AM1CR1

13 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

 

So, step one is to stop listening to this lawyer.

Then,

1. No, not a bad idea, very possible to AOS from a B2.

2. There will be no issues filing for AOS because you're already married - it's the only reason you can apply for AOS. Your wife can enter the US as the wife of a US citizen and a tourist at the same time, nothing wrong with that. I'm so confused where the lawyer was going with this. Maybe thinking of intent? Not relevant.

3. Canadians are usually given B2 stamps and 6-month stays. Applying for AOS before that expires means there's no unauthorized stay, which is a positive. A period of unauthorized stay can cause issues if you decide to not go through with the AOS process, or if for some weird reason it's denied, or if she happens to be caught by immigration in the meantime.

 

So, back to the first step: stop listening to this lawyer, file AOS as soon as you can so she can apply for Advance Parole (AP) and Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

 

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the helpful info! I wanted to know out of curiosity... Would it have been recommended to file right away like even 1 week AFTER we entered the US? Doesn’t that cause any issues on intent ? I’m just worried that since it’s only been roughly a month since we entered, and i don’t know how soon too soon is 

9 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

B visas are applied for in American embassies and consulates.  Not at the land borders.

oh well I have no idea then.Her  passport says B2 Class but we definitely did not apply for anything. We just drove over the border and thats what they gave us. This should be fine, correct? 

18 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

Also ... You talk about “we have the B visa stamp in our passport “.  Did you enter the US using a Canadian or US passport ? 

As a USC, have you been filing tax returns ? 

I entered the US with my American one and she entered hers with a Canadian one. She has a B2 stamp in our passport that says she must return on a certain day/month.

I haven't been filing tax returns every year because I haven't been employed up until this current offer. I've been a student up until a couple months ago.

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Very unusual for a Canadian to need a B visa, might be relevant.

Hmm we didn’t apply for it. I just thought that’s what’s issued to Canadians when we cross the land border ? It says B2 Visa on our passport when it was stamped to go across

2 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

Intent was assessed at entry , so yes, she can apply to adjust her status after entering as a visitor with the declared intent of leaving . It is best to apply for this well before her authorised stay as a visitor expires, so she remains in authorised stay while it is being processed 

At the same time she should apply for Advanced Parole .. so she can travel and return ... and Employment authorisation .. so she can work .. otherwise she can’t leave and return or work until the adjustment of Status is complete. AOS is taking upwards of 18 months and EAD / AP 6 - 8 months ( all variable estimates !! ) 

So the only question is .. when is the big celebration in 2020 ( by the way it won’t be another wedding .. you are already married!! ) and is there enough time to be certain that the AP will come through by then ? Remember you are dealing with the USCIS... nothing is certain except the fact that nothing is certain !

Also, there will be impacts  on lifestyle regarding driving ( many states won’t issue a driver’s licence until the EAD is issued), decreased income as she can’t work until the EAD , possible high level of boredom if life is usually “ full” and now impacted by   having to wait months until work etc is allowed 

Summary .. yes she can legally adjust but is it the best way to go considering the restrictions?? Only you can answer that. 

Hi hi hi ! Thank you for the great response.

Realistically, yes it can be done with the restrictions. We looked into the restrictions before coming to a decision and it seems like it would be okay for us. Additionally, the celebration (yeah i guess it's not a wedding  ) in 2020 is around 7.5 months away? When we looked on the USCIS processing websites online, it seemed to be around 4-6 months for the vermont location. I think we might be okay? But I'm not sure. We're more concerned about the AP approval time rather than EAD.

We're just also very worried about her application facing any issues because of the fact that she was on a B2 visa. Will there be any issues of filing the I-130 + AoS so soon from her entry date (1 month ago)? 

I just wanted to perhaps get some help on our situation. I've received some very helpful comments on my other post but I wanted to perhaps tackle some new information that came from a friend of a friend who is an immigrant lawyer supposedly. I want to file an I-130 +I-485 but I'm not sure if it would be risky to do it here in US and keep my wife with my during the process, or perhaps just have her move back to Canada while we process the I-130 through consular processing ( which would suck because from what I understand, we would be separated). Can someone please chime in here!

Our situation briefly in chronological order:

(I'm an american citizen + canadian citizen and my wife is a canadian citizen) 

- We had a small wedding back in Canada a few months ago because it was honestly all we could afford. 

- Our family decided that we should have a larger family wedding the following year, so they booked a venue and paid for everything. This is booked for 2020.

- The mutual friends that my spouse and I share decided that we would like to have a big trip to NYC to celebrate.

- While we were planning our trip to visit NYC, I was offered job training in NY but would relocate back to Toronto after the training. This was an opportunity that I applied for many months ago and did not really expect to hear back. The training was expected to take roughly 6-8 months.

