I have asked before

[melliemel 0]

Hello all,

I have asked before regarding my situation but thought I would get more insite as there are other and new knowledgable people on this forum..

Here goes...

Married to a US citizen in 1998. Never filed any paperwork.

Travelled back and forth from US to Canada to make sure no overstay...This happened for almost 5 yrs.

in 2001-2003 approx. I applied for a job with my husband as a courier driver. I was an independant contractor.

When I would travel back home he would continue the courier service. The cheque would come in my name, no taxes were deducted as I was Independant. I tried to file taxes but I guess I did them wrong cause IRS wrote me back and told me that something was wrong with my SSN. The reason for this is because I was using my Canadian SIN which is just like a US SSN.

Anyway....

2003 left my husband and divorced him

April 2005 re-married someone else who is my current (and last) husband

I am currently in Canada in the process of my CR1. We are awaiting our interview date. I am afraid that we will be denied and have to write up a waiver which I have no clue where to start.

Anyway, I would like to hear some thoughts on my situation, what I can do, should do...what will happen what might happen etc...

Your insite is greatly appreciated...hopefully I will find someone that will be able to ease my mind and say "Don't worry all will be fine"

I have heard many "Stories" regarding Canadian citizens married to US citizens and more so Canadians residing in Florida (which is where I stayed and worked for about 5 yrs on and off) Maybe someone will be able to elaborate on the Canadian and US Immigration issues.

Thanks again for any insite in my issue...it is all very much appreciated.

[sharky 2]

Melliemel,

I see from the lack of replies that no-one can help you here. Try and post on immigrate2us.net , they have a lot more people who are more specialised in these subjects.

best of luck

Paul

[melliemel 0]

Thanks Paul,

I have tried that site also, 30 reviews and no responses.

Thanks again...looks like I will just have to wait and see what happens to me.

[new orleans bound 0]

Hey MellieMel,

I can't really help you with the specifics of your case but I can offer you a few words of wisdom, I should say my opinion more than wisdom. Let me start off with this, you should have a hardship letter ready for the Embassy in Montreal when you go for your interview. If you don't have an I-601 waiver written up, it will further delay your case by a few months. You and your husband still have some time to get one ready.

Your problem is not that you overstayed but that you worked in the US on and invalid SSN. I can't say how immigration is going to look at that. CIS is really starting to crack down on what the consider working illegally in the States. I know you work independantly but immigration might not view it that way. There is a post somewhere in this section about a guy and his finance from Colombia and she gat a 5 year ban for working under the table. Not saying that to scare you but be prepared for them to say something like that to you at the time of your interview. Looking at it from a positive light, immigration might not say anything at all. But the ONE thing you do not want to do is lie to them about working down there. They'll view that as you being deceptive and you might get into more trouble.

Like anyone here will tell you, have your hardship documentation ready. The waiver is more for your husband to prove hardship- as to why YOU need to come to the States and why he can't move to Canada. Unfortunately for us Canadians, it's difficult to prove hardship in Canada. What I mean by that is if you were in Mexico you would have the health care advantage, the wages are poorer, and standard of living is less than that of the US. Canada doesn’t really have that. If you and your current husband have kids together that would be a bonus, meaning an excellent case for hardship, him being separated from them, or if he has kids from a previous marriage that he still supports that would also be a hardship. Having to sell everything and moving to Canada, the difficulty of him being able to get a job up there if he has no formal education, your current financial status etc. The website Immigrate2US is very helpful in the sense that there are some excellent hardship letters posted there. I used some of those example hardship letters to draft my hardship letter and that of my husband's. I'd also say it would be beneficial for you and your spouse to seek the advice of an immigration lawyer about your options. You don't need the lawyer to file your waiver but they (the lawyer) might provide you with some helpful information pertaining to your situation. Now there is a lawyer that specializes in filing waivers. Her name is Laurel Scott (I think that's how you spell her name) and you can contact her through her website and she might be able to file the waiver paperwork for you. But she is costly. I believe a few people from this website have used her services, I believe she is one of the best in her area of expertise- waivers.

I'm not sure if I helped you at all, I hope I have. If you have any questions you can contact me through visa journey. Good luck. Joanna

[melliemel 0]

Thanks a lot Joanna. That was very nice of you to take your time and try and help me out as much as possible.

I have heard so many different things that might happen to me and the most common is to have a hardship letter ready. The problem with that is as you stated. To prove hardship.

We have no kids, he has no kids. There really is not much he can go by regarding hardship other than really missing me

I do not want to pay someone to write a hardship letter for us and then find out that we didn't need it. I guess we will just have to wait and see what will happen.

I have also heard that I may be forgiven for working there since I was married to a US citizen at the time. Also, since we were BOTH doing the job. I just use to get the cheque. I have already filled out my paperwork stating the truth about everything regarding my stay in the US during 1998-2003. And working there.

Thanks again for all the advice. I will take it into consideration

Wish me luck