US citizen married to Canadian and living in Canada

[Rob'sLuv 1]

From my limited understanding (so far) of this process, I get that I (US citizen) would file an I-130 on behalf of my Canadian spouse and another I-130 on behalf of his minor son - and we could do that by DCF at the Toronto consulate and expect (almost) immediate approval. I don't anticipate any problems with that part - we have all the proofs of genuine relationship, have been married and living together in Canada for almost 4 years, etc. One question I do have about this part of the process, though, is his proof of "sole custody" of his son. My husband has had full physical custody of his son since his wife left them 9 years ago, when the boy was 5. (This was documented in a marital separation agreement filed in September 2004, but their divorce was not finalized until July 2006.) The boy's mother has visitation - she pays child support. What type of documentation does my husband need for his son to be able to immigrate to the States? The boy is now 14 years old and able, in our Province, to decide with whom and where he wants to live. Is the Court order that shows physical custody with my husband enough for USCIS, or does the mother have to give authorization?

My second question is, assuming all that goes well, what do I do about the income/asset requirements of the I-864? I am currently working part time in Canada and I only make about $11K annually. I haven't lived/worked in the US since we got married. From what I can gather, the income requirement for 4 people (me, my hubby, his son and my US citizen daughter) is $27,562. I wasn't even making that when I last worked in the States, so even if I was willing to leave my family and go back to the States to secure employment (I'm not), I probably wouldn't be able to get a job that would meet the income requirements anyway. I have no assets either - but my mother is in the States and owns her home outright. However she is 85 years old and on a fixed social security income of only $800 something per month, so I have no idea whether she's eligible to co-sponsor. My husband is making in excess of $70K in Canada with an employer he's worked for for 30 years (part of the reason we originally decided to live here). He would have a job offer before immigrating to the States from his former (Canadian) boss, who now owns a business in California but I'm fairly certain he wouldn't be able to be working for him prior to our filing the I-864.

So what do I do? Am I screwed for sponsoring my family unless I leave them behind in Canada and go home in hopes of finding a job, in this economy, that pays $30K per year???

Edited July 27, 2010 by Rob'sLuv

[TOM&Riz 4]

From my limited understanding (so far) of this process, I get that I (US citizen) would file an I-130 on behalf of my Canadian spouse and another I-130 on behalf of his minor son - and we could do that by DCF at the Toronto consulate and expect (almost) immediate approval. I don't anticipate any problems with that part - we have all the proofs of genuine relationship, have been married and living together in Canada for almost 4 years, etc. One question I do have about this part of the process, though, is his proof of "sole custody" of his son. My husband has had full physical custody of his son since his wife left them 9 years ago, when the boy was 5. (This was documented in a marital separation agreement filed in September 2004, but their divorce was not finalized until July 2006.) The boy's mother has visitation - she pays child support. What type of documentation does my husband need for his son to be able to immigrate to the States? The boy is now 14 years old and able, in our Province, to decide with whom and where he wants to live. Is the Court order that shows physical custody with my husband enough for USCIS, or does the mother have to give authorization?

My second question is, assuming all that goes well, what do I do about the income/asset requirements of the I-864? I am currently working part time in Canada and I only make about $11K annually. I haven't lived/worked in the US since we got married. From what I can gather, the income requirement for 4 people (me, my hubby, his son and my US citizen daughter) is $27,562. I wasn't even making that when I last worked in the States, so even if I was willing to leave my family and go back to the States to secure employment (I'm not), I probably wouldn't be able to get a job that would meet the income requirements anyway. I have no assets either - but my mother is in the States and owns her home outright. However she is 85 years old and on a fixed social security income of only $800 something per month, so I have no idea whether she's eligible to co-sponsor. My husband is making in excess of $70K in Canada with an employer he's worked for for 30 years (part of the reason we originally decided to live here). He would have a job offer before immigrating to the States from his former (Canadian) boss, who now owns a business in California but I'm fairly certain he wouldn't be able to be working for him prior to our filing the I-864.

So what do I do? Am I screwed for sponsoring my family unless I leave them behind in Canada and go home in hopes of finding a job, in this economy, that pays $30K per year???

As far as his son, you will need a crba i believe, but I will let someone more familiar with that process answer that, as far as your ability to support your family, you have a few avenues, USCIS and DOS is more concerned with future employment and ability to support then what has happened in the past, if your husband is able to secure an employment letter from his boss stating he will have ongoing employment in the US you are golden, your mother will not be able to co-sponsor you solely but, you can find another co-sponsor to add to make up the shortfall of income. there are many good members that can chime in here on VJ to help you with your journey, good luck