mtlguy

Yes. Wait for the acceptance email before you email them the documents.

That seems odd.

The I-864 instructions clearly say that assets (yours or the beneficiary's) can be used to supplement the income.

Maybe the CO was having a bad day, but under no circumstance had the right to refuse considering your assets. It's in there. in the instructions.

I guess my wife and I will be in the same situation sometimes in the future. She moved back to the States and got a job which pays her enough to satisfy the poverty line limit. But her 2012 & 2011 tax returns are definitely not in the range they're asking for.

We're planning on using my assets in case they need to crunch the numbers.

I think the access thing is more akin to "visitation". Having moved my daughter to another foreign country, I can tell you that it was critical that without express permission from the non-custodial parent, you must have either exclusively sole custody with no visitation or strip the parental rights of the other parent. Even driving into and out of Canada with my sole custody paperwork for my daughter was an issue. We got asked a ton of questions and they had to look up information regarding whether my daughter had been flagged, etc.

I'm not sure what ceasing their mother's parental rights would be like in Canada, but in America you'd have a case for abandonment since she hasn't seen them and there is no contact.

Well no one is stopping her from visiting them in the US or Canada. She chose to to move out of Canada and go incommunicado for 2 years before re-resurfacing (and by re-surfacing I mean she's still outside of Canada - reaching out to the kids by phone once in a while).

In the last 3 years, I had no problem taking the kids across the border to the US to visit my wife's family. Once I was asked about the whereabouts about my ex, and I told them she had left Canada. I had the custody papers with me in case they wanted to see the order, but they they never asked for them.

I always assumed that preserving access rights to the non-custodial parent are tied to the fact that the non-custodial parent lived in the same country. In my case, she packed her stuff, left Canada, apparently got remarried and now is busy raising her kids from the new marriage.

Simply put, she chose not to exercise her access rights for the last 2 years.

I'm sure your ex can visit the kids in the USA as easily as she did in Canada. Oh wait.... (well lets say technically can... after all she doesn't LIVE in Canada either.)

She sure can. She's still a Canadian citizen and can visit the US anytime she wants.

yeah, okay, so with some quick reading it seems that in Canada 'access' is akin to what we call 'legal custody' here in the US. NO ACCESS seems akin to removing parental rights of the noncustodial parent … not sure about Canada, but here in the US courts will not strip someone of their parental rights unless they are determined to be unfit as a parent (i.e., a danger to the child which is expected to remain until child reaches adulthood). I've seen crackhead moms and drunk dads serving prison for hit-and-run still maintain their parental rights, as harm to the child was never demonstrated and they were working their way half-a$$ through a treatment program. Not seeing your child for a few years (or more) is not enough to remove parental rights. Perhaps it's different in Canada …

You may be better off starting a discussion with the ex … see what she is willing to do, at what price, etc.

Oh, how old are the kids? (sorry if i missed it) … sometimes a court will consider the desire of the child if they are old enough, like 14yo in my county of residence.

It's the same in Canada. Parental authority (or rights) are hardly stripped away from the non-custodial parent. This is why I found it weird that the consulate needed this kind of wording on a custody order.

My kids are teenagers.

Having access does not mean she has part custody. Sole custody is sole custody.

According to a fellow vj'er who was in the same boat, her sole custody papers said: sole custody to her and access rights to the father. The CO at the consulate wanted to see: sole custody for her, NO ACCESS to the other parent. The poor woman had to go back to court, hunt down her estranged ex (who hasn't seen his kid in 16 years) and modify the judgment order to a wording that pleased the consulate.

I sent a clarification request to the consulate in Montreal. Let's see what they have to say !!

Not really for the passports. I renewed the kids' passports without the need for her signature or her presence.

At the time of the application I provided them with the custody papers, and the divorce paper trail. it took one extra week for them to review the documentation, and the passports were issued without a glitch.

I personally had this exact same problem except my ex had NOTHING to do with our child for 16 years. You read that right, SIXTEEN years. At our interview, the officer took the opportunity to ask if my son had seen his father (to which he replied that he had never met him, ever). Even after that, we were given a paper that stated we had to get his custody papers updated to say "sole custody with NO access to other parent' OR a notarized letter. My immigration path stopped completely until I provided the updated custody order. Good luck!

Yikes.

Well I do have a notarized letter from her dated the year she left. The letter says I can travel outside Canada all over the world. Would that be sufficient?

I wish there's a way for my documents to be reviewed before the interview phase.

Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to get the updated custody order?

I agree with your point about physical vs legal custody.

