Green card-Canadian living in Canada; married to U.S. cit.)

Hi, I am a U.S. citizen living in Canada.

I have been married to my Canadian husband for seven years. We are thinking of moving to the U.S.

Can I apply for a green card for my husband even though we have no firm plans to move to the U.S. at the moment?

Thanks.

No. Typically the GC process is initiated at the time you are about to move.

Check out Visajourney.com There is a CANADA forum (scroll down) and the quickest way to do it is called DCF (direct consulate filing) and read this topic: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic ... in-the-us/

what has been happening is that the USA citizen in many cases has had to move to the USA prior to the interview, to prove domicile! This hasn't always been the case, just another hurdlwe to deal with!!

I'm Canadian and have married to my American wife for over 2 years (we were married in Canada.) We currently live in Canada but are currently very serious about moving to the States longterm to permanently. I just don't have a clue about were to start. The green card option seems the best choice, but i just don't were to start with it. Most of the stuff available online I'am having trouble making sense of. Also questions of do i have to remain in Canada for the whole process or am i able to live in the U.S while its going on? Is there away to work while waiting for the official green card? Should i wait to start the process until were in the states or while im in Canada/ There just so many question and confusion, if there anyone here who knows more or had gone through the process then i would be much appreciative of any help.

Hate to say it----VISAJOURNEY.com (VJ) check out the direct consular filing forum (DCF)

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum ... iscussion/

And Proving domicile when not living in the U.S. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic ... in-the-us/

Where most cdns hang out: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/93-canada/

Its a FREE forum that is super!! Step by step instructions of filling out the required forms, and at the top of the screen you see EXAMPLE FORMS, click on that, and u see examples (duh,lol) of already filled out forms.

At 1 time, like over a yr ago, DCF was super fast like 3 months, but not lately, taking well over 6 months!! Still its much faster (DCF) than going the regular IR-1 route!

Since ur married for over 2 yrs, you would get the IR-1, which is a 10 yr greencard! married for less than 2 yrs, its a CR-1, and that green carsd is only 2 yrs! So ur fortunate, of course you can if u wish become a USA citizen after 3 yrs.

All and I mean all IR-1 in Canada go thru Montreal for interview, simple as that.

Have a good read of proving domicile in the USA link I posted! At 1 time, Montreal consulate did NOT care if the USA spouse resided in USA, but that has not been the case for the past while. They have no require strong proof that the USA spouse is moving back to the USA. In some cases, the USA spouse has gone back to the USA to set up residence, while the Cdn spouse has stayed in Canada (1 can visit the USA--read the canadian forum, there a=re a million threads asking "Can I visit the USA" lol)

What has happened to many DCF filers, they get to the interview and do not really get denied,BUT the consulate asks for more evidence of proving USA domicile!! You say, ya, thats no big deal, WRONG!!! Even if you send them back the required evidence the very next day, it takes MONTHS to get approved, or them asking for more evidence!! Its very frustrating! Montreal tends to be a bit slower than many consulates! One must remember they handle more than just relationship visas!! None the less, its a frustrating process at times. Filing out the paperwork is the easy part, its the waiting that kills ya!

Some paperwork you need:

LONG form birth certificate (the one that has your parents names right on the BC (available from your Province of vital statistics) (this is of Canadian spouse)

Police background check. Of places where u have lived for over 5 yrs (think it is 5 yrs) since age of 16. You do NOT require it for every city in Canada, the check you get at the RCMP or local police will cover al of Canada! If you changed your name,ensure it is included

If you have a criminal background, you will need fingerprinting!! which can take awhile (3-4 months in some cases) NO criminal record = no fingerprinting, just the background check (this background check is only for the Cdn citizen)

Marriage certificate//divorce certificate(s)

Make sure ur Canadian passport is valid for well over 6 months! if its less than a yr, i would just go get a new one!

this and much more is better explained on VJ! At the top of the DCF forum are guides. take ur time and read them and ask all the questions you want.

It can be a some what painless evolution if time is on ur side, not soo much if ur in a rush and you think its going to happen over night!! The process was much faster back in 2004, when I came in on a CR-1. From start to interview was less than 6 months! Going the route I went,now takes well over a year for many! Thats another frustrating part of the process-----two people can start at same time, go thru same processing centres, yet finish many months apart!! best of luck

Thanks for the links. I guess the big thing is certain questions i have. For instance if me an my wife decided to pack up and move to the states now and find a place and we both were living there, can i apply for the green-card while in California. Or do i have to remain outside the entire time.

From what i understand once the I-130 is filed i can then file a Petition for Alien Fiance(e) to gain k-3 status while the greencard process is going on and can work in the states with this while the process is going. Please correct me if i got this wrong. Also how long might it take to get k-3 status, and can i apply for it while in the US.

NO!!!!

YOU as the Canadian can not go and LIVE in the USA until you have the proper authorization/visa to do so. You can visit!! You tell the POE officer your off to live in the USa without the proper visa and he will be turning ur butt around back to Canada

Did you read the links I posted??? The best way and the FASTEST way to do it in ur case is DCF. you would file the required paperwork at the closest USA consulate in canada. The interview will be in Montreal. This is by far the fastest route to go by far when it comes to relationship visas

K3 is gone way of the dodo bird!! You don't have work authorization and takes over a year to get! It runs around the same time frame as the Cri1/IR-1---Which are superior visas and cost less!!

Everything one needs to know and more is on VJ! One has to read the guides at the top of the desired forum!!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic ... a-you-can/


All laid out out here for DCF:
http://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf

-- Wed Jul 28, 2010 2:27 pm --

Tad bit more,lol--You will have many people tell you stuff like--oh ur married to an American, that means you wil become a USA citizen instantly, or you can move without any visa, etc etc. ALL false!! Hoe ur finding time to read VJ, as no one cares more about ur situation than yourself.