So...uh, car stuff. Aaaaand Canadian debt. K-1 journey.

[zilchfox 296]

Hi all! First of all, I'm in Calgary, Alberta.

My future hubby and I are about to begin the process of applying for a K-1 visa (intended to for a while, but for now we've just been visiting each other back and forth as per usual. Can you blame us? We miss each other!). Fortunately for us, with the whole Supreme Court ruling same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional nationwide, we can get married in his home state of Georgia! I actually calculated some figures for the fun of it, and based on 10 separate visits to see each other in our respective countries (I visit him, and he visits me), we've actually spent nearly 6 months together in person since 2011, from what all started as an online friendship, to meeting for the hell of it and actually becoming super attracted to each other! I'm super nervous about the interview, especially since I'm a disorganized mess and keep almost nothing since I'm a minimalist. Urg, what a way to kick myself in the butt! Good thing is, he's got tons of pictures of not just us, but his family too, and for many various events over the years! I can even see how I gained 50 lbs throughout this timeline of photos with him.

Anyways, despite being excited, that's not what this topic is about. First, the car.

So I have a 2010 Mazda 3 that I bought brand new...in 2010. It's 2015 now, and the car is slated to be fully paid off in 2018, and I intend to pay this car off. At this time, I still owe an outstanding balance of $14,144.67 on it, to be fully paid off by Feb 2018 if I continue making my normal payments. I checked with the bank, it's my name on the bill of sale, not the bank! They don't care if I import the car, as long as I continue to make my payments, which I can wire transfer. I'll see if I can get in contact with them about some leeway during the time I *cannot* work legally, see if they can hold off car payments as a huge favor for several months. With that said, how do I begin the process of importing my car? How much is this process going to cost me? I assume I'll need to drive the car down to Georgia after my interview, and also talk to the border guys about importing my car, but I just don't know where to begin!

Second topic, I stupidly incurred credit card debt. A LOT of credit card debt (more than my car debt), thanks to my younger years as a young adult. I'm going to be 27 in 2 days. Now, there's no way in hell I'd just run away from this debt, I have to own up to it. I have never missed a payment (or if I have, I got a polite reminder via phone call that I forgot, to which I paid right away and the late payment never reflected on my credit report). My credit score is...decent, at best. While I have no creditors after me for anything, and I make all my payments on time, my debt to income ratio is too great that it lowered my score to around 670. I'm going to be calling and letting them be aware of my plans of moving to the U.S., and I want to settle the debt once and for all. I'm scared of my credit score affecting my SO's, but I've also read that my credit history won't follow me to the U.S., good or bad. If that's the case, whew! I don't care about myself so much when it comes to a credit score, but I don't want to screw up someone else's credit because of my stupid young adult self! I racked up this debt before we even met, and he's aware of it. I'm hoping my credit card companies will play nice with me and also give me some leeway since I'm giving them a heads up BEFORE problems with making payments arises.

Sorry if I'm going on a tangent, but my SO was concerned about cost for sponsoring. I calculated the following totals: K-1: $265, I-485 (adjustment of status): $1070, I-765 (employment authorization) and I-131 (advance parole): $0, yes?

Thank you everyone!

[Exocet 88]

Importing the car is easy. Contact Mazda, and tell them what your plans are. They can get you a letter to indicate that the car meets US EPA standards. Some dealerships charge, others don't. Take that piece of paper and your ownership with you at POE, and then they have you fill out forms. That's pretty much it.

As for the debt, I moved to the US with Canadian debt too. I wasn't about to not pay it. I just kept making monthly payments on it until it was gone. Really, your Canadian credit score won't matter a fig here, and it won't affect your spouse's credit score either. Kinda like starting anew. You can call the credit card companies and play hard ball with them... tell them you're moving to the US and would like to pay what you can... and hopefully strike a deal. Otherwise, you can go to one of those fancy bankruptcy places and try to get a consumer proposal or something like that. Or you can just keep making monthly payments from the US.

Hope this helps!

[NikLR 13,227]

You may have issues at the CBP to import your car and you also may have issues registering your car in the USA with a Canadian lien on it. Generally speaking people have not been able to import cars with liens on them. Also someone at the bank may not care but you should re-read your loan documents carefully. Be aware that if your car was made in Japan, as Mazda's used to be, you may have to pay duty on it. If you cannot register your car in the USA, you cannot get insurance for it in the USA.

Your credit score will not follow you unless you wanted it to and made specific plans to be able to.

Have you already sent the I-129F?

[CanToCal 2]

I'm in the same boat! Mitsubishi 2014 RVR to import to the USA, and student debt (plus car payments)... We'll be submitting the I-129F next week some time, and this whole car thing has really thrown me for a spin.

I bought the car, brand new, not really anticipating this change of plans. Sooooo, the dealership is saying there'll be no issue because "all you have to do is change the odometer to miles and have it e-tested"... I've emailed Mitsu Canada and Mitsu USA hopefully for more answers as to what I can do. I own the car, but not outright. Thankfully I've financed it through Mitsubishi, and I'm hoping that plays to my advantage....

Here's hoping...

[NikLR 13,227]

Check your loan docs.