ricnally

Let this be a lesson....get that man cooking!

If you don't have furniture and can put everything in boxes you can use shipsmart. I moved a pallet of stuff about 4 1/2 ft high from BC to LA for about $800.

Photocopies are fine to send in with the package. If you're called for an interview, you may want to bring your certified copies (what you would call your "originals") with you so they can have a look. They asked for them at my AOS interview.

You probably won't be able to import it if it's not paid off.

Look at spousal CR-1/IR-1 guides at the top of this page where it says "Guides"

In response to shayden10: on the other hand, before I started K1 or even knew it or this forum existed, I visited my USC boyfriend for 4 months. I had no job, no lease (no home!), no car payments, no ties to Canada and was not aware that any of those things might be problem. I told them at the border I was visiting my boyfriend for 4 months. They asked how I could stay so long. I said I didn't have a job. They asked if I was getting married on the trip. I said I wasn't. They waved me through, no problem. All you can do is try. Don't stress too much about it. Either they let you in or they don't. Fly from an airport where you go through customs in Canada before leaving. That way if you're denied, you don't have to fly all the way back.

You are in the U.S. Just stay and adjust status. Never mind the spousal visa. You did not have intent to marry and stay when you came in. It's all good.

If someone else "could" be paid to do it, it's not legal for you to do it for free.

3 hours ago, Jenna13 said:

I do have online banking, and I know TD has something called Cross-Border banking between Canada and US but I don't know the details. I'll go in to my bank and ask them about it. Thanks for your reply! 

yes, do look into it. I have cross-border banking with RBC and it's perfect for this.

10 hours ago, NovaSprings said:

If you are using a moving company (like I did), they will not even schedule your move until they have a copy of your activated visa.  

 

You are allowed to move personal goods duty-free up to one year after you activate your visa.  The moving company wants the paperwork to make sure that they are not charged duties at the boarder.

 

I assume the same is true if you are personally moving your things.  No approved visa would mean duties.

I think it's ten years after, not one.

9 hours ago, Darth Mang said:

Thanks all for the responses so far! We talked about the decision to enter and another fear was we've heard it's horrible if you fly in and get denied at a POE. However if she enters on land, she just turns around and leaves, right? Seems like that would make a denial much simpler and cheaper if it DOES happen.

I agree with this. She'd just have to turn around and go home. No harm done.

7 hours ago, Dualie said:

Hi! I have begun drawing from my pensions also, and as far as I know we have to file our taxes with both Canada and the US. We have to pay Canada the tax that was withheld when the money was deposited into the plan. Then the IRS needs to know about any and all income, foreign or domestic. This year I found someone in H & R Block who can do both for me.  We also have to file an FBAR. I tell you, Google is my friend but he can't do my taxes.  Good luck friend! I am sure someone with a bit more knowledge than I have will chime in here with some information.

Not sure this is right. After moving to the US, I tried to pay taxes on spousal support from my Canadian ex to the CRA and they sent it back, saying I wasn't a resident and therefore do not pay taxes there.

So, your husband is going to stay in the US without you, or he's going to move to Canada with you and go through the whole permanent resident rigamarole there? These are scary times in the states, but I would never throw away all the time and money spent to get me here, let alone all the time and money that would be spent to get my husband to Canada.

work authorization (applied for with your AOS after marrying on a K1) takes 60-90 days, not 2 years.

Usually a photocopy is acceptable to send in and then you bring in the "real" thing( i.e. the certified copy that you mention you got 3 of) if you have an interview. I do have experience with this. I sent in the certified copy with the AOS app just as you did. We didn't get an RFE but were called for an interview where they said, "hey, you didn't send in the marriage certificate". I just assumed they lost it, cuz I know I sent it with everything (it was the last document we were waiting for to get the AOS rolling). Anyway, I had another certified copy with me at the time which they looked at and made a photocopy of for their records. That void thing is weird on your photocopy. They definitely don't mind if you send a certified copy, the only thing is, you might not get it back (definitely won't if you don't have an interview). When we did the original K1, before finding this site, I sent in pictures of us together on a disk. The disk was in a baggie along with the hard copy required passport photos. They immediately sent back the baggie with disk and passport photos saying that the disk was not going to work for them. Months later we got an RFE for having no passport photos! Annoying.

roadtocanada.com is like this site, but for people wanting to move to Canada.

Sometimes they lose stuff.

