Family Planning

[Tofu 342]

Hi there, I am a Canadian Citizen and I have just filed the I-130.  From what I am understanding the process from start to finish will likely take a year or more.  Just wondering if anyone has any comments "For" or "Against" family planning during this process.......  (Note: not trying to expedite case,  mostly curious about mat leave eligibility / citizenship of child /  negative impacts on current case status).   Thank you!

[AnJay 137]

First of all, your pregnancy or newborn child wont help expedite anything. Second, if you have a child before the interview, new affidavit of support needs to be provided. More people=more money. Child of US citizen is a US citizen. 

[Tofu 342]

Thank you for the reminder of the income requirement increase... Like I say, I wasn't trying to expedite, just curious of other implications.

[Illiria 980]

Maternity leave is pretty much zilch in the us - some states have protections to stop you being fired and a few weeks of a very small amount of money but most don’t. I think there is one other country that has as bad a deal as the us on mat leave. 

 

The child could have us citizenship if the us citizen parent meets certain requirements (residency in us for a certain number of years prior to the child’s birth) there is a process to claim the citizenship and then apply for a passport it isn’t just a case of getting them on a plane the next day. 

 

There is a risk in this process of procreating - the visa process encounters an issue - then one of the parents has to live apart from the child beware as this sucks. We have seen it happen then people ask for help as they are looking at living apart from their child for the first one to two years of their life.

 

 

[Ontarkie 13,904]

~~Moved to the Canada Forum, from IR1/CR1 P&P - Some of the OP's question will be specific to Canada.~~

[Ontarkie 13,904]

As already mentioned maternity leave sucks in the US and that is if you're lucky to get any. 

 

Than you have the AOS and that would be an increase for the number when the child is born. 

 

Now for citizenship that's pretty easy. Any children you have will be dual regardless of where they are born.

 

Now as for birth, I would vote for a Canadian birth. I had 4 in Canada and 2 here (sadly Arkansas is probably not the best example) and even though I had an awesome doctor I noticed that they treat pregnancy like a time bomb. They are much more c-section happy here and induction and well I can go on and on about how backwards the US is about childbirth. If I was a first time mom I know I would not have had the birth experience I wanted because I would have believed the bull they tell us.  I also found that lack of actual help after birth was lacking. No wonder so many mothers leave the hospital without knowing the slightest thing. 

 

Ok back to your questions. 

 

Down side of planning a family during this is not being together while you go through pregnancy. All the little things that we would experience and share would not be the same over the phone or on visits. Doctors appointments, baby shopping, I had so much fun doing that with my husband. I know that will differ with everyone, but doing it together was fun for us. 

 

Oh and you can't buy things in Canada like crib and car seats to bring them here for use. They are not certified for use in the US and you can be fined or the border can take them or both. 

 

Now if you do decide to start now and close to the time you  move you start maternity leave that can continue after you move to the US. We have had a few moms do just that. It's been awhile but it has been done and completely legal and that extra money is nice to have when you move.

 

You won't be able to get the baby bonus or GST  (whatever they are calling both of those now) once you move though.

 

Ok That is all I can think of right now. Good luck with your decision. 

[Lemonslice 4,549]

Longer term: education in the US is different and will vary a LOT depending on where you live.  Something to look into. 

[NikLR 13,220]

Im glad my kid is getting her education in Canada.  🤐

I also vote for a Canadian birth. 

[canadavisa22 197]

10 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

Oh and you can't buy things in Canada like crib and car seats to bring them here for use. They are not certified for use in the US and you can be fined or the border can take them or both. 

 

So if I'm driving over the border for my POE with my spouse and child, what would they say about the car seat my child is in?

[Ontarkie 13,904]

3 hours ago, canadavisa22 said:

So if I'm driving over the border for my POE with my spouse and child, what would they say about the car seat my child is in?

They should let you get to your make your move but once living in the US you will need to buy another seat. For tourist the seat will be fine. It's messed up but it is what it is. 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Ontarkie

[canadavisa22 197]

1 hour ago, Ontarkie said:

They should let you get to your make your move but once living in the US you will need to buy another seat. For tourist the seat will be fine. It's messed up but it is what it is. 

I'm just wondering how they'd follow up on that. You'd have to get pulled over by a cop and have it inspected (basically 0% chance). 

[Ontarkie 13,904]

8 minutes ago, canadavisa22 said:

I'm just wondering how they'd follow up on that. You'd have to get pulled over by a cop and have it inspected (basically 0% chance). 

I'm sure many ppl get away with it, but as it is not legal we cannot discuss trying to sneak by with it. 

[PurelyRavage 92]

Hi! So me and my fiance applied for K1 in August of last year. I got pregnant end of september. We were lucky because we only live 35-40min away from eachother. It was stressful having to cross constantly to see eachother. We delayed my Montreal interview by 2 monta so i could give birth in canada. I had my son may 16. We then went the following month to do my medical exam in toronto as well as applied for crba and american passport for our son. At the end of june I did my Montreal interview and passed. During the interview when i stated we had a baby she made a remark thats all the proof they need to know were together lol. We crossed july 2. Were both covered under my husbands insurancr. So far everything is great here. I am glad I was able to give birth in Canada and because I did i still get my 1 year maternity pay leave. As for the AOS increase it made no difference for us as my husband still makes way over the requirement. 

 

I had my baby shower originally in the US so all my items including car seat etc was american. 

Edited August 19, 2019 by PurelyRavage

[Terrbear 0]

Hey! I’m in this boat right now! Due to sending in  a few documents incorrectly (picture not rotated they way they wanted it 🙄), we are waiting for an interview date after a year and two months. Baby is due in March. SO complicated seeming and stressful! I have no idea where to give birth, or what my maternity leave will look like as I will still be working in canada. It’s hard to wait to start a family but I think this confusion is really stressful!!!