Canadian citizen dating US citizen with plans to move to US

[ShaunaH 0]

Hi gang,

I'm so utterly confused. I have no idea where to start.. I keep scanning the different topics and forums and I end up only more confused than ever. I will give you a brief outline of my situation in hopes that someone can point me in the right direction

So, I'm in the midst of an 8 month relationship with a US citizen. We have plans for myself and my 4 year old son to move to Florida (Miami) to be together sometime either late this year or next year. The plan for the fall is for me to spend larger chunks of time in Florida starting in the fall --though this raises questions on education for my son.. he will be starting kindergarten in September here in Canada. I don't plan on putting him in school in Florida until September 2015.. at the very earliest January 2015 (but that would mean he would have to switch halfway through the year) ... not sure how all of this works. Registering a child before the mother is a US citizen.. would we have to be engaged first?

Now, I don't intend to work in the US, but I do own my own wedding photography business. For now, my weddings are from june-september every year. I had thought perhaps I can live in Canada for the summer months (I plan on keeping the house that I own here in Canada) and living in Miami for the remaining months of the year to avoid any insanity in regards to moving a business to the US. Thoughts?

So... where do I start? Can I just continue visiting him in the US for now.. and at some point when we decide to take the next step towards engagement, then moving on to applying for the K-1? or is there something I should be working on now... is it better to get engaged sooner rather than later?

Any help will be hugely appreciated!! Thanks so much.

[ricnally 259]

You can't "live" in the US without a proper visa. You can visit, but not for more than 6 months in a 12-month period and that is at the discretion of the Immigration officer at the border. If you repeatedly try to stay for 6 months with just a few months back in Canada in between, they will catch on and deny you entry. In the short term, your plan for a long visit will work ONCE, probably, BUT it would be highly illegal for your child to go to school in the US until you've immigrated. You won't have to be a US citizen, but you'd have to be a Permanent Resident (Green Card Holder)--or at least have the GC pending (i.e. after marriage and applying for GC). Your best bet would be to get the K1 rollling now. They are moving pretty fast, and you might be there by the end of the year. You may not feel like you're ready to take that step, but many of us here are/were in the same boat, and unfortunately there's just no other way to be together.

[ShaunaH 0]

Thank you so much for the info! I can never stay for longer than a week or two.. so a 6 month stay would be out of the question anyway because of my son. He needs to be in school so I can't take him away from that for long

Very interesting to read that he can't even be enrolled in school without me having a green card.. or being in the process of. So, you're saying the only way I can apply for a green card is if I'm engaged and have my K-1? So, first step would be K-1.... and am I correct in assuming I can't apply for GC until after marriage?

Thanks again.. you've been a big help! I guess I'll let Riccis know about the whole engagement thing...

[ShaunaH 0]

One more question for clarity

So, there is no way I can enroll my son in school in Florida until I receive my K3 or equivalent? K1 won't cut it?

Thank you!

[ricnally 259]

Someone will probably correct me if I'm wrong, but you (and your child) come on the K1, (and K2), get married immediately (you have to get married within 90 days of arriving, anyway) and then apply right away for AOS (you need the marriage certificate to apply), and then I think while that is pending, he should be able to go to school. Why would he have the right to go to a publicly funded school otherwise (unless he was paying tuition on some kind of exchange programme)? Hopefully you won't have to wait until GC is in hand for him to go. Anybody out there know for sure?

[americangirl717 1]

i dont mean to confuse the issues either but the US petitioner fiance would need to petition for visa and pay for both his canadian fiance and her canadian child which wasnt spoken of in earlier comments so i thought id throw that out there....im no expert but costs add up and also wanted to mention taking minor across international border may need permission of other biological parent but im only assuming that the other parent is someone other than the US citizen fiance in Florida and that custody or visitation orders are not a factor for you...again, just mentioning my thoughts, im a newbie...my joint custody orders incorporated into my divorce prohibits me from moving to any foreign country or taking my son out of the US without getting specific permission or to tell his dad if were visiting....luckily my new husband is moving to the US and not the other way around...peace and good luck!

