US citizen bringing Canadian spouse to US

[anonymous123 0]

My daughter, a U.S. citizen, married my son-in law in Canada some years ago. They also had a ceremony in the USA, so they are married in both countries. They have lived and worked in Canada since their Canadian wedding. My son in law has visited the US several times over the last few years to visit her family members. They are moving to Washington D.C., a hardship case as they are moving to help take care of my daughter's father who has severe head trauma wounds. Just before the move, my daughter and son in law filed the I-29 and I-30 for his entry into the U.S. as a permanent resident. My daughter now has a US job, with ties to Canada. My son in law works for an international firm that has ties in Canada, US, and other countries. They were under the impression that he would be able to simply move with her to DC and file for his citizen ship while in DC. None of the INS forms mention that a Canadian citizen married to a US spouse cannot even enter the US while the paperwork is in process. They had to find this information out from an attorney just days before the closing on the sale of the house. They were about to physically move when the news came. Now he has to remain in Canada, while she migrates to DC to take care of her dad. The financial impact on them is enormous. Details are not necessary for how enormous. My question is would this situation be considered an extreme case which might be appealed on that basis to a consulate? directly to INS? Any information greatly appreciated.

Responses thus far:

No INS for years, it's USCIS.

The son in law can't emigrate before he has a valid immigrant visa. Also, no citizenship for him before he fulfills requirements for it (3 year perm residence, 3 or more years married to USC spouse, time in district). It's Permanent resident status before citizenship.

He can certainly visit, provided he brings supporting documentation to prove to POE IOs that he will return to Canada after his visit (return ticket, apt lease/ house mortgage, bank statements, pay stgatement, letter from work, copy of NOA1 from I-130)...

I don't think this would fall under expedited approval - USC spouses with cancer were denied expedited processing.

Thanks Danielle.doc

[trailmix 77]

Hi,

Welcome to VJ.

All of the responses you have been given so far are correct, so I have nothing to add to that.

Yes, it's no doubt annoying for them - and it does have a huge financial impact i'm sure, but there is nothing to be done about it now really, unfortunately.

Just a comment on this "My daughter, a U.S. citizen, married my son-in law in Canada some years ago. They also had a ceremony in the USA, so they are married in both countries".

The U.S. recognizes marriages in Canada and Canada recognizes marriages in the U.S. - so while your statement "they are married in both countries" is true - it would be true regardless of where they married (even if that was in - Bulgaria).

Good luck!

Edited April 21, 2010 by trailmix

[anonymous123 0]

Hi,

Welcome to VJ.

All of the responses you have been given so far are correct, so I have nothing to add to that.

Yes, it's no doubt annoying for them - and it does have a huge financial impact i'm sure, but there is nothing to be done about it now really, unfortunately.

Just a comment on this "My daughter, a U.S. citizen, married my son-in law in Canada some years ago. They also had a ceremony in the USA, so they are married in both countries".

The U.S. recognizes marriages in Canada and Canada recognizes marriages in the U.S. - so while your statement "they are married in both countries" is true - it would be true regardless of where they married (even if that was in - Bulgaria).

Good luck!

[trailmix 77]

One other thing I thought of that might be helpful, you might want to look at this thread in the Canadian forum of VJ:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/94768-ir1-cr1-montreal-timeline-to-interview/page__view__findpost__p__3876889

This is the Montreal timeline to interview thread and will give you a good idea of how long the process takes for a CR1/IR1 visa.

[anonymous123 0]

Our present concern is whether or not my son in law can visit my daughter, even if it is no more than a day.

The information about this is contradictory. some sources, such as my kids lawyer, say no visits allowed, some say if he shows intent to return (copy of rental lease, copy of Canadian bank accounts) he can get a limited visa to return to the US..this would help my daugher and son in law to look at US rental property than my daughter can afford while waiting for his permanent resident status...and to helpl take care of her Dad who is not well and requires continual care.

Opinions appreciated.

[trailmix 77]

There is no law that says he cannot visit, the lawyer is wrong. Many here have done just that. (I don't know if this lawyer is someone they employed specifically for immigration purposes, however if it is, I would suggest they really need a new lawyer).

The advice you were given about 'ties to Canada' is most important here. No one can tell you on a visit by visit basis whether or not he will be permitted to enter the U.S. - it is up to the border guard on the day.

The only thing he can do is ensure that he has strong proof of ties so that he can prove, when he crosses the border, that he intends to return to Canada - that is all they are interested in.

It is illegal to enter the U.S. with immigrant intent unless you have the correct visa. They are trying to ensure this does not happen - that is where the proof of ties comes in. The fact that he is married to a U.S. citizen would cause suspicion, the fact that he has all these ties and can prove them is to assuage this suspicion.

Here is the official word (it is titled "while petition is pending" - but it applies to ALL visitors): link

Entry to the U.S. while Petition is Pending

All persons traveling to the U.S. as visitors or students, Canadian or other nationality, under U.S. law are deemed to be intending immigrants and thus inadmissible for temporary purposes until they have an immigrant visa in hand. The burden of qualifying for any visa for entry to the U.S. rests solely with the applicant. Entry to the U.S. is solely up to a Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) officer at the Port of Entry. While intending immigrants may have and lawfully seek to exercise a dual intent to be a visitor or student now and an immigrant later, it is against U.S. law to enter the U.S. as a visitor or student with the intent to wait for or seek immigrant status while in the U.S. Anyone who attempts to enter the U.S. by misrepresentation, or unlawfully, may face severe sanctions up to and including permanent ineligibility to enter the U.S.

Edited April 21, 2010 by trailmix

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Our present concern is whether or not my son in law can visit my daughter, even if it is no more than a day.

The information about this is contradictory. some sources, such as my kids lawyer, say no visits allowed, some say if he shows intent to return (copy of rental lease, copy of Canadian bank accounts) he can get a limited visa to return to the US..this would help my daugher and son in law to look at US rental property than my daughter can afford while waiting for his permanent resident status...and to helpl take care of her Dad who is not well and requires continual care.

Opinions appreciated.

Dear Ms.anonymous123,

When I first read your post, there were a couple of things that caught my attetion, I would like to list them and explain why these statements caught my attetion.

1. 1. Both your daughter and your son-law were living in Canada, why didn't they just do DCF, this is hind site now.
   
3. Regarding visiting : The same process your SIL and his wife used to visit the states prior to his wife moving back, is the same process he should use for visiting her now.
   
4. Note: There is LOT's of information in the Canadaian fgorum on this board that speaks of visting while waiting on the visa application process
   
5. last but not the least if their lawyer doesn't understand this process of visting while waiting on the CR1 process, this would send a red flag up for me because:
   
6. Your SIL visiting the US is the easy part, so if you'll don't trust the lawyers expertise on that, I would have some concerns about the lawyers knowledge on the CR1 process.
   I know you didn't ask for all of this but I wonder how something so simple could be causing so much stress.
   

[sdw 10]

I made numerous visits to the US while my paperwork was pending. I always had my ties to Canada and never had a problem. No one can say if he will have problems or not as it is up to the border officer.

[L_n_O 3]

Ties to Canada are important: letter from employer, recent pay stubs, lease/mortgage statements, return tickets, etc etc..