The variant in my case is the fact that my ex is no longer present in Canada; so whether I move to another city in the same province, to another province within Canada, or to the US, it's all the same with respect to her (in theory that is), seeing the fact that she's not even physically on the same continent, and the fact that she's been away from the kids' life for a while now.

If she wants to put an effective roadblock, it would be for spite I guess. I don't see that holding in court.

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are at the NVC stage now. I'm going over all the required documents for the next phase and apparently I need some help/advice with respect to one issue: my sole custody of the kids.

Long story short, I have sole custody of my kids here in Canada. The court order reads: sole custody to the father and access rights to the mother agreed amicably between the parents.

Before she left my ex gave a notarized letter allowing me to travel freely outside of Canada with the children. At the time I had no intention of moving to the states.

Fast forward a bit, I met my USC wife, got married, had her become a Canadian permanent resident, then for family reasons, we decided to move to the US to be closer to her family and kids.

Meanwhile (back at the farm) my ex was not involved with our kids for more than 2 years. So in essence, she didn't exercise her access rights. not even phone calls or emails on the kids' birthdays. Just recently, she decided to re-surface and reach out to the kids. The children have mixed feeling about her (can't blame them).

Before I started this whole process, and while my ex was unreachable (had no idea where she was) I had sent the Montreal Consulate an email describing my situation and asking their advise about the custody issue. They said what I have (sole custody order & notarized letter) should be enough.

Now what I am compiling all the documents for the NVC stage, I did more research and found out that the Consulate wants to see these exact words on the sole custody order: "sole custody to the father, and NO ACCESS to the mother", which clearly is NOT what I have on my order.

Furthermore, the notarized letter I have from her is quite generic: stating that I can travel to wherever I want with the kids, but does not specifically say "Immigrate to the US".

What do you guys think I should do? Go back to court and ask a judge modify my custody order?

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are at the NVC stage now. I'm going over all the required documents for the next phase and apparently I need some help/advice with respect to one issue: my sole custody of the kids.

Long story short, I have sole custody of my kids here in Canada. The court order reads: sole custody to the father and access rights to the mother agreed amicably between the parents.

Before she left my ex gave a notarized letter allowing me to travel freely outside of Canada with the children. At the time I had no intention of moving to the states.

Fast forward a bit, I met my USC wife, got married, had her become a Canadian permanent resident, then for family reasons, we decided to move to the US to be closer to her family and kids.

Meanwhile (back at the farm) my ex was not involved with our kids for more than 2 years. So in essence, she didn't exercise her access rights. not even phone calls or emails on the kids' birthdays. Just recently, she decided to re-surface and reach out to the kids. The children have mixed feeling about her (can't blame them).

Before I started this whole process, and while my ex was unreachable (had no idea where she was) I had sent the Montreal Consulate an email describing my situation and asking their advise about the custody issue. They said what I have (sole custody order & notarized letter) should be enough.

Now what I am compiling all the documents for the NVC stage, I did more research and found out that the Consulate wants to see these exact words on the sole custody order: "sole custody to the father, and NO ACCESS to the mother", which clearly is NOT what I have on my order.

Furthermore, the notarized letter I have from her is quite generic: stating that I can travel to wherever I want with the kids, but does not specifically say "Immigrate to the US".

What do you guys think I should do? Go back to court and ask a judge modify my custody order?

Asking for a consent letter from my ex is out of the question. Sadly, she recently embraced some fanatic views and declared the western hemisphere a place for infidels. So going down this route is kind of fruitless.

Any thoughts? anyone in the same predicament as I am ?

Cheers.

you can always use your assets to supplement any deficit in her income.

You need to check with the Jamaican Immigration Authority on what's required.

For example, here in Canada, the Immigration service requires an application who had lived in the States to provide an FBI clearance.

To do that, you can check the FBI web site on how to obtain these clearances.

Good luck.

What I find absurd is the rejection itself; the mere fact that a family is pursuing the legal route to move to the US should be proof enough of their intention.

Why else would a young family choose to go through the immigration process if they don't have the intention of moving there?

I honestly don't understand their rationale.

I'm really sorry for the hardship you're going through.

I guess they need to see the USC spouse physically moving back the States ahead of the rest of the family.

That's what my wife did. She was a permanent resident of Canada, and had to go back and get herself a job and resume her life in the US ahead of this process. It's definitely hard on families, especially when young children are involved.

Can you at least appeal their decision? or do you have to start all over?

Lots of people have inquired about the same topic on this forum. upack moving company (www.upack.com) always pops up in people's answers.

I'll give them a shout when I get to the moving stage.

