In AP for 7 months. Can I visit my wife? Pls help

[Faizan89 6]

Hi,

I had my interview in Montreal in Sept. 2012.I am in AP for the past 7 months. I am a Canadian citizen with pakistani background. My wife is a US citizen. Am i allowed to visit her in US? How long can i stay with her? I heard i can stay in US for six months being a Canadian. Not sure how long AP is going to take plus i lost my job recently and wife wants me to live with her for a while.

Also can anyone tell me how much longer it could take for them to finish AP? i know it varies based on individual circumstances but any rough idea?. DOS doesnt give much info and involving Senator didnt help much either. my interview was literally 10 minutes and they only asked basic questions..nothing unusual. i am confused and frustrated.. Life is on hold. pls help. Thank you so much.

[Inky 1,110]

Hi,

I had my interview in Montreal in Sept. 2012.I am in AP for the past 7 months. I am a Canadian citizen with pakistani background. My wife is a US citizen. Am i allowed to visit her in US? How long can i stay with her? I heard i can stay in US for six months being a Canadian. Not sure how long AP is going to take plus i lost my job recently and wife wants me to live with her for a while.

Also can anyone tell me how much longer it could take for them to finish AP? i know it varies based on individual circumstances but any rough idea?. DOS doesnt give much info and involving Senator didnt help much either. my interview was literally 10 minutes and they only asked basic questions..nothing unusual. i am confused and frustrated.. Life is on hold. pls help. Thank you so much.

If you have your passport you can go visit, you can only stay as long as the CBP allow. Iv seen some Males from Pakistan wait up to 2 years, some 1 and a half but they seem to get really long wait times in AP.

Don't say live at the border, you are going to visit because you cannot go live there without a valid visa.

[CDN2US 10]

While in AP, my husband was able to visit me over Christmas holidays. He had retained his passport from the interview, although had he not, he would have been able to request it to travel.

I don't have any answers for you as to how long, why, or when. It's terrible to have your life on hold, so all I can offer is my sympathy. (F)

[NinaD 6]

If you have your Canadian Passport then you can travel. You are allowed to stay in the States for 6mo.

I visited my husband a lot during our processing. I stayed for between 4 and 5.5 months each time I visited.

When you are at the border tell them you are going to visit - not live. Be prepared to show that you do intend to return to Canada or they may deny you entry.

For example, RETURN airline ticket, lease to apartment, car registration, bank statements, etc...

Don't overstay your visa either, make sure you go back before the 6mo. is up. Good luck with everything!

[Faizan89 6]

If you have your Canadian Passport then you can travel. You are allowed to stay in the States for 6mo.

I visited my husband a lot during our processing. I stayed for between 4 and 5.5 months each time I visited.

When you are at the border tell them you are going to visit - not live. Be prepared to show that you do intend to return to Canada or they may deny you entry.

For example, RETURN airline ticket, lease to apartment, car registration, bank statements, etc...

Don't overstay your visa either, make sure you go back before the 6mo. is up. Good luck with everything!

Thank you Nina for the info,

Everything went smooth until after the interview. I hope this Administrative processing is done soon so we can move on with our life. THis is really frustrating. Pls pray that this hardship is over soon and I can be with my wife.

[goodbuck25 0]

Hi,

I had my interview in Montreal in Sept. 2012.I am in AP for the past 7 months. I am a Canadian citizen with pakistani background. My wife is a US citizen. Am i allowed to visit her in US? How long can i stay with her? I heard i can stay in US for six months being a Canadian. Not sure how long AP is going to take plus i lost my job recently and wife wants me to live with her for a while.

Also can anyone tell me how much longer it could take for them to finish AP? i know it varies based on individual circumstances but any rough idea?. DOS doesnt give much info and involving Senator didnt help much either. my interview was literally 10 minutes and they only asked basic questions..nothing unusual. i am confused and frustrated.. Life is on hold. pls help. Thank you so much.

Hi

Did Montreal tell you at the interview that you are in AP or did you get an email later on stating that you are in AP. How long after the interview did they let you know that you are in AP? Did you also get a "welcome" letter?

