About to file the I-130, some questions (split topic)

[Marc & Lisa 0]

Hi Everyone

I've been jumping around VJ looking for info but finding bits of pieces. To make a long story as short as possible, I met my American wife in 2005. I am Canadian. We filed fiance papers in 2006 and married in Georgia in 2007. We lived in Georgia from 2007 to 2010. 2 beautiful girls were born in 2008 and 2010. Mid 2010 we moved back to Canada. My wife has Canadian green card. After 4 years we've decided to move back to US to be close to my wife's family. We will be mailing I-130 in a week. We also though it best that my wife move back ahead of me so our daughter can be set up in school in August. My wife and 2 daughters will move to her parents place as domicile. Her parents are also co-sponsoring my relocation. It will be difficult for me to be separated from my wife and 2 daughters. They are special. I will stay here and continue working until I get my visa.

So my questions are:

1. Is there any problem with my wife moving back before me and having our household belongings shipped with her?

2. We'll be filing before she moves so her address is currently here. By July she will be living with her parents. How do I deal with this in the I-130? My wife plans to write a detailed explanation and plan in the initial cover letter.

3. We'll be setting up a US dollar fund at a bank. So will this be helpul when transfering funds later?

4. How do we expedite so the separation is short?

5. Does my having a US SSN help?

That's about all for now. I suspect I will have more questions once I start getting some feedback.

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Post split from thread nearly two years old.***

**Moderator hat off**

Answers:

1. Not a problem, she needs to reestablish domicile in the US and this is something the Consulate in Montreal is very strict about.
2. She simply writes what her address is at the time the petition is filed. When she is at her parents' home in July, she calls USCIS to update her address. No lengthy or detailed explanation about this is necessary in the cover letter.
3. I'm not qualified to answer this.
4. USCIS expedite criteria is very specific, unless you meet that criteria, there is not much you can do. What you can do is once the I-130 is filed and in the system, start studying the procedures for once your file is at the NVC.
5. No

[mtlguy 59]

Marc,

Welcome aboard.

In a nutshell, my wife and I are in the same boat as you. She's a US citizen and a permanent resident of Canada and I'm just a regular proud Canadian.

For your questions:

1. Your wife is in fact expected to reestablish domicile in the States. So moving back before you is a definitely a plus. Moving back her belongings though might be subjected to import/export fees. I'd call the customs authorities and ask about that. In case they are subjected to fees and what not, it's better you wait until you get your green card, and claim those as part of your relocation (duty free).

2. I'd put her Canadian address if you guys are filing while she's still here. My wife and I did that, although she moved back to the States and got herself a job to satisfy the domicile requirement.

3. I don't see a reason how this is any issue. Again, my wife and I share bank accounts in both countries. Transferring funds in and out of these accounts is just that. It's your money. You're free to do with it what you like.,

4. The simple answer: You can't. Not unless you have a very valid reason ; extreme hardship and what not. and by extreme, they truly mean extreme. missing my wife, and being separated from my family doesn't fly. it sucks. it is what it is. join the club.

5. Not really. I have an SSN as well. The only thing you'll need to do is that you'll have to tell them about it while filing the DS 260 (they have a question about whether you had been issued an SSN in the past or not).

It's a long process. be patient.

[nightingalejules 678]

As far as opening a US dollar bank account in a Canadian bank, YES! This is a really good idea. You won't have quite as many problems as some of us because you probably have some kind of US credit rating. But the only way most of us will qualify for our own credit upon arriving in the US is through a bank that will access our Canadian credit history.

TD and Royal Bank (that I know of, there are probably others) have equivalent US banks.

TD Canada Trust in Canada and TD Bank in US

Royal Bank in Canada and RBC in US

I bank with TD, and at some point during this process I will open an account with the US version of the bank (which I can do without a GC or SSN, since it's a sister bank). Then I will be able to bank online with TD once I enter the US (there isn't a TD branch in the city I intend to move to) and will qualify to get a credit card in my name, because they will use my Canadian credit history.

I will also be able to do transfers back and forth and only have to pay the conversion rate once per transaction. I think the transfers themselves are free at TD. I will still have some Canadian debt to pay off, so it's extremely important that I'm able to easily transfer money from the US to Canada to pay my bills.