You will always be a Canadian citizen. NLR is right about owing cctb payments.

Once you move to the US you must declare to the CRA that you are no longer a resident of Canada. This will make you ineligible for receiving cctb payments. If they already paid you for a period where you are no longer a resident of Canada, then it only makes sense to repay it.

By definition cctb payments are meant to assist taxpayers with child expenses. Living in the US will no longer make you a Canadian taxpayer. So it is just plain unethical to collect money from a country you're not contributing to its economy.

That's not entirely correct. Being married to a US Citizen does not immediately disqualify you for a TN Visa, provided that you make it clear to the border officer that your stay will be temporary (meaning you don't have the intention to stay permanently in the US). I know that because I had this conversation with a border officer at a POE more than once.

As you have mentioned, If your intention is to go the US for a limited period then the TN route is the best option.

1) The TN route is plausible, depending on your field as noted. Most IT companies will provide the necessary legal paperwork. I have lots of Canadian friends working in the US with a TN visa.

2) A lawyer is definitely a waste of money. Unless you have a complicated case, or in need to stand before an immigration judge to argue your case, I say save yourself he money. Most immigration lawyers are clueless. I mean it.

3) If your wife decides to go back to Canada with you, you DO have the option to apply for her residency from within Canada, though it's A LOT slower, simply because Canadian Immigration gives a priority to those families who are physically apart. That does not mean she won't be able to work while waiting for her Permanent Residency. She will be allowed to apply (and obtain) a work permit while her PR application is being reviewed. Yes, Canada takes care of its citizens.

You're over thinking it.

Nothing to worry about. Let him visit and make sure he carries with him the notice you guys got back from USCIS about you filing the I-130. Just ask him to be honest if they ask any questions pertaining to his immigration intention.

The fact that you had filed an I-130 and going through the legal process is proof enough that you don't have any ulterior motives.

Let him visit. and have fun.

Marc,

Welcome aboard.

In a nutshell, my wife and I are in the same boat as you. She's a US citizen and a permanent resident of Canada and I'm just a regular proud Canadian.

For your questions:

1. Your wife is in fact expected to reestablish domicile in the States. So moving back before you is a definitely a plus. Moving back her belongings though might be subjected to import/export fees. I'd call the customs authorities and ask about that. In case they are subjected to fees and what not, it's better you wait until you get your green card, and claim those as part of your relocation (duty free).

2. I'd put her Canadian address if you guys are filing while she's still here. My wife and I did that, although she moved back to the States and got herself a job to satisfy the domicile requirement.

3. I don't see a reason how this is any issue. Again, my wife and I share bank accounts in both countries. Transferring funds in and out of these accounts is just that. It's your money. You're free to do with it what you like.,

4. The simple answer: You can't. Not unless you have a very valid reason ; extreme hardship and what not. and by extreme, they truly mean extreme. missing my wife, and being separated from my family doesn't fly. it sucks. it is what it is. join the club.

5. Not really. I have an SSN as well. The only thing you'll need to do is that you'll have to tell them about it while filing the DS 260 (they have a question about whether you had been issued an SSN in the past or not).

It's a long process. be patient.

my understanding is that k3 visas are pretty much abandoned, or on the verge of becoming extinct. your best bet is to stick with a CR/IR1. and yes, a CR/IR visa requires an interview in Montreal.

aaron2020 summed up for you.

do not go to the states with the intent to immigrate and adjust status from there. it's fraud. and it'll haunt you down sooner or later.

a long time.

Any Canadian who assumes residency in QC will get health coverage after a probationary period of 3 months. I suggest you go back to the ramq office in downtown Montreal and talk to a supervisor. You should be covered. It is your right.

As others have pointed out, you should never ever go to the US with the intent of immigration without obtaining the proper visa first. It is fraud and it will show sooner or later. Your lawyer needs to be fired. Immediately.

In a nutshell my wife and I are in the same boat. She is American and I am Canadian. We chose the IR1 visa path that is multi-phased as you may know.

The first phase being her filing an I130 petition; in the good old days that used to take an average of 5 months. Now it is taking about 9 to 12. Add to that another 6 to 8 months to clear the NVC and the consulate interview, you'd end up looking at one and a half years. Give or take a few months depending on how complex your case is.

At one point your wife will have to reestablish domicile in the US which clearly means a mandatory separation period. It sucks. It is convoluted. It doesn't make any sense but it is what it is.

As a final point I repeat: DO NOT go to the US like your lawyer suggested. You could be banned entry for life. And this is no joke.

Good luck.