canadian + proof of legal entry

[amaranthseeds 0]

Hey everyone, this is also posted in the AOS forum,

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/365541-canadian-needing-proof-of-legal-entry/

but here goes in this one, hope to get some more thoughts.

After thinking we could do it on our own, and the thinking about getting help with some legal aid services, my husband and i decided to hire a lawyer to help us. I am a Canadian, He is a US citizen. I have been coming and going into the states for many years, always by land (train, bus, driving) or ferry boat. My passport has never been stamped, is usually scanned, but i don't think all times. When i spoke to a few lawyers their immediate reaction was that i must have entered illegally. we are in california- and i think they have had more experience with mexicans.

the lawyer i decided to go with has told me that we need to find proof of lawful entry (file a freedom of information act with uscis to find my entries). this could take a few months to get this info, THEN we file the 1485 etc which is anoyher many months. they said we have to do this or else my form could be rejected.

when i first started to get into all this i had talked to a imm.law teacher from nyc, who told me it's different for canadians, and i shouldn't have to prove entry. the lawyers says it may be one thing to say it's different, but in practice they need their proof.

can any other canadians who have come over land (or not stamped) tell me what they've done in this case? i'm trying to rush all this as much as i can, my mom is really sick in canada (recently diagnosed with lou gherig's). now i am stuck here and freaking out i won't see my mother again.

ideas? help!

thank you so much

[jazzly 3]

I sent all the trips I remembered and estimated duration on a separate paper saying this is best to my knowledge (and really the case). I believe I covered whatever I could remember, but don't know if it was 50% or 80% of my trips in last 15 years or so. Sometime the Passport was scanned, sometime not. I never got any stamp or I-94 and as Canadian citizen not supposed to have while visiting, be it for a month.

What else one could do. UCIS and MTL consulate didn't object on that. As long as you're not lieing, it OK.

Don't even worry about that. Every Canadian who files for immigration, goes through this and its very norm. Unless there is a criminal offense on either side of the border or a common name that matches with someone wanted, they won't even question your visit.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

What are you applying for, exactly? AOS? As a visitor? Or were you in the US on some kind of visa?

Canadians that enter by land are very rarely ever issued any kind of stamp or proof of entry. In the years I crossed by land, including the 4 years I was dating my husband long distance, I was never issued a passport stamp. This is the norm. Honestly, any lawyer that knows anything about imigration from Canada should know this. I think you might be better off without him.

You crossed from Canada. What benefit would it have been for you to hike through the Alberta wilderess to cross illegally? I'm kidding of course, I don't even know if this is possible? Where does one cross illegally? Where I'm from, the border is 100% protected.

I think trying to track down prof of a legal entry is a waste of time. I don't think you need it. I think USCIS has a basic understanding of how the borders work.

[Darnell 8,478]

i think yer lawyer to hinge and stop on this one data point -

well, that's a stupid lawyer.

folksen from canada file (and receive) AOS without that one data bit in the AOS casefile.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Your lawyer is clearly not experienced with doing AOS for Canadians.

I would file, and where it asks you how you entered (or something like that on your forms) you just say "Crossed by car at such and such border crossing on XX date".

If you flew into the country, find your flight confirmation and use that.

[amaranthseeds 0]

Your lawyer is clearly not experienced with doing AOS for Canadians.

I would file, and where it asks you how you entered (or something like that on your forms) you just say "Crossed by car at such and such border crossing on XX date".

If you flew into the country, find your flight confirmation and use that.

Just got this from my lawyer this morning!! i'm so glad i pushed this one.

I checked with my partner, and the CIS does not insist on proof of entry for Canadians as they do for persons from all other countries. I've done 500 adjustment cases in my career but this has never come up, so I was unaware of it. Anyway, I stand corrected and we can go ahead and file without worry now

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Yeah, I'd be dumping that lawyer in a heartbeat. If he can be wrong on something so simple, I wouldn't want him filing my paperwork for me.

[Texas22 50]

Yeah, I'd be dumping that lawyer in a heartbeat. If he can be wrong on something so simple, I wouldn't want him filing my paperwork for me.

I agree with you there Coconuts... lawyers are just going to cost more money, and likely unnecessary time wasted and aggravation.

We talked to an American lawyer before we filed our K1 and decided right then and there we were going to do it ourselves. My fiance out and out asked him what benefit he would bring to us filing our case with him and all he could say was "I will handle all your paperwork for you".

Load of #######!! I especially knew he had no clue when he told me that my K1 Interview would be in Texas... (uhm say what??)

A lawyer is going to give you a list of things your gonna need to get and you'll have to do all the legwork anyway... birth certificates, divorce certificates, police checks, court documents, letters of intent, proof of support.. all that paperwork... and what are they going to do? Fill out forms. I think most people are intelligent enough to fill out forms and follow instructions.

This site is a godsend!! Thank you VJ!!

[canada_socks 97]

Texas22, we also had a lawyer at the beginning. I was unaware of this site at the time and never thought to look online for help (aside from the USCIS site which added to my original confusion).

Our lawyer told me my interview would be in Vermont. He also told me that my now husband would have to interview with me, and described it as a STOKES interview. I think he was confusing the K1 with AOS. He had all the correct forms for me to sign, he just basically filled them out. Thankfully, we had zero issues with that part of the process, it just cost us a lot of money for something we could have done ourselves. OH...he also told me that I HAD to use a lawyer for this as it was something you can't do on your own because it deals with the government (after I asked if we could do it ourselves during our initial meeting, which was mostly about advise on what we should do).

I decided to stop dealing with him after I got my NOA2. He emailed me about it and told me that means I can book my interview in Vermont...and I told him about this site and that my interview was to be in Montreal, and that I had to wait for a package to be sent to me before I booked it anyway. He told me I was incorrect and I told him I would handle the rest from here on out. Haven't heard from him since.

amaranthseeds, just use this site, read the guides and ask questions if you need have any. This site is amazing and it will save you a ton of money!

[Texas22 50]

Texas22, we also had a lawyer at the beginning. I was unaware of this site at the time and never thought to look online for help (aside from the USCIS site which added to my original confusion).

Our lawyer told me my interview would be in Vermont. He also told me that my now husband would have to interview with me, and described it as a STOKES interview. I think he was confusing the K1 with AOS. He had all the correct forms for me to sign, he just basically filled them out. Thankfully, we had zero issues with that part of the process, it just cost us a lot of money for something we could have done ourselves. OH...he also told me that I HAD to use a lawyer for this as it was something you can't do on your own because it deals with the government (after I asked if we could do it ourselves during our initial meeting, which was mostly about advise on what we should do).

I decided to stop dealing with him after I got my NOA2. He emailed me about it and told me that means I can book my interview in Vermont...and I told him about this site and that my interview was to be in Montreal, and that I had to wait for a package to be sent to me before I booked it anyway. He told me I was incorrect and I told him I would handle the rest from here on out. Haven't heard from him since.

amaranthseeds, just use this site, read the guides and ask questions if you need have any. This site is amazing and it will save you a ton of money!

I agree! Lawyers are not needed for everything! But now that you've found this site, you don't need anything else! Everything and everyone is here to help you get through your journey!!