Living In Canada

[jayjay9 0]

Hey guys,

I have a complicated situation

First Part

I live in Canada and I had a Green card before and I never ended up moving to the states so it got taken away from me by the border agents.

Second Part

I got married to a US citizen and I sponsored her and now she is a permanent resident in Canada which is where we live and work. Now we are thinking of moving to the states so now she needs to sponsor me.

Is applying going to be any different since I had a Green card before?

Since she lives in Canada now and has no income in the states what can we do for the financial support?

Thanks

[oohpartiv 484]

What was your previous green card for? A job, a previous marriage? Regardless, I'm pretty sure there's a question on the paperwork somewhere along the line (sorry for the vagueness) that asks if you've previously had an American visa or green card. As long as you're completely honest it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but just be prepared to answer some questions about it at your interview, just in case.

Your wife is going to have to fill out the paperwork as your primary sponsor regardless of her financial situation, but if she doesn't meet the requirements you're also going to need a joint sponsor to fill in an I-864 and send the corresponding paperwork. That comes after you get your NOA2, so you still have plenty of time to work out those kinks.

[jayjay9 0]

My dad wanted to move the whole family to the states so we all got it but we never ended up moving. I was 17 when I got it.

So the first step is to do the i-130 for the address of my wife does it matter that she puts down a Canadian one or is that going to cause problems that she does not live in the USA right now?

[oohpartiv 484]

My dad wanted to move the whole family to the states so we all got it but we never ended up moving. I was 17 when I got it.

So the first step is to do the i-130 for the address of my wife does it matter that she puts down a Canadian one or is that going to cause problems that she does not live in the USA right now?

In that case, you should be fine, as long as you're completely honest about it.

If she's living abroad, put the foreign address. It doesn't matter that she's not living in the States (personally I've lived abroad with my husband for the past four years) - the only thing that changes with that is that she'll have to prove domicile during the NVC stage, but it's fairly simple to do, and it still a ways down the road for you.

[NikLR 13,234]

Eventually she will have to show she is re-establishing or has re-established domicile in the USA with either the AOS package or at the interview stage. Montreal is a little more strict on this subject than other consulates but it's likely because the USA is so close. The interview will be done in Montreal FYI. Also if she doesn't have a US based job she will need to find a US based joint sponsor who qualifies. Granted you have a few months before that happens. I would put down only Canadian addresses at this point to avoid the petition from going to a local office and have it stay directly at the NBC. The petitions should be approved in a few months if you do it that way. Then the NVC stage takes a little over a month and then another 1-1.5 months to an interview.

Edited May 15, 2013 by NikiR