soon2batexan

Hi all,

My husband (US citizen) and I (Canadian citizen) will be filing to remove the conditions on my green card at the end of this year, and being the organized person I am, I have a couple of questions in advance as to whether or not I need a valid Canadian passport for the removal of conditions process. My passport expired last summer, and I've not yet renewed it because I haven't needed it for travel or ID purposes now that I have a US driver's license, green card, etc. I let it expire because I wanted to renew it in my married name obviously, but it was also a handy form of ID/proof of citizenship while I was awaiting my green card; to renew it prior to the expiration meant mailing it back to Canada while I awaited processing of my new passport, and I wasn't sure if I'd need it along the way.

In any case, my questions are:

Am I required to have a valid Canadian passport as I go through the RoC process? I'm thinking mostly about the biometrics appointment, and potentially an interview in the event we have one. Do they prefer to have PR's present a passport as proof of ID when we got for biometrics, or is a state issued driver's license sufficient?

Also, you folks who have undergone the RoC process recommend having a Canadian passport anyway? I really don't need it for travel, but as a PR, perhaps it's a good thing to have as proof of citizenship, yes?

I'd appreciate a few thoughts on this. I've familiarized myself with the forms and information needed for Cdns living in the US, and I've got everything handy so it should be easy to renew. I'm told Walgreens even does Canadian-sized passport photos .

Thanks!

funny how when you move here almost everyone, including the banks (of course), tell you withdraw your RRSPs. Our accountant is Canadian himself and specializes in expat taxes, and his advice was the exact opposite. My Dad heard the exact same thing when he and my Mom moved here over 3 years ago, but he hasn't touched them since and hasn't been taxed on them. As far as the IRS is concerned, they just want to know where your foreign investments are held and how much is there. On the Canadian side, I did hear that they can view you as having disposed of your assets when you leave (often referred to as a departure tax) in some instances, but I spoke to several accountants who specialize in cross-border stuff and both said this is NOT SO. I recommend paying a phone call to Roy Ohm (find him at his company's website, mgca.com). They're based in Toronto, and he's quite savvy in terms of this stuff. He was the first accountant we spoke to - we ended up working with someone local, but Roy is very helpful and won't charge you anything for asking a quick question or two over the phone.

Hope that helps! I'm no expert, but I don't think you'll be forced to withdraw them, and hopefully there won't be tax either.

When I had my interview last Summer, Vancouver consulate advised me that when I send in my packet 3 stuff to make sure that I request either a Wednesday or a Thursday interview date. They were very accommodating, and I got the Wednesday interview as requested. I also noted (when I faxed them my forms) that I was from out of province..I think I said something to the effect of "Wed of Thurs date please - traveling from AB". They're VERY familiar with the process. And don't worry about being out of the medical on time...my understanding is that they schedule an afternoon interview for those who are having medicals same day (unless your appt is on a Thursday, which may differ). Woking Medical knows the process well and will do their best to keep you on schedule. Most likely, you will go to your interview after lunch and they'll check you in then send you back to pick up your medical results. You can walk it, but it's a power walk. Probably quicker than finding parking twice though! It's about 6 blocks between the both.

When I interviewed last August, my US citizen fiance (now husband) was with me. As far as I know, US citizens can come to the consulate whenever they choose, should they require the consulate's assistant. Someone may say otherwise, but from the consulate staff I talked to in Vancouver, the US citizen fiance/spouse has a right to be there and they actually encourage it. The Vice Consular told me the staff always enjoy seeing the couples together and having the opportunity to meet with both at once. It is the foreign citizen, however, who will be asked the bulk of the questions (at least in our experience).

Well that's good news - thanks! From this distance, I wouldn't want to have to send a bunch of stuff to Canada to get it reviewed and signed by a guarantor. This is much better!

I have my green card now and don't plan on traveling outside the US anytime soon, but want to make sure I keep a current passport since it's a widely accepted form of ID and the best proof of my Canadian citizenship.

Hi all,

My CDN passport is due to expire in June of this year, and as I'm now living in the States I have a couple questions about renewing it.

