imajin99

I was in the exact same boat as you (including the government job, NEXUS, and unsureness of what I wanted to do) but follow my timeline and let me know if you have any questions!

K

Thank-you K! Will have to go to you as my resource!

Great thread, great to know. I plan on going back to work after my AOS for a short time. Hoping I will be pregnant and can work for a few months before taking mat leave.

Hi, I will be applying for my AOS, so I wont be travelling home to Canada for awhile. So once I receive my conditional green card and next time I am in Vancouver, I walk over to the Nexus office and get it updated? Do I need to make an appointment?

Great! thank-you everyone.

You can look at my timeline below for a more recent AOS timeline in NYC if that helps. The USCIS processing times mentioned above are ridiculously conservative and posted based on data from 2 months prior. Earlier this year, New Yorkers were getting their approvals in less than 90 days. The office slowed down considerably since and we're crossing our fingers to be done in 5 months.

One thing to keep in mind - the processing speed depends a lot on the completeness and accuracy of your application. If anything is missing, that halts your application until you mail whatever required documents are needed and USCIS has time to review, which can take weeks, so it's important to get it in quickly, but equally important to make sure it's accurate if you've got a time crunch. The guides are excellent but be sure to read the instructions for each form carefully.

This is great, thank-you. What is NOA? Notice of Approval? I have seen it mentioned on the site a few times. We are still going back and forth about what we want to do as I am working for the government and need to be back by April or May to work for a few months. At that time I will apply for an extended leave for two years. My fear is if I apply for the AOS, when I leave for the few months will that reflect negatively on my residency status when my two years for the conditional green card are up?

Can my spouse apply for the CR1 Visa, while I remain with him until my 6 months are up and return home (so I will be still in the US but as a visitor as I will return home before the 6 months). If he applies now, then that would be about 6 months and I can work in Canada for 6 months and take my extended leave at that time. This would allow there to be enough time for the CR1 to be processed.

Yes but chances of the reentry being allowed is slim. You'll likely be denied entry. Most of the time even Canadians will get denied entry if you want to stay the full 180 days. Not to mention you lose your health care benefits if you're out of a province for more than 183 days (depends on the province obviously) because health care is based on residency not on citizenship.

I thought you'd decided to AOS?

Hi!, thanks for the response. Most likely going down the route for the AOS, but looking at all possible options. Once again this forum and the knowledge of the members is excellent.

Can you wait in the US until your tourist Visa is up and then return home and then return back to the US, so we are not separated for long periods of time while the CR-1 is being processed. As a Canadian, we do not have to obtain a VISA prior to entering the US. I would be able to provide proof of intent to return back to Canada when I arrive in the US and will only stay up until the 6 months.

Something else that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that depending on the frequency and length of your trips back to Canada, and what you do to establish yourself in the US, your status as a permanent resident might be affected. You've mentioned that you'll travel back and forth frequently to be with your parents and continue your job there for some length of time. PR doesn't work the same way as citizenship, which can NEVER be taken away from you.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted

EDIT: NLR touched on it in the post right above this one.

Thank-you, I have been reading up on this stuff since you have mentioned it. I think I should be okay as I only plan on being away for a short duration 3-4 months and then will be back to the US permanently.

Select the NYC field office since you are here in NY. You can check the processing times here:

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do

According to that, they are processing AOS applications from back in January of this year. Please note that this is the time frame for the AOS application, not the EAD/AP. Even though it may take a while to get AOS approved, your EAD/AP is processed elsewhere and takes up to 3 months.

Once the EAD/AP is processed, I could go back and forth from US to Canada?

It took me from paperwork in August to having green card in hand in December before I could leave the country. That was 2010.

Thank-you, that time-frame is great and will be curious to know if it is similiar to that at this time.

Thanks NLR, I think I got it. Ian was not confusing me he was showing me the two different routes I have available depending on whether I decided to stay or return back to Canada in the next few weeks and that is when I would use the CR1 route. We had communicated via email messages and I had provided him with additional information. This has been so helpful and I will discuss this with my spouse. I think the simiplest thing for me now would be to go ahead and apply for AOS now and sit and wait it out for the next few months. I am lucky to have flexibility with my job and a supportive manager that will allow me to take some leave without pay while I wait unitl the green card. I hope all this does not take longer than 6-8 months but only time will tell.