- They wanted me to start in 3 months, so I started planning and packed my stuff. My wife along with my friends and family were going to come and help me fix up my place and unpack my stuff. We planned our trip to visit NYC after unpacking my stuff at my place and we enjoyed the city for 1 week. 

- After the week, I was discussing with my employer about the opportunities within the company and they suggested that I could perhaps just stay in NYC because they have a full-time position that will be opening up here around the time I finish my training. This is when I suggest the idea to my wife that we stay in the US and that's where we are now! She has already let her employers know back in Canada that she won't be coming back, and we're trying to figure out how we're going to go back next year for the family oriented wedding.

I guess here are my questions?

1. Is it a bad idea to file the I-130/I-485 here from the US right now? (It's been around 1 month from when we first entered the US) As Canadians, I believe we get a B2 visa automatically when we enter. I'm just concerned because the immigrant lawyer we spoke to said that filing concurrently would not be possible on a B2 visa? Is this true?

2. Additionally, the immigrant lawyer claimed that there will be a lot of issues if we file the I-130/I-485 from here in the US because since we're ALREADY married, they would deny her AoS application? I think it should also be noted that this same person claimed that since we're married, my wife wouldn't be able to enter the US due to the fact that I'm an american citizen and we're married.

3. I believe there's talk about the I-94 expiration date being the date that we MUST file before? I'm not exactly sure how these work and if someone can perhaps chime in on this, that would be great. We have a stamp in our passport that says "B2" and then a day/month that we're expected to come back. 

I can't really think of the specific questions I'm meaning to ask, they seem to have slipped my mind. I'm just looking for a little bit of guidance on the situation because we're relatively young! 

7 minutes ago, missileman said:

Processing time will not change..........any USC or PR can be joint sponsor........you will have to indicate why you weren't required to file.

Hmm okay. I may just look into perhaps some relatives that live in different states. I just didn’t file taxes because I didn’t make the threshold annual salary to file , I believe it’s $12,000? I was in school and didn’t make any money besides pocket money from tutoring. 

4 minutes ago, azblk said:

It is a process thing. The i-864 form asks for tax return for most recent year and incomes for last 3 years. So even if you can show that you now make enough to support your wife the USCIS can still deny you if you cant provide the previous years taxes income. You can fight them on this or you can find a co sponsor.

Hmm does getting a cosponsor change anything for my processing time ? Also what are the requirements, do they have to be a US citizen or PR? 

5 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Not really an issue as the OP currently seems to be over the guidelines. 

The guidelines you speak of are the 125% over poverty line ? I’m not aware of how I could possibly get tax return records if I didn’t have any 

16 minutes ago, azblk said:

Ok that might be a problem. You should start working on getting a cosponsor. They will require most recent tax return and will also ask for earnings for previous 3 years for your i-864.

Oh is this necessary? I thought the purpose of the cosponsor was to ensure I would be making enough to support my wife ? What if I’m able to provide a job offer letter to prove my salary? 

6 minutes ago, azblk said:

No explanation needed. Have you been filing your US taxes even though you lived in Canada?

I haven’t actually. Because I don’t have taxes to file, I haven’t been employed prior to this. I was in University 

1 minute ago, missileman said:

Adjusting status from a visitor route has proven to be difficult for some due to the inability of the new immigrant to work, drive, open bank accounts, etc.  Hopefully, that won't be an issue for your wife....good luck.

Yeah it seems like it’s going to be difficult because of those reasons. Although, I think we will be able to get by for the time being, luckily my employment opportunity will be enough to support the two of us I think 

13 minutes ago, missileman said:

Deleted

Actually it has been quite a change. I was initially going to be the only one to stay for the duration of the training because the company had offered me a position in my home city back in Canada. But after further discussion, they have opportunities with staying here. It’s a lot of work to get things all changed and my wife had to send in her resignation with her job in Canada. She was initially just going to stay while we went around sight seeing and enjoying the city but I proposed the idea 

4 minutes ago, azblk said:

You cant be denied without an interview unless you clearly do not qualify. You will be ok. The question is when and not if she will get her green card. I bet they will not even ask about why she decided to stay.

We're not in any rush as to when she will get the green card, we're more concerned about the plans we had lined up prior to the decision of staying. So our wedding plans for next year is something we actually initially planned on having while staying in Canada but I guess a change of heart happened during our time here in the US. We're just nervous about AP processing times as well! Also, I'd like to thank you so much Azblk for your great information. 

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There is no financial loss, that money is spent, you are asking to expedite to attend a party, that does not meet any of the requirements.

Hmm this is somewhat true. Although, the only money that has been spent as of now is the deposit. We don't have to pay the remainder until either the party goes on or if we cancel, we just pay ~$10K to cover the losses. 

