templeton

She is technically a US business. As such, it makes no difference where the company that hires her is located. She's not their employee - she's self-employed. She would claim her income as such on her US taxes.

If she hasn't already, she needs to submit NR73 to officially let CRA determine that she's no longer a Canadian resident for tax purposes: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html

Assuming they agree and confirm, she doesn't need to file Canadian taxes anymore.

Can't say for certain, but I assume when self-sponsoring USCIS will want to see that any savings you claim to have are "seasoned", meaning you'll need to provide account history showing where they came from and that you've had them for a while.

I'm simply informing myself on regulations and options, I know of Canadians who have been able to renter on multiple instances may I add by land and not air, perhaps it differs.

I know personally a Canadian citizen who had a previous conviction in Canada and was denied entry at the airport, but had previously entered the US via land on multiple occasions.

In any case I guess there is no definitive answer and ultimately will depend on the officer reviewing the entry.

Thanks,

I'm certainly not arguing that a Canadian can't visit multiple times. Nor that prior outcomes at the border are indicative of future ones. All of that is on a case-by-case basis, determined at the time of entry by CBP.

After further research I'll concede there's no hard rule or law limiting a visitor from being in the US for more than 182 days over 12 consecutive months, however there are still definite ramifications on both sides of the border for doing so.

In the end, the rules of thumb for any other visitation apply. The visitor usually has to overcome any assumptions that they don't intend to immigrate, generally aren't spending more time in the US than away from it, and have solid ties to their home country. With a US boyfriend, seemingly few ties to Canada, planning on significant time in the US within a 12 month period...she will definitely have some big hurdles to overcome. Not doing so could result in a shortened I-94 or even refusal.

You're definitely right about your last sentence. There's no definitive answer. Only CBP can say for sure at the time she attempts to visit again.

In theory, yes

I usually I agree with your advise, but can you clarify? I would say the answer is no. If as you say were true, and people could reset the clock with a quick trip back to Canada, that would basically give Canadians the potential ability to live in the US nearly full time as visitor (which I sort of get the idea the OP wants to have happen). If that were true, I imagine a lot more would be doing it.

Unless something has changed, the US generally allows Canadians 182 days per calendar year. So they're certainly not going to allow her to visit again just by dipping her toe in back in Canada for a couple of weeks. Granted, I'm assuming the first visit was the full (or close to) six months. I also concede in the end, that's going to be up to CBP one way or another, but it really seems like a stretch.

The rest of what you said is spot-on though, there are serious implications (on both sides of the border) to be mindful of when one stays in the US for a significant amount of time and out of Canada.

To reiterate what others have said, I think you're safe with that timeline. You can't make the process go faster, but you can slow it down somewhat at later stages if you want.

Planning a wedding is tricky given all tight timeline windows that you have to adhere to. Tough to make financial commitments so far ahead when you don't know if there will be problems with he visa process, yet there's the reality that you have to book a lot of things far ahead like locations and such, before they fill up. On the other hand, you don't want to make it too far out because you have to be married within 90 days of arriving. Not to mention that you can't start the AOS process until you're married.

Instead of stressing about timing everything perfectly, just do what a lot of others do...plan your big public wedding for a realistic date in the future (your target date should be fine), but cruise through the K-1 and then as soon as you arrive go get a quickie marriage down at the courthouse. You no longer have to stress - you've met the USCIS conditions, and can get a head start on the AOS process. Have your big wedding with friends and family a few months down the road with no one else being the wiser.

The law is pretty clear...as long as you entered the US legally, you should be fine. It was up to CBP to decide whether or not you had immigrant intent when you crossed the border. Since they let you enter, they obviously felt you had none at the time. Not much to worry about.

F2s must remain unmarried throughout the immigration process. In other words, if he was married at the time he used his visa, which SEEMS to be the case (based on what the OP has stated), he committed immigration fraud. While your intentions may have been innocent, there are obviously now going to be huge consequences.

As long as USCIS remains unaware of the marriage, he can probably fly under the radar and remain "legal". But petitioning you and your children to now immigrate would obviously bring his marital status to light, and obviously it wouldn't take long during the background checks for them to uncover that you were married before he immigrated. They would then likely invalidate his green card and deport him.

Either way, you likely have no legal path to the US at this time. Sorry.

Yup, here it is for future reference. Many aren't aware, but (at this time) as along as it's prior to the marriage, most K-1s can leave the US to visit Canada or Mexico for a short time and return as long as the original I-94 is still valid.

Here's the shorthand version, with a link to USCIS's official page contained within. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-fiance-k-1-visa-quick-trip-canada-mexico.html#comment-123853

Seems like a lot can go wrong, so probably not something you'd want to do unless you had to.

How do you renew it to get one with normal expiration?

Not until he gets the 10-year Green Card. Due to the nature of the process, K-1s need to renew their drivers licenses several times as a drivers license's expiry will be based on whatever ID he can use to prove legal presence.

