Sponsering to the US possible?

[springfeli 0]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions about immigrating to the US.

My husband is American, I am Canadian. We were married in Canada about 6 months ago.

We have started his process to immigrate to Canada, however because of recent developments in our life, moving to the US would be better for us. Can we still go about doing that? His mom is willing to help us out, and co-sponser with him since he hasn't been working.

Can this still be done, and in the mean time am I able to stay in the US?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Edited February 5, 2010 by springfeli

[milimelo 4,572]

Read the guides for CR-1 visa.

You can only be in the US if CBP lets you in as a tourist - and only stay for how long they allow it. Make sure to have proof of ties to Canada such as job, lease/mortgage and a return ticket.

[TracyTN 237]

Moving to a spousal visa forum - this is not a case for a fiance/e visa.

[raymaga 25]

You would be able to stay in the U.S. with your husband, providing you are admitted into the U.S. at the border crossing. You will need proof of ties to Canada, but even this will not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the U.S. It is completely up to the border officer as to whether he believes you have no illegal intentions.

If you have mortgage/lease documents, your most recent pay stub, letters from employers/schools of your return date to Canada, etc., your chances will be significantly increased.

While my (now) husband and I went through the K-1 Visa process years ago, I stayed with him in the U.S. for many months with no problem, but I did eventually get asked for any documents proving my ties to Canada on one of my trips down to see him.

Read the "Guides" and "Visa FAQ's" sections here on VJ for information on the spousal visa that you would be applying for.

And, any U.S. citizen can be a co-sponsor as long as they meet the income requirements.

Good luck.

[springfeli 0]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I apologize, I thought I posted in the right section.

May I ask why I am choosing I-130 over K3? Just curious.

Also, will these forms be all I need? I already have most of the info and copies, as we have gone through the Canadian process with a lawyer. However, we'd like to keep the cost down and hopefully do it on our own.

Thank you again for the help, much appreciated.

[HeatDeath 430]

An I-130 is the form you file to petition for an immigrant visa (the CR-1) for an immediate relative [as opposed to petitioning for a nonimmigrant visa (the K-3) for an immediate relative, for which you would use an I-130, followed by an I-129F]. Since you are in Canada, these are your two main options: a K-3 spousal nonimmigrant visa (file for the visa, get the visa, with which you would enter the US, and then apply for permanent residence), or a CR-1 spousal immigrant visa (file for the visa, get the visa, then enter the US. You would be a US permanent resident from the moment you entered the US). If you are both in Canada, your husband may be eligible to file for the CR1 visa directly at the US consulate, shaving several months off of the process. (This is called DCF: Direct Consular Filing)

From an earlier post of mine:

Back in the days when marrying abroad and filing for a spousal visa was the only option, the permanent residence part of the processing took 1-2 YEARS, during which your honey would be stuck out-of-country. The K-3 was invented specifically to split the [relatively] quick processing the entry visa from the [then] glacially slow process of processing the green card for permanent residence, allowing you to be together, in the US, while that part slowly worked itself out. [Not to mention they get an extra $1000 [the Adjustment of Status fee] this way ]

Now that the processing times or K-3s and CR-1s are pretty much identical (1-2 months difference) the K-3 no longer serves any useful purpose for couples who want to be reunited in the US in a timely manner.

Edited February 6, 2010 by HeatDeath

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Post deleted at the poster's request