LeprechaunSean

So I have to apply at a USCIS district office for a passport? or a certificate of citizenship? Looking at the passport application it looks like the only thing I need is the affadavit about my places of residence before my son's birth......and here I thought this was gonna be simple

Ok so I was born in USA, came back to canada before I was two with my mother(divorce), then spent the rest of my life in canada until three years ago, at which point I applied for my wife & son's visa directly at the consulate(DCF)I never resided in the usa(other than approximately the first year & half of my life). Does that make any more sense?

You have not provided enough information as of yet.

Is this your biological son, adoptive son, or step-son?

Because you say he is your son, but then why does he have a greencard if he is your son?

He is my biological son, he was born in canada, so we went through the IR1 process for my wife and him, we got approved, and after coming to USA my wife and he both recieved greencards. I was told he is an American citizen now and that all we needed to prove it was to either get a certificate of citizenship or a passport.

Hi just trying to gather a little info before I apply...I am a US citizen, my son and wife were born in canada and came over on IR1/2 visa's three years ago. I was told that because of the child citizenship act that my son became a US citizen once he came across the border and/or got his green card(which he has). I'm fuzzy on the details though and want to have it squared away before we go in to apply. Any help is much appreciated!

thanks for the replies guys.....My friend here in the US who is willing to hire my canadian friend has government contracts, and here in phoenix he has an extremely hard time getting people that can pass government background checks. My friend in canada is clean as a whistle and very experienced in the same trade. The main problem I can see is that most of the qualifications on the TN visa require a bachelor's degree.

Jojo, where would I go for info on the dept of labor certification?

I am a US citizen, my friend is a Canadian citizen, married. He wants to move permanently to the US. No family relationship between us, and he has no relatives here. He has a job with a friend of mine lined up already, regardless of how long it takes for him to get here. Is there a way for him to do this? A certain type of visa, etc...He is a skilled tradesperson but doesn't have a bachelor's degree in anything. Any help is much appreciated.

Hmm...the US consulate in montreal told me that once my son crosses the border and becomes a permanent resident I can apply for his US passport. I've also heard this several times on VJ, I guess I need to do a little more research....

My son is two years old and he's coming across the border on his visa this week. I know because of the citizenship act of 2000 that he is automatically able to apply for a passport/and or citizenship, but the passport application wants a SSN, the SSN application wants a US passport, and I'm unsure about what the N-400 wants.....where should I start?

SSN application does NOT need a US passport... It needs proof of employment authorization...

My son will be getting his SSN card in the mail, sometime in the next month or so, I just wanted to get the ball rolling asap. Guess I'll just have to wait.

With a DCF'er or a CR-1 or IR-1, if u checked the box off on the DS-230, it "should" come in the mail automatically in about 2-4 weeks! BUT often it does NOT show up!! SO, after 10 - 14 BUSINESS days, one can goto the local SSN office and inquire about the status of ur SSN! IF by then it is not in the system, you can apply again. One can download the form at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ss-5.html

Best to be prepared and take it to the office already filled out. As well ensure you take ur passport with the visa in it!! I had to go that route, and the SSN showed up a week after applying for it at the office

I checked the box for both my wife and son, so I guess I just have to wait soooo tired of waiting....

So if she gets a 10 yr. card, can we apply anytime after 3 years?

nope. Do I file a different form? I saw that about the adopted child on the N-400 stuff, but I thought that was only form I there is to file for him......wrong again?

My son is two years old and he's coming across the border on his visa this week. I know because of the citizenship act of 2000 that he is automatically able to apply for a passport/and or citizenship, but the passport application wants a SSN, the SSN application wants a US passport, and I'm unsure about what the N-400 wants.....where should I start?

Yeah I'm pretty sure there you can do civil service..........although I'm not really sure what that entails

If you have been married 2 years when she uses the CR-1 to enter then she would not receive a two year conditional card but a 10 year PR card and would not have to remove conditions. If you have been married less than 2 years when she enters the US on the CR-1, then the date that she enters is the start of her two year conditional residency. She would need to file to remove conditions during the window that opens up 90 days before the 2nd anniversary of her entering the US but no later than the 2nd anniversary date of her entry. The date she becomes a permanent resident will be printed right on the card itself.

You must be excited! Congratulations and hope she has an easy POE.

