Travel TO the US from Canada before getting Green Card

[Heatherd29 0]

I'm new to this forum, and I'm still not familiar with all the acronyms and the paperwork names just yet, so forgive me if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about!! We're still at the beginning of this journey!!

I'm a Canadian and my husband is American. We have been married for over 3 years and have a 14 month old son. We have been living in Canada (Vancouver) throughout our marriage (he has been in Canada on a work permit for 5 years). Recently he got a new job down in the States, so we are moving to Seattle. He had to start work right away, so he headed to Seattle last week. The company he works for has provided temporary housing for a few months until we are able to get settled. My question is, does anyone know if it will be a problem for me to enter the US to visit him while I am going through the process of getting my green card? I will be maintaining my permanent residence here in Canada until I get my Green Card. (I will be moving to my parents' house after our house is sold). My plan is to keep up my BC medical and all my bank accounts, my car and car insurance, etc here in Canada in order to show that I am definitely planning to come back to Canada, and each time I enter the States I am really just visiting. We are simply lucky that he got a job so close to home, and driving back and forth a couple of hours to visit isn't a big deal.

We filed the I-130 at the Vancouver Consulate on Friday, March 5th. We were told that it simply gets mailed to Montreal and I will receive a letter from Montreal in a few weeks with instructions on next steps. We do have some guidance from company lawyers with this process, but they weren't really clear on how hard it would be for me to visit the US during the process.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated. I'm hoping to drive down with my son to visit my husband for a couple of weeks later this week.

Thanks in Advance!

[HeatDeath 430]

Here's my experience of traveling during a processing immigration petition, mostly quoted from another post I wrote earlier today:

I traveled to the US twice during our K-1 visa process, for about a week each time, once just prior to the I-129F NOA2, and once after I had received Packet 3 but before I had responded to it.

Both times were by air. I brought evidence of ties to Canada both times. Wasn't even asked for it. The first time I stated the purpose of my trip was to visit my girlfriend's family (I should have said fiancee, but they either didn't see the I-129F on their screen, or didn't call me on it. Don't do that! ) The second time I did say "to visit my fiancee". I also mentioned that we had a fiance visa application in progress. Didn't have any problems. [Got pulled into secondary by Canadian customs on the way back, but that has nothing to do with CBP.] Granted the DHS officers stationed Canada are pretty mellow (at least compared to other postings! ), but it should be ok. It's nice that in Canada, you clear US Customs and Immigration before you get on the plane, so that if something does go wrong you only need a car to get back home.

I went primarily to visit, though part of the second trip was to pick up some of my fiancee's documents (I-864 documentation for her and for our joint sponsor, and additional relationship evidences) that would be required for the interview.

Make sure you bring proof of ties to Canada, and tell the WHOLE truth about ANYTHING they ask you. You doesn't have to volunteer much, but should avoid equivocation (and for G-d's sake DON'T lie!) and you'll probably be fine.

Your experience traveling during the processing of your I-130 should be fairly similar to my experience traveling during the processing of the I-129F. Only difference is you won't be flying, and you might face a slightly stronger presumption of immigration risk from the CBP officers, which probably just means you need even better documentation of the ties to Canada you mentioned. Bring a whole folder of that stuff with you when you hit the US border station. While it ultimately depends (as do so many things) on how mellow your randomly selected CBP officer is on any given visitation attempt, you'll probably be ok, for at least a couple of visits.

You can take heart in knowing that even if you do eventually get denied entry on a visitation attempt, it won't affect your spousal visa application in the slightest.

Edited March 9, 2010 by HeatDeath

[Carlawarla 1]

I'm new to this forum, and I'm still not familiar with all the acronyms and the paperwork names just yet, so forgive me if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about!! We're still at the beginning of this journey!!

I'm a Canadian and my husband is American. We have been married for over 3 years and have a 14 month old son. We have been living in Canada (Vancouver) throughout our marriage (he has been in Canada on a work permit for 5 years). Recently he got a new job down in the States, so we are moving to Seattle. He had to start work right away, so he headed to Seattle last week. The company he works for has provided temporary housing for a few months until we are able to get settled. My question is, does anyone know if it will be a problem for me to enter the US to visit him while I am going through the process of getting my green card? I will be maintaining my permanent residence here in Canada until I get my Green Card. (I will be moving to my parents' house after our house is sold). My plan is to keep up my BC medical and all my bank accounts, my car and car insurance, etc here in Canada in order to show that I am definitely planning to come back to Canada, and each time I enter the States I am really just visiting. We are simply lucky that he got a job so close to home, and driving back and forth a couple of hours to visit isn't a big deal.

We filed the I-130 at the Vancouver Consulate on Friday, March 5th. We were told that it simply gets mailed to Montreal and I will receive a letter from Montreal in a few weeks with instructions on next steps. We do have some guidance from company lawyers with this process, but they weren't really clear on how hard it would be for me to visit the US during the process.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated. I'm hoping to drive down with my son to visit my husband for a couple of weeks later this week.

Thanks in Advance!

You asked for help...and it sounds like you need some information. I suggest you read the Guides above, entitled CR-1/IR-1 visa. I say this because given your wording, you might not be aware of the journey ahead of you.

Your husband is now domiciled in the U.S., and has employment. Check. Secondly, you've submitted your I-130. check. You will NOT be moving to the U.S. in a few months. You are going to undergo a process now whereby you will have to pay more fees, and get a visa, in order to immigrate to the U.S. You are a Canadian citizen, you cannot just move with your American husband to the U.S. after sending in an application. You will get a Green Card eventually, but not until you've been interviewed in Montreal, yes...Montreal, because that's the only place where they process IR-1 visa's in Canada! You will have to have a medical exam, blood work, x-ray's and vaccinations. All out of pocket expenses, as your BC health plan will probably not cover it because they can only be done by a US Civil Surgeon (a list that they provide you) in Canada. Fees will be increased because you also have child. Have you registered his birth abroad as a U.S. Citizen? Does he have a U.S. or Canadian passport? You're looking at approximately a 8-12 month wait until you're interviewed for your visa. You cannot move to the U.S. until you have the visa.

I'm just providing this information because you've made it sound like you send in an application, you hear from Montreal in a few weeks, and get your Green Card soon after. This is not how it works at all. You won't be hearing from Montreal for MONTHS.

During the process of course you can visit and having sufficient ties to Canada is needed. Many couples going through this process visit during the process. The previous poster has added his experience.

Read the Guides above, then come visit the Canada Forum here on VJ, and read the postings there from fellow Canadians. There are lots of people who are going through this process like you that can provide valuable information.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=93

If you knew all of this, then please forgive me....if I didn't misjudge, and you really didn't know about this process, then take a deep breath, start reading, and know we're here to answer questions and provide support.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Carlawarla