Dual citizenship

[Justine+David 218]

If the wife is in the US and you are already here on a F1 visa, I don't see why you can't adjust status directly from the F1, right? Anyone else want to chime in?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you are currently in the US and have not left since you married and you did not have the intention of getting married and remaining to live in the US when you last entered the US, then you can apply to adjust your status from the F-1 student visa to a permanent resident. Your wife would start the process by completing an I-130 petition while you complete the I-485 Application to Adjust Status and the two of you together gather the required documents to support the application. Pay special attention to the security requirements - which you will have to arrange to do from the US as you cannot leave the US until you get your green card if you want to take this route. You will also need an immigration medical, your long form birth certificate and the Affidavit of Support from your wife showing she can support you at 125% of the current poverty level for a household your size.

The problem is that once you file the application you need to remain in the US until you get either your green card or special travel permission called Advance Parole (you file for it at the same time using form I-131). If you leave without either of those documents, then USCIS considers you to have abandoned the application and you and your wife would have to start the whole process all over again with you outside of the US. I am not sure what would happen to your F-1 status at that time and you might want to talk to a lawyer knowledgeable in these areas, but I doubt you would want to gamble on being denied entry back to the US.

If you leave the US prior to filing the AOS application, then you are not allowed to file it when you return because you have already shown immigrant intent through the marriage and to apply to become a green card holder under this condition would be considered visa fraud - using a visa meant for one purpose with the intention of turning it into something else, rather than going through the proper immigrant visa process.

The other option still remains to pursue a CR-1 visa while you are studying in the US. Your 'home' is still in Canada and you would be required to travel back to Canada to do the security check, the immigration medical and to attend the interview. Upon a successful interview you would obtain a spousal visa known as a CR-1 (Conditional Resident) that will generate the green card when you use it to cross the border. The liability here is that you may be turned back at the border if you try to return to the US to continue studies. I am not sure how the F-1 status would work once the CR-1 application has been submitted., With the first scenario, the F-1 status would remain valid until the green card application was approved so you could still study - just not leave the US.

As the saying goes - the path of true love ne'er did run smooth - and immigration makes it a lot bumpier.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Captain Oates 911]

Alarm bells if your wife is still in Canada - you said she has been there most of her life.

The USCIS may well say she is not US domiciled and cannot sponsor you for a US green card.

make sure she is domiciled in the US first

Most people say it's no problem as long as she intends to take up residence with you in the US - but we were denied for 'no domicile' and it was two weeks and many phone calls and letters while we slogged it out with the USCIS. We were living in the UK but she was conditional so could not file in London

Only her filing her state taxes the year before in Wisconsin saved us and made them relent and they were very grudging and we had to go high up...

Edited August 14, 2010 by saywhat

[nothingbetter 0]

(I posted most this before on VJ...But I thought it would be of help here too...)

Hi Nothingbetter,

Lol...As a Canadian and have "been there, done that"....let me take a crack at answering this question...

(First of all, your first step (if your current student visa is still valid, and you DID NOT HAVE PRIOR INTENTION of getting married here in the USA to commit fraud): you will have to adjust from a student visa status to a permanent resident status. And this is what is called the "Adjustment of Status" application....Congrats on the marriage too...

If your current student is not valid, and you HAD PRIOR INTENTION you will have to go back to Canada and either apply for a CR-1 visa or K3 visa from Canada...)

My student visa is still valid and I did not have prior intention of getting married here in the USA.

Did you have to file I 130 form (To prove that I am legally married) before the AOS? I can still be a student even with a AOS? Once you sent in your AOS it appears that it only took about three months before you were granted a green card. Is that about the normal amount of time to wait?

Thanks for your help.

[antda 13]

My student visa is still valid and I did not have prior intention of getting married here in the USA.

Did you have to file I 130 form (To prove that I am legally married) before the AOS? I can still be a student even with a AOS? Once you sent in your AOS it appears that it only took about three months before you were granted a green card. Is that about the normal amount of time to wait?

Thanks for your help.

Nothingbetter-

I'm not too sure about student visas (I did the AOS from a visitor's visa).....

So you can ask the USCIS more about that particular visa and about how that works......

But yes, from what I've read, you can do the AOS from a student visa too.....

Nevertheless, it's good that your student visa is still valid anyways......

(and hopefully still valid until the time your AOS is approved)...

Which gives you some sort of legal status in the USA, until your AOS is approved....

And on that note...Since that is still valid, and you had no prior intention of getting married with that student visa...

Then student visa to AOS route should be the course of action to take in this case....and is perfectly legal to do..

You would though still have to prove your non-intention to an immigration officer when asked during an interview....

And if you can't prove such...Then there are serious consequences (such as deportation/lifetime ban)....

Overall, you are "adjusting" you current status from "student" to status of "permanent resident/green card" when you file...

The next steps for you are:

1) DO NOT LEAVE THE USA AND DO NOT RETURN TO CANADA until your case has been fully approved, otherwise your case will be abandonded and you will run into the risk of never being able to come back to the ever USA again.

2) File the following paperwork: I-130 (Petiton for Family Member), I-485 (Adjustment of Status), I-864 (Affidavit of Support), I-765 and I-131 (Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole), and the I-693 (medical forms).

3) Hire a good immigration lawyer, if you run into any more problems, and/or if you are totally unsure about your situation.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your immigration journey.

Ant (Visited, Married, Immigrated, Became a US Citizen, Living Happily Ever After In The USA...)

P.S. My AOS took 3 months, and that was 4 years ago, so I can't say that's how long it takes for everyone nowadays....

For more specific and current timelines...You can check out the "adjustment of status" forums on VJ for more info.....

Edited August 18, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[zqt3344 21]

The USA could care less if you keep your Canadian citizenship and you do not have to give them your Canadian passport or renounce your Canadian citizenship. The truth of the matter, the USA is only interested in your ability to pay your taxes to them, no matter where you go the rest of your natural born life, in this world or universe and earn income, you will be expected to file a US tax return each and every year you live and to pay tax on that income.

I am a Canadian who has been in the US on a student visa while attending university for the past two years. I have returned to Canada during that time for short visits. I recently got married in the US to a young lady born in Canada to US citizen parents. She has dual citizenship. As I plan to continue my studies in the US, I would like to also become a dual citizen. I was wondering what the procedure would be, who to contact, what the potential problems would be as far as military service, tax obligations, wait period, etc. Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated. What is my first step? Thanks