Moving US citizen before the Canadian gets his visa

[msamuelson 0]

Hello there, we are moving to the US soon and would appreciate feedback on the following plan.

We are living in Canada: He is a Canadian married to she, a US citizen. We have and IR-1 visa interview forthcoming shortly in Montreal.

What we going to do is: have the her, the USC move back to the US prior to the montreal interview to get things setup. She, the USC will load all of her possessions into a truck and drive them across the US border in Vancouver. He will move his possessions after getting the visa.

Has anyone else done something similar? My concern is that this plan might look suspicious - On the other hand the I-864 requires us to prove domicile: so I don't think this plan should be suspicious at all.

How would the border guards handle her and her things in this situation? Should she expect any issues?

Also, can she use the nexus lane in this case?

I'd really appreciate some reassurance if this seems like a good idea. And would also appreciate any experiences about crossing the border with a moving truck.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Why would it look suspicious? Montreal is strict about domicile so you are absolutly doing the right thing (In my opinion).

Since she is a USC she is, of course, able to move back to the US so what issues do you think might arise?

Congrats on the soon to be end of your visa journey!

Good luck

[aaron2020 11,651]

No problem at all. As a US citizen, she is entitled to enter the US with her possessions. It's also good to show that she has established a US domicile before your interview.

[pocheros 101]

There shouldn't be an issue since she is a USC. Obviously she just needs to make sure she has her US passport or proof of citizenship. If the Canadian is going to accompany her while moving her stuff make sure to bring proof that he has an interview for a visa coming up and is going to return to Canada after she moves her things because otherwise the guards might think he's trying to move in with her prematurely.

The guards also don't want to see the Canadian moving any of HIS stuff prematurely- I wonder if he accompanied the USC as she moved *her* stuff the guards might mistakenly think she's moving some of the USC's stuff as well? Not sure how that would get handled, or how customs would deal with it.

Not sure what other nuances there are to this procedure, but in principle it's sound- a USC is allowed to move back to their country of citizenship, of course!

[Flames9_RN 358]

In the past, MTL has been a stickler on the domicile issue! In a lot of instances the person went to the Interview, MTL realized the USA citizen was still residing in Canada, so they would NOT issue the visa until the USA citizen went back to the USA and sent in evidence that they had re-established domicile in the USA. And as you know, MTL can be slow! So even after the evidence was sent back in, it took awhile for MTL to send out the Visa! SOOOOOO it may be in your best interest for the USA citizen to head back now and when you goto the interview, you have proof that the USA citizen is back in the USA

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I would just add that since she is importing her belongings back to the US she shouldn't use the NEXUS lane.

The 'she' would probably find reading this useful - it provides a link to a Word Document pamphlet from the Customs and Border Services:

http://www.google.co...ael0doUlJ0ANZcA

Goods That Accompany You

Household and personal effects that arrive in the U.S. on the same vessel, vehicle or aircraft, and on the same day that you do, are considered to accompany you. Articles that are shipped as freight on a bill of lading or airway bill are also considered to accompany you when the baggage arrives in the U.S. on the same conveyance that you arrive on. You must complete Customs Form 6059B, "Customs Declaration," listing all items with their value that you are bringing into the United States with you. Identify those you believe are entitled to duty-free entry, based on the information in this publication. Explain your status to the Customs Inspector and ask any questions that you may have before the inspection of your belongings begins.

There are also some useful documents listed here. You can check the ones that apply to the relevant circumstances: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/list/kw/citizens%20moving%20back%20to%20USA

Edited January 22, 2012 by Kathryn41

[msamuelson 0]

Thank you for the replies and the links for the USC immigration.

We are pretty sure we are doing things correctly but it's nice to get reassurance.

Thanks again