Possible cancellation of CR1

[calliopi 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site and really need advice!

My husband the USC and I have been married since 2009 and finally completed the immigration process. My CR1 visa is expiring in October.

Due to unforseen circumstances I may not enter before the expiry.

Here are my questions:

What happens if I don't enter before it expires? Will I have to go through the whole process again or am I not allowed to reapply as I abandoned it in the first place? Do I have to notify NVC if I do not enter before expiry?

If I do POE and shortly afterwards need to go back to Canada what happens? I have heard that you can not be out of the country for more than a year in order to maintain your PR but what if return to work in Canada?

I'm very confused about what to do. After this long and taxing journey to not enter will be such a waste but I need to know what the repercussions are.

Any info or direction would be of great appreciation!

[Darnell 8,479]

Suggest you plan a trip into USA, this will trigger 'entry' at the POE, and subsequently trigger 'green card production' as well.

When you cross over, you'll get a stamp in yer passport that validates the CR-1 visa to be used as a temporary I-551 document (temporary green card) and once you have that stamp, you can travel back and forth, at will, up to a year.

Is possible to work up some schedule, calendar, based on these facts ?

The only 'trip-up' that I see is remaining outside of USA longer than 6 months , once you have that stamp in yer passport.

[Christi85 86]

The following is true for the London Embassy, so please check with your Embassy to see if they'd do that too:

If a potential immigrant finds that they are not able to travel to the US within the 6-month validity of their visa, then they are allowed to submit a written explanation of their circumstances and ask for a new visa to be issued (for which they'll have to pay the visa processing fee again). Although it's not guaranteed that they'll approve your request, there are usually good chances, especially since you're paying the fee for a second time.

So check if your Embassy offers that option.

Re returning to Canada for work: as long as you are gone for less than a year, your PR status should be fine. That should be fairly easy (e.g. short trips every once in a while to maintain status). However, on granting you a green card (conditional or unconditional), the US government assumes in good faith that you will be taking up permanent residence and that you will settle in the US.

That said, if you are on a conditional green card and have to remove conditions in two years' time, it may also be harder to convince the Immigration Officers that your marriage is valid and ongoing if you're living in Canada, i.e. separately from your husband.

[calliopi 0]

Thanks Darnell for your reply.

If I don't enter can I reapply for what will then be an IR-1 in the future or will I be denied because I didn't enter in the first place?