You may have fewer problems establishing credit in the US since you've lived there before, but it will definitely make cross-border transfers much easier and for those of us who are going from having excellent credit in Canada to suddenly having none at all in the US, it's even more important. US banks will not check into my Canadian credit history, so it's like I never existed at all and am a 40-year-old who's never had credit!

[Tala202 27]

Hi Everyone

I've been jumping around VJ looking for info but finding bits of pieces. To make a long story as short as possible, I met my American wife in 2005. I am Canadian. We filed fiance papers in 2006 and married in Georgia in 2007. We lived in Georgia from 2007 to 2010. 2 beautiful girls were born in 2008 and 2010. Mid 2010 we moved back to Canada. My wife has Canadian green card. After 4 years we've decided to move back to US to be close to my wife's family. We will be mailing I-130 in a week. We also though it best that my wife move back ahead of me so our daughter can be set up in school in August. My wife and 2 daughters will move to her parents place as domicile. Her parents are also co-sponsoring my relocation. It will be difficult for me to be separated from my wife and 2 daughters. They are special. I will stay here and continue working until I get my visa.

So my questions are:

1. Is there any problem with my wife moving back before me and having our household belongings shipped with her?

2. We'll be filing before she moves so her address is currently here. By July she will be living with her parents. How do I deal with this in the I-130? My wife plans to write a detailed explanation and plan in the initial cover letter.

3. We'll be setting up a US dollar fund at a bank. So will this be helpul when transfering funds later?

4. How do we expedite so the separation is short?

5. Does my having a US SSN help?

That's about all for now. I suspect I will have more questions once I start getting some feedback.

1. As others said, not only will there not be a problem, but it'll pretty much be required as she has to re-establish domicile in the US.

2. Put your current address and just call them once she's back in the US to change the address on file. You don't have to write any explanation, but go ahead if you'd like/it would make you feel better (I always figure more information is better than less).

3. Definitely helpful. You'll need to pay any and all fees in US funds from a US bank. Also, it seems like the value of CAD vs USD is dropping gradually, so it'll be advantageous to have a separate US dollar fund asap.

4. If you have special circumstances (e.g. military deployment, life endangerment, extreme medical problem, etc.), you could try for an expedite, but it's very difficult to get otherwise. They're pretty strict with it (they don't even seem to expedite for pregnancy, for example). In the meantime, just hang on, wait it out, and make the best of the time It'll all be over soon enough.

5. It doesn't help your process per se. I also have an SSN and figure it'll only save me some time in having to get it later on when you're actually in the US. Not too helpful otherwise.

As far as opening a US dollar bank account in a Canadian bank, YES! This is a really good idea. You won't have quite as many problems as some of us because you probably have some kind of US credit rating. But the only way most of us will qualify for our own credit upon arriving in the US is through a bank that will access our Canadian credit history.

TD and Royal Bank (that I know of, there are probably others) have equivalent US banks.

TD Canada Trust in Canada and TD Bank in US

Royal Bank in Canada and RBC in US

I bank with TD, and at some point during this process I will open an account with the US version of the bank (which I can do without a GC or SSN, since it's a sister bank). Then I will be able to bank online with TD once I enter the US (there isn't a TD branch in the city I intend to move to) and will qualify to get a credit card in my name, because they will use my Canadian credit history.

I will also be able to do transfers back and forth and only have to pay the conversion rate once per transaction. I think the transfers themselves are free at TD. I will still have some Canadian debt to pay off, so it's extremely important that I'm able to easily transfer money from the US to Canada to pay my bills.

You may have fewer problems establishing credit in the US since you've lived there before, but it will definitely make cross-border transfers much easier and for those of us who are going from having excellent credit in Canada to suddenly having none at all in the US, it's even more important. US banks will not check into my Canadian credit history, so it's like I never existed at all and am a 40-year-old who's never had credit!

I didn't know Canadian credit history doesn't carry over! That's a bummer. What kinds of things do you think that'll affect? (I'm a little young so I've never had to worry about credit history). I have a US bank account that's pretty much empty now; do you think it'd be to my advantage to transfer some funds over and use it a bit more to build up my credit history?