Both living and working in Canada

[Pglenday 0]

Hi there,

My wife is American and I am Canadian. We are residing in Canada right now and are both working. We are hoping to move back to the states within 3 years and are wondering what the best option is for us. Our main questions are:

Is there a way for us to stay in Canada and work until my visa is approved?

If not can we move to the states and just have her work while I wait for my visa or does she have to go by herself and sponsor me and wait until I get my k-3 visa before I can join her?

If she does have to go first and then wait for me does she have to have a job to be able to sponsor me?

If anyone can help with these questions we'd really appreciate it. We have 3 small children and are hoping to make this move as painless for them as possible.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Yes, you can absolutely stay while the process is going on.

If your wife lives there legally, then you would write your canadian address as your address on the paperwork.

You would be filing the I-130 for an eventual CR1/IR1 visa, not a K3 visa.

If she stays in canada, you will need to eventually have a joint sponsor as she'll have no US income to count towards her affidavit of support.

She will need to provide intent for domicile in the US which would mean a lease from a relative if you're intending to stay with a relative until you get an apt, otherwise a lease in the US from an actual apt that is your own.

She will also need things like a valid US license, voter registration, bank account, etc.

Things like that that prove you are coming to and staying in the US.

[Ryan H 3,932]

You won't be pursuing a K3, it's an obsolete visa type. Instead, you will be pursuing an IR-1 (if married for 2 years or more) or CR-1 (if married for less than two years).

[hikergirl 277]

1. You have to stay in Canada until the visa is granted. You will be following the CR-1/IR-1 path. Here is a guide for that: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Because Canada doesn't have a USCIS office you aren't allowed to do DCF (direct consular filing).

The K-3 Visa more often than not gets "administratively closed" during the process, plus it makes you adjust status (and therefore cannot work) once in the US - so you can't work, collect EI or travel outside of the US until approval comes through. Plus it costs a lot more.

2. No. You cannot move to the US without an immigrant visa. She doesn't have to move a head of you but you will need to have either assets or a co-sponsor if she stays in Canada with you. Here is a thread from the Canada forum on proving domicile: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/164618-proving-domicile-when-not-living-in-the-us/

3. If she doesn't move ahead of you then you will need either assets or a co-sponsor. I'm not knowledgeable on this but there should be lots of threads on the I-864 and proving assets.

4. If you haven't already, you will need to look into CRBA's for the children. The sooner the better: http://canada.usembassy.gov/consular_services/birth-abroad.html

*sorry for the overlap of info. Other people posted while I was looking for links etc

Edited December 8, 2012 by hikergirl

[NikLR 13,235]

You can both live in Canada during most of the visa process. She can petition you while she's in Canada if some items are met. Montreal is a stickler for domicile so eventually she will need to prove that you guys are moving there by establishing a domicile in the USA. If she is not already working there with a job that meet the minimum poverty line requirements (125% of the poverty line as applicable to the year you move down and your family size... $33,762 in 2012) she will need a co-sponsor who does meet that guideline. The job has to be an American job. Either that or you can go in with 3x the 125% on assets.

You can stay together for MOST of the process but eventually she will need to move down and establish a home in the USA. It might be beneficial for her and the children to go before you, start any schooling, establish a home and then you join immediately after your visa is approved. I'm not sure how soon before an interview they want to see domicile established, but I don't think you'll be apart for long.

Have you filed the CRBA for your children yet? This would make your life a lot easier. They'll be dual citizens and can have US passports.

Also how long have you been married? If you will have been married for longer than 2 years at the time of the interview you'd get an IR1 visa which means it's not conditional and it's valid for 10 years.

Also ignore the k-3 visa. it is a non-immigrant visa, is RARELY approved, and in the end even if it is, it's more expensive and not as beneficial. The K3 visas generally take just as long as a CR1/IR1 and the latter is the superior visa.

( i think we all were writing at similar times... I apologize if I reiterated what others have said.)

Edited December 8, 2012 by NikiR