When a K-1 first enters, their I-94 is only valid for 90 days, so that's what they're basing his current drivers license expiry on.

Once AOS is filed and he can show them his EAD/AP card, he should be able to renew his DL for one year (for which he will likely be charged a renewal fee).

Then he can renew it (and pay another renewal fee) for 2 years once he gets the Conditional Green Card.

Finally, once he has the 10 year Green Card he should be able to renew it (and pay another renewal fee) for whatever the normal expiration duration is (5 years?).

You can return with your AP if it's still valid and see if CBP will let you in. I think it's unlikely that CBP will deny entry to a permanent resident who was out of the country briefly and who they can check in their system is a permanent resident.

You may be right. No one here can say for sure, and like many situations probably depends on which CBP officer you get and what mood they're in. Seems awful risky, though.

You can ask the neighbor to mail it, but if for some reason your card doesn't arrive (believe me, it happens), or it gets lost on its way to you, you are stuck out of the US until it gets straightened out. That could be months. You can't get back with the AP/EAD card. It's nullified the minute the GC is issued. The only instance I've heard of that working was if a person happened to be out of country at the time their AoS was approved. Obviously they were allowed back in that case.

Trying for the I-551 is really your best option. If you can't get an appointment, all you can do is show up and hope for the best.

You were in a similar situation to me. USPS screwed up delivery of my card, of course right when I had an important cross-border trip planned. Not an emergency, but it would have caused hardship to not have been able to go, not to mention being out the money for travel costs. After I figured out it would probably be at least a couple of months until I had the green card in hand, I knew the I-551 was my only chance.

The soonest infopass appointment available was exactly two hours before my scheduled morning flight. I knew I wouldn't likely make to USCIS and still get to the airport in time. I tried checking back over the next few of days to see if there were any cancellations, but no luck. I kicked off early from work and drove down to the USCIS office. Security told me that everyone had gone home for the day (at 3pm???) but if I came back in the morning they would see then if I could be let in to talk to someone.

I got there as soon as it opened. One of them remembered me and went to talk to someone about my situation. Happily they let me in. I explained the situation again to the "gatekeeper" who gave me a number. After waiting an hour or so (good thing I didn't leave it until the morning of my flight), I spoke to an official. She initially wasn't willing to give me the stamp. It took a lot of pleading and reasoning, but eventually she did, being sure to mention that she was making a big exception for me - they normally only give the stamp in an emergency and not just for bad timing with cards being mailed or in event of loss.

From what I read here previously, some offices don't have a problem giving the I-551 stamp. Others, like the one I went to, are stingy with it. I can only stress to be as nice and polite as possible with everyone there. Nobody there is obligated to do anything for you, but if you can get them to empathize, you might be able to convince them to help.

Hi, it is best to file EAD with AOS as it will save you money.

If you do it before AOS , EAD will expire as soon as the K1 visa expires - check out this link http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3ead

As soon as the K1 holder arrives, most important is to get married and/or get the SSN.

In the end, what you're saying is right, though technically they K-1 expires on arrival. What you actually mean is that the EAD would expire when the K-1 holder's I-94 expires, which would be 90 days after arrival.

OP, since the EAD card takes 60-90 to approve and process, it's basically a waste of money to apply before AoS. You might be lucky to have it for a few days before it expires and becomes worthless. Better to file it with the AOS package. Then its not only included with the cost, it's usually valid for long enough to get the green card.

You "renew" the US Permanent Resident card by demonstrating you reside permanently in the US.

On the USCIS website it does specify in each form's instructional PDF. It's inconsistent from one form to another - on some it says to leave non-applicable fields blank, on others is directs you to do something else, so read carefully.

She said she was in a common law marriage with a RUSSIAN guy to pretend that she had ties to RUSSIA and was leaving her man behind. Not with the American.

Sorry, you're right. I did understand the situation but got the consequences twisted in my head. What I should have said was she would be putting herself between a rock and a hard place - the consequences of misrep vs USCIS potentially wanting a divorce decree for a marriage that doesn't exist before allowing a K-1 or CR-1. Either would be tough to overcome.

She's apparently amended the application, so it's moot anyway.

But she is responsible for what is put on her tourist visa application to the embassy, if she goes to the interview and doesn't change it then or doesn't submit a new correct form before the interview then any lie is on her. She can't say later oops it was my travel agency, the embassy doesn't care as it's on her.

This has happened more in other countries and caused issues when they are subsequently petitioned for a fiancé or spousal visa and being asked for a divorce certificate for a marriage that never existed in the first place.

Exactly. In the end she signs, which ultimately makes her responsible for what's in the application, regardless of who filled it out. These agencies don't have to worry or care about accuracy, there won't be any consequences for them. It's your friend who will be the one to deal with the fallout in the future.

When even the "Knocking" ceremony can count as married to USCIS, it seems pretty dumb to say you're in a "common law marriage" for a travel visa application if you soon intend to apply for a K-1. Whether it's a real thing in Russia or not, I wouldn't be surprised if your friend is found to be "too married" for a K-1 when the time comes.