First question: My guarantor. Back when I applied for my last one, I believe it had to be signed by a Dr (ie dentist, chiropractor), engineer, lawyer, etc who was also a Canadian citizen and had known me for at least 2 years. But, I seem to recall hearing that this has since changed. When I went to passport.gc.ca, it looks like ANY Canadian citizen can be your guarantor - friend, relative, etc. Am I reading it wrong, or is this correct? The instructions say it CAN be a friend or a relative as long as they meet the "criteria". Does that criteria include being a Dr/lawyer/engineer, or do they just have to be a Canadian citizen who has known you for at least 2 years? If not, we have a family friend down here who is a dentist who could do it but he is a US citizen..hopefully that's not a problem.

Also, since my current passport has my visa and I-94 in it, should I wait for it to expire so that I can hang onto it? Not sure if the USCIS will have any further use for it, but the instructions say that I have to turn in an existing passport if it is less than 5 years old.

Any advice is appreciated! My Dad is going to have to renew his too and lives in the same city, so this will help us both. And if he can be my guarantor, even better!

Can't speak for Montreal, but I know Vancouver requires US cash - no visa or debit. While most people aren't real keen to carry $350 US cash around, you may prefer to do so in this case just to be on the safe side.

This may be a silly question, but did you take your marriage license/certificate with you to the SSA office when you tried to change your name? Because THAT is the proof they should need for a name change. As far as I know, all the EAD does from the SSA standpoint is show that you're entitled to work (ie if you want to update your card so that it no longer reads "Valid for work with DHS authorization").

I'd hate to see you go back and still encounter the same issue though, so perhaps you may want to call the local office first and get the name of the person you speak to. Hope that helps!

I can't comment on the AOS interview since we didn't have one, but I do know when my now husband and I were at the consulate for our k-1 interview, we waited a while also. And then when we got up to the window and the vice-consular interviewed us, one of the first things he said after the initial chit chat was "okay, lets pull up the video". I'm sure they were watching - it's a government building so you expect it anyway, but yeah, they probably also like to see how the couple interacts and how comfortable/familiar they seem with one another.

That sounds very strange to me. There are indeed tax treaties in place, so it's odd that you would've been taxed twice. Does your accountant specialize in cross-border tax issues? We talked to several before settling on one who specializes in ex-pat taxes, and his sense was that while a lot of accountants can process taxes, not all are aware of the potential tax savings available to you, especially your first year here...that was just his sense of things.

We're awaiting the completion of ours, but I certainly wish you the best! Hopefully there's a way they can turn things around for you...it's not right that you're being taxed twice!!

Just wondering if this is common...

I randomly decided to check my case status on the USCIS website last Thursday, March 3. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had ordered production of my EAD that very day (I-765). When I checked the status of my I-485 on Friday, March 4th, it still said it was in the "Initial Review" stage.

When I checked again today on the I-485, I was thrilled to see that USCIS ordered production of my new card as of March 4th!!! When I went to check the status of the I-765 again, the case status had changed to say "On March 4th, we mailed you a notice that we have approved your petition for I-765...".

How come the dates keep changing? I'm a bit confused. Hopefully this is all normal. Anyone else have similar experience with this? I'm not sure what to expect, but I gather I've got stuff coming in the mail.

Our case was transferred from the NBC to the CSC on Jan 27th. My Biometrics appt is next week. I've heard that when cases are transferred to the CSC, sometimes they are less likely to make you interview for AOS (at least it was that way once upon a time). Of course I've also heard that interviews are becoming somewhat more common regardless. We included a huge amount of info when we first filed the K-1 so I suppose it's anybody's guess.

Just wondering if anyone had recent experience with this.

Same for us, but we're in Texas...I haven't received an interview notice yet, but my biometrics appt is next week so the interview may be shortly thereafter.

As an add on to VeroandChris' question, what sort of things should we plan to bring to the interview should we have one? Obviously some wedding photos, copies of our home/auto insurance policies showing both our names, proof of joint bank account, etc. Suggestions are appreciated!

