Torontoborn

Yet another one of my late entries to a thread

I'm also a Canadian who came to the US as a visitor, met future hubby, got engaged and married, applied for AOS, now have GC in hand.

We hired an attorney; just like Stillness, we also don't regret it at all. Perhaps we "could" have done it on our own, after some initial consultation, but we just felt better with a knowledgeable immigration attorney steering things in the right direction (and she's one of the top in the state.) We still had to do all the legwork in gathering the documents, but she was great at advising us when it came to documents for the interview - what to take, what not to take, what not to mention, etc. We were very well prepared for the interview, and it was very easy and successful!

I'm also happy to help answer questions or share what I learned on my AOS journey. Ask away!

Good luck, congrats, and welcome to the group!!

Thank you pegbert64 for your reply and sorry for the late response. I want to ask you what was the consultation like and did it help consulting a lawyer? How long did it take you to receieve your green card and what was your interview experience like? Congrads on receiving your green card and all of this info sure does help out my wife and I tremendously thank you.

Another Canadian adjusted from a visitor visa here.

Should have no problems with the birth certificate, I ordered mine from Alberta shortly before we sent off our AOS and had no problems whatsoever.

As far as the lawyer question, we hired one, and I don't regret it for a moment. Aside from the visitor visa and overstay, there was nothing really remarkable about our case, but at the same time, we both felt much more secure having the lawyer handle all the paperwork for us. The main issue with a visitor visa adjustment is the intent on entry, any documentation you have to prove you fully intended to return to Canada at the end of your visit will help you there.

I think bluegreen answered everything pretty well so I won't ramble on, (and congratulations on your interview!), just thought I'd throw in a few words of support as well.

Hey Stillness thanks for the reply back and sorry it took so long to reply back. Thank you for the advice and I want to ask you how long did it take you to receieve your green card, and was your case an easy one or complex one? What kind of legwork did you guys have to do? Can you share if you dont mind what your interview experience was like? Hearing experiences like bluegreen, yours and others who responded to my thread and my appology if I didnt get your name but it does truly help my wife and I out very much this wealth of information you guys are sharing with us and makes us very hopeful of my process. Thank you.

Congradulations bluegreen I am very happy to hear you got approved. That is fantastic news. You should go and celebrate with a drink with your husband.

heheh. Yes, we eventually did...after he got back from the golf course

Oh thats too cool and very quick process in my opinion.

Thanks for the congrats - it was really smooth. And it was a lot better sitting answering your questions than freaking out about my interview!

I ordered by birth certificate online (I goggled for the link, it is easy to find), and they couriered it to my US address. They did want some pretty specific info, like what hospital you were born at, etc., and sometimes they ask you for more information after you apply. I have a very unusual name so I think it was easy to locate mine.

I spent the last six months learning to cook (I am still terrible), skiing and snowboarding a LOT, helping my husband with work (he works from home quite a bit), exploring the area, and being periodically bored out of my brain. I had planned a three month trip here to hang out with my then-fiance and ski, so I tried to do a lot of that, but we were also really broke with ony one income, and there is only so much you can do for free. I got my work authorisation pretty quickly though.

I forgot to mention, that as well as the filing fees, you will have to pay for a full medical. They range from $250-$700. Call as many of the civil surgeons on the list as you can stand to get the best price - I could not believe how they varied.

Good luck with your application! Gathering everything you need can be a full time job too! Let me know if there is anything esle Canada-specific that stumps you:)

I just saw your last post too. No, it was not hard for me to get a job. I am pretty resourceful:) It helps to have a great, well written resume, make lots of contacts, and not be shy to talk yourself up.

Good luck!

I can imagine how nerve wrecking anticipating your AOS interview because your life is in the palm of their hands. I do hope to hear how the interview went and what things they asked. What kinds of things do they require specifically when you request a long form birth certificate? So your saying it doesnt cause grief if you use an US address? I am so nervous about using a US address because in my mind I think they would think I inteded to move to the US. Thank you for guiding me inregards to what to expect inregards to the long form birth certificiate.

