Advice please?

Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1587
Location: Calgary

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:31 pm

 

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You're getting confused over the difference between immigration and permanent residence. Once you've got your immigration visa (K-1) and entered, you can file an I-765 which takes 90 days to process (employment authorization) then you can work while you apply for permanent residence. The "90 days" thing is a bit of a stretch imx, 90 days to process, plus the time in the mail to the processing centre and back to the USCIS office where you pick it up.

You can file the I-485 and I-765 together if you want, but there's alot of bits and pieces to file with them photos, the I-864 to go with the I-485 etc.
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Steve.

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CMac83
Junior Member



Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Posts: 11

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:40 pm

 

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You guys are so good to help me out with this stuff. I'm very glad I found this forum - The same info from a lawyer would be costing me a fortune, I'm sure.

Okay, so it's nice to know that marriage is potentially an option, if there's no other way for my girlfriend and I to be together and both have jobs. But ideally, I think both of us would like to wait on that for a bit. Now I'm probably in the wrong forum for this, but what about opportunities in Canada? I've read things about "co-habiting partners" being recognized in Canada. How difficult would it be for my girlfriend to legally work in Canada? She has an AA (associates degree).

I'd really like to work in the U.S. because I've found a job that I really want there, but I'm preparing for the worst here. I think my potential employer might try (likely in futility) to file an I-129 on my behalf anyway, I'm not sure. But I need to have my options ready in anticipation of not being able to work in America.

Thanks again for all the information you've provided!

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:26 am

 

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If your girlfriend wanted to move to Canada and you still don't want to get married, your options are about the same. She'd have to find some sort of work visa that she's eiligible for first.

You would only qualify for common-law partner sponsorship if you've already lived together for a year. Which is obviously quite difficult, considering you're in different countries.
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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1587
Location: Calgary

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:13 am

 

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She would have to get a work permit, they're easier to get on the Canadian end as the labour certification is simpler in Canada, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's "easy". She needs a firm job offer and the certification from Human Resources Canada to get a work permit, takes a month or two to process.
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Steve.

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CMac83
Junior Member



Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Posts: 11

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:08 pm

 

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Would she need any special skills to get a job in Canada, or would she need to show that there are no available Canadian workers? Would it have to be a job that her degree qualifies her for, or just any old job?

I read up on this last night and it seems like we would definitely qualify under "conjugal partners", if I chose to sponsor her. Should I do that, or should we go the employment route?

Thanks again. I'm sorry for all the questions after questions - Hopefully this thread will stay less than 5 pages long! Your help is very much appreciated here.

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:01 pm

 

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The conjugal partner sponsorship is *really* hard to do according to any immigration lawyer and Canadian IO I've ever heard from. Conjugal is difficult to prove, and the paperwork usually takes a lot longer than a prove-able relationship.

I think they primarily created the conjugal sponsorship for same-sex partners, before same sex marriage was legalized.

She doesn't have to prove that there are no qualified Canadians for the job, her prospective employer would have to do that, and apply thru HRC.

Check out http://roadtocanada.com/ for info about immigrating to Canada.
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CMac83
Junior Member



Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Posts: 11

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:41 pm

 

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Just updating the situation. With the impossibility of obtaining a work visa and doing things that way, I decided to ask my girlfriend to marry me, and she said yes. All we have wanted is the opportunity to live our lives together, and this seems like the best route to go, even if it complicates the wedding planning process and such.

Unfortunately, now we have to wait to be together. Hardest thing I've ever had to do was to watch her drive off, knowing that I may not see her again for 4-6 months (as I was told not to get a visitor visa while my I-129F is in processing). But, at least there's light at the end of the tunnel now.

Thanks again to both Reba and Steven for your responses to my many questions! Is there anything I should be doing now while my girlfriend/fiancee gathers the evidence required for an I-129F? Anything I can do that might help speed along the process? I've read claims from immigration-based law firms that they can get these things processed faster than just regular people on their own. Is this true, or simple propoganda?

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:52 am

 

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There's no reason you can't visit each other while you wait for the I-129F to be completed. I dunno who told you you can't, but there's no law against it.
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