Question:
I am a Canadian citizen and will
be getting married in December in
Canada, to a US Citizen. We were
planning on living in the US after
we got married, at least for the
first few years and then possibly
moving back to Canada. When we called
the INS they said that once we get
married and have the license in
hand, we need to apply for my "green
card" at the office in Louisville,
KY.
Not really
sure if we need to go there in person
or mail the documents in. I'm assuming
that processing of these documents
will take 2-3 months at the least.
I have a few questions for any of
you who have been through this or
are familiar with the process.
1. Once I
apply for US Immigration after getting
married, am I allowed to leave the
US? . We would probably want to
travel back and forth since my family
is in Canada.
2. Assuming
the process takes 2-3 months or
more, between the time we get married
and the time I get my US status,
is there any way I can get authorization
to work in the US? I don't want
to sit around in the US waiting
for my green card to process when
I can be working in Canada.
3. If I got
a job in the US before hand and
worked on a TN visa in the US(which
I have done before) would my green
card application kill the TN visa?
or vice versa? ie. can I be on a
TN while wiating for my green card
to process? The problem is we don't
want to be living in different cities
after we get married but if my papers
aren't going to be ready till 3
months after we get married then
we just might have to do that. I
don't think the fiance visa does
any good since we're getting married
in Canada. If anyone has any suggestions/advice
that would be great!
Answer:
You can apply to adjust your status
by mailing/couriering the documents
to them. The entire packet of forms
can be obtained from the BCIS website.
Processing of these forms is taking
ages. Go to www.shusterman.com for
current processing times for your
area. You will also need to file
for an employment authorization
document and advance parole to travel.
These will take a few months to
get. Again, see Shusterman's site
for more info.
1. If you
leave the US without Advance Parole,
they won't let you back in.
2. See above.
My friend went home to work while
she waited for these things, but
she was taking a chance that they
didn't require her to pick up the
advance parole in person. Most of
the time, they just mail it to you
(in the USA), but the immigration
officer told her they sometimes
request an in-person pick-up.
3. If you
have a TN visa and work under it,
you can still work under it while
your application is pending, but
you're not allowed to travel without
advance parole. You have to be very
careful coming back to the US once
you're married. If you don't have
a K-3 spousal visa and you show
up at the border with all your stuff,
they will bar you at the border
and you'll be stuck in Canada for
12-18 months while your spouse applies
to sponsor you. If the INS think
for any reason that you intend to
stay, they won't let you in.
If I understand
you rightly you intend marrying,
then entering the US and adjusting
status. Technically that's a no-no,
though some seem to get away with
it. If you are married and intend
to enter and remain you need to
apply for a spousal visa. If you
intend to enter and marry you need
a fiance visa. Only if you enter
to visit then suddenly decide to
marry on the spur of the moment
does the law allow you to adjust
status.
You suggest
BCIS told you differently - it wouldn't
be the first time. But check out
the marriage-based forum and do
a search. BCIS does not always inform
people correctly and the results
often mean problems down the line.
Suggest you post your plans on the
alt.visa.us.marriage-based site
and see what responses you get from
the lawyers and other experts before
going ahead with this plan.