OP I truly wish you good luck. Like others say, he can apply to remove conditions on his own, and he almost certainly knew it. You will still be on the hook for the affidavit of support you signed.

Obviously on its surface it would seem like immigration fraud. Unfortunately, proving it is another matter altogether as marriage fraud technically doesn't equal immigration fraud to USCIS, even in cases where the evidence seems hard to dispute. If nothing else, what you sent might at least make for some uncomfortable questions come his interview time. Obviously I don't know all that you have, nor is the decision up to me anyway, but based on anecdotal evidence from this site, don't expect much to happen.

Even when there's an admission of guilt after the fact, it's still not enough as he can simply claim it was in anger or out of spite. Statements from others mean next to nothing. People threaten to report legal immigrants as frauds all the time, so USCIS puts almost no stock in it. The length of time you were together and all those things you described doing to help him out can now be used by him to claim that the relationship was legit (at least when it started). In the end, evidence of being a ##### spouse doesn't mean anything, and he can craft whatever story he wants to justify his side of why things went the way they did during the marriage, which may also include putting at least some of the blame on you.

Really, unless you have some sort of evidence dating back from before he immigrated that confirms he was only in it for the green card, it seems very difficult to get USCIS to take any action.

At this point it's all out of your control anyway, so I think your statement about putting the situation behind you and moving on is the best advice you can give yourself.

bypassing language filter

How could this be considered an emergency situation? Seems irresponsible to give false hope. Presumably the OP wasn't forced to flee Canada. The OP doesn't mention anything drastic changing between now and the time they left that would put the daughter in imminent peril. As others have said, not being properly informed about immigration law doesn't constitute an emergency - the OP is free to abandon the AoS process at any time.

Seriously...any claim that the daughter is dependent on him/her seemingly went out the window once the OP chose to leave her behind to go live in another country.

The last thing we would want was for her to be here illeagaly as she wants to work in a professianal environment.

That wasn't what they were worried about. A visitor can immediately apply to become a green card holder through marriage to a USC as long as they entered the US legally and didn't arrive with the INTENTION of immigrating - basically circumventing the whole K-1 process. The problem is, though every gf/fiance(e)/spouse wanting to visit obviously says they don't have the intention of staying and converting to a resident, some have an amazingly convenient change of heart once they get through customs. Clearly that's what CBP was worried was going to happen.

Assuming you weren't arrested while there.

I would speculate it had much more to do with perceived immigration intent than terrorism, especially since they suggested K-1.

- Fiancee of USC.

- Her being able to be away from home for 5.5 months would certainly suggest on its surface that she doesn't have much in the way of ties to return to.

- Return ticket far enough away to be easily cancelled.

- You were wishy-washy about when a marriage was to take place (not saying you were dishonest, but definitely a warning flag. Most engaged couples have some idea of a marriage timeline).

- You don't say how long she visited the two previous times, but if this trip was significantly longer, that would be another red flag.

Certainly enough to worry CBP that you two might be trying to circumvent immigration laws.

But to answer your question, it doesn't disqualify her from a future K-1, though she will have to indicate she's been previously refused entry on the application.

She cannot marry someone here and adjust her status. OPs name is on the passport as a petitioner and it says a K1 visa. My ex is here illegally and I was told flat out from immigration he could get married but he will never be able to get his papers and if he leaves he will have a 10 year ban because he has been here 2 years illegally.

Yes, from reading all the horror stories here, I planned to get a ticket to go pass security check point and wait with her by the flight's door.

Sorry, realized too late I quoted the wrong post by N and J. I meant to reference the one telling the OP to make sure she gets on the plane.

OP, don't listen to this person. In NO way is it your responsibility to ensure she gets on the plane, nor do you have any legal means to "MAKE" her do so anyway. You are not ICE.

At this point she is more or less here on a visitor visa and is LEGALLY allowed to stay for 90 days from the day she arrived. If she wants to leave now, great. If she decides to leave at 89 days, that's her decision. If it makes you feel better, drop her off at the airport, help her with her bags and watch her go through security and then drive away. If she suddenly changes her mind, and tells you she's not leaving and going to live here forever as an undocumented immigrant, you still drive away. It's not your problem no matter what happens.

No, but why does it matter? We have same sex immigration in the US now, if that is the case.

Simply because people keep referring to the fiancee as a HIM

"my daughter visited with her"

Was I the only one that caught this?

I believe it is time for my daughter to prove she can do this for herself, by herself!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's refreshing to hear someone say this. I would be saying the same thing as a parent. While this is my own opinion, I don't believe they should even allow co-sponsors for fiance(e) or marriage visas at all (or at least only under certain specific circumstances).

While I certainly understand people want to be with their loved ones, marriage is a big, grown-up, adult CHOICE to make. While anyone legally able to get married is free to do so, petitioners should at least have to demonstrate they are capable of meeting these (minimal) immigration requirements on their own.