Moving to Colorado with Canadian GIrlfriend

[recentgraduate 0]

Hey everyone!

I am new here, but I was hoping I might find some guidance.

My girlfriend (from Toronto) and I (from Boston) are trying to move to Colorado this winter, but we are so lost in the legal system!

We have recently graduated from college, but are no longer students.

She has graduated with a degree in art, which isn't doing us any favors.

If there is any guidance you can provide, or even just a direction to head toward, we would be most appreciative.

Thank you so much ~

[afortunada 182]

Where are you both living now? It's hard to give you proper answers without more information; please share some additional details!

[recentgraduate 0]

I am in Boston, MA and she is in Toronto, ON. We hope to move to Denver, CO shortly after new years!

[afortunada 182]

I'm sorry to say this straight away, but unfortunately that's extremely unlikely to happen. If she were your fiance or spouse, you could sponsor her for a visa and she would be allowed to come over as your benificiary, but even if that were the case, the process takes between four/five months to one year (depending which route you go).

As she is neither your fiance nor spouse, neither of those apply to you. She would need to seek out a work visa of some kind, and for that I will wait for someone with more experience in work visas to answer, but that also is not an easy process.

She can travel to visit you, of course, but can not live there. She also can not travel over as a visitor with the intention of marying you and adjusting status once she arrives; that is considered fraud and is illegal.

Edited September 2, 2016 by jacklynriquelme

[Merrytooth 5,748]

You have no problem moving to Colorado as US Citizen.

But your gf is not likely to move to USA permanently just by crossing the border.

If both of you are ready to get married, then you can either choose the fiancée petition/K1 visa or the spousal petiton/visa route.

Otherwise she can look into the TN visa for Canadians, see if she qualifies.

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/employment/nafta.html

[EM_Vandaveer 2,369]

You have no problem moving to Colorado as US Citizen.

But your gf is not likely to move to USA permanently just by crossing the border.

If both of you are ready to get married, then you can either choose the fiancée petition/K1 visa or the spousal petiton/visa route.

Otherwise she can look into the TN visa for Canadians, see if she qualifies.

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/employment/nafta.html

With an art degree?

[Merrytooth 5,748]

With an art degree?

I don't know which area of study OP's gf major in, or OP really means art as in painting, drawing type.

Just giving an option for OP to research on.

[recentgraduate 0]

Thank you everyone. I looked into the TN, which won't work. She has a degree in sculpture and art history which is not covered.

We aren't ready to get married yet. I emailed an immigration attorney. I'm hoping that will help :/

[NikLR 13,220]

Not unless she wants to go to school here.

The US only has immigration for fiances and spouses.

Canada allows for common-law however.

[Boiler 43,434]

She can visit Colorado, but will not be moving.

[Cathi 5,610]

Thank you everyone. I looked into the TN, which won't work. She has a degree in sculpture and art history which is not covered.

We aren't ready to get married yet. I emailed an immigration attorney. I'm hoping that will help :/

An immigration attorney can do absolutely nothing for you, there is no such thing as a girlfriend visa. You are wasting your money. Unless you plan to get married there is no visa available to her.

[caliliving 606]

you need to get married.. before that, she can visit you up to 6 months... i know people that visit their bf's unfortunately, your best bet is to date long distance and get married soon.. i know you are young but it is unrelaistic to think she has any shot of getting a job anywhere in the USA and she will not get any company to sponsor her.

she should plan to look for a job in toronto and work from there and their are many cheap flights from there to denver!

[Boiler 43,434]

On a temp basis maybe a J1.

[NikLR 13,220]

I guess it depends on what you consider cheap. Also someone unemployed is unlikely to be allowed entry for 6 months.

[KierenHby 897]

Thank you everyone. I looked into the TN, which won't work. She has a degree in sculpture and art history which is not covered.

We aren't ready to get married yet. I emailed an immigration attorney. I'm hoping that will help :/

Highly doubt she qualifies for work visa.. TN\H1\J1.. of any kind, based on limited description of her academic background.

An immigration attorney could find you loopholes in the system (what they're usually good at), but as your girlfriend, her options to 'live' in the US are limited. Things would be different if as a fiance\spouse, but something that's off your table at the moment. She can visit you for temporary periods.