You said you spent your time cooking as I also spent my time cooking as well as before I would have never see a kitchen back in Canada and the only thing I would be in the kitchen is to make a pizza or something LOL. I spend my time on the web surfing, talking to family, watching tv. playing video games that kinda stuff. I am anticipating the day that I can work and do things as staying in the house all day is not the spot at all. It sounds like you did preoccuipy yourself while you were waiting for your green card. I can relate to us being broke and living off of one income it is tough and I feel terrible being dependant but my wife never makes me feel bad about being dependant.

I will make a mental note about the medical situation and isnt it crazy that you have to pay to get your medical done here its just such a trip. My wife is so amazed on what we get ingards to medical coverage and stuff and when she explains the whole medical stuff here I get so confused LOL.

Thank you bluegreen for your advice and I will definately ask more questions if I need more assitance. I am annnocing that I am gonna be under your wing and I just dont want to be too forward nor do I hope it is too soon to ask but I wondered if I I can correspond with you through email or something if I have a question about the whole AOS process. My wife was so glad to learn that there is someone that was in my situation. You are absouletly awesome and thank you again bluegreen you are great.

I do hope it wont be too hard to find work as I am planning to find work in customer service for now and planning to go to school as well. I will take your advice and run with it.

Of course, ask anything you want! You can just PM me through the site and I'll help out as best I can. I'll be checking in here a lot -there are many Feb filers to be approved still and I want to stay around at least till they are through. Sometimes it's great to ask in the wider forum too because then everyone can benefit from the answer, but some stuff is just waaaay too specific to a particular situation!!

You are already married, so having the Birth Certificate sent to your US address will not raise any red flags - you do intend to immigrate now! They need it b/c it includes the parents' names. I have heard of some people being fine with the plastic ones, but others have received Rfe's. There was one couple who got an RFE for it at the interview.

Here is my interview review: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=135992

Good luck!

Well thank you blue green and I totally appreciate your kindness in willing to help me along the way with my process. I will definately PM absouletly. I am actually planning to file in late August to 1st week in September so its some time away but I just want to know what to do when that time comes around and to gather all the evidence and stuff. I absouletly agree it is very nice to ask questions in a wider forum as you get many opinions and answrs from different people. I do think again its very nice of you in willing to help not only me but others in here.

Thanks for clarifying that up, I was just nervous about having a birth certificate sent to me to my US address as I thought it would raise red flags. Thanks for the verification. I definately dont want to get RFEs. I did cross into the US with my passport, my birth certificate with no lamination LOL, my drivers licesnce, health card that kinda stuff. It was kinda funny when I was going through the US customs, the guy looks at my passport and says are you really from Canada LOL because I am black and I guess he couldnt believe black people are born and raised in Canada. I will PM you though and congrads again and hope you have a good weekend.

Congradulations bluegreen I am very happy to hear you got approved. That is fantastic news. You should go and celebrate with a drink with your husband.

Congradulations Laura and Nick!!!!

Thanks for the congrats - it was really smooth. And it was a lot better sitting answering your questions than freaking out about my interview!

I ordered by birth certificate online (I goggled for the link, it is easy to find), and they couriered it to my US address. They did want some pretty specific info, like what hospital you were born at, etc., and sometimes they ask you for more information after you apply. I have a very unusual name so I think it was easy to locate mine.

I spent the last six months learning to cook (I am still terrible), skiing and snowboarding a LOT, helping my husband with work (he works from home quite a bit), exploring the area, and being periodically bored out of my brain. I had planned a three month trip here to hang out with my then-fiance and ski, so I tried to do a lot of that, but we were also really broke with ony one income, and there is only so much you can do for free. I got my work authorisation pretty quickly though.

I forgot to mention, that as well as the filing fees, you will have to pay for a full medical. They range from $250-$700. Call as many of the civil surgeons on the list as you can stand to get the best price - I could not believe how they varied.

Good luck with your application! Gathering everything you need can be a full time job too! Let me know if there is anything esle Canada-specific that stumps you:)

I just saw your last post too. No, it was not hard for me to get a job. I am pretty resourceful:) It helps to have a great, well written resume, make lots of contacts, and not be shy to talk yourself up.

