Applying from out of country, with no rush

[theworldawaits 0]

Hey everyone,

My wife and I got married in August 2014 in the United States. My wife is an American citizen and I am a Canadian. We are currently living in Canada and plan to be here for about two years or so (due to work opportunities for me here in Vancouver).

That being said, we both see ourselves living in the United States long-term. Both of our families live there (my parents immigrated after I was 21) and we would like to settle there eventually as well. The reason for my post is to get some insight/advice on the best way to approach our eventual immigration to the United States as a married couple. If possible, I would to have a green card before we move down there so I can continue to support our family.

A few questions as we start to consider what lays ahead..

1. Is there anything I should keep in mind before starting the application process? I'm assuming we will apply via the CR-1 route...

2. Is it OK to apply when we are both living outside of the country? Will this affect our application (or the way we go about it?).

3. If we decide to pursue permanent residence for my wife in Canada in the meantime, will that negatively affect our application? (we haven't yet applied)

Any other insight/wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated. Navigating all the governmental regulations to immigrating is quite overwhelming!

Thanks, and many blessings~

Jason

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

1. If you immigrate after your two year wedding anniversary, you get the ten year greencard and thus save yourself some money and paperwork "removing conditions": The spousal visa means you get a greencard upon entry and can work and travel right away, which suits your needs. Keep an eye on processing times (currently, it is about a year or a bit more), and apply when ready. Once you have the visa, you have 6 months to move.

2. Absolutely, we did that too. The USC spouse will need to prove "intent to re-establish domicile"- ie that they really want to move to the US permanently.

3. No

[theworldawaits 0]

Wow, that is really good to know! I didn't know it changed so dramatically after you've been married 2 years! It seems that is the route to go..

So, if I understand correctly..

- Wait until 2 year wedding anniversary

- Apply for Spousal Visa at this time
- Wait around 1 year for processing time

- Get visa.. and move within 6 months

I'm assuming we have to wait for 2 year anniversary before we can apply this way.

So in summary.. we wait 2 years.. apply.. wait another year (or so) for approval.. then move?

[NikLR 13,220]

No no... Start soon because you can delay at a later stage but then YOU get to choose when you go, vs waiting for the USCIS and NVC to hurry up. But try not to immigrate before you've been married for 2 years so that you get an IR1 visa instead of the CR1.

The IR1 designation comes in at POE, (when you enter with the visa) not when you start the process.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

NLR is correct- you can apply now (or whenever- a bit over a year before you want to move essentially); what matters for the greencard is that you immigrate/ cross the border after your 2nd anniversary.