Received GC Approval; going to get married and file for I130 + I485 for spouse. Please Help.

[mark2700 0]

Hello. I recently was approved for my Green Card (GC) due to the approval dates changing in the USA. My lawyer says it's in the mail. My lawyer, however, is paid by my company and will not assist me with family related GC issues. Unfortunately, my soon-to-be spouse and I were not able to get married before the green card approval was issued. This obviously was a huge mistake.

 

My goal now is to get my spouse into the US on a Green card. I am not sure which guides to follow, but I'd like to know where to start. Here are some points:

1) I will have possession of my GC in a couple of weeks.

2) My spouse-to-be and I are both Canadians.

3) I intend to marry my spouse in September.

4) My spouse has a profession that qualifies for a TN visa.

 

Here's what I know:

Resource #1 - spouse should be considered F2A: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-family-preference-immigrants 

Resource #2 -  She should go through Consular processing as she is in Canada presently: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/consular-processing

 

Here are my Questions:

 

What are all the forms I'll need? I know the I-130 + I-485 are the key ones. Do I just file them together?

If we file the forms, can she THEN go apply for a TN Visa to work in the USA for a while? 

Alternatively, if she find a job in the US first under a TN Visa and THEN applies for I-130 with I-485, is that okay? She would need an Advance Parole application to go through in order to leave and re-enter the country at that point because of the TN status + AOS status right?

 

Thank you in advance, Visajourney folks. 

[retheem 553]

5 hours ago, mark2700 said:

Hello. I recently was approved for my Green Card (GC) due to the approval dates changing in the USA. My lawyer says it's in the mail. My lawyer, however, is paid by my company and will not assist me with family related GC issues. Unfortunately, my soon-to-be spouse and I were not able to get married before the green card approval was issued. This obviously was a huge mistake.

 

My goal now is to get my spouse into the US on a Green card. I am not sure which guides to follow, but I'd like to know where to start. Here are some points:

1) I will have possession of my GC in a couple of weeks.

2) My spouse-to-be and I are both Canadians.

3) I intend to marry my spouse in September.

4) My spouse has a profession that qualifies for a TN visa.

 

Here's what I know:

Resource #1 - spouse should be considered F2A: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-family-preference-immigrants 

Resource #2 -  She should go through Consular processing as she is in Canada presently: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/consular-processing

 

Here are my Questions:

 

What are all the forms I'll need? I know the I-130 + I-485 are the key ones. Do I just file them together?

If we file the forms, can she THEN go apply for a TN Visa to work in the USA for a while? 

Alternatively, if she find a job in the US first under a TN Visa and THEN applies for I-130 with I-485, is that okay? She would need an Advance Parole application to go through in order to leave and re-enter the country at that point because of the TN status + AOS status right?

 

Thank you in advance, Visajourney folks. 

Since she is out of the US at the moment, she will put in I-130 and I-130A. The I-485 is used for those adjusting while inside the US. Since she is not, then she doesn't fill that. Try the TN visa way first because once you get the I-130, it will be harder to do the TN because she will have shown immigrant intent

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

47 minutes ago, retheem said:

Since she is out of the US at the moment, she will put in I-130 and I-130A. The I-485 is used for those adjusting while inside the US. Since she is not, then she doesn't fill that. Try the TN visa way first because once you get the I-130, it will be harder to do the TN because she will have shown immigrant intent

Regardless whether or not i130 is filed first it is fraudulent to get a non immigrant visa such as TN intending to use it to be able to adjust status. 

[HRQX 4,145]

7 hours ago, mark2700 said:

What are all the forms I'll need? I know the I-130 + I-485 are the key ones.

Entering the US with TN visa and having intent to eventually submit I-485 is 100% illegal. Also, F2A category I-485 could be denied by USCIS for preconceived intent to AOS because the 2 BIA rulings only apply to IR (the spouse or child (unmarried and under 21 years old) of a U.S. citizen, and the parent of a U.S. citizen older than 21) cases.

 

For consular processing you just file I-130 and I-130A to start the process.

Edited August 4, 2020 by HRQX

[mark2700 0]

Got it! Filing I-130 + I-130A sounds like the right step. Because the approvals for F2A are current, how do I check the total processing time for filing an I-130? I imagined that it would be faster via Montreal Canada Consulate, but their visa services are presently closed. 

 

Where would I go instead for consular filing?

[HRQX 4,145]

17 minutes ago, mark2700 said:

I imagined that it would be faster via Montreal Canada Consulate

You don't qualify for direct filing I-130 petition at Montreal: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3

Thus you must either file online OR at the appropriate US lockbox address:

https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 blue "File Online" button

https://www.uscis.gov/i-130-addresses

Edited August 5, 2020 by HRQX

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

27 minutes ago, mark2700 said:

Got it! Filing I-130 + I-130A sounds like the right step. Because the approvals for F2A are current, how do I check the total processing time for filing an I-130? I imagined that it would be faster via Montreal Canada Consulate, but their visa services are presently closed. 

 

Where would I go instead for consular filing?

You don’t get to choose unfortunately. For Canada, your spouse will interview at Montreal, after i130 approval, document submission etc.
You can check processing times by type of form and service center here https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

Edited August 5, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[mark2700 0]

13 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

You don’t get to choose unfortunately. For Canada, your spouse will interview at Montreal, after i130 approval, document submission etc.
You can check processing times by type of form and service center here https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

Thank you SusieQQQ! So the interview is held at Montreal consular office. However, the service center that handles the I-130 - I don't get to choose? Do you know how they route it if I apply for the I-130 online? Is it sort of just by luck which center my I-130 ends up in?

[Lil bear 3,831]

8 minutes ago, mark2700 said:

Thank you SusieQQQ! So the interview is held at Montreal consular office. However, the service center that handles the I-130 - I don't get to choose? Do you know how they route it if I apply for the I-130 online? Is it sort of just by luck which center my I-130 ends up in?

USCIS has certain service centres which tend to be used for specific types of petitions.. spouse petitions tend to be sent to Nebraska... but they send / move cases as they choose to try to even up the loads and reduce the backlog. That’s the aim at least ! 

[retheem 553]

13 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

You don’t get to choose unfortunately. For Canada, your spouse will interview at Montreal, after i130 approval, document submission etc.
You can check processing times by type of form and service center here https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

So all of Canada gets to interview in Montreal?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

45 minutes ago, retheem said:

So all of Canada gets to interview in Montreal?

For immigrant visas, yes. I’m sure you are aware that almost all countries only have one US consulate or embassy nationwide that deals with immigrant visa interviews, even if they have a bunch of others doing NIVs. Some have none that do immigrant visas and send those applicants to one in a neighboring country. 

[retheem 553]

19 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

For immigrant visas, yes. I’m sure you are aware that almost all countries only have one US consulate or embassy nationwide that deals with immigrant visa interviews, even if they have a bunch of others doing NIVs. Some have none that do immigrant visas and send those applicants to one in a neighboring country. 

Wueeh that's a mess.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 minute ago, retheem said:

Wueeh that's a mess.

Why is it a mess? Immigrant visas take a lot more work than NIVs and it makes sense to have one consulate dealing with all of them imo.

[retheem 553]

2 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Why is it a mess? Immigrant visas take a lot more work than NIVs and it makes sense to have one consulate dealing with all of them imo.

In a normal case you would be right. But Montreal has humongous backlog right now

[HRQX 4,145]

4 hours ago, retheem said:

So all of Canada gets to interview in Montreal?

Yes, because that is where the IV unit is. The IV unit handles Immigrant Visas and K-1 interviews.