Good luck!

I can imagine how nerve wrecking anticipating your AOS interview because your life is in the palm of their hands. I do hope to hear how the interview went and what things they asked. What kinds of things do they require specifically when you request a long form birth certificate? So your saying it doesnt cause grief if you use an US address? I am so nervous about using a US address because in my mind I think they would think I inteded to move to the US. Thank you for guiding me inregards to what to expect inregards to the long form birth certificiate.

You said you spent your time cooking as I also spent my time cooking as well as before I would have never see a kitchen back in Canada and the only thing I would be in the kitchen is to make a pizza or something LOL. I spend my time on the web surfing, talking to family, watching tv. playing video games that kinda stuff. I am anticipating the day that I can work and do things as staying in the house all day is not the spot at all. It sounds like you did preoccuipy yourself while you were waiting for your green card. I can relate to us being broke and living off of one income it is tough and I feel terrible being dependant but my wife never makes me feel bad about being dependant.

I will make a mental note about the medical situation and isnt it crazy that you have to pay to get your medical done here its just such a trip. My wife is so amazed on what we get ingards to medical coverage and stuff and when she explains the whole medical stuff here I get so confused LOL.

Thank you bluegreen for your advice and I will definately ask more questions if I need more assitance. I am annnocing that I am gonna be under your wing and I just dont want to be too forward nor do I hope it is too soon to ask but I wondered if I I can correspond with you through email or something if I have a question about the whole AOS process. My wife was so glad to learn that there is someone that was in my situation. You are absouletly awesome and thank you again bluegreen you are great.

I do hope it wont be too hard to find work as I am planning to find work in customer service for now and planning to go to school as well. I will take your advice and run with it.

The interview process is different for every one, but is always easiest when you have lots of documents to prove your relationship is valid. Every one here will advise you to get as many pieces of joint documentation as you possibly can. Owning things together, whether its a house, an apartment, a car, health insurance really helps in proving you didn't marry someone just for US residency. So start getting all that stuff in order and you will be fine. It's not as complicated as it may seem at first. Once you get the hang of it and read past all the confusing jargon, it will be easier. The more stuff you have to prove you are a valid married couple, the less time you will spend in that interview room.

As for missing home, the luck of the draw I guess! haha I will be okay though. I've just gotta move somewhere over here that will make me happy. I will find it, it will just take some work.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Read over the info MANY Times and just make sure to dot your i's and you will do fine.

Yeah I can imagine everyone's interview process is different and I will definately take everyones advice. The question I have to ask is how can you get such things put in my name if I techincally dont have status in the US? I know they recognize me as a visitor and married to a US citizen, but would it be hard to put things in my name if I dont have a social security number? I will definately read the guides and everything before I start my application.

I understand what your saying inregards to your situation and I do hope you do find that special place you will feel comfortable in.

Thanks for all of your advice and input and I will definately use it to my benefit.

Yep, it's all there in all it's detailed glory. As you know I came across like thetreble - in my car, no pane ticket, and am also a contractor in a business I had started 6 months prior. So that might balance out your (minutely) faster marriage (in your own mind at least).

I also read tons of Kez's posts before I filed and they were super, super helpful.

It sure does give me great hope to hear stories and advice from thetreble, Kez and yours that the process is gonna be alright if I follow and read the directions carefully. I will definately read Kez's posts before I start the process. Thank you again for sharing your experience and info with me.

Okay well I guess my husband is not ready to go yet. So I can add a few things here.

I am sure you have already ready the guides. If you have not, then do. Canadian specific things you need:

1) The long form of your Birth Certificate. I ordered mine fro Ontario and it came in three days via courier. The plastic card is not sufficient

2) Everywhere on the forms where it asks for your I-94 #, I put "none issued - Canadian visitor"

3) On either the AP form or the EAD form (I can't remember which) it asks what your "class of entry" was. This one is tough but I put B2, since Canadians enter under a "presumed" B2. I also wrote Canadian visitor" next to this.