Thanks everyone!

Hi! No I have 6 months off and can stay here for another 5.5 months. However I will need to get back to canada for a few months after that time frame. From my new understanding, as long as my AOS has been approved. I can travel back and forth even if my CR1 will take up to a year.

Sorry I meant to say K3 Visa instead of K1 Visa.

I don't seem to understand the difference between the K3 Visa for a spouse and the CR1 Visa for a spouse.....

You are allowed to stay for whatever it says on your I-94. Usually for Canadian citizens it's 180 days, so yes. That gives you plenty of time file your paperwork before your authorized stay expires. In any case you will be adjusting your status, so you don't have to leave anyway.

As a matter of fact, once you submit your application, you can't leave the country until you receive your AP document, otherwise you will not be allowed to reenter the US, your AOS application will be considered abandoned and will have to wait for your I-130 to be approved and will have to apply for a spouse visa from abroad.

Thank-you, even after joining this forum in one day I am starting to have a better understanding of the processes and streams. Few other questions came to mind:

1. How long does the AOS process take roughly?

2. I am expected back at work in Canada within the next 6 months. If I choose to stay as a visitor in the US and have my spouse apply for my CR1 or K1 while I am abroad (back in Canada), is that another option? Is that a better option? As I will remain in Canada for at least 6 to 8 months (no definite time frame as I could stay for a shorter or longer duration if need be) to work before I take a leave from employment for a period of time.

He sponsors you for PR when you submit the AOS (I-485) application and the I-130 together. You have to submit the I-130, petition for an alien relative along with the I-485. You have to gather all of the documents required for each form and it all has to be sent in one envelope. The I-130 is a petition for USCIS to establish that a relationship exists, and the I-485 is to adjust your status from a tourist to a permanent resident.

You can submit these as soon as you have everything ready, there is no waiting period before you can file. Also, as NLR suggested it's best if you do it before your authorized stay expires.

Great I will get started today! As I didnt have to get a VISA to come to the US as I am a Canadian citizen, is it still true that I still can only remain in the US for a 6 month period?

OP is not doing the CR1 path. They are adjusting their status. Please do it ASAP for your convenience or at the very least before you've been in the USA for 180 days. After that time you accumulate overstay. As long as you've filed for the AOS you're not accumulating overstay as your stay is now authorized with the NOA1.

Apply for the I-131 advance parole using the example forms so you can leave the USA. It should only take 90 days for it. Also once you get your EAD, work authorization, you can quit your job due to moving to be with your husband, and apply for EI within 4 weeks of that.

But do I not have to have him apply for my PR status as his spouse now as I only came to the US as a visitor on vacation. I cannot adjust the status until he sponsors me as a spouse???

Hi Ian,

Thank-you so much for your information and encouragement. I work with the government and have had no criminal issues. At POE I told them I was visiting Vegas for vacation and they didn't ask anything further. I have Nexus so I don't tend to have a lot of questions asked at POE. So I will begin the paperwork, from the link in the post I am assuming the CR-1 Process is the one we should be applying for.

Thank-you. I do not want to or plan to work in the US as we want to have kids quickly. I have contacted my work and asked for a one year leave which is possible with my employment. While the forms are being processed I was told I would not be able to leave the US for 4 months at least. Hoping we can sort this out ourselves but may need a lawyer. Any recommendations for a immigration lawyer in the NYC area?

Hi there,

Hoping that some of you could help me as this place has a lot of great information and many people have gone through various processes. I had been dating my boyfriend (US citizen) off and on for the last 2 years. In my recent trip to Vegas, we decided to get married. I cancelled my return ticket to Canada and have joined him in New York. I am hoping I can stay here until he files the forms and applies for my residency. I don't even know where to start and I have gotten scared that this may be an issue.

Questions:

1. Can I stay with him in the US while he files the paperwork?

2. Which forms does he need to complete?

3. How long will this take?

4. When can I return back to Canada as I have elderly parents there and would like to go back and forth?