Moving to the US while waiting for NOU2

[Erin Hoffman 0]

Hello all -- just found this site today, had been operating under the vast misconception that this would not be a complicated process, and boy does this site (and the timeline site that I found it linking to in google) have me in a panic!

My fiance is Canadian, I am American. For the past year I've lived on the NY/Canada border, we traveled back and forth. We met in 2005, started dating in late 2006, I moved closer to the border in 2007, he proposed this month, and we had been planning to move to California this summer (August) as the company I've contracted for wants me there full time and on-site. The ease with which we both have crossed the border to see each other since 2006 likely contributed to my thinking that it would not be complicated for him to move to the US.

We filed the I129F about a week ago -- 7/6/08. I'm currently visiting with him in Canada for the summer, all of my stuff is in storage in NY. Based on our location we work through the Vermont USCIS center.

What I'm wondering now is if we were completely crazy to think we'd be able to move in August. I *have* to go then, or at least that's when I have to be out of Canada on *my* visitor visa. My question is: if we show up (having called ahead -- I have exotic pets, so all movement across the border with them must go through Buffalo and undergo federal wildlife inspection) at the border with a truck full of his stuff in August, and we have NOU1, is Immigration going to grant him a visitor visa on the basis of the level of our processing with USCIS?

For more detail, he is a lecturer at the Royal Military College and is completing his PhD (which creates more complications -- see below). I am a computer professional (video game design) with a solid employment history; I file my taxes, my brother is an intelligence officer for the Army, my dad worked 25 years for the navy, my grandmother worked for Convair and had Top Secret clearance at one point. We check out, is what I'm saying, if that matters at all. My fiance teaches soldiers in the Canadian armed forces, which means he teaches online -- he also does editing work for the Army Publishing Office. All of this he can continue to do in the US, for Canada, being paid through his Canadian bank account, not taking an American job, so employment is not an immediate concern. The job I will be going to also covers for both of us quite adequately.

My second concern has to do with him needing to return to Canada to defend his dissertation, which due to scheduling will probably happen sometime in October. Then there is a graduation ceremony in November. Given the one-way nature of the I129F, is he going to have a problem with this timeframe? Can the AOS be processed in that time? Or would we not even be looking at having NOU2 by then anyway? Will the visitor visa actually be an advantage in this case because once we have NOU2 he can stay on the visitor visa until November and his travel is completed, re-enter the US this time on the K1, and then we get married?

So many questions. I'm sure you guys get this a lot. I'm seriously having a bit of a panic attack here with all of this new information, when before we had been operating under a certain ignorant naivete that it would work out. Do I need to be panicking? Is it likely that we are going to be separated next month by his inability to enter the US? Is there anything we can do about this?

Any and all advice very greatly appreciated.

[payxibka 10,045]

Who you are and what your family is or does has no affect...

The alien needs to be able to meet the entry requirements on his/her own... If the border guard suspects that the alien is permanently relocating (for example in a moving van), without the proper visa, I think the chances of a refused entry are pretty good.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Your fiance is not allowed to move to the US and live with you before he has received his visa. His belongings are not allowed to come into the States until he is given permission to live there. That happens when he receives the K-1 visa. He will have 6 months in which to activate the visa and once activated, you two need to marry within 90 days. There is no way he will be able to 'move' to the US in August.

You have just started this process. Your fiance, if the border authorities allow him to cross, can visit you for up to 6 months, but he needs to convince the border guard that he has no intention of remaining in the US by providing evidence of his ties to Canada - letter from employer; apartment lease or mortgage; ongoing utility payments; etc. The longer he is visiting the stronger his proof of ties will need to be. It is virtually guaranteed that if you show up at the border with a truck load of his belongings you will be turned back and he will be denied a visitor's visa because of his obvious intent to immigrate.

It is highly unlikely he will have the K-1 by October. You might have the I-129f (NOA1) approved by then. After the I-129f petition is approved, the whole file will be transferred to the Canadian Consulate in Montreal and all of the processing with take place there. It takes a few weeks to arrive and once it does, they will mail him a package of information containing forms, applications and instructions about what he needs to do next. All of these things must be done in Canada - getting a medical, getting a security check, obtaining necessary documents including an affidavit of support from you. Once he has this assembled he notifies the Consulate and they schedule him for a interview. This process can take a number of months. I am not sure of the current wait time for an interview with Montreal but recently it was taking up to 6 months.

