tn to green card - AOS or consular processing?

Background: I am a Canadian living in the states on a TN. I have been living here for about 6 years, but working at the same job for 11 years (x-border commuting). I married US citizen about a year ago and we have decided not to move to Canada but stay here in the US. I want to go ahead and apply for a GC.

Question: Here is my question - for what I read here and on other attorney's websites, I should apply for an I-130 through consular processing for a few reasons, including:

1) it is quicker than AOS
2) it is safer as I am still on a TN and;
3) you can still travel on your TN while waiting for the I-130 to be processed

I am confused because two separate attorneys have asked me why I want to do consular processing and only suggest doing an AOS. I really believe that because immigration is not their sole area of practice, they might be mistaken.

Any input/advice? I am going crazy and want to pull the trigger on this thing soon. Particularly, any responses from TNer's that got their GC through marriage through consular processing would be great.

P.S. My mom is older and has health issues and the whole "not being able to travel" thing does not appeal to me (if this information is of any help to anyone)

Thanks for all who respond

You can still migrate from TN to GC thru AOS, it's done all the time.

The reason lawyers don't like CP, is that they are taken out of the picture, as you go to the interview by yourself -- with no appeal if you goof, while AOS documentation can be prepped by the lawyer, and denials can be appealed.

By the way, merely being married to US citizen living in US is grounds for denial of entry on TN or anything else short of K visa or CR-1, so I wouldn''t be too quick to say one way is better thanthe other since it allows crossing -- it doesn't. it's not quite the same as I-140 for employment-based sponsorship, which has been specifically allowed to be non-immig intent.

The surest way is to stay put in US, submit I-130/I-485/I-765/I-131 and then you can foget all about TN and worries about immig e=intent altogether: you will have EAD and AP while waiting for GC.

Thanks,
i am assuming that all those docs go out all at once?
Also, any idea about rough time frame after submitting before getting EAD and I-131?

Yes, all at once. 2-3 months will have your EAD and AP.

Much shorter than Consular processing would ever take. You shouldn't be that concerned about actually getting GC; that will come in time. What you really need is EAD and AP.

You've been living on borrowed time as it is. CBP should have denied you entry as soon as they got wind of your marriage.

Hi
I am a Canadian working in the US for the last 5 odd years on a TN under management consultant. I have have an MBA from U of T and never had a problem getting a TN - Thankfully.
I recently checked with my company HR on the green card application process as I was told that I would need to move to a H1 Visa if I wanted to apply for a green card. Reading the postings on this forum, it would seem that you can go directly from a TN to a green card and I am confused . Can someone help me out with this ?
I am still not sure if I want to get a green card or not but at least I would like to know the possibilities - I am not sure if I want to move to H1 which I believe has a different set of issues? I work in the technology industry and there could be the possibility of a denial.
Thanks a ton in advance...

There is a great forum on forums.immigration.com by "curiousgeorge" that outlines all the steps of TN to AOS without H1.

H1 is a stall tactic employed by firms and lawyers to drag their feet over getting workers green cards.

H1 is a better status than TN, if you are an employee, but if GC is your goal, H1 is not necessary at all.

Thanks a lot for your help. The posts from Curious George, nelson and others on TN to GC were detailed and helpful. Sounds like you are right - H1 looks like a stall tactic or a way for the lawyers to make money since I will have to pay for the H1 processing ,lawyers fee etc. Tn to GC directly thru AOS is probably the best way to go.Can't thank you enough for all the support -

Hello,
I am new here in this forum.
My permanent residency is Germany. I would like to know what papers I need for an application for a greencard.
Thx ahead.

Hi Folks
With the advice I got on this forum, I contacted my HR dept to discuss a possibility of moving to a GC from my TN Status based on AOS. They had earlier given me a lecture on how I should apply for a H1B before moving to GC so I felt like an idiot. I was told again that this is not possible and that I would have to go the H1 route.
This is due to the fact that my country of birth is India ? I was born in India but went to school and worked in Canada before coming to the US and was not aware of this rule.
Any advice/suggestions ? Is TN to GC via AOS not possible if you have a different birth country?
Thanks in advance....

Hr doesn't know what they are taling about. Your country of birth does not prevent you from getting AOS from TN, however Indians take much longer. But you can still stay on TN until you file I-485, when ever that may be. But if they want to file H1, let them, but it is not required.