We were given the "Welcome to USA" letter at the interview, but as we did not have our Canadian Passport with us (we have dual citizenship) they told us to send our Canadian passports for visa. We send them our passports about a month ago and have not heard anything from Montreal.

[SF2007 48]

I feel for you. Not to compare my situation to yours (I can only imagine what it's like), but my case was in AP for couple days. I learned I was in AP by calling USCIS for an update after mailing in my passport and medical after the interview (my medical was done but results not ready by the time my interview took place). I am a Canadian born in Canada. Never visited any country that has/had disputes with the U.S. No criminal history, nothing that would explain AP. Sometimes I guess they just need to double check something. In my case, I think it may be because I don't use my middle name on any official documents, yet it's on my birth certificate. SSA gave me ####### about that when I got my social security # so it's my best guess.

We send them our passports about a month ago and have not heard anything from Montreal.

It takes Montreal a good 2-3 weeks before processing anything they receive by mail. So I wouldn't worry yet. You can ask about your case's status by calling USCIS. And if everything is going well, you won't hear from Montreal again. You should hear from the courier company

Edit: typo.

Edited April 16, 2013 by SF2007

[Ms Hogan 295]

I don't want to cause you to feel more discouraged but if you recently lost your job you will likely have a difficult time convincing the officer at the border that you plan to return to Canada. Having a lease or bank account etc might be enough in some situations but when you say you're going to visit your wife they are then going to ask if you've applied for status, where you are in the process etc. You will need to be very honest about it and when they find out you've had your interview already and that you are in AP then my guess is you will be denied entry. The fact that you don't have a job adds to reason why you would NOT necessarily need to come back to Canada at this point. The fact that your wife is in the US also adds to it.

I really want to be wrong about this but I don't think I am. Everyone here is making it sound like it is easy to just go visit but that is not the case for everyone.

If you do decide to try to visit, take as much evidence as you can saying you are returning to Canada, be honest, but be prepared to be turned away. I'm sorry to sound so negative but I would rather you be prepared for it than be shocked by it.

[O&Z 1]

hi Fez

we are in the same boat.

i am a US born citizen, my husband is a Canadian born citizen but his parents are from pakistan.

in AP from interview till now - about 5 months.

i had to move recently for a new job, so he was with me in the US for abt 3 months helping me settle in.

he went back to Canada now and would like to return in a month.

however, we are also concerned about the PROOF that we need to have to let him visit me again.

CBP has told him that he is not entitled to 6 months here, he CANNOT work here (which we know), and he cannot spend the "majority" of his time here. they also said, they will hold him to what he says in answer to how long he will be staying.

he stays with family in Canada so it's hard to show his residency, he has always done multiple parttime/floating jobs, so it is hard to show work. but hopefully they will understand we are trying to be honest and upfront and they will let him in.

likely not

[Ms Hogan 295]

Fez do you have any udpate? It has been over a month since your original post.

[Haribo 16]

I feel for you. Not to compare my situation to yours (I can only imagine what it's like), but my case was in AP for couple days. I learned I was in AP by calling USCIS for an update after mailing in my passport and medical after the interview (my medical was done but results not ready by the time my interview took place). I am a Canadian born in Canada. Never visited any country that has/had disputes with the U.S. No criminal history, nothing that would explain AP. Sometimes I guess they just need to double check something. In my case, I think it may be because I don't use my middle name on any official documents, yet it's on my birth certificate. SSA gave me ####### about that when I got my social security # so it's my best guess.

It takes Montreal a good 2-3 weeks before processing anything they receive by mail. So I wouldn't worry yet. You can ask about your case's status by calling USCIS. And if everything is going well, you won't hear from Montreal again. You should hear from the courier company

Edit: typo.

Thank you for posting this. I am basically in the same situation you were in (my fiance didn't put his middle names on his original application although it is on his birth certificate) and I was extremely stressed about the AP because you see on visajourney that people are in it for months and months, which is just awful. Knowing that you were just in AP for a few days makes me feel much better.