AOS after VWP- Married before entry

[kathump 0]

Hi all, I've been reading the forums the last few days and have not been able to find a situation like mine:

I am a USC married to a Canadian permanent resident, yet he holds UK citizenship. We have been married for 4 years, got married in the US and I went back to Canada with him. Upon my arrival, I was issued a temporary residency permit which has been renewed several times, as I have had trouble providing them with the proper documentation surrounding a DUI arrest 13 years ago, to file for permanent residency. I am currently here in Canada on simply a visitor's record which expires in November. We have a daughter, born in Canada 2 years ago. We are looking into my husband possibly immigrating into the US, since my immigrating here has become a nightmare. Am I correct in assuming DCF is not an option for us, as I am not a PR? I do have a social insurance number here and have filed taxes here since the year I arrived.

Also, as we are not absolutely certain of what we intend to do yet, we are planning to return to the States once my vistor record expires. He will enter under VWP. If it is possible for me to find a well-paying job, we would like to remain there. Would he be able to file for AOS? Or is our only option CR-1? Should I file I-130 before we leave for the States? Am I correct in assuming K-3 visa is not a realistic option?

And what about my daughter? Do I have to file an immigration petition for her, or does she automatically have US citizenship through me?

[Harsh_77 718]

Entering on VWP with intent to immigrate would be a VISA fraud.

To keep it clean I would say you need to go thru CR1.

[kathump 0]

Entering on VWP with intent to immigrate would be a VISA fraud.

To keep it clean I would say you need to go thru CR1.

That's about what I expected. I had a phone consultation with an immigration attorney's office today and they told me that it was possible. That if we weren't certain that he was going to immigrate, that it wasn't fraud. I suspect they just wanted my $$ for a full consultation.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Keep it clean, file the Cr-1 and that way there is no doubt. Remember, denied VWP with AOS isn't offered an appeal

Good luck

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Even when people who are here on a visitors visa have a case of spontanous hormones and get married they have to prove lack of intent. For you to have just recently returned from Canada and to be followed by your husband of many years you are looking at the potential of a life time ban if he can't convince them you guys didn't plan on moving here. GO for the Cr1 and take the stress off the process.

[kathump 0]

Keep it clean, file the Cr-1 and that way there is no doubt. Remember, denied VWP with AOS isn't offered an appeal

Good luck

Thanks. Although I know lots of people are separated from their spouse/children for longer periods of time, I just hate the fact that my daughter will be away from her father for months. Will he be allowed to visit on VWP?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Your daughter is a US citizen based on jus sanguinis, the legal principle that transfers citizenship from parent to child via the blood. You need to report the birth abroad, unless your child was born on US soil. As a US citizen, she is required to enter the US with a US passport.

[kathump 0]

Even when people who are here on a visitors visa have a case of spontanous hormones and get married they have to prove lack of intent. For you to have just recently returned from Canada and to be followed by your husband of many years you are looking at the potential of a life time ban if he can't convince them you guys didn't plan on moving here. GO for the Cr1 and take the stress off the process.

That right there is enough to convince me that C-1 is the proper way to go about this!

[Harsh_77 718]

That's about what I expected. I had a phone consultation with an immigration attorney's office today and they told me that it was possible. That if we weren't certain that he was going to immigrate, that it wasn't fraud. I suspect they just wanted my $$ for a full consultation.

Most immigration lawyer will give you advice where they can make money, if you file for CR1 its very straight forward and vanilla he is not going to make nay money.

You file under VWP and say got into more tangles of RFE and more proof and evidence etc (since you guys are already married 4 yrs) they going to ask question how were you guys not sure when he etered if you guys were going to live in US or go back to CA?

Means chances of RFE and evidence are high, which means more and more money for immigration lawyer.

[kathump 0]

Your daughter is a US citizen based on jus sanguinis, the legal principle that transfers citizenship from parent to child via the blood. You need to report the birth abroad, unless your child was born on US soil. As a US citizen, she is required to enter the US with a US passport.

The way I understand the Consular Reporting of a Birth Abroad, I need to have/had PR status here to file it at the embassy. She currently has a Canadian passport. Could I just apply for a US passport after entry?

[Inky 1,110]

The way I understand the Consular Reporting of a Birth Abroad, I need to have/had PR status here to file it at the embassy. She currently has a Canadian passport. Could I just apply for a US passport after entry?

CRBA is filed by a US citizen parent if they meet the guidelines. Not by a PR status...

http://canada.usembassy.gov/consular_services/birth-abroad.html

[kathump 0]

CRBA is filed by a US citizen parent if they meet the guidelines. Not by a PR status...

http://canada.usembassy.gov/consular_services/birth-abroad.html

That's the page I was looking at, I guess I misunderstood something when reading it the other day. What about this part?

•You may also apply for a U.S. passport for your child (in lieu of a consular report of birth abroad) at a passport acceptance agency in the U.S. if that is a more convenient alternative.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

That's about what I expected. I had a phone consultation with an immigration attorney's office today and they told me that it was possible. That if we weren't certain that he was going to immigrate, that it wasn't fraud. I suspect they just wanted my $$ for a full consultation.

Of course they want your $$ for a full consultation. A law office is a business. Why should a business give you its service for free?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

That's the page I was looking at, I guess I misunderstood something when reading it the other day. What about this part?

•You may also apply for a U.S. passport for your child (in lieu of a consular report of birth abroad) at a passport acceptance agency in the U.S. if that is a more convenient alternative.

It would probably serve you in the future to have a CRBA to prove US Citizenship, in case the passport gets lost etc. Think of it as her US Birth Certificate issued abroad.

[kathump 0]

Yes, I know they are a business and I did pay for a "quick consultation." I should have stated that it felt like they just told me what they thought I wanted to hear in hope of getting $$ from me for a "full consultation."