Husband trying to move to US

my bad. I guess IR1 is permanent residency? I'm not so sure with this particular stuff.

ok, here is the deal with the IR-1! I came to the USA on a CR-1! Differnces between thoise two? CR-1 means I was married less than 2 yrs, thus, my "greencard" is only could for 2 yrs! YOU, since ur married for OVER 2 yrs, ur greencard would be good for TEN yrs!

You will do ur IR-1 interview in Montreal! It wil be good for TEN yrs! One of the forms you will be filling out along the way is the DS-230, on one of the pages it will ask you if you want to apply for a SSN, check it off and hiopefully it works,lol! The SSN process commences after ur interview in Mtl, when u cross into the USA activating the Visa! At ur interview in Montreal they wil give you (they now mail this out to u with ur stamped passport)a brown envelope that YOUR NOT to open! In that envelopeis al the paperwork. You tell the POE officer, ur here to activate ur IR-1 Visa, they will take the brown envelope, ask u a few questions, fingerprint u. Takes 20-30 min (maybe less) if they know what they are doing! This then starts the process of a few immigration things! 1 being about 10-14 BUSINESS days ur SSN card should arrive at ur USA residence! If after that time it hasnt arrived, goto ur local SSN office explain the situation (pring ur passport) and they should look into it. I waited almsot a month( I was in no hurry) No ssn arrived, went to the SSN office and just reapplied. 1 week later it arrived in the mail!

With the IR-1 there is NO adjustemnt of status, ur already a permanent resident. Down the road ur husband can apply for USA citizenship if he wishes

Im not sure onthe DCF process--lots of info onthat on VJ. But I'm sure u just take all the paperwork to ur local USA consulate, they pretty much approve it there, then send it off to Montreal. Where as if ur just regualrly filing a IR-1, it gets sent to district offices in the usa (based where the usa citizen lives) and 1 has different packages sent back and forth, thus a lot longer than DCF! Like I said prior, when DCF started in Canada (hasnt been that long) from start to interview was only a few months! Then the admam walsh law came into affect and WHAM everything came to a halt, so not sure on the time period now

In short, Once u get ur IR-1 ur a permanent resident and able to work and u can come and go from he usa freely (as long as it s not for very lengthy time periods) There are some visa's such as a k1--fiance visa--which is a single entry! but no need to get into that as it doesnt pertain to u at all,lol

Hope i have not confused ya, give the DCF section at VJ a look, at the top, there is even a Canada section with DCF info!

Well there you go. That's about as good as info as you are going to get. Good luck tammy!

Yes! That was WONDERFUL information! Thank you SO much! I have a bit of time now, so I'm off to see if I can log into VJ now.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has responded to this and for all the help!

I was sure I had already said all that somewhere.

To add, no you do not have to go with your husband to his interview, but you are allowed to. It usually looks better too if the sponsoring spouse can accompany the applicant, just to further prove a bonafide marriage. It is not absolutely necessary though. I went without my husband and got my visa just fine.

Tammy, I forgot to include in my reply the forms that you'll need for DCF.

As I metioned before, DCF is not my forte (I did K3, which is entirely different!) so please read the Guide over at Visa Journey. It has a complete timeline and step by step (AFAIK) of what you'll need. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index ... m&page=dcf Of course, each US consulate is different so check out the Canada forum there for any other Canucks who did DCF. There aren't many, because it hasn't been an option for very long.

You can download the forms from the USCIS website You'll need one I-130 and the G-325As for each of you. Other than that, I'm sorry I really don't know. I think the rest of it gets sent to you as your case is adjudicated.

My wife never came to the interview, wasnt a problem. He did ask where she was, I stated work and that was it. Normally the interview (for Canadians) is one of the easiest parts of the whole process! Not saying it isnt stressfull, but it is usually very quick. Once ur called into the interview room, ur in and out in less than 10 min! I was only asked a few very basic questions. At 1 time u got the visa the same day. Then it was next day, and now they mail it out,BUT doesnt mean they mail it out next day,lol Some cases they do, and some instances a few days! It is mailed out in an Express post envelope that YOU provide at time of interview!

And if by chance u decide on K3, the interview is either VAncouver or Montreal (depending where u live) and the procedure for both vary! Just in case ur reading stuff on VJ and ur seeing differences. 1 would think they would be the same but not,lol But as u read I belive u wil relaize the DCF is the better option for ya

Thanks Reba! I have been looking over that link (and much more over at VJ) and have gotten TONS of great information. Thank you so much!