IR1? New here!

[ClemsonC 62]

Hi Everyone, 

 

New here   I have a feeling I will be frequenting this website often for the next couple years!    My husband moved up to Canada with me over ten years ago. We got married 5 years ago.    We have two children together, which have their dual citizenship and I have two from my previous marriage (they are 14 & 16). 

Here is our situation. My husband works for a major manufacturing company that has offices/plants all across the world. He'd like us to move back to the states in a couple of years.   He will be able to "transfer" down to the plant down there (its kind of informally quitting, but having a job offer for the one down there, and his seniority, file, etc will still follow him).

 

I have a few questions
1) I am assuming we are applying for a i130 which is a cr1 for myself and my two oldest?

2) What are the costs at the different stages? 
3) We own a home, which we will have to sell after the visa is in hand. How long after we receive the visa can we move?  I'm worried about the timing of that with selling the house.
4) Does my husband have to find a sponsor due to what I stated in my first paragraph?

5) My 16 year old son is unsure if he wants to move to the US yet, or remain in Canada.  What is the best way to handle this situation?  My worry is if he says no now & once we are about to move, or once we have moved - that he will change his mind.

6) How does the whole parental consent work from my ex husband? Is there papers he needs to sign?   I'm assuming since my son will be over 18 its Not Applicable, but for my daughter who will be 16 at that time. 

 

This seems like a very overwhelming time that's up ahead!   I'm hoping the stars will align the best they can with this entire immigration process / selling the house / moving / buying a new home / & work!

 

Thanks in advance! 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

15 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

1) I am assuming we are applying for a i130 which is a cr1 for myself and my two oldest?

You husband, the US citizen, can file I-130s. He has to file 3 I-130s, 1 for you, as a spouse, and one for each of children, as their step parent. 

 

16 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

2) What are the costs at the different stages? 

I-130 is $535 a pop payable to the USCIS. NVC stage is IV fee $325 and AOS $120, per person. Green card fee is $220 per person. So bare bone you're looking at $1200 per person just in fees. That is you're doing it yourself. I'm sure there will be other costs associated to it along the way. For example, I don't know where you live in Canada, but Immigration visas are only interviewed in Montreal, so if you live in say Vancouver, you're looking at a trip across the country. There is a medical exam and vaccination per person. 

Fees are in US dollars.

23 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

3) We own a home, which we will have to sell after the visa is in hand. How long after we receive the visa can we move?  I'm worried about the timing of that with selling the house.

After the interview, you have slightly less than 6 months to enter the US to obtain the green card. The visas will be issued with the expiration of 6 months from the medical. 

That aside, you do not have to sell you home before you leave. You can list it and have a realtor handle it, and just go back to sign the papers, or not even, you can give limited powers of attorney for your real estate agents to handle the closing. At least that's the way it's done here in the US for a long distance thing. I've bought houses where I've never even met the seller. At closing, their agents signed all the papers. The initial offer and acceptance can be signed via docusign. That is acceptable, again, here in the US. 

29 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

4) Does my husband have to find a sponsor due to what I stated in my first paragraph?

That depends on how much he makes. Here is the minimum: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

 

For a family of 6, that is $43,237 if you live in anywhere but Hawaii and Alaska. Now, that is the absolute minimum to be considered. The consular officer will determine each case based on the totality of your family's circumstances, such as what do you do and how much you make, and how likely it is that you will find a job that make the same amount, how old are you, do you have any medical conditions (cancer, diabetes, ... that costs a lot to live), sounds like you will have 4 children you need to put through college, are they going to college? Do you have any savings for them, does his company in the US offer health insurance? Insurance is a big thing in the US, unlike Canada...  blah blah blah, the list goes on and on. 

 

See, if he makes $200,000 a year, you walk in there and there won't be even a question. If he makes $50,000/year, obviously they will have concerns about how likely it is your family will need to rely on government's assistance to survive in the US. 

46 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

5) My 16 year old son is unsure if he wants to move to the US yet, or remain in Canada.  What is the best way to handle this situation?  My worry is if he says no now & once we are about to move, or once we have moved - that he will change his mind.

The best way is just do it. Do the visa, get the green card. If he decides to stay, he stays. Even after he gets to the US, he can always go back to Canada. You only lose the $$ filing fees for him. 

 

47 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

6) How does the whole parental consent work from my ex husband? Is there papers he needs to sign?   I'm assuming since my son will be over 18 its Not Applicable, but for my daughter who will be 16 at that time. 

Yes, the 18 year old won't need parental consent but you will need to ex husband to sign on a paper that he expressly allows his daughter to immigrate to the US. 

 

48 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

This seems like a very overwhelming time that's up ahead!   I'm hoping the stars will align the best they can with this entire immigration process / selling the house / moving / buying a new home / & work!

Yes, it is very overwhelming. What I can tell you is, the stars will NOT align. They never do, especially when it comes to immigration process to the US. It is costly, it is time-consuming, it is not easy, then coupling that with the move/selling your house, and start fresh from new land (I am in the middle sort of the same thing right now, I am relocating for a job from a northern state to Florida. My new job starts Feb 10th and I am freaking out... ). But remember it will be worth it. And at any given point in times, there are hundreds of thousands of people are going through the same things you're going through, every where in the world from Asia to Europe to Africa.... 
Good luck on your Visa Journey! 

