Still planning on working in Canada

[LindaB 0]

Once my CR-1 has been approved and I finally move to Washington to live with my husband, I still plan to work in Canada as we will only be 25 minutes from the border. Has anyone had any problem with the visa application or interview in Montreal?

Also, my husband is on a disablity pension, do you think we will still have trouble with the affadavit of support due to his low income if I say I will still be making a good income in Canada and will not be relaying on him for support?

[trailmix 77]

Once my CR-1 has been approved and I finally move to Washington to live with my husband, I still plan to work in Canada as we will only be 25 minutes from the border. Has anyone had any problem with the visa application or interview in Montreal?

Also, my husband is on a disablity pension, do you think we will still have trouble with the affadavit of support due to his low income if I say I will still be making a good income in Canada and will not be relaying on him for support?

Hi Linda,

I guess you are meaning has anyone had a problem cross-border working? From what I have read it shouldn't be a problem.

As far as the Affidavit of Support goes, your employment in Canada will not be relevant. Your foreign income cannot be included in the Affidavit.

As you probably already know, the amount of yearly income needed for the 2 of you is $17,112. If his income is not at least $17,112 you will need to either:

- Get a co-sponsor or

- Make up the difference using assets (Cash, property etc). The difference, for a spouse, is 3 x the poverty line, so for instance if your Husband's income is $15000.00 per year you will have a deficit of $2,112.00 - therefore you would need to prove assets of at least 3 x's that amount - $6336.00.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Neiks does this!! She resides in the usa and works in Canada (and a cdn govt position no less) And she came in on a cr-1 visa

[gwenneh 7]

From what I understand, foreign income CAN be counted if it is going to continue after the beneficiary moves to the US. Generally this isn't the case, but in this situation you should be able to use your own income as you won't be giving up your job once you move.

[neiks 19]

Neiks does this!! She resides in the usa and works in Canada (and a cdn govt position no less) And she came in on a cr-1 visa

Yes, I do! And I see many "regulars" doing the same thing everyday, Canadian's living in the US and working in Canada. Should be no problems in regards to processing your application or getting approval at your interview.

[LindaB 0]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I can't wait for every thing to be over....case is now on its way to the NVC after being approved on Dec 19th (best Christmas present we got!). Hoping for it all to be complete and me moving down by our first anniversary in June!!!!

[trailmix 77]

From what I understand, foreign income CAN be counted if it is going to continue after the beneficiary moves to the US. Generally this isn't the case, but in this situation you should be able to use your own income as you won't be giving up your job once you move.

I think the this might perhaps be true, however, I wouldn't attend an interview relying on it. Colin Wilson (his after interview post) had Canadian pension income that would continue when he moved to the U.S. and they rejected this and his Canadian assets so he had to get a co-sponsor.

So while on paper it does say:

Use of Intending Immigrant’s Income. If the sponsor does not meet the income requirement on the basis of his or her own income and/or assets, the sponsor may also count the intending immigrant’s income if (1) a. the intending immigrant is either the sponsor’s spouse or b. has the same principal residence as the sponsor, and (2) the preponderance of the evidence shows that the intending immigrant’s income results from the intending immigrant’s lawful employment in the United States or from some other lawful source that will continue to be available to the intending immigrant after he or she acquires permanent resident status. The prospect of employment in the United States that has not yet actually begun does not count toward meeting this requirement.

I would still have a back up plan, but that is just me and just my opinion. I guess you will hopefully find out before it reaches Montreal, when NVC reviews the I-864.

As another example, the instructions clearly state: State or foreign income tax returns are not acceptable; if submitted, they must be returned to the intending immigrant.

Seems straight forward enough, however I received an RFE from NVC for my Canadian returns. I guess basically what I am saying is you can't really rely on the instructions to be a reflection of what they are actually doing.

Edited January 4, 2008 by trailmix

[CutienPurg 0]

My income for the affidavit of support was a wee bit short for our household of 5. We included my husband's Canadian Forces pension on the affidavit and the consulate didnt blink an eye. My hunch where Colin Wilson's problem derived from was ( and this is just a guess) their income was solely foreign income/assets. Ours was 98% US and 2% foreign.

I did however prepare 3 additional I-864's as a means to cover all my bases. On each different one I included different sources of income and or assets.....1) my income alone 2) my income plus my assets(including all bank accounts) 3) my income plus my assets plus my husbands assets in Canada (including bank accounts). Didnt need any of them.

I have to add that at the NVC level there was some misunderstanding on their part as to what was required. They sent a letter after case complete saying that my husband completed an I-864A and therefor needed to take, to his interview, his 2006 US income tax return or a letter stating why he wasnt required to file one. First of all he never did complete an I-864A and wasn't required to as the intending immigrant. It was simply a mistake on the part of whomever it was that reviewed the file. It was never mentioned at Montreal but it sure did cause me some concern regarding what to do about it before hand.

The issue of continuing work in Canada has been discussed here and there for awhile a now. There are some who are of the opinion that it isn't the best idea to do so as it will leave the impression with the US govt that you really dont have the full intent to immigrate. On that opinion I respectfully disagree. I am of the personal opinion that the US gov't doesn't really give 2 hoots about where you work as long as you're supported and they get their share of the tax.......period. As Neiks stated , there are plenty of folks crossing the border for work... both Canadian and American. It wouldn't make logical sense to me, to leave a good job you can easily get to after immigrating for... no job?

The opinions expressed here are those of the author and in no way represent legal advice