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No, my father is not terminally ill, just overweight and almost sixty. There is a possibility he may not be around by the time a F2B visa that is applied for today comes due.

Were he to pass away during the process, would his wife (a US citizen but not the mother of any of his five other children) be able to assume the role of visa sponsor?

My father is also PR and sponsored me in, so I'm assuming my adult siblings would also qualify for an F2B visa. It looks like in September they will be processing F2B applications made in February of 2010, so I'm assuming it will be about 6-7 years for them to get PR status if they were to apply immediately, although that could obviously change.

Does anyone know what would happen were my father to pass away before that 6-7 year waiting period is up? Would his wife (who is a US citizen but is not the mother of his children) be able to become their sponsor and would they retain their original application date?

Thanks for the responses. Just to be clear - I would have to marry her now in order for her to be eligible to come here? There are no visas given for fiancés of permanent residents?

I'm have PR status in the USA, have been living and working here for a year or so. I am not eligible for citizenship until March of 2020.

I would like to be able to bring my girlfriend down to the USA, or at least have the option of her living and working down here.

In addition, I have four sisters and one brother who have expressed some interest in coming to live and work in the USA.

May I sponsor any of them in with only my current PR status, or must I wait and become a citizen first? I'm not sure if I am able to sponsor siblings and my fiancé in or if that a privilege afforded to only a wife or husband and parents.

Thanks!

Hang on.......you want to marry YOUR COUSIN? I don't think the USA will even recognize a marriage between blood relations.

Huh? My father does live and work in the United States. He isn't using his GC like a tourist visa at all.

Thanks for the responses.

So what is the rule regarding entering/exiting the country? For example, my father has been a GC holder since 2002 and has come up to visit me numerous times and never had any problems getting back into the USA. Is there a set number of days each year I must remain in the USA in order to not risk losing the GC?

I have been fortunate enough to be granted a green card and will be moving to the USA from Canada sometime in the next five weeks. Ideally, I would like to become a US citizen five years after entering the country, as I believe that would be the minimum time to apply for it, provided I don't get married to an American in the meantime.

How many months per year do I have to spend in the USA to "maintain" or "make the days count" towards the citizenship application? The reason I ask is because I would ideally like to be able to come back up to Canada a few times a year to work, as I can make a lot more money up here than I think I'll be able to in the USA. Will they give me a hard time coming back and forth across the border if I were to come to Canada to work for say, two months out of the year every year for the next five years?

I am getting a bit confused reading through some of the topics here. Do I just need to show that I've been present in the USA for 30 out of the next 60 months in order to apply for citizenship? Does this mean I could theoretically cross the border, have the green card mailed to my US address, then come back to Canada, work for six months less a day, go back to the USA for six months plus a day, and then back to Canada for six months and so on for the next five years?

Would love to live here in Canada from April 1-September 30 each year and then head somewhere warm like California, Hawaii or Florida for the rest of the year, all while having that time count towards the US citizenship requirements.

I'm not worried about health care benefits at all. I'm fairly secure financially and have no problem buying private health care insurance in the USA.

Regarding the priority date issue should I choose to return the visa, this is what it says on the piece of paper that it attached the to the manila envelope marked "DO NOT OPEN" that I'm supposed to give to the border agent when I do make entry. While I appreciate the response from aaron2020, I don't believe he's correct when he says that I'll get a new priority date.

"If you are unable to use the visa within its validity period, please contact us to arrange its return. Keeping a visa that you do not intend to use may create an unnecessary delay for another applicant on the waiting list who intends to immigrate and could use the visa number. If after returning your unused visa you decide to reapply for an immigrant visa, every possible consideration will be given to granting you the benefit of your original priority date (the date of the original petition) on the waiting list for visas.

Now keep in mind people, I'm not trying anything shady here. I fully intend on using the visa for the intended purpose - I waiting eleven years and eleven months for it to come. I just want to know how strict there are when it comes to coming in and out of the country. I'm not trying to dodge paying taxes or health care insurance or anything like that. If I was told that I must live and work down in the USA for a period of sixty consecutive months in order to get US citizenship, then that's what I'll do. I just want to know what the rules are for coming and going. I can make more in one year here in Canada than I'd likely be able to make down in the USA in three years. While it would be silly to pass up on the visa I've waited so long for, I just want to know where exactly I stand.

