US Citizen to Canada OR Canadian Citizen to US?

I'm a Canadian citizen, living and working in Canada and I'm in a relationship with a US citizen who is studying in the US. He will be done his degree in the next year or so, and so he would not be able to move up here until after that.

We plan on getting married eventually, but after we're both done school.

I am willing to move down there if it's possible for me to work there. I'm the General Manager of a small office, but I don't have a degree yet.

I'm wondering what would be easiest to do. I know that NAFTA only applies if you have a degree, but I don't know the details.

Any tips would be VERY helpful.

Thanks!

I'm confused. Are you working full time plus going to school? How would you plan to continue schooling if you're in the US? Your tuitions would be extremely exhorbitant as a non-resident.

You could try for a student visa, and that'll give you work authorization for an on-campus job.

It might be best to just wait it out and figure out once your boyfriend is finished his degree which country you want to live in.

My school is online, so I can live and work anywhere.

We are both more than happy to move to either country, but I'm wondering what would be easiest.

Either one will be equally difficult, because either you need to sponsor him or he needs to sponsor you. First you need to get married, or you can do the fiancee visa thing.

The Canadian one is slightly quicker at present but not enough to influence the decision I'd think.

Given that he's a US citizen from a tax standpoint it's easier for you to move there than him move here.

But obviously I suspect you will have personal reasons that would influence the decision.

However having read the messes that people get into on here, the main bit of advice is that once you've made the decision, stick with it. Don't move to the US after getting the visa and then suddenly decide a year later you both want to move to Canada or vice versa, because then you have to get another visa and because one of you has permanent residence the tax situation gets sticky too.

Whichever one of you moves needs to accept the fact that you need to stay there at least until you get citizenship. Which is three years either way.

Thanks I appreciate the info!

What about qualifying under NAFTA after a degree? Is that relatively easy in comparison?

We would definitely stay put in one place for awhile. We'll probably end up somewhere that is close to the border, whether that be in the US or Canada.

Once again, I appreciate the info Every bit helps

No, because NAFTA visas are only temporary and have to be re-applied for. If you get married in the meantime, a reapplication could be denied based on the fact you obviously wish to stay in the US indefinitely to be with your husband. (or vice versa for him to stay in Canada)

Once you're married, either you go to the States and he sponsors you for a spousal visa, or he goes to Canada and you sponsor him there. That way you get permanent residency and you don't have to bother with NAFTA.

For marriage based info on immigrating to the US see http://www.visajourne.com

For marriage based info on immigratng to Canada see http://roadtocanada.com

What about qualifying under NAFTA after a degree? Is that relatively easy in comparison?

You wouldn't qualify for it if you're married to an American (or vice versa he wants to come to Canada in that catgory) as you have to have "bona-fide non-immigrant intent" which you won't have if you're married. It's designed for temporary workers.

We would definitely stay put in one place for awhile. We'll probably end up somewhere that is close to the border, whether that be in the US or Canada.

This is the sensible thing to do, imv, because you can still visit your family easily, assuming they live nearby.