See that's what I've been trying to figure out, We've been married about three and a half years, so she shouldn't have to remove conditions, right? If she just automatically gets a PR card within the next month or so, and it's good for 10 years, then what's the next step towards citizenship for her? (and yes I'm very very excited, her and my boy are here in less than two days )

I know that the SSN card comes after about a month or so, I'm just wondering if there is a way to find out what the number is sooner so I can apply for my sons passport. Not sure where to look.

Here's another link about the US requirements:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html

actually if you don't want to bear arms but do want to become a US citizen you can have them alter the oath of allegiance. However I believe they usually ask for evidence to back up your beliefs, etc.. check this out...

http://www.***removed***/citizenship/natura...h-ceremony.html

Hmmm....looks like you might get into canada ok, but then have a hard time coming back into the US. You know you can get a passport expedited, it's an extra $60 if I remember correctly, but mine came in two weeks.

When are you flying to Canada? It took less than a month for me to get mine, and there is also an option to expedite (but they charge extra for it).

You might want to get the passport just to be on the safe side.

arabella quit reading my mind

Well I'm going to add to the confusion I guess. We got my son his passport last june, and he was only one at the time, and we were told that he had to have on. His passport is only good for 3 years though.

Ok I'm the new guy in the removing conditions game.........how come I can't find a good guide for this? I just want an overview of the process from once you have your green to actually becoming a citizen....anybody?anybody?

Hey all,

My wife will be entering the US on her CR1 visa this tuesday, and have her green card within a month or so. I'm pretty sure we are going to have to file for removing conditions, but I'm not 100% on the process, when to file, etc... any info is much appreciated.

Then she asked me about my work, why I moved down ahead of my wife

I had to shake my head at the question you were asked (bolded above)

Well Sean, I have to say this is the most dramatic interview review i've seen

Congratulations!!!!

lol-story of my life. I often joke that I am the walking and talking murphys law, if it can happen, it will happen to me. hehe but hey it keeps life interesting.

Now I have the daunting task of bringing our apartment back up to my wifes specs. It may be an insurmountable task

ok here's my review(was going to do it last night but was too bagged...)

We stayed at the hotel les suites labelle, which is located between st. catherine and rene levesque on rue labelle. This hotel was great, it was $83 a night, with free parking downstairs, free wifi and a free buffet breakfast, which was actually really good. The room we stayed in was large and had a full kitchenette-which we used everyday. So overall I would definitely recommend this hotel, staff was friendly and it's about a 2 minute drive to the consulate. (expedia did mess up and had to reimburse me for our parking-but that was expedia, not the hotel.)

So the day of the interview we showed up early, about 6:15am. We were the first people there, and parked on the street with the meters(which don't start until 9am)We could clearly see the consulate entrance from our seats in the car. I think around 6:45 I saw someone show up and start the lineup, so I got out to get in line and my wife and son stayed in the car to stay warm(it was cold!) I was chatting it up with the people in the lineup (more were steadily showing up) for probably 15-20 minutes when I noticed my wife heading towards us with a look on her face that immediately got my attention. She proceeds to tell me that some guy had walked past our car, looked at her, then started trying to break into the minivan directly behind us. She also saw another guy standing on the corner behind us(st. catherine) apparently as a lookout. So she's freaked out, starts the car up and starts honking the horn. None of us in the lineup heard a thing. We can only conlude that the traffic from rene levesque combined with the conversation drowned out the horn. Anyways, the two guys take off and that's when my wife gets out and heads for us. So after telling me about it, I head up to the car, and see that they left their tool still in the door of the minivan. It looked like a bike kickstand that had been modified to me. I figured I'd better not touch it, and as I start walking back to the lineup I look over my shoulder and see a scruffy looking guy on a bike pull up beside the van and stop, so I turn around and start heading back towards him and he immediately takes off. Now I'm thinking, ok these guys are hanging around and want their tool back, so I go back to the line up and one of the ladies there offer to walk around the corner and call the cops, which she does. About 5-10 minutes go by and we're all talking about it, when two guys come back around the corner again and start towards us, and I say to my wife "is that them?" she says yes so I start jogging up towards them (yes I was pissed off by now) I get to the van and stop in front of it, and then proceed to have a stare down with the one guy(the guy that had been on the bike was shifty and actually at one point turned around, then came back) he gets to me and says 'bonjour' and walks by. I know they wanted their tool, and I just wasn't going to let them have it. they then walked around the corner at rene levesque and proceed to stop for a smoke. Unbelievable. The one guy (not the scruffy one) seemed totally unconcerned. Now we're all waiting for the cops to show up, and the two guys come back around the corner and walk back up the street, but now on the opposite side from the consulate, they're about halfway up the street when we see the cops coming down the street from st. catherine, so my wife and I run out and point at the two guys, tell the cops what was going on, they peel out in reverse and jump to get these guys. That's when security opens the doors and starts processing the lineup, so I'm like "ok honey the cops are here now let's get to our interview" I wasn't about to risk missing that. We go through security and get to the waiting room downstairs with the elevator, when a security guard comes downstairs and asks who's involved with the situation and that the police need to talk to us. He also said not to worry, we wouldn't lose our place in line and they'd take care of us. (by the way, all the security guys at the consolate were great, no jerks at all) So we go out and talk to the cops, Shar gives a statement and I show them the tool in the van(they hadn't noticed it yet). Turns out the guy on the bike is homeless, and the guy that actually tried to steal the van was on probabation. He was apparently a repeat offender, for what they didn't say, but I'd guess car theft. The cop also said he was strung out too, and probably wouldn't remember anything once he sobered up. By now we're frozen and the cops let us go back to the consulate. we're let right through and head up the elevator to floor 19.