I live in Calgary, about four hours from the border.

I guess my question is how much leeway they give you after the April 3 drop dead date for using the visa. I will definitely make entry before April 3 so I don't lose it, but can I come and go as I please or do they require me to stay in the USA the whole time? I mean, obviously I'd be allowed to come back up to Canada for friend's weddings and that type of thing, but is there a hard and fast rule about how many days a month or how many days a year I must be physically present in the USA to maintain the green card and not risk losing it? Ideally I would like to apply for US citizenship five years from the date I make entry.

Canadian citizen.

Have been issued a visa but I must make entry to the USA by April 3 or I'll have to apply all over again. It took many years for my turn to come (F2B visa).

I've paid the green card fee, just need to make entry to the USA to have it mailed out to my father's address in the USA.

I have been offered an incredible job here in Canada that will pay far more than what I could expect to make in the USA.

What is the procedure for returning the visa if I were to choose not to use it? Would I get to use my original priority date and just reapply whenever I wanted in the future?

If I make the entry in the USA here before April 3, then come back to Canada and start to work this great job, how far past April 3 can I push it without the USA authorities terminating my green card? Do I just have to make sure I come down over the border every six months for a weekend or must I actually live and work in the USA? If so, how do I prove that I am doing so? What kind of things do they look for? Credit card receipts, phone bills, that kind of thing?

At this point, I'm very much leaning towards moving down and starting a new life in the USA, but I'm quite tempting by the money I'm being offered to stay in Canada. Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Can anyone give me some tips on this? I was granted an F2B visa a few months ago and will be moving from Canada to the USA sometime in the next few weeks. Can anyone point me in the right direction so I can find out what I'll need to do to import my 2009 Honda Civic to the USA? Thanks.

I have a friend who is a journeyman outside wireman (powerlineman electrician) here in Canada and is looking to get a visa to work legally in the USA. I understand that there is an enormous shortage of manpower for that particular type of work all over the USA. Where would he start? Is there some type of visa available under NAFTA or something?

Thanks.

Phone your congressman and ask them to get involved.

I was issued a visa after an interview last week. I have the visa in my passport and must choose when to cross the border and activate it. I live and work in Canada.

My question is, should I wait until January 1 of 2015 to go the US in order to avoid paying taxes on my Canadian income? I have no problem paying taxes, and I make a substantial income here in Canada, which I happily pay taxes on, but I certainly do not want to be on the hook for taxes to the IRS on income made here in Canada.

Thanks for the replies. As I said, I'm not even seeing anyone right now, so no danger I'll get married before I use the visa. What I'm asking is if it is okay to get married at any point after I make entry to the United States? The visa is good for ten years (I believe) and I'd like to think I'll get married at some point in the next ten years.

I should point out that I'm totally single and have no intention of getting married anytime soon, but should I choose to do so, is it allowed?

I have received Permanent Resident status and just have to go over the border now to activate it, I have until April 3 2015. Am I allowed to get married whenever I want or will that affect my visa? If not, how long would I have to wait? I believe the PR is good for ten years. I'm assuming that I just wasn't allowed to get married while I was waiting for the visa to be approved as it is for "unmarried sons or daughters of US permanent residents over the age of 21".

Thanks.

Yeah, I have no problem paying taxes, but surely if I've paid taxes to the Canadian federal and my local provincial (state) government, the US government will not want to tax me over and above that? I only net about 61% of my income as it is, as I make between 90-100k Canadian per year.

Many thanks for your reply. I am reading online that you can leave the United States for up to six months without risking losing your permanent residency, is this true? It would be great to be able to live in Canada for six months out of the year and in the US for the other six months. Is this possible at all?

How will they know if I am actually resident in the United States? I mean, is there any way of taking a job in the US, working there for six months out of the year, and them coming back up to Canada for the other six months? I would be showing ample earned income, as I make fairly good money here in Canada and would anticipate making the same or more in the US. Can I not just keep my address in the USA? What would they want for me to prove that I've actually been present in the country, bus tickets to and from work and grocery receipts? Keep in mind that I only live a short drive from the border and I am used to crossing at least a couple of times a month.

I applied for an F2B visa over ten years ago and it was granted yesterday morning after an interview in Montreal.

