Canadian and American both living in Canada during I-130

[AlbertanAmerican 0]

My wife is American and I am Canadian. My wife sent in the application for the I-130 in end of February 2017 and it landed in the Nebraska center. I know it is taking longer this year than normal, so we understand it is likely to be processed in the next couple of months (maybe this month?). My wife and I are both living in Toronto as we are both working in Toronto (she has her Canadian permanent resident card), and we hope to move to the US as soon as this process is complete. What we are wondering is:

 

1) Roughly how much time is the rest of the process after approval of I-130 form? Are we looking at 1 month? 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? There are some things up here we are considering and that knowledge could really help.

2) Is there anything we should be preparing now while waiting for I-130?

3) Does not wife need to get to the US early before I move down there, get a house and job before we move? We may have her family sign the affidavit of support as a backup. We have savings and can probably move and live off of them for some time if need be and I work as a computer engineer so finding work appears to be not that hard according to my research.

4) What is(are) the form(s) we fill out after the I-130?

5) Does the criminal background check for me require fingerprints (because you can get them with or without them)?

Thanks for your help.

[broppy 204]

3 hours ago, AlbertanAmerican said:

1) Roughly how much time is the rest of the process after approval of I-130 form? Are we looking at 1 month? 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? There are some things up here we are considering and that knowledge could really help.

It's probably somewhere in the 4 to 6 month range.

3 hours ago, AlbertanAmerican said:

2) Is there anything we should be preparing now while waiting for I-130?

Not much - make sure you've got all the supporting paperwork ready - IRS tax transcripts, etc. - and age-appropriate vaccinations.

3 hours ago, AlbertanAmerican said:

3) Does not wife need to get to the US early before I move down there, get a house and job before we move? We may have her family sign the affidavit of support as a backup. We have savings and can probably move and live off of them for some time if need be and I work as a computer engineer so finding work appears to be not that hard according to my research.

She doesn't necessarily need to move south before you do - sufficient proof of US domicile and intent to move should be enough (we had her US bank statement, voter registration, driver's license, mobile phone bill, and a letter from her employer stating that she would be taking up a new position in the US). 

3 hours ago, AlbertanAmerican said:

4) What is(are) the form(s) we fill out after the I-130?

You'll complete the DS-260 immigrant visa application online; wife (and parents, maybe) will complete I-864 affidavit of support. That's it.

3 hours ago, AlbertanAmerican said:

5) Does the criminal background check for me require fingerprints (because you can get them with or without them)?

Fingerprints are only required if you have a criminal history - otherwise, name and date-of-birth check is fine.