Spouse filing AOS forms, need advice/guidance

[darcness 3]

Greetings all, old time member of VJ here, just finally getting around to filing all this lovely paperwork for our AOS. My wife is a Canadian citizen and is currently in the US. We ARE filing from within the US so I'm not sure if I should put this here or some where else. If I'm putting it in the wrong place, please let me know.

My wife came here last year as a visitor, during which time her mother (who recently paid for her sister's wedding) surprised us with a rather sizable gift so we could pay for a wedding as well (we were engaged at the time). Up until this point we had no concrete plans of marriage, immigration, or anything of the sort because they were things we simply couldn't afford, myself being divorced and in much debt. We ended up getting married in November and she's been here since. We will be filing for our AOS shortly. We first were going to hire an attorney to help, but it seems like something I can handle on my own after checking out VJ and doing a TON of research. We did consult briefly with an attorney who is a family friend so we have a basic idea of what to expect between that and research I've done here.

Just to be clear, she came here as a VISITOR. There was no intent to immigrate what so ever. Last time I posted that here, I got pretty negative responses. If you feel that's the case, please understand that it's not. I understand completely the rules and what the implications of this are. We aren't trying to misrepresent ourselves here in any way.

That being said, I'm sure I will have questions during the process. I was hoping I could start a thread like many that I see here and ask any questions I have, keep an updated process log, and just talk with others who are going through the same process. Also I'm sure my wife would enjoy visiting this forum as she's very homesick at this point.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me and I'm sure I'll be asking plenty of questions. Just wanted to say hello and get started "officially" with this journey.

[Andy and Kayla 45]

Moved from Canada forum to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student & Tourist Visas.

You're more likely to get the answers you need here. Your wife is still welcome to post Canada-related things and otherwise hang out in the Canada forum though. It is nice to read through when you're feeling homesick.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Andy and Kayla

[captal 2]

I went through the same process you're facing- here is my original thread with some good answers: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/339768-married-but-on-tourist-visa/

We did it without any help (aside from VJ!). It took a lot of time and effort- I'd estimate at least 50 hours putting all the paperwork together (I was job searching at the time, so I had the time to spare). See my sig for info- our process had gone really fast and our interview is this afternoon.

[ValerieA 350]

Good luck, darcness. As a general rule, when AOSing from anything other than a K (family) visa, it is best to put your questions in this forum. Other forums, including regionals, tend to be populated with people who can't believe/hate the fact that AOSing from a tourist visa is perfectly legal. Plus, they generally wouldn't have the right answers to your questions.

Any questions you have, post and we will do our best to help!

[Pompey Boy! 0]

We did it ourselves as I have a legal background (Uk) and obviously not working was able to devote a lot of time and effort into the research and paperwork (VJ was invaluable). As you can see from signature things are processing at a very rapid pace and we are off to our interview in a few weeks time. Best of luck with your journey.

[jdh 103]

Hello to another US/Canadian couple.

Don't fret the process, it's easy as pie. The paperwork is not all that complicated - if you can follow simple instructions you can do it yourself with ease.

Don't worry about the whole 'visitor' thing...some people get down on that because they are afraid people take advantage of AOS or are jealous and thinking some people have it easier than what they had to do...don't worry about it.

You'll be fine. Feel free to ask questions along the way, there is a lot of knowledge here.

[darcness 3]

I have another question too. This one might be a little bit tough, but I have to ask it. It's the only thing I can see causing us an issue, and one of the reasons we talked to a lawyer first...

While entering into the US for one of her visits, she was caught with a small amount of marijuana on her persons. She had to sign a form saying that they had confiscated it, and telling why she had it, what she wanted them to do with it, etc. She also had to pay a fine. No criminal charges were brought about, but she had to sign a promissory note for the fine, and obviously pay it within a set time period, which she did (at the office in Detroit, MI). I've been told by two immigration lawyers that this shouldn't be too much of an issue because she wasn't formally charged with anything.

The part that worries me is that on one part of the form, she had to write an explanation of why she had it. She wrote in the box something alone the lines of using it in Canada to help with her insomnia. At the time we were honestly both so scared we had no idea what to do, and that statement isn't even truthful. However, it's probably now on record with the border patrol and I'm assuming will come up at some point during this process. The marijuana wasn't even hers, but rather her ex-boyfriends who she had spent time with previously that day, and who had placed it in her purse. In hind sight I wish she would have just told the border patrol this, but like I said we were both scared out of our wits.

I noticed in the forms that there are questions regarding this, and have no idea what to answer. I know honesty is the best policy and I also know that there is no point in lying about it because it's obviously on file with the border and their files on her anyway. No point in trying to skirt around this obviously.

Is this going to be a major issue for us? I'm hoping that we can explain this based on our state of mind at the time. She has since visited the US and never had a problem getting back in, they obviously made us go to secondary every time, but they still admitted her into the US as a visitor many times even after this incident.

She has absolutely no criminal record in Canada, no history of drug use, and only this one incident on file with the border patrol. Hind sight being 20/20 she should have told the border patrol the truth, but we can't go back and change this now.

What's our best plan here?

[jdh 103]

Refresh us so I don't have to go looking...what are the specific questions on the form you are thinking of?

[donical 0]

I guess the question you are worrying about would be question 1 a:

Have you EVER, in or outside the United states:

a. Knowinly committed any crime of moral turpitude or drug related offence for which you have not been arrested?

And based on what you have said the only answer to this question in your case unfortunately would be yes....

No sense in trying to get around it with a lie...the truth is always the best route when dealing with immigration.

[darcness 3]

Yes that 1a is definitely a question I was wondering about, as well as 1b.

Been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding traffic violations?

That one I would assume she would have to answer yes for as well correct?

[darcness 3]

I agree that we will have to be honest. In this case we really have no choice. It's pretty obvious they will know based on the incident happening at the POE. I'm sure that trying to answer no, and then them seeing the notes from said POE would be a very BAD idea. Hence why I was looking for some advice.

I'm just worried that if we do tick yes for both of those questions, we will be denied outright without being able to explain the situation. Then that's a lot of time, money, and work wasted.

If anyone can shed some light, I'd be forever grateful.

[donical 0]

I think you should answer yes and include an explanation letter as well. If you still have copies of whatever she signed maybe a copy of that as well. I think you will be fine im sure people adjusted with arrest on their records and got approved.....good luck

[jdh 103]

Yes that 1a is definitely a question I was wondering about, as well as 1b.

Been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding traffic violations?

That one I would assume she would have to answer yes for as well correct?

I thought you said she wasn't arrested or charged...where would this one apply? Was she fined?

[donical 0]

I thought you said she wasn't arrested or charged...where would this one apply? Was she fined?

yes he said she was fined but not charged

[darcness 3]

Correct, she was fined but never charged. But the question clearly states that as well. We will be answering yes to both of those questions 1a and 1b and then attaching all the paperwork from the border that day as well as a letter explaining what happened and why.

Thanks for all your help so far, called the civil surgeon today and left a message to set up an appointment. Will keep you all posted on our progress. Should be the last step before we send everything in.

Question if you all know or not, do Canadian citizens need vaccination records before they visit the civil surgeon? Her mother is coming to visit in a week so she is bringing those with her just in case.