Yup, I've heard that..

Based on that info I actually wasn't expecting to receive it at least for another week or two and had planned to call USCIS on Friday. But, it arrived in the mail last night!! My appt is for late Feburary..praise the Lord for that!! I'm still glad I called to check, especially now that I know they appreciate their clients doing their due diligence to keep USCIS up to date with such things.

I called USCIS on Jan. 21st to inquire as to why I haven't received my biometrics appointment letter yet (we filed Dec 21.2010). They thanked me for inquiring about this - I was told keeps them in the loop and they won't assume it's negligence on my part if they don't receive something they need. I was advised that the processing window should be Jan 21st - Feb 5th, and if I don't receive an appointment letter by that time, I should call them again. I live in Houston so I'm not sure if the local service center is just backlogged or what, but I'll keep following up each week after this to try to stay on top of things. Someone suggested I just walk-in with my passport and NOA and ask to be fingerprinted..I may try this.

In the meantime, I got curious and checked my case status on the USCIS website today. Apparently my AOS application has been transferred to the California Service Center. Is that a good thing? I heard that once upon a time it usually meant you won't need to be interviewed for your greencard, but California also sounds like it has slower processing times lately.

It'll be interesting to see how things progress...

We filed my AOS on December 21, 2010 and the receipt notice is dated 12/27/10. We got our paper NOA1s about 3 weeks ago, but I still haven't received a biometrics letter. Should I be concerned, or is it common for the USCIS Service/Application centers to be somewhat behind schedule? The NOAs for my I-485 and I-765 state that I should have a biometrics appt letter within 30 days of filing. I did call USCIS on Friday to advise them that I haven't received an appointment letter yet, and they're going to notify the service center. I'm hoping everything is going smoothly. Any advice? What should I do if I still haven't received my letter in a couple weeks?

That's good to know! It's interesting that I received a recommendation for both..maybe it boils down to personal preference?

Were you working in Canada as well during the year you filed for? I know everyone's situation is a bit different. In our case I earned more in Canada than my husband does here...apparently the US taxes on worldwide income, so I gather my Canadian income will be factored in. Not sure if that works in my favor or not.

An accountant I spoke to who is familiar with both US/Canada tax issues said that we'd have to file for an exemption for some/all of my foreign income - can Turbotax factor that in?

Thanks so much for your thoughts...they're helpful!

Hi all,

I'm still on the fence about what to do this coming tax season, and I'm hoping my fellow Can/Am VJers can offer some advice.

I moved to TX in early Dec 2010 and we got married the same month, which I'm guessing means we'll be considered married for the 2010 tax year in both countries. Even though I earned no US income, I gather that the IRS will consider me resident alien for tax purposes, so I'll need to file US taxes with hubby.

What's the consensus - should we hire an accountant, or can we just use a program like TurboTax?

My husband has basically no deductions and I usually only have a couple. Can we get by with TurboTax? I've never used it before, so I don't know if it automatically factors in things like foreign income, etc.

Any advice would be very much appreciated! We want our taxes to be done right, but we also don't want to have to pay several hundred dollars to an accountant if we don't have to. Thanks!

With tax season approaching, I thought I'd ask a couple questions from my fellow Can/Am VJ members who have "been there, done that".

My husband and I both had fairly uncomplicated taxes as single people. I've always done my own in Canada the old school way (paper, pencil, calculator) and have never had a problem. He doesn't own property, has no investments yet, etc.

I owned an apartment in Canada, but it just now has an offer pending (I moved in early December 2010), so I'm guessing I won't have to do anything with that til I do the 2011 taxes.

Other than that the only possible things I have to consider are charitable donations and contributions to my RSP/pension fund, and those funds remain in Canada.

We're debating whether or not we need to hire an accountant, since that can get expensive and may not be required for people like us with simple and straightforward tax scenarios. Obviously I'll file CDN taxes - I get that - and my husband will file as married since we were married Dec 2010 (which of course is during the '10 tax year). But, since I earned all of my income last year in Canada before we got married and was not employed at the time I entered the US and married my citizen husband, what do we need to provide to the IRS? Can we just use a program like TurboTax, or will the IRS want to include my CDN income somehow?