Just now, azblk said:

Like I said earlier intent is determined at the border/airport - once you are inside the country it cant be used against you.

 

You can not file an expedited i-131. You can ask for your i-131 to be expedited after you do your biometrics - right now expediting is getting harder and harder, I dont think the $15K loss will work but all you can do is try.

Oh okay. When she entered through Canada, her intent was to come and help me unpack my stuff. Then we spent a few days touring the area and as well as NYC. We then discussed about the possibility of just staying here in the states, so we decided to proceed with the process of filing. Does this sound like it would be okay to the officer reviewing our case? How are we able to explain our situation before they possibly deny it due to how it looks on paper? Is there usually an interview first and then they decide if they deny the application? Or is there usually a process of which they deny it before even interviewing. I apologize for all the questions. 

2 minutes ago, azblk said:

USCIS is now reportedly processing cases using LIFO( Last In First Out) format. New cases are getting priority over older cases.  Just go ahead and file as soon as you can. Predicting processing time is much like reading tea leaves but for sure new cases are moving much faster than old cases. The only thing with your case is since your wife lived outside the US until recently her background check will take a while I think but the EAD/AP should not take long.

Hmm okay. That sounds great! We will definitely file it as soon as possible then, my concern was that it is so soon after entering the US that it would seem that she had pre-conceived intention of immigrating. Additionally, what is your take on our contract binding us to $15K as a proof for financial loss? Is that not going to cut it? 

Would filing an expedited I-131 perhaps be a mistake? 

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

No way of knowing how long AP will take, only how long it has taken.

Ah yes this is true. I'm just very worried ! It's all so overwhelming because we only recently decided on this  

1 minute ago, azblk said:

It depends on the reasons for your denial. In your case at least from you have shared you should not have any problems. The chances of a denial are very very very low.

Hmm okay. I'm just worried about it all. Also do you know if the AP processing takes longer than 7 months ? Cause I hear its 3-5 months but that's from the websites and online sources. I want to perhaps know if you have any experience with it ?

1 minute ago, azblk said:

I would file a soon as I can. The worst that can happen is you get denied and you can refile or appeal.

Does being denied hinder any future chances? 

2 minutes ago, azblk said:

There is NO such rule but the USCIS is now claiming that they can deny you for misrepresentation if you do something inconsistent with the terms of your non immigrant status within 90 days of entering the USA.  Court and EOIR precedent is that intent is determined at the border and that immediate family of a US citizen can not be denied AOS solely for that.  I personally think it is being used a scare tactic right now more than an adjudicative tool.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-j-chapter-3

Hmm what would you suggest we do to avoid any problems? We're just afraid of missing the wedding party that we initially had planned in Canada for March. We thought that the sooner we file, the less likely that the AP (I-131) would be delayed. Alternatively do you think showing a copy of our contract for the event and how would lose around $15K is enough proof as financial loss ?

11 minutes ago, payxibka said:

If it isn't an official source it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.   Even the link you provided said the 30/60 rule was eliminated in favor of some sort of new 90 rule,  which doesn't exist either 

Hmm interesting. How would you recommend going about the I-130 process. Do you think filing at a later date would draw less suspicion? There was definitely plans on going back to Canada after my job opportunity but they offered me a full-time here instead, so I decided to take this offer. I'm just not sure how they would look at that. 

2 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Bo such rules exists.

 

Uscis is reporting 3 to 5 months for ead/ap

Oh I was referring to this:

https://citizenpath.com/30-60-day-rule-adjustment-status/

Is this not a thing ?

Hi,

Just wanted to see anyone's input on our situation. I'm an American citizen who recently moved back to the US for a job opportunity. My wife has been with me in the US for 3 weeks now and we intend on filing the I-130 and I-485 forms along with additional documents (EAD and I-131). We're looking to start this up earlier rather than later because we originally planned to have a church wedding celebration early next year, around March 2020 in Canada (where we are originally from). Although we were looking to go back to Canada around February, this means that it would be around 7-8 months from the time of I-131 filing to the day we hope to return. I just perhaps had a few questions regarding the process:

1. Is this an ample amount of time to get the I-131 processed in time for next May? We're currently in Albany, NY. So I'm not sure where our documents get processed? 

2. Also would filing in the next week or so risky? I heard that the 30/60 day rule may prevent us from being screened for pre-conceived intent of immigration. 

3. Regarding the I-131, we were wondering if it would be possible to get it expedited on the basis of our church wedding celebration (we signed a contract and paid a non-refundable deposit of ~$6000). The contract states that if we were to cancel or reschedule, we would have to pay the full amount that was originally negotiated which is roughly ~$15K. Would this count as a severe financial loss? 

Any help is greatly appreciated! I just discovered this forum and it's an absolute gem for information regarding the entire process. I also enjoy reading people's stories and also timelines  

Thanks.