4) If you have any vaccinationrecords from home, have them sent. I didn't, so I had to have them all again

read the guide: Concurrent I-485 and I-130

There is nothing more helpful. It tells you absolutely everything you need to gather. You need passport pictures for BOTH sets of applications. Treat them separately but file them together. Make this mega-package very organized.

Get your name on as much joint stuff as possible immediately. Start gathering evidence of your relationship rpior to marriage and now. I wrote separate letters for the petition AND the application stating that I had specifically NOT intended to stay. Probably not necessary but I am just paranoid like that.

Did I say read the guide yet??

BTW you will have to gather and do practically all of this if you have a lawyer anyways. It is a personal choice but if you have nothing wierd or questionable in your history, I would think you'd be fine w/o one. Your marriage WAS very soon after you entered, so make sure you have evidence that you intended to return home.

There are people on here that will tell you that this is very risky and to consult with a lawyer right away. I tend to disagree, but that's just me. Do what you feel comfortable with:) My timeline from start to now has been about 4.5 months, and consistent with al the other applicants of a similar filing time.

Yeah I read your time line and it sure was quick to me, wow and was it hard for you to get a job once you got your EAD card? Yeah I know my marriage was very soon and I am worried about that they may think I had intention to stay which isnt the case. Thank you again for the info and I know I may be bothering you again for more info LOL. Good luck again.

Okay well I guess my husband is not ready to go yet. So I can add a few things here.

I am sure you have already ready the guides. If you have not, then do. Canadian specific things you need:

1) The long form of your Birth Certificate. I ordered mine fro Ontario and it came in three days via courier. The plastic card is not sufficient

2) Everywhere on the forms where it asks for your I-94 #, I put "none issued - Canadian visitor"

3) On either the AP form or the EAD form (I can't remember which) it asks what your "class of entry" was. This one is tough but I put B2, since Canadians enter under a "presumed" B2. I also wrote Canadian visitor" next to this.

4) If you have any vaccinationrecords from home, have them sent. I didn't, so I had to have them all again

read the guide: Concurrent I-485 and I-130

There is nothing more helpful. It tells you absolutely everything you need to gather. You need passport pictures for BOTH sets of applications. Treat them separately but file them together. Make this mega-package very organized.

Get your name on as much joint stuff as possible immediately. Start gathering evidence of your relationship rpior to marriage and now. I wrote separate letters for the petition AND the application stating that I had specifically NOT intended to stay. Probably not necessary but I am just paranoid like that.

Did I say read the guide yet??

Thank you thank you blue green for your wealth of information, I will definately take this info and run with it. You are truly a big help and I truly thank you for your time as to respond to my post as you should be preparing for your AOS interview thank you. Did you have your long form birth certificate mailed to the US address or a Canadian address. Do you need a grantor to sign it for you if your in the states?

Hello VJ members, first of all let me complement how awesome this site is and I have been an avid reader of this site for sometime now. This is my first post in this forum, so I am hoping to get to know some people in here and hope to learn more about the AOS process and other peoples immigration journey.

Here's a little bit about me and my story: I am born and raised in Canada to be exact, I am from Toronto, Ontario, and my wife is born in Williougby Ohio and raised in Fairport Ohio. I met my wife on myspace and we chatted for a year before we decided to turn it into a realtionship. I visited her in Ohio a few times and she would come to Toronto to visit me also, we have been together for a year and 2 months and married for a month and 3 weeks, My last visit to Ohio was March 2008 and we talked and decided we couldnt be away from one another anymore and we love each other, so we didnt want to go the finacee visa route as it would take too long and it would be too hard to be apart from one another. Anyways I had no intention on my last visit to stay in Ohio as I had a round trip ticket back to Toronto on a Sunday as I had all my friends, responsibilites, my family and my job back in Toronto, so on that Sunday I didnt end up going back to Toronto and stayed in Ohio. My intention was to stay abit longer and go back to Toronto, but spur the moment we decided to get married May 10th, and I havent been back to Toronto ever since.