If you are in Canada on a visitor's visa you can apply to extend the visa for another 3 months. The application form is available at http://www.cic.gov.ca. You can keep renewing it as long as they will let you. There used to be an option of renewing it at the border but I don't know if this still exists - you can call your closest border crossing and inquire.

The other caveat is his military career at RMC (I am from Kingston originally, too). His position will probably require additional security checks as he is a highly trained foreign national involved in a potentially threatening to the US career. There have been others - including one Canadian in biological technology - in similar positions who have found themselves subjected to increased security scrutiny, and whose approval has been delayed with a request to submit a CV while at the Interview. Your fiance should be prepared for additional scrutiny because of his current career. Even though the US and Canada are allies, Canadians are still under a foreign government that is not always aligned with US policies.

Regarding the AOS, you can't apply for that until you are married. There is no way to predict how long it will take - it can be anyway from 3 or 4 months to over 2 years, and again being Canadian doesn't make a difference. I too had a high security level clearance for my employment in Canada yet my AOS took 22 months. Along with the AOS, he applies for a work permit - EAD - and permission to leave AND return to the US, called Advance Parole - AP. Those generally take about 90 days to receive and your fiance would not be able to leave the US and return without the AP. To do so would be considering abandoning the whole process and having to start all over again with a spousal visa - and him outside of the US.

I'm sorry - I know this isn't what you wanted to hear and you are already stressing out about things. Realize that you will have a lot longer wait than you anticipated, that he can visit but cannot move to the US, that he will need to be in Canada for processing the 2nd half of the process regardless -which will probably correlate well to his October and November requirements to be in Canada for graduation, etc.. I would be surprised if he is able to move to the US on the K-1 much before the new year, if then.

Take a look at some of the timelines for other Canadian/American couples going the K-1 route and you will see more clearly what to expect.

Good luck.

Edited July 11, 2008 by Kathryn41

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Be prepared to spend some time apart.

If you must go back in August, then he cannot follow you. He has to wait in Canada. When you are approved your NOA2, he then must start getting documents for the interview, like his police report, medical exam and then he has to attend the interview and it must be in Canada.

As Kathryn said, his belongings cannot enter the States before his move.

He can visit you while you wait, that's not a problem but he'll need to show ties to Canada, like a letter from his employer stating he's coming back to work, mortgage or rent agreements showing he still has financial responsibility in Canada.

Our entire process took just over 6 months. We filed on December 5th and I got my visa in hand on June 27. This is the legal and right way to go about things. It's so worth it....6 months compared to the rest of your lives together is nothing.... I haven't seen my Nick in 4 long months...he arrives Thursday and then we drive down to begin our lives.

Stay strong, visit when you can and find patience.

I wish you much luck!!!

[Carlawarla 1]

Hi Erin,

Can't add anything right now to what Kathryn and Laura have said. Just wanted to welcome you to VJ where you'll get a ton of information about this visa process. Don't forget to check out the Canada Forum here, where we'll have answers to many specific US/Canada questions you might have!

[jle930sl 0]

Everyone else gave you great advice, and there's nothing I can add.

We all have had that point where we realize that getting married is a million times more difficult than we thought it would be. There's disappointment, that your plans won't happen as you had originally hoped and that feeling sucks.

As you read all this and you two adjust your plans accordingly, keep your heads up and remember that it'll all work out in the end. For my fiance and I our adjustment of plans was a couple years back. We had originally planned to do all this legal stuff and marry 2 years ago, but we decided to wait due to a schooling opportunity he had abroad. I was really disappointed. I let myself be disappointed at first, but then made myself think positively. One thing that really helped me was to remind myself that my job during those years was to get ready for him coming by getting more experience in my career (so I can get a better paying job later which helps us), and doing anything else I could think of. We both have used the delay as a time grow individually and do things that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to do if we were married. Looking back, I"m thankful for all that time.

Since you will move in August, this could help you too. You moving to a place where you'll be living together gives you time to make it a home for the two of you!

Just thought I'd offer a bit of encouragement. I know the realistic side of this all is hard to handle, but just keep looking forward and you'll be together legally in no time.