Canadian and American looking for solutions

[burnabrenna 19]

Hey everyone! I'm new here so I apologize if this has been asked a million times before. I've tried looking through past topics for more information, but I just wanted to post a personal one as well. Any advice or help would be appreciated!

I am an American citizen and my boyfriend is a Canadian citizen. We met online and did the long distance thing for over a year. I have been staying with him in Canada for the past 6 months on a visitors entry. I recently applied with the government of Canada to extend my stay 6 more months so that my status here does not become illegal (I haven't heard back yet). I am hopefully granted the stay and we can continue to be together.

Our goal is to get married and eventually live in the US together. My boyfriend has been looking/applying/interviewing for jobs in the states, but has yet to acquire a position. He's been looking for over 6 months, and we're beginning to lose hope in going that route.

We want to be married and have been looking at the immigration routes for spousal visas, but from what I can gather they mostly involve some sort of separation during the process. We would like to remain together during the entire process if possible. I know some people mention their partners entering the US on a visitor visa and then getting married and applying for AOS after that, but I'm scared about the illegalities and repercussions of that option. It seems like it would be a better option if it were more legal. Is that the only way for us to be able to be together or is there another option we're not aware of? Would getting married in Canada change anything or is it going to result in the same timeline?

Thanks!

[hikergirl 277]

First off work visas are not easy to get for anyone including Canadians. If you are not married work type visas are his only option.

I would recommend getting married ASAP if you are ready for marriage and file the I-130 which would lead to a CR-1 visa. He would be able to work right away in the US (after receiving his Visa) and could collect Canadian Employment Insurance (if he qualifies) while he is looking for a job down there.

The problem with your scenario that I am seeing is you will need a co-sponsor because you have no income in the US and you need to be able to prove domicile in the US.

If you look at the guides section in the top bar, it will give you the steps you need to take to get the process started all the way through to the end.

The Canada forum has a thread on proving domicile. Forums link at top - most of the way down you will find Regional Forums and Canada.

Some I-130 petitions are going very quickly right now and could possibly mean that you could stay with him for most if not all of the time (if your 6 month extension is granted).

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Edited December 14, 2012 by hikergirl

[ca_poppy 1]

It doesn't matter where you get married, the timeline will be the same on the USCIS end. However, if you are getting married in Ontario, be aware that it takes A LONG time (4 months for us!) to receive a copy of your marriage certificate. I don't know if you can get the ball rolling with an I-130 and then send them your marriage certificate after receiving an RFE, but with shorter processing times you might still get slowed down. I don't know if this is the case in all provinces, just that happened to us.

[TBoneTX 45,288]

*** Thread moved from CR-1 Process forum (OP hasn't yet decided on that visa path) to Canada regional forum, for highest concentration of knowledgeable members who can answer both general immigration and Canada-specific questions. ***