our needs and wants we should marry as quickly as possible and file after without me n my children leaving the US. So we took the lawyers advice and married, made an appointment with USICS and got the shock of our lives-the costs of the paperwork were ALOT more than what the lawyer had "quoted" us. We were not prepared to hear that and since my husband is the only person supporting now 5 of us we have had to put off filing so we could save up the costs.

Fast forward to now 15 mths later and we can afford to do it! Yay we are thinking, no more stress we are thinking, let's find the right forms, a different lawyer and let's get this ball rolling! So last week we start calling around to different immigration lawyers and blam we are now gettin nailed with so much conflicting advice that we can't make heads or tails out of it.

We are being told:

1)wait for 6 more months then by the time Immigration gets to the paperwork we will have been married for 2 years so we will not have to go through the process and fees again in 2 years time which would save us a min of $6000 and would also prove that our marriage is "real"

2)file only the I-130 and only file that for me not my now 18yr old 17 yr old or 15 yr old

3)file the I-485, I-130 and then choose between the advice of all of us at once or only 1 of us every couple mths.

I have no more ties to Canada currently, my children have no ties, and none of us want to seperate our family. We do on the other hand want to have this mess cleared up so that my kids can begin the long process of becoming independant(1st jobs and future education and basically becoming adults)and not have this cloud of confusion over us. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read this novel!

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

**** Moving from CR-1 visa to AOS from Tourist forum as OP is already in the USA *****

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi all.I am in need of some guidence and I'm not sure where to look for it.

I am a Canadian who married a USC Dec 2010. I came down in the fall of 2010 with my 3 teens for a vacation and to spend time with my now husband, and crossed the border fully intending on going back. Basically I was goin to do the "snowbird" thing. In the middle of my visit my husband proposed and I accepted. We sought out an immigration lawyer and he told us that for our needs and wants we should marry as quickly as possible and file after without me n my children leaving the US. So we took the lawyers advice and married, made an appointment with USICS and got the shock of our lives-the costs of the paperwork were ALOT more than what the lawyer had "quoted" us. We were not prepared to hear that and since my husband is the only person supporting now 5 of us we have had to put off filing so we could save up the costs.

Fast forward to now 15 mths later and we can afford to do it! Yay we are thinking, no more stress we are thinking, let's find the right forms, a different lawyer and let's get this ball rolling! So last week we start calling around to different immigration lawyers and blam we are now gettin nailed with so much conflicting advice that we can't make heads or tails out of it.

We are being told:

1)wait for 6 more months then by the time Immigration gets to the paperwork we will have been married for 2 years so we will not have to go through the process and fees again in 2 years time which would save us a min of $6000 and would also prove that our marriage is "real"

2)file only the I-130 and only file that for me not my now 18yr old 17 yr old or 15 yr old

3)file the I-485, I-130 and then choose between the advice of all of us at once or only 1 of us every couple mths.

I have no more ties to Canada currently, my children have no ties, and none of us want to seperate our family. We do on the other hand want to have this mess cleared up so that my kids can begin the long process of becoming independant(1st jobs and future education and basically becoming adults)and not have this cloud of confusion over us. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read this novel!

First, do this yourself. It's straightforward. Read the guides (link at the top of every page) for US citizen and spouse who reside in the US. This will save you the legal fees. Also, spend time in these forums and learn what the potential problems are so you can avoid them.

If you've been married less than two years at the time the green card is issued (NOT at the time you apply for the green card) then you'll get a conditional green card. You'll be required to apply to remove the conditions for that green card two years after it's issued. If you've been married more than two years at the time the green card is issued then you'll get an unconditional green card. You'll have to renew it in 10 years. The only difference between conditional and unconditional is how long the green card is valid, and what process you have to go through to get another one. The "condition" on the conditional green card is that you remain married to the US citizen who filed the petition for you. It's still possible to remove the conditions and get a 10 year green card if you divorce, but you'd have to prove you entered the marriage in good faith - slightly more complicated.

Anyway, I tend to agree with this attorney's advice. Six more months and you'll get an unconditional green card, and you won't have to deal with USCIS again for 10 years unless you decide to become a US citizen. There's a possibility that if you filed now your green card wouldn't be issued until after your second anniversary, but since you can't know for certain how long it will take it might be better to just wait until your anniversary. In the meantime, start putting together your evidence of a bona fide marriage. Since you'll have been married for two years they'll expect you to have collected some pretty solid evidence.

When you file I recommend filing for everyone at the same time. Your kids are going to need proof of status in order to enroll in college and get in-state tuition. Do not postpone this too long, though. Your kids are eligible to adjust status as immediate relatives of your US citizen husband because you married before they were 18, but they MUST adjust status before they are 21 years old are they will no longer be eligible as immediate relatives. Once over 21 they would be eligible under the F1 family preference category, but then they wouldn't be able to adjust status because they'd overstayed.

[Soapz 14]

I believe you can average between 3 and 4 months for the applications to be processed. So use the next 3 months wisely and start getting your evidence together. I personally believe that the process can be done without a lawyer if the situation is as straightforward as yours. I was also close to the 2 year mark when I applied and it did save me money....

Check all the guides, when in doubt - ask here.

My advice:

Make a file each for you and your kids. Fill out all the documents online and save them on your computer. Name them accordingly - it will make necessary changes easier.

Check if you need a co-sponsor.

I never bothered with cover-letters, but make sure to separate each application visibly from the other. I know that there are a few people here that will tell you to not overdo it when it comes to supporting evidence - on the other hand I sent everything I had - my interview lasted 4 minutes.

Good luck.

[jdh 103]

I would tend to agree with the above statements...I would wait three months or so, but start your assembling of paperwork now so you are ready to go. Doing it on the computer will make it neater and easier to change anything should you have to over the next few months.

Read through all the guides, read the instructions for each USCIS form thoroughly and you should have all the info you need. Any other questions can quickly be answered on here.

I am not sure why it would save you $6000 but it will save you money. I would let each of your kids know to put some money aside and start saving for when they have to reapply or file for citizenship.

[thom n ally 0]

Thank you all so much for your guidence, it is very appreciated. We now know how we are going to get this done and for this stage there is no more confusion as to how to begin! Thanks also for clarifying that we really don't need a lawyer, as frankly I'm very discouraged with all the lawyers we have spoken to giving us different advice.