How much stuff do you have, and is there furniture involved? I shipped 2 bunches of stuff from 2 different locations--one from BC, and one from Ontario. The load from BC was just boxes and ended up being 1 pallet, (so a pile of boxes about 4' x4' x 5' high). I used Shipsmart and was pretty happy with it. They only do boxes, though, no furniture. For my bigger load from  Ontario, I used UPack. This load had some furniture, but unfortunately I wasn't able to fill up even their minimum space, so that ended up being pretty expensive. For Upack, they come and park a truck at your place. You load it up yourself, and then they come and drive it to your destination where you unload it yourself. With either company, you, yourself, have to cross the border either before or with your belongings. Shipsmart came and got my stuff a few days before I crossed, and then just held on to it until I sent them the paperwork showing that I'd activated my visa. The stuff arrived within a week. Hope that helps!

The date that counts is when you had your overseas medical done... if that was in flu season (Oct-March) then flu shot is required.. if not then it is not, even if you file AOS during flu season

I agree with this.

amazon.com?

Not much hope of a work visa for you, I'm afraid, for the reasons you're already aware of--lots of US teachers looking for jobs, and you're not a specialist. However, I don't know your entire situation/skill set, so there just may be a work visa for you, if you look hard enough.(I thought there was no hope for me, but I managed to get a foreign media visa for the US). Also, you mention "moving to America" (and not working) which is not something you can do either. You can visit for up to 6 months, but then you'd have to leave and stay out of the country for a period of time before returning to the US again. Basically, you need to spend more time outside the US than you do inside, so you don't appear to be living there, and whether or not you're allowed to return would be at the discretion of the immigration officer at the border, and you may be turned back if they feel you've been overstaying your welcome.

Ok so not to nit pick but your "advice" while first hand is technically incorrect according to policy and the OPs situation. I do understand your process went smoothly and thats great. If the officer reviewing your file wanted to- they could have hassled you. But it would have been petty of them to do so... Anyway- for clarity:

You can not live in 2 places. Not according to the USCIS. You can only be in one place at a time. Literally/physically. If you push USCIS for a definition of where is it that I live they will tell you it is where you sleep and eat and your toothbrush is. It is not where you get your mail although it can be the same place. It is not where ALL your stuff is, it is where you are most nights, physically, in person, sleeping, eating, bathing etc.

For the OP (and probably you at a certain point in time) this would be the far away city where the job is. What she calls City B. Husband lives in City A. She needs to change her address to reflect she lives in city B now to be in compliance with the law. You did not change your address and they did not hassle you about it. They could have but they did not. She should NOT do the same (not change it) because you didnt and it was okay. She needs to do what is right. There is also the issue that we do not know what actual cities city A and B are. IF they are in different jurisdictions then it makes a HUGE difference when USCIS finds out and will impact who adjudicates her case. She MUST tell them.

You also disclosed the living situation to USCIS in the initial packet you submitted. You suggested to her to explain at the interview (if she has one) and if she is asked. This is wrong on a number of levels. It can be considered misrepresentation to conceal a fact from USCIS- like a change in circumstances; which one spouse moving to a new location due to a job is- during the ROC process. If they do not have all the information and make a decision and then later on find out you concealed information either by intentionally lying or omitting it (not telling them of a change is an omission) then they can revoke the decision and reopen the case.

No one wants this to happen. She needs to advise them of the change regardless of whether she has an interview or not. Because there is no way to know if she is going to have an interview and an opportunity to tell them in an interview she needs to notify them in writing. Its not a big deal. She just needs to send a letter with her info on it so it can be added to her file explaining the change in situation. Sometimes this can cause them to decide to interview them but if the local office has a heavy caseload and they sent a decent packet they may not bother calling them in. Living apart due to work is not a reason to be denied so I wouldnt worry if an interview is generated.

For the OPs question - youd want to include as much proof of the situation as you can to help avoid an interview. Proof of the job, mileage between the residences, depending on how long youve been there before sending it in proof of the relationship continuing while youre there like cell phone logs, receipts for meals for 2 on weekends paid for by each other in different locations showing you were together, credit card statements for purchases for the second home furnishings on joint accounts. Things like that. A statement from the parents saying whats going on.

I don't agree, but have it your way, y'all. You seem to feel very strongly about it.

The ops case is different than yours then!

I think it's quite similar actually, which is why I'm offering first-hand advice.

I dont advocate a) not following the rules as set forth by the USCIS, or b) breaking this website tos by suggesting it regardless if an issue was had or not.

Didn't do either. I live in 2 places. My original home, where my husband lives, is my "residence". Apparently USCIS agrees.

I brought a lot (about 5 cases of wine), and the duty I had to pay was ridiculously low!