Now for the actual interview. We get to window 12 and at first the lady just asked us about the whole scene in the street(I'm pretty sure the whole office was talking about it) but after a bit she started doing all the paper work. I filled out the right I-864 for my wife, but the wrong one for my son. Something to do with the citizenship act of 2000 and him automatically getting his citizenship once he crosses, anyways, I had to fill out another I-864 form (I think it was I-864w)

For evidence of support she looked at my tax forms(which were copies from my own records-not IRS transcripts) and my letter of employment-which had my wages on it. Never even looked at pay stubs or bank statements. She then took all our documents-birth certificates, marriage, passports and police certificate for my wife. She never asked for anything to prove our relationship, but I didn't expect her to anyways since we're married with a child. For proof of domocile, she copied my arizona drivers license and took our lease agreement and some utility bills. My wife had two passport photo's, but they were taken at different times (we've taken ALOT of passport photos this year) and the lady just took one of them and photcopied it. So I would recommend making sure your pictures match, even if they are the right size. For the medical stuff, my wife's was fine. We held our breath when she opened our sons, since this was something we were worried about since my son had not gotten his flu vaccination because of his egg allergy. We had allergy specialist and doctors letters ready, but she just looked at the notation from the US panel physician stating that he had an egg allergy and said 'oh poor little guy' at which point we had a little discussion on how allergies in north america are getting worse, processed foods, etc....and then she said 'ok your paperwork looks great, go wait in the main room and you'll get called into room 7 for your interview." We waited about 15 minutes(and that room was FULL) then got called in. The consul was a thinner lady, with a wrist brace, probably in her late 40's. She was very pleasant, and wanted to know about the scene in the street-LOL-so we repeated the whole story again. Then she asked me about my work, why I moved down ahead of my wife(I told her the truth, work wanted me there ASAP) and a few questions about my son. She asked my wife a few questions, if we had health insurance in the US, pretty light questions altogether. Then she says, well, you're approved, welcome to america. WOO WOOOO! at which point I hit her up for the next day pick up-told her how I'd booked my wifes ticket believing that a week would be enough to get it, (she didn't seem optiimistic about that) but before I even got to point of actually asking for it, she says "why don't you come back tommorrow and pick them up?" So that ROCKED. She said it was the least they could do for us helping out with the car thieves. LOL.

So the moral of the story kids, is this: DO THE RIGHT THING. It always pays off in the end.

OK I'll give a real short version right now and a long one when I get back home. Good news is, we're approved and picking our visa up in a few hours! :thumbs: Bad news is montreal may not be as safe as you think, when I'm dealing with crackhead carjackers right outside the consolate at 7:00am on a tuesday morning. Police came, had to give statements, got pulled out of the line up (didn't delay us too long) so yeah, interesting morning. Details to follow tommorrow night. I'm taking the fam out to the biosphere right now.

well we're gonna drive over there right now and check it out. We're bored anyways...

yeah I guess I could probably use the meters. I'd just as soon park inside though. I thought there was a spot on the consulate website about parking, but I can't find it....