This question is directed specifically to all Canadians and people who adjusted their status from a visitor to permanent resident. The majority of the people in this forum are K-1 visa holders, so adjusting of staus is totally different. How many of you guys decided to use a lawyer and is it necessary to use a lawyer? Did having a lawyer help process your application faster? I am asking because we are possibly using a lawyer and wanted to know the fees and what kind of things do you have to turn over to them? What are the things needed to start the application? What kinds of documents are needed for me being the Canadian to fill out the paperwork? How much does it cost to file? How long does it take to get an interview?

I am sorry that this post is lengthy, but I am a sponge in this situation and I want to soak in all the information I can about what to expect and the process. Thank you in advance and hope to get responses.

I did exactly this and I am about to have my AOS interview in a few hours!! So, maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll help you out with some answers! Sure someone else will come along in the meantime. I didn't use a lawyer. It costs just over $1360 for the filing fees. Don't leave the US. Gotta Go!!!!

Thank you bluegreen and I just want to say good luck to you today on your AOS interview and I hope you kick butt. Thanks for the cost to file and I definately wont leace the US. What did you do since you couldnt work or visit at that time while waiting for your AOS?

Welcome to VJ!! Congratulations and best of luck on your journey

Thank you Laura for the welcome and congrads I truly appreciate it. There are so many awesome Canadians on this forum. I just want to say congradulations to you for getting your visa approved, you definately deserve it as I read my threads on this forum and you seem to be a very nice person and well deserving of it. Take care and thanks again.

Looks like Bluegreen has just posted their approval from the same type situation.... Link

And their review.... Link

Hey Krikit I did just see bluegreens responses and I will definately have to read them and thank her for her advice and input. Thank you for directing me there though.

I agree that if you're situation is not complicated then try to do it yourself to save the money rather than using a lawyer...good luck!

Thank you T.O_2_FL for your advice and it seems to me that using a lawyer wont help. Good to see another person from Toronto . Thank you for the good luck.

Hey Torontoborn. You have come to the right place for info.

I was a visitor who adjusted status in the US after being married. Lots of people will look down on this process as they see you are over-stepping the rules and every one else who goes the K-1. K3 or CR1 route. I had absolutely no problems what so ever and had my green card in 4.5 months. You even have a stronger case than I did as I drove my car into the US so had no return ticket, and had been let go from my job as it was a contract position only. But I still made it with no problems.

We got a lawyer that costs us approx. $3,000. What a waste of money. All the lawyer did was type in the the information we gave him and physically send off the paperwork. He came to us on the interview day for all of 2 minutes because that was about how long our interview lasted. It was a total waste of money and if I could do it all again I would do it all myself. Unless your situation is complicated, which I believe it is not, it probably is not necessary.

Hey thetreble thank you for the welcome and I absouletly feel I did come to the right place. I know people frown on this process absouletly because as you clearly stated people go the visa route with the K-1, K-3, CR1 etc etc. This gives me a lot of hope hearing people like you who have gone through similar experiences like myself to prevail this process. I think 4.5 months is very quick to receive the green card as I heard it can take a 1yr or even longer somtimes. I just think the US immigration process is so complicated. I am glad that you didnt have any problems with adjusting your status.

WOW $3000 is a whole lot of money as the AOS application is half the cost of the lawyer fees. I think my wife and I are just scared to make any mistakes or miss anything needed because it will delay the process and give us an RFE. I want to ask if you dont mind, what was the interview like? I have been a broken record on my question about complicated, but what things would you consider to be complicated if you were to guess? By the way I read your post about leaving New Jersey and going back to Canada, first of all I think everyone has a right to feel at peace where they live and everything you said I agree with, I totally think it is a hostile environment you are in and I am sorry to hear you are experiencing this. I definately would sugest you to find somewhere where you can be at peace. How far are you from New Jersey to Ottawa? I think living in a border state would help so you can visit Ottawa more often. I am 4 hrs away from Toronto to Ohio one way. I miss Toronto badly because of the way of life, the multiculturalism, my friends, family all the things to do and I am here for my wife thats why I am here. Ohio is not a bad place but it will never feel like home to me as you expressed and many other Canadians expressed. I would love to live in a border state like Buffalo just to be closer to Torotno, but that will be in due time. Thank you again for your advice and take care.