How many of you have used tax accountants your first year? Do you recommend just filing your taxes on your own?

I'm sure each office differs slightly, and sometimes you just get staff who don't know what they're talking about. My Mom encountered this when she moved back to the US from Canada 3 years ago. She was born here but had never been issued one, which the SSA wanted to confirm before issuing her a card...took 10 months. Anyway, in answer to your question..

Yes I recommend perhaps trying a different SSA office. Personally, I didn't have an issue when I applied for mine about 3 weeks back. I had entered the US 11 days prior to applying, and I just went to the office with my application filled out and my passport handy. With an EAD, they should for sure issue you one! There's a link here on VJ - I think it's in the Guides - where you can get a link to the SSA website and print the page where it clearly states that K-1s are entitled to one. I brought a copy with me but didn't end up needing it. Have you tried calling the office to the SSA helpline? I'm not sure whether I was in the SAVE database or not when I applied, but given that K-1s are entitled, as are spouses, you should just be able to show your visa.

Hope that helps. Hang in there!

I got e-mails and text messages today confirming receipt of my AOS application. It says my application has been received by the National Benefits Center..is that normal for AOS from a K-1? For some reason I thought it went to a service center or something (i.e. California, VT, etc). Our case number starts with MSC.

I'm a bit relieved to know that at least our paperwork has been received and recorded. Having things in transit can be nerve-wracking!

We mailed my AOS package on Monday and sent it to the Express/courier address for the Chicago Lockbox via FedEx. According to the tracking number, it was received yesterday morning and signed for. Any idea how long it'll take til we get our NOA1? I sent that G-1145 (or whatever it's called) with it to request email and text notification of acceptance. Is it strange that I haven't received anything yet, or am I just being paranoid?

Just wondering if anyone knows that the new fee will be to file the COMBINED documents for the AOS package (I-485, I-765 and I-131). Presently, it's $1010 to file all three concurrently. But with the fee increase tomorrow, I'm not sure what to expect when we file next month. Are they doing away with the reduced price for concurrent filing?

the SSN staff know nothing about the ins and outs of immigration. A k-1 STAYS a k-1. Once you are married and you apply for your AOS, it extends your status during processing. It doesn't change the visa type, and even if it did, you still show the same items to apply for an SSN.

I am reading some of the guides now and looking around the site

Thank you all for the help in pointing me in the right direction, and the advice. it seems much easier than I originally thought and the only problem seems to be the time we will have to wait.

I have a book by him sitting in front of me Shal

True,there will be some amount of waiting involved, but on the upside (and it's BIG upside), you can wait it out in the US with your new spouse, rather than having to return to Canada and be separated for months as you would if you applied for a visa.

As for the cost, it's true, the lawyer was adding about $1500 to the actual cost. Adjustment of status could take anywhere from 3 months - year, but will probably be on the lower end of that and again, you can remain in the States with your spouse so why not?! If you do the paperwork yourself (which you can definitely do - just follow the instructions and use the guides and example forms on here), it's $1010 to file for the greencard, Employment Auth Document, and Permission for Advance Parole (travel doc) all at once. Those fees will be increasing slightly as of Nov 23, but it's still nowhere near the $2500 you were quoted. Keep in mind that when a lawyer quotes you an amount, it still isn't going to include things like the cost of a medical or the 6 passport photos needed if you file for all three items. So you'll actually be paying over and above that; whereas if you do it yourself, it's $1010 (or thereabouts) plus the medical, photos, etc..MUCH cheaper!

Plus, no one knows you better than you. If you're reviewing and inputting the info on the forms (which are free and can be downloaded on USCIS.gov, by the way), it's easier for you to submit correct info the first place and proofread before sending. Personally I don't like the idea of documents sitting on a paralegals desk for more days than they have to, or having to work with their assistants to correct info that you likely would've caught yourself because it's your biographical information. Just my thought.