[Thanes1 0]

Have you considered spousal sponsorship? That seems like a pretty good option...

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

A K-2 child can attend school. Not before. AOS doesn't need to be started.

OP: There are two paths for family immigration for you, either a spousal visa or a fiance visa. Check out the pros and cons of each in the guides section.

Both paths lead to a Greencard, or permanent residence in the US. You won't be eligible for citizenship for after you have lived in the US for years. It is important to know this because claiming to be a citizen when you are not leads to a lifetime ban from the US.

[ShaunaH 0]

Thank you, Harpa! We are just starting to gather everything to start the K1 now. That's wonderful to know that Felix can attend school with the K2! That makes things much easier.

What do you mean by claiming to be a citizen when you are not? Do you mean at the border? I'm not sure I would ever go for citizenship.. I believe permanent residence should be enough.. but I guess we'll see as times moves on

Thanks again for all of the info everyone!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

From your OP I thought that you thought that getting married made you a citizen, so I was just clearing it up. But, if I misread, my apologies

After you enter the US, you will need to marry and apply for permanent residence from within the US for both you and your son. But he can attend school continuously, as soon as he gets to the US (before the marriage, before the application for permanent residence (AOS). The fact that K-2 can attend school is written in the laws, somewhere, if you need it.

Good luck.

[ShaunaH 0]

Thank you, Harpa! That is great news

[NikLR 13,231]

Right after you go down on your K1 visa you can get your SSN. It won't allow you to work but you can get added to bank accounts and use it if needed for school registration.

Also you will likely need a letter of consent from your son's biological father saying it's okay for him to move to the USA. This is preferably notarized. Sometimes this is still required even if you have sole custody.

[ShaunaH 0]

Yes, NLR.. I just finished researching that one to death and finally decided to just give the ex a call to see if he would agree to sign it --he said yes! So, I'm going to see my lawyer today and will have a letter drawn up for him to sign. I'm hoping that having that signed now will still be good for next year when the K1 will go through!

Thanks everyone

[Lights 56]

Thank you so much for the info! I can never stay for longer than a week or two.. so a 6 month stay would be out of the question anyway because of my son. He needs to be in school so I can't take him away from that for long

Very interesting to read that he can't even be enrolled in school without me having a green card.. or being in the process of. So, you're saying the only way I can apply for a green card is if I'm engaged and have my K-1? So, first step would be K-1.... and am I correct in assuming I can't apply for GC until after marriage?

Thanks again.. you've been a big help! I guess I'll let Riccis know about the whole engagement thing...

You might also want to look into having your residence in both Canada and US. If you're a permanent resident in the US you can't be a permanent resident in Canada either. You'll have to have one primary residence. I own a home in Canada and wanted to keep mine as well after immigrating, but have now decided to sell due to taxation and all that.

Also you may want to look into taxation for when you work in Canada and the US. If you're a permanent resident, you are subject to claim global income in the US.

If you go the K1 visa route, you will likely get your visa ahead of going the CR1 route. You will have to marry in 90 days and you'll have to file for AOS. While waiting on AOS, you cannot leave the country or work until your AP and EAD is approved.

If you got the CR1 route, it will take longer but once you are approved, you will be legally able to work in the US.

[ShaunaH 0]

Hi Lights!

Oh wow.. you're bringing up new points that I definitely need to figure out.

I also own a home here in Canada and had thought to keep it and rent it out... what are your thoughts on this? What made you decide to sell?

As to taxation, I definitely need to talk to my accountant. I'm self employed (I own a wedding photography business) which makes this even trickier. If I go the K1 route, and let's say I have that by April or May next year.. I would have to wait until all of my summer weddings are done before I could come to the US to get married --otherwise I would be stuck in the US waiting for AP and may have weddings to shoot. Boo! I'm so tired of being away from Riccis My plan has been all along to shoot weddings in the summer in Canada from June-Aug then shoot the rest of the year in Miami --though I have no idea how this will work tax-wise. It scares me to think of it. I will talk to my accountant this week about it.

So, to K1 or not to K1.. that is the question