Welcome to VJ, TorontoBorn. Just one thing that caught my eye in your post..... lawyers will not speed up the process. In fact, they tend to slow it down due to delays and errors. And you'll still have to do all the work.... they're only transcribing what you tell them.

Keep all your evidence of planning to return to Canada..... including your unused return ticket. You will need it to prove you did not have immigrant intent when you arrived here.

You will get most of the answers to your questions from the links Carla provided. As for estimates on timelines..... they're anybody's guess. It's like herding cats or nailing jello to a tree.... impossible to do. "Months" is my best guess.

There are lots of others who adjusted status the same way you are. Look for posts by Kez/JWolf. Kez has recently passed away, but she adjusted from a visit and has some good posts. All the best.

Thank you Krikit for welcoming me to the Canadian forum, I think the Canadian thread is awesome and I think its very cool to meet fellow Canadians as well. My comment inregards to having a lawyer speeding up the process does come off as ignorant so excuse me on that, but I do follow what you are saying though as I heard from reading other posts.

I will absouletly keep all the evidence of planning to return to Canada and I definately do have all of that. Intent is such a tricky thing to prove.

I absouletly did get my questions answered by Carla and she is truly so awesome to have give me step by step instructions. I think she is very smart and knows what she is talking about. Thanks again Carla.

I will have to definately look for posts by Kez/JWolf to get info and advice. Oh my, I am so sorry to hear that Kez has passed away and my condolences goes out to JWolf, friends and to their family for their loss.

Thank you for your help.

Welcome Torontoborn to VJ. I'm not going to write out everything that you need to consider at this point, but will provide you with a couple of links you need to read, which will explain the forms and processes you need to do now...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=i130faq

The first link is about the I-130 on the petition that will need to be completed to have you remain here, and the second link is about the FAQ's assembly instructions and other forms such as the I-485 you'll need to fill out. Everything is in the Guides above you on this site. There are also forms to download as well. Make sure they're the up to date forms, and if not, you can download current ones from the USCIS website.

What you really need to remember right now, is that you shouldn't leave the US. If you do, you'll not get back into the US, and you'll have to do all the paperwork now from afar and won't be back in the US until the process is completed!

Two things you're going to have to show evidence of in your petitions now...first, that you have a bonafide relationship, the second, that you had no intention of visiting the US, with the intent to marry and stay here during your last visit. There have been a few people that have done this, and I will say it's usually looked on by some people, and sometimes from the Gov't. as an intention to bypass the other visa systems in place...so please be aware of this.

Your story lends itself however to this not being the case, particularly with the ties you still had with Canada during your last visit. Most specifically the job! You'll see when you fill out the forms what evidence, like boarding passes, pictures, emails etc. you'll need as evidence of your relationship. You will also have evidence, which you'll probably need copies of, to show that you had ties to Canada and that you didn't visit your now wife in the US with the intention to immigrate.

Many people here on VJ didn't use a lawyer, however there are a few that have. Whether it be for peace of mind, or because there are complications in their case, they've chosen to get a lawyer involved. After reading all the Guides, and asking questions here, you still think you need a lawyer, then by all means hire one. Fees vary, and lawyers for this type of thing can usually cost between $500.00 to $3000.00. Again, you're going to have to weigh the cost, and make sure if anything, you get an immigration lawyer, someone who might be familiar with this type of circumstance.

If you say you're a sponge... Then start by reading the Guides above, and looking the forms. It will spell out exactly what you need in addition to the forms you have to send in.

You're not the first Canadian here on VJ that stayed and married while on a visit! Maybe someone will come along and respond to your post that has done such, and adjusted status after that.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you Carlawarla for responding to my post and for the warm welcome on the Canadian forum. Thank you for your advice and information, I truly appreciate it. The other question I have is what would you say are prime examples of complications that people have who hire lawyers? The costs to hire a lawyer is outrageous, oh my and my wife is the one who wants to hire a lawyer because she feels if we do it we will make mistakes on the applications and it will delay the process. I have looked over the guidies and it is straight forward. You gotta love the sponge comment hahaha, but honestly though this is a wealth of information that I didnt know and learned so thank you very much and i will read the guide and take your advice as you seem to know what your talking about. Thanks again.