My father lives in California, and I live in Canada. He is a permanent resident and sponsored me in. Normally I would quite happy to have finally received this visa, but I was given my dream job with the local municipal police service here in my hometown, which is about three hours north of the Montana border.

The woman who interviewed me told me that I will be processed as a permanent resident the next time I enter the United States, and that I have until early April, which is when my medical exam will expire, to enter the country and activate the visa.

When I asked her what my privileges were in regards to entering and exiting the US, she told me that it was all up to whatever border security guard I happened to get. Surely this can't be true? Can someone please tell me what the rules are regarding coming and going?

Ideally, I'd like to enter the US in a couple of weeks and get the clock ticking on my five years as a permanent resident, and then come back to Canada immediately. My police training is due to start in January 2015.

Also, one other thing - I was given a sheet of paper which told me that when I enter the US as a permanent resident, I will be issued a SSN and SSN card but it may take several weeks or months to come to my US address, and in the meantime, employers may be hesitant to hire me although all I need to show them is the visa stamped in my passport. Can anyone tell me more about this? How long it takes to come, etc.

Many thanks. Ideally, I'd like to be able to enter and exit the US at my leisure, although I know that is not possible.

I have my interview for an F2B visa next month in Montreal. Where can I book a medical, get the medical forms, and can someone please tell me the exact photo requirements?

Many thanks.

Thanks, I managed to get in touch with a helpful young man at the NVC. Even though it was in the sent email folder of my gmail account, they didn't receive it, so I sent it again, and they have no received it. Interview is schedule in Montreal next month.

Anyone have any idea what kind of questions they might ask me in the interview?

Hey everyone, I'm hoping you can help me out. I'm a Canadian citizen living in Canada, my father is a Canadian citizen who married an American in the summer of 2002. He's a permanent resident and applied to get me into the USA back in November of 2003. I'm still waiting even though my priority date came up in the spring of 2010.

Right now, here's the situation. We submitted all four documents they needed in order to schedule me for an interview in Montreal (I am using electronic communication, so I must submit everything via email.)

My father and his wife submitted a scanned copy of my birth certificate and the required AOS forms in early July of 2014, and although the NVC has received them, they have yet to review them.

I submitted a scanned copy of my passport and a police clearance on July 9. I have the email in my "sent" folder so I know that I definitely did so. I phoned today to see if there was any update in my case, hoping that I had been schedule for an interview in Montreal, but the young man on the phone told me that they have no record of the email I sent on July 9. They do, however, have the email from my father which was also sent in early July of this year, but they have yet to review it, which is understandable. The guy advised me just to re-submit the two documents, which I did immediately, just an hour or so ago in fact.

Here's my question. I'm looking through my email history with the NVC and I see that they sent me and "auto response" via email a couple of times back in 2010, acknowledging receipt. I did not receive one of these emails on July 9 nor today. I'm worried that they may not be receiving emails from me. Is there any way to check this?

Any other advice would be great. What should I expect in the interview? What types of questions do they ask? Many thanks.

What is the "IIN" you speak of inside the "AOS" fee bill? Why the "wow" about May 11? Is it because most people usually send the fee off right away?

Thanks so so much for your reply, you really seem to know your stuff. Are you sure my dad can pay electronically? I didn't designate an agent to handle my application, so am I mistaken in believing that only I can pay for it, and, living in Canada, must pay for it by way of a cashier's cheque or money order?

One last thing, what number should I get him to ring to speak to a person about sending him the AOS fee bill? Every time I ring them it seems to be busy or else a machine answers. I'm just not quite sure I'm calling the right number. Thanks again.

Hello. My father, a Canadian, married an American woman and became a permanent resident some time ago. He made an application to bring me into the United States in November 2003. I have been waiting for some years for my F2B visa application to be processed. On May 11 2010, I received an email from the US NVC advising me that I needed to send in a $400 fee in order to continue with the process. I have the money, I have read on their website that I must send it to St. Louis by way of a mailed money order or cashier's cheque.

Does anyone know about this "Immigrant Processing Fee"? I went on the website months ago and I believe that the price may have gone up? I can't find it anymore, I'm just afraid that I'll send off the $400 but they'll take six months to reply just to tell me that the fee is now $450 or something like that. Thanks for any advice.