vhutchinson

Hi there, 

I'm a Canadian currently residing in the US with my American husband.  I came here in March 2020 to visit and ended up staying for a while due to COVID.  We were already engaged with a wedding date in June 2022, so we decided to get married in August and pursue the AOS.  When I came in March, I was still working for a Canadian organization (virtually, due to COVID).  I left that role at the end of August 2020 and have not worked since. 

I'm wondering if I should be filing US taxes for 2020.  The potentially complicating factor is that I do already have a SSN here in the US, as I previously had a TN visa to complete contract work for a US company.  The contract fell through and I never needed to use the TN, so I have never received any income here in the US. 

If I should be filing taxes, can anyone recommend a program that works well for foreigners/non-standard situations like mine?  Any help would be much appreciated! 

Thanks,

Vanessa 

2 hours ago, payxibka said:

Actually neither.   Your best option is to get married and file for adjustment of status.  You must remain during the process.

Hi @payxibka, is this the adjustment of status route that you suggest? 

Just want to make sure I'm clear on the recommendation.  Thank you!

Hello,

I am a Canadian currently in the US.  My fiance and I got engaged at the end of February on vacation, and a few weeks later (mid-March) I came to visit him for a weekend.  This was right before the border closures happened, so we decided that I had better stay here with him rather than risk going back to Canada and not being able to cross the border.  We never thought it would last this long, but thankful we made the decision for me to stay.  I'm approaching 5 months of being in the US, and the maximum I can stay as a Canadian visitor is 6 months at a time.  Rather than run the risk of any red flags by me being in the US close to the 6 month mark, we decided that I should probably go back to Canada in early August.  We have all of our paperwork together to file the K-1 visa, and he was going to mail it to the lockbox as soon as I leave to go back to Canada next week.

We just realized that there may be a benefit to getting married while we are both here, and then filing the CR-1 visa instead.  This may make it possible for me to travel back to the US by air while the borders are still closed, as I would be a spouse (and potentially for him to come to Canada to visit?).  Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to our next steps?  If we get married and file a CR-1 visa, am I allowed to stay in the US while it is being processed?  Or if I go back to Canada am I allowed to re-enter the US while it is being processed? 

As a sidenote, I am not concerned about the timeline with regards to work authorization.  I work for a Canadian company virtually, so can work for them anywhere in the world.  

Thank you!!