Hello VJ members, first of all let me complement how awesome this site is and I have been an avid reader of this site for sometime now. This is my first post in this forum, so I am hoping to get to know some people in here and hope to learn more about the AOS process and other peoples immigration journey.

Here's a little bit about me and my story: I am born and raised in Canada to be exact, I am from Toronto, Ontario, and my wife is born in Williougby Ohio and raised in Fairport Ohio. I met my wife on myspace and we chatted for a year before we decided to turn it into a realtionship. I visited her in Ohio a few times and she would come to Toronto to visit me also, we have been together for a year and 2 months and married for a month and 3 weeks, My last visit to Ohio was March 2008 and we talked and decided we couldnt be away from one another anymore and we love each other, so we didnt want to go the finacee visa route as it would take too long and it would be too hard to be apart from one another. Anyways I had no intention on my last visit to stay in Ohio as I had a round trip ticket back to Toronto on a Sunday as I had all my friends, responsibilites, my family and my job back in Toronto, so on that Sunday I didnt end up going back to Toronto and stayed in Ohio. My intention was to stay abit longer and go back to Toronto, but spur the moment we decided to get married May 10th, and I havent been back to Toronto ever since.

This question is directed specifically to all Canadians and people who adjusted their status from a visitor to permanent resident. The majority of the people in this forum are K-1 visa holders, so adjusting of staus is totally different. How many of you guys decided to use a lawyer and is it necessary to use a lawyer? Did having a lawyer help process your application faster? I am asking because we are possibly using a lawyer and wanted to know the fees and what kind of things do you have to turn over to them? What are the things needed to start the application? What kinds of documents are needed for me being the Canadian to fill out the paperwork? How much does it cost to file? How long does it take to get an interview?

I am sorry that this post is lengthy, but I am a sponge in this situation and I want to soak in all the information I can about what to expect and the process. Thank you in advance and hope to get responses.

Hello VJ members, first of all let me complement how awesome this site is and I have been an avid reader of this site for sometime now. This is my first post in this forum, so I am hoping to get to know some people in here and hope to learn more about the AOS process and other peoples immigration journey.

Here's a little bit about me and my story: I am born and raised in Canada to be exact, I am from Toronto, Ontario, and my wife is born in Williougby Ohio and raised in Fairport Ohio. I met my wife on myspace and we chatted for a year before we decided to turn it into a realtionship. I visited her in Ohio a few times and she would come to Toronto to visit me also, we have been together for a year and 2 months and married for a month and 3 weeks, My last visit to Ohio was March 2008 and we talked and decided we couldnt be away from one another anymore and we love each other, so we didnt want to go the finacee visa route as it would take too long and it would be too hard to be apart from one another. Anyways I had no intention on my last visit to stay in Ohio as I had a round trip ticket back to Toronto on a Sunday as I had all my friends, responsibilites, my family and my job back in Toronto, so on that Sunday I didnt end up going back to Toronto and stayed in Ohio. My intention was to stay abit longer and go back to Toronto, but spur the moment we decided to get married May 10th, and I havent been back to Toronto ever since.

This question is directed specifically to all Canadians and people who adjusted their status from a visitor to permanent resident. The majority of the people in this forum are K-1 visa holders, so adjusting of staus is totally different. How many of you guys decided to use a lawyer and is it necessary to use a lawyer? Did having a lawyer help process your application faster? I am asking because we are possibly using a lawyer and wanted to know the fees and what kind of things do you have to turn over to them? What are the things needed to start the application? What kinds of documents are needed for me being the Canadian to fill out the paperwork? How much does it cost to file? How long does it take to get an interview?

I am sorry that this post is lengthy, but I am a sponge in this situation and I want to soak in all the information I can about what to expect and the process. Thank you in advance and hope to get responses.