Canadian in love with America...help?

[audreymanninen]

Great, thanks Reba!

[Steven]

Do u know if I can be in the USA while waiting for the visa to be processed? and then just go back to Canada and re-enter when i get the other form?

And do I need to apply for a social security number after?

Mmm, yes you can do it that way, you could be visiting your boyfriend on B-2 and then either apply for change of status when you get your approved I-797 using form I-539 or alternatively the vastly cheaper and faster method would be to go a POE and re-enter.

When you enter they put your name into the SSA system, officially that's supposed to take 10 working days, then you can go to the SSA office and apply for your SSN. You can start work while you are waiting for the SSN although most employers obviously get annoyed because it screws up their payroll system.

[audreymanninen]

ok so...i spoke to an immigration lawyer today. he told me that i do not qualify to apply for an H1B visa because i do not have a master's degree. nobody else mentioned the need for a master's degree and i have a second interview for an administrative position at the university on friday (over phone).

he told us that our best bet is for me to keep my current job, go to the usa for 35 days, get married then get a temporary work permit (after 60-90) days. This is the first I hear of this.

Cant i just go there to 'visit' and we 'happen' to get married'? Then what happens?

thanks. we are desperate to be together

[Reba]

You certainly can't just happen to get married and then apply for a temporary work permit, that's for sure! Don't go back to that lawyer, he's on crack

You can *technically* just go to the US and get married and then apply to adjust status to permanent resident. HOWEVER, this is NOT advisable to do, as you obviously have intent (the trick is to not have intent and be able to prove it). If you enter the US on a tourist status, and then get married and apply to adjust, you risk your application being denied and then you get deported and banned for life. Not a pleasant thing to happen to a newly married couple I would imagine.

To be able to prove non-intent it would have to be a spur of the moment Vegas or local courthouse type ceremony, and you pretty much can't have quit your job and sold your house and moved all your belongings with you.

If you want info about marriage based immigration check out http://www.visajourney.com

[Steven]

ok so...i spoke to an immigration lawyer today. he told me that i do not qualify to apply for an H1B visa because i do not have a master's degree.

You don't need one, that's BS. If you have a US master's degree then there is separate quota, but you don't absolutely need one. Jobs at "academic institutions" are quota exempt, nor do you need a master's degree for them. This is a certain fact, there have been people on here who've gotten H-1B at colleges without having master's degrees.

Read this.

Doesn't mention anything about a master's degree being required. As I recall the main idea behind not having a cap was so that people could work in research or whatever at a university while working toward their degree, so how can a degree be required to get it?

Like Reba said, he sounds pretty lousy.

[SarniaGrl]

Here's more on the H1B

(2) Equivalency of Experience and Education . One of the most common situations an adjudicator will encounter is an H-1B petition filed for an alien in specialty occupation where the alien lacks a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Adjudicators should be thoroughly familiar with 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D) which describes the kind and amount of experience which can be used to establish the equivalence of a degree. Three years of professional experience may be used to substitute for each year of college-level training. The most critical aspect of this type of adjudication is deciding whether the quality of experience is at high enough level to qualify as “professional.” Experience is generally documented through letters from past employers and may be so lacking in specificity as to make the qualitative determination difficult or impossible. The regulations for deciding equivalency are very specific and must be closely followed.

Foreign educational credentials, licenses and other forms of documentation are easier to evaluate than experience. The petitioner may establish from an authoritative source or from transcripts, certificates, or other such school records that the alien has college-level education. College-level training may have been acquired at a college or university or other academic institution which grants a degree, diploma, or certificate, such as a technical college. It may be useful to compare the beneficiary’s age a t completion and the duration of the course of study, with the average age of graduates of United States institutions offering similar programs as a factor in determining equivalency of education.

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/DocView/afmid/1/116/118?hilite=#0-0-0-648

[Steven]

The real stumbling block frankly is the labour certification, if it's just a clerical job at a university, even with a degree it's unlikely the university could pull off the labour certification, i.e. they can't find anyone locally to do the job.

[audreymanninen]

Hi guys! Well this whole work visa seems to be a no-no if we plan on getting married. We've decided to apply for a K1. yayyyy! I know it will be a lenghty process but we want to do it properly.

If we did want to do it quicker, I read on one of those 'visa service kits' websites that a couple can get married in the fiance's home country (which would be me in Canada). Can I just go to the US then and apply for AOS right away? It cant be that easy.