 

 

[ClemsonC 62]

Thank you so so much for all the info! I feel like my head is going to explode from so much to do and remember, lol. 
Hubby’s job to start down in South Carolina is 54k, cost of living is relatively low.  I’ll have my Canadian EI for a few months, but I do definitely have to look for a new job. College ain’t cheep! Lol. 
He used to be in the USAF, and is hoping to join the National Gaurd once we’re settled. 
His employer offers excellent health benefits, and has their own medical clinic too for employees and families. 
 

However, I have a feeling we will need to get his sister or father to do the affidavit of support - as by the time our interviews land, my husband will still be working up here and not have a US income yet (until we move). 
 

Again, I appreciate your response above!!

[geowrian 22,335]

43 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

However, I have a feeling we will need to get his sister or father to do the affidavit of support - as by the time our interviews land, my husband will still be working up here and not have a US income yet (until we move). 

That can cover the financial sponsorship part of things.

However, there is a US domicile requirement of the I-864 as well. Canada is notoriously strict on this. Expect to have the petitioner actually move beforehand, for at least a few weeks to couple months beforehand.

Edited January 15, 2020 by geowrian

[ClemsonC 62]

18 minutes ago, geowrian said:

That can cover the financial sponsorship part of things.

However, there is a US domicile requirement of the I-864 as well. Canada is notoriously strict on this. Expect to have the petitioner actually move beforehand, for at least a few weeks to couple months beforehand.

Well, that puts a damper on things as my husband won’t be able to get the time off to come up and get us moved down. 
We will have to get my sister in law to do it! 

Edited January 15, 2020 by ClemsonC

[ClemsonC 62]

Is the I864 due at the interview? Or NVC?

[canadavisa22 197]

6 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

Well, that puts a damper on things as my husband won’t be able to get the time off to come up and get us moved down. 
We will have to get my sister in law to do it! 

Read the domicile thread pinned at the top of the forum. It's not always the case that you need to move down before the interview. 

[Lil bear 3,831]

5 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

Well, that puts a damper on things as my husband won’t be able to get the time off to come up and get us moved down. From the reading I did, I had no clue he has to be living in the US 

There isn’t a fixed requirement .. each consulate his their own way of making decisions within broad guidelines ... and Montreal is really tight on demonstrating domicile .. other consulates will accept evidence of “ intending domicile “ but Montreal want the USC to have established domicile 

3 minutes ago, ClemsonC said:

Is the I864 due at the interview? Or NVC?

NVC

[geowrian 22,335]

Intent to establish US domicile is not something Montreal typically accepts, unlike other consulates.

[ClemsonC 62]

It’ll be fine, my sister in law and my father in law both don’t mind sponsoring

[geowrian 22,335]

1 hour ago, ClemsonC said:

It’ll be fine, my sister in law and my father in law both don’t mind sponsoring

That's fine for financial sponsorship, as already noted. It won't work for domicile as the petitioner must provide an I-864 even if using a joint sponsor, and the domicile requirement is attached to the I-864.

Edited January 15, 2020 by geowrian

[ClemsonC 62]

So even using a sponsor in the US, my husband will have to have domicile in the states too?

(sorry, just confused!)

[canadavisa22 197]

1 hour ago, ClemsonC said:

So even using a sponsor in the US, my husband will have to have domicile in the states too?

(sorry, just confused!)

Read the thread stickied at the top. It is possible to stay together and receive the visa. Montreal does allow intent to re-establish domicile, but it's not always 100% the case. Gather all the information and decide what is best for your family. 

 

In a worst case scenario you could be initially denied the visa until your husband moves back to the US but you could try to stay together first. Many couples have had success doing this in the last few months that I've spoken with. Good luck!

Edited January 15, 2020 by canadavisa22

[geowrian 22,335]

4 hours ago, ClemsonC said:

So even using a sponsor in the US, my husband will have to have domicile in the states too?

(sorry, just confused!)

He will need to either have US domicile or show sufficient intent to establish domicile in the US.

The former is much more commonly necessary with Montreal. I'm sure some people have had success with the latter, but it is uncommon (Edit: or at least less common).

Not trying to discourage you...just trying to set some expectations. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

 

If denied due to lack of the petitioner's domicile, he can then move and actually establish domicile (likely over a few weeks to couple months), then submit that evidence to the consulate for consideration.

Edited January 16, 2020 by geowrian

[ClemsonC 62]

I just finished reading the domicile thread. Thanks for sending me there! That was a long read!

 

Our four year old son has autism, and with no family to have support from within 20 hours drive - it’s a scary thought to have to live apart for some time if it comes to it with no other support.

 

I know we hope to move in a couple years and have time to think things further (if my husband will move ahead of time), but if he does stay then hopefully this would be enough proof, if he moves with time after my interview:

-Letter of his intent to move 

- Letter from his employer stating transfer from Canadian plant to the plant in South Carolina (it’s informally quitting but he still keeps seniority as it’s the same company, but different plant)

- Buying a house down south and closing on it just before the interview and paying two mortgages

- Documents from using VA home loan since you can only use it if the home is your primary residence or will be your primary residence 

- Emails between Realtor about getting our home on the market after visa is in hand (as the consulate says not to sell until that happens)

- Proof of BOA bank account and credit card my husband has had for 20+ years
-Contract with PODS to show we will move our belongings shortly after interview 

Edited January 16, 2020 by ClemsonC