ZoesMom

Ok - I'm ready to get this paperwork started but am not sure about whether in our case it would be better to use a lawyer or not.

My husband and girls are the American's and Australians (the girls are in the process of getting Canadian passports..) - I'm Canadian and Australian. We married in June 2005 and became Australian citizens in 2009. We moved to the US with me on a TN visa at the end of Feb this year. My last date of entry into the US was May 31. My husband has zero income and is home taking care of the girls - I work full time with annual income of 95,000 - my current contract ends in July 2011 but I have been offered to stay on for at least a few years - not in writing though. I have about 60,000 in my sole bank account - our joint account is used for my pay and paying bills.

I consulted a lawyer who told me the fees would be $2500 for him and $1500 filing fees. Given the sponsorship issues I'm wondering if I should go ahead with the lawyer - if it is still relatively simple I'd rather save the money and do it myself though...

Any suggestions?

Do more research. I think you do not have to wait about 6 months for AOS in your case.Prove your mariage is important.

Thanks - one last question (maybe)

If my husband is not working - or is taking care of the kids - does this disqualify me from applying?

1.)apply AOS (i-485,i-130,EAD,AP)

2.)Don't leave the country until you get AP if you decide file AOS

3.)Don't worry about if you lose your job if you file AOS

4.)prove your marriage is important

Thanks for that - is there a certain amount of time I have to wait before filing the paperwork? - ie I've only been in the US on my TN for 5 weeks now. I had heard something about 6 months before.

I hired a lawyer.. But then I'm prone to panic attacks and I could afford it... But then I did have to file all the form (the lawyer can not know what is your history).

It can definitly be done on your own. The guides here are pretty good. And in your case, having children with your husband will be a big help towards proof of relationship.

Thanks for that - we had a migration attorney when we got our PR and citizenship in Australia and that cost an arm and a leg but was a very simple process - I always recommend people to do it on their own if it's a straight forward case - here' I'm not familiar with anything about it or even where all the forms are but hopefully after navigating through these webpages I'll feel a bit more confident about it...

You have to remember that if you lose the job linked to your TN, you will have to leave the country on your last day of work. Married or not married wont change anything to that. Also, after renewing your TN for a couple of time, you might at a point receive a RFE about your ties to Canada. I have read on some TN board that they are starting to do that more these days (if you renew by mail). If you renew in person, the question might pop up about you being married to a USC with children, and it might really put you in trouble...

It is a personal choice which way you want to go. I know that in my case, I wanted first to make sure that if I would lose my job, I could stay in the US with my husband (I do not think I could bare to be away from him for a long period again...) and look for another job. I was looking for some stability in my situation, and the TN was just not good enough at this point... I remember, my last job search 2 years ago, I go calls from people that were really interested in my background but just ran away when I talked about the TN. I consider myself lucky that I was able to have two different employers that were ready to go for it.

Since you have been married for 5 years, after your AOS, you would receive the 10 year green card instead of the 2 year conditional one.

Lots of good points there - thanks!

Just wondering is this something I would need a lawyer for or do you think it's pretty do-able on your own?

I did AOS from a TN to a Green card after I got married.

If you do not leave the country, that would be the way to go. It took us 3 months and it was done. Drawback is that you wont be able to travel until you get your Advance Parole AND EAD (I would not risk travelling before getting work autorization... Who knows what the border people could do with your TN then...) I got my AP and EAD in 2 months.

If you have to travel, that would be more tricky... CR1 (or IR1, depending on how long you are married) will require you to go back to Canada to do the interview, takes longuer and you will still have questionning at the border about the TN, even if doing a CR-1 while holding a TN is legal (I'm not a lawyer.. but since when you apply for a CR1, you have to return to Canada to do your interview, you show you wont immigrate while being on the TN...)

Wow - thanks for that - sounds simplest if I just stay put for a while, though right now I'm tempted to just stay on the TN - much less hassle..

I've been married 5 years this June - does that change much?

Hello! The short answer is that you can either field for Adjustment of Status (get your greencard) if you can stay in the US, but if you have to return to Canada you can file the CR1. You do not have to leave the US in order to get your greencard now that you are in as a visitor through the TN. There are a few people here that have done that in this forum!

Thanks for that!

I go to Canada about once every 3 or 4 years so am not really concerned about that but if we did start the process here I was wondering how long I would have to stay in the states for potentially - I tend to travel overseas for work projects.

Cheers

Hello,

Sorry I'm not up on all the terminology but I want to get an idea of what's involved in going from a TN to a Green Card I think - basically I am in the US on a TN visa - my husband is American and my children have American passports as well - though they were born overseas(they have 3 passports each).

I've heard I was lucky to get in on TN (given my husband and kids have US passports) and the instability of the TN (I travel overseas alot and am nervous about each reentry) My TN goes until early next year but the job will likely last a couple years after that.

Thanks