Wife Pregnant, apply for immigration now?

[TorontoTong 0]

Hi Canucks,

I have a somewhat tricky situation that I'd like some input/help:

I am an US citizen residing in US, my wife is a Canada citizen residing in Canada. She visited me many times before without needing any visitor VISA given her citizenship.

We are now expecting (super excited but nervous as well :-)) for a baby. Reading through some of the forum topics, some questions come up:

1. If I apply for her US immigration asap, it looks like it will take longer than 6 months to get her actually here. Not to mention that she won't be able to do all the shots/medical checkups as part of the process. Should we wait until she delivers the baby, then file for immigration application for both the wife and kid?

2. Any Pros to apply now? Perhaps there is an expedited way given our special situation?

We'd appreciate if anyone can share any insights or the best option to pursue.

Thank you!

Tom

[Ms Hogan 295]

Just my opinion, as a woman who is married to an American... I would never have moved to the States while pregnant. I would have waited and had my baby in Canada. No-hassle-health-care. I wasn't pregnant at the time so this wasn't my actual scenario BUT no matter what the current timeline for immigration as a spouse I would want to be able to have my baby in Canada if given the choice. Then once all finished with that excitement worry about moving. It would be nice to be able to have the baby in a familiar setting and not get a bill at the end. That's just my opinion of course.

With all the baby stuff put aside, I don't see why your wife can't do her medical while pregnant, there's really nothing to it. If she already has her vaccinations up-to-date then that also doesn't have any bearing on it.

Finally, the length of time it takes is probably longer than it will take for her to have the baby anyway so why not get the process going. You may need to reschedule an interview or make some other minor adjustments along the way but it sure beats sitting around waiting for a baby and then getting to work on immigration and being separated from you family any longer than necessary.

I say get to work on filing you paperwork and make adjustments along the way as needed. Good luck!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Being pregnant will NOT speed up the process

[Antre 11]

check Consular Report of Birth Abroad http://toronto.usconsulate.gov/service/consular-report-of-birth-abroad.html

I think you can start immigration process for your wife and as soon as baby is born apply for his/her birth certificate through the Consulate. Just double check the details of registering birth abroad. there some conditions like U.S. citizen parent's physical presence requirement (presence in US).

She can postpone her interview for the visa until the baby is born.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1. If I apply for her US immigration asap, it looks like it will take longer than 6 months to get her actually here. Not to mention that she won't be able to do all the shots/medical checkups as part of the process. Should we wait until she delivers the baby, then file for immigration application for both the wife and kid?

Thank you!

Tom

Actually she could do the medical. As well there are some shots that are aministerable during pregnancy. That being said, delivery inCanada is a far better choice.

[TorontoTong 0]

Thank you for all the great insights!

We also prefer to have our baby born in Canada while getting the process started now. However:

1. If I apply for my wife's immigration while she is pregnant, should I indicate that we are expecting a baby? (1 dependent), or revise the applications with the baby info after birth?

2. Reading other posts on the forum, if we have an on-going application for immigration, my wife will not be able to enter US using the VISA Wavier program. I believe we will have to file for a special petition to get her into US when the the application is being processed, right? One of my concern for applying now is the long process that might keep us from uniting in US.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

She doesn't need a visa to enter. She "applies" at POE regardless of status with immigration. However, yes they can deny her.

[Ms Hogan 295]

Thank you for all the great insights!

We also prefer to have our baby born in Canada while getting the process started now. However:

1. If I apply for my wife's immigration while she is pregnant, should I indicate that we are expecting a baby? (1 dependent), or revise the applications with the baby info after birth?

2. Reading other posts on the forum, if we have an on-going application for immigration, my wife will not be able to enter US using the VISA Wavier program. I believe we will have to file for a special petition to get her into US when the the application is being processed, right? One of my concern for applying now is the long process that might keep us from uniting in US.

The application being in progress does not change her ability to visit you. Many of us have visited our spouses the entire time we were waiting for our case complete. I, myself, traveled back and forth every 2-3 weeks during my application process. Each entry, of course, is different and the POE officer can allow or deny her entry at any point. If they feel she is going to come in and not leave then they can deny her but they could have been doing that all along anyway. How long have you two been married? You are already doing this on a regular basis where she comes to visit you, right?

You would not add your unborn child to your application at this point. Also, I don't think you will at any point as he/she will be getting their US Citizenship instead. There is a lot of info on this topic if you search for it. I don't know the details but I believe it is quite straight forward to get your child their documentation for a USC birth abroad.