Canadian to marry American outside of our home countries?

rebgardless of method of immigrant application, your spouse still must complete his years of back taxes before they will approve his sponsorship petition.

DCF is still your best option if you do not want to be separated for any length of time.

My husband and I just went through a very similar situation. He is American and I am Canadian and we were married overseas. We had both been living outside of our countries for 3-5 years.

After we were married we decided to wait to apply for a green card until he moved back to the US (and I returned to Canada) and now we are wishing we wouldn't have. We thought I would be able to wait in the US as it was being processed, because Canada allows you to wait in the country while permanent residence is being processed. But I am not allowed to visit the US now that I have the I-130 submitted.

I recommend filing your I-130 at the US embassy or consulate. You are in Japan right? The wait time for getting an interview and receiving a green card is significantly shorter at the embassies and consulates. Friends our ours applied there in December and had an interview by March. It can be as short as 3 months at a consulate, whereas if you wait to do it from the US it will probably take a year. Canadians have no priority when it comes to immigration, unfortunately.

Good luck!

You can visit the US while your I-130 is being processed. You just have to show ties to Canada and that you will not try to stay in the US illegally. It's actually easier to do once the I-130 is submitted and started processing. You have that as evidence that you're doing it the legal way.

Thanks Reba. I know that there is that loophole, however I have no ties to Canada as I was living overseas for 5 years and have only returned to Canada to wait out the immigration process while my husband lives and works in the US.

Although you are technically allowed to enter the US, it is at the discretion of the immigration officer and unfortunately I have no proof that I will return to Canada beyond a return ticket. I have lost money in the past over plane tickets, so it just isn't worth the risk.

If he does them now, how long do you think it would take and then how much longer would it be to do the DCF way? Anyone have any clue?

It doesn't matter how you do it, I-485 also requires the tax forms and legally US citizens must file a 1040 every year regardless of this procedure. If you file the back tax forms with 2555-EZ then it's relatively quick - where it can get messy is if you owe back taxes in the US, either because you never paid them before you left or because your foreign income is over the foreign exclusion limit, i.e. once you've done the calculation on Form 2555 you owe the IRS tax money. (This generally only happens if you are earning six figures).

But this is an academic discussion, this must be done regardless of any immigration situation, this is why USCIS wants to see them because they know you must have them and it's the easiest way to demonstrate what your income is.

-- Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:35 pm --

Again, 2555 is not mandatory.

It's applicable in this situation, the sponsor is non-resident for tax purposes from the sounds of it. With DCF they want to see it because it reflects the income of the sponsor as they are claiming an exclusion. We even had someone post on here awhile back and the US consulate specifically asked to see it.

I'm not saying they should or should not use 2555, I'm simply saying that 2555 or 1116 can be used without prejudice. Several of your posts gave the impression that 2555 was mandatory for any US citizen living abroad. It quite simply is not.

They need to file a 1040, and that is what theconsulate wnats to see. How they choose to legally reduce the US tax, is just that: a choice of either foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credit.

Most USC's living in canada should be using 1116 and not 2555, for example.

But 2555 is a choice. 1040 is not.

as for sponsorship petitions processing timelines, assuming your taxes are up to date, CR1 will take up to one year to complete before your spouse can move to the US. DCF is somewhere between 3 to 6 months.

I'm not saying they should or should not use 2555, I'm simply saying that 2555 or 1116 can be used without prejudice. Several of your posts gave the impression that 2555 was mandatory for any US citizen living abroad. It quite simply is not.

He's not a US tax resident, 2555 is the relevant form. Okay, yeah, if he's been doing 1116 instead but it didn't seem likely for someone living in Japan marrying a Canadian.

2555 is indeed relevent, not mandatory. 1116 would be used in all cases, for passive income.

steven, I think I'm going to have to ask you to point to some document somewhere that states that 2555 is ever mandatory, because you really seem to have 2555 on the brain.

We're not talking about passive income, we're talking primarily about employment income, this is an immigration issue - they want proof of it. Why would someone living in Japan for any length of time be using Form 1116 for that? They're non-resident, Form 2555 is the form used.