Wife is a USC (Dual with Canada) Want to move to States as family

[tabletalk 1]

I have read through many different threads on these forums and are unsure of where exactly this question fits.

My wife of 12 years, myself and our 10 year old son are looking to move to California in the near future. My wife is an American Citizen born abroad. She carries a US passport and has a SSN and filed USA taxes over the past three years to catch up. As she obtained her USA citizenship through her mother our son is not eligible to obtain his USA documentation as I understand it. I am a Canadian citizen as is our son.

We currently live in Vancouver British Columbia as a family unit and are looking for help on our next steps. In looking into sponsorship it seems that my wife would need to have an established domicile in the United States prior to us getting our visa paperwork complete. This would obviously put our family in a bind having the burden of paying for two properties at once as well as having my son be without his mother for some time. The other area I had questions about was the I-1864, as we all live and work in Canada currently would we be able to use the equity in our home as evidence of financial worthiness?

Thank-you to anyone who can point us in the right direction

[Anh map 2,098]

This I-864 FAQ page may be helpful to you >>>>> http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/support/i-864-frequently-asked-questions.html

[Hypnos 6,576]

Your wife will need to file I-130s for you and your son. The good news is that your son will automatically become a US citizen under the Child Citizenship Act after he enters the US on an immigrant visa with his US citizen mother. The bad news is that the US embassies in Canada can sometimes be a little sticky on domicile.

[Boiler 45,525]

What do you mean by near future?

[tabletalk 1]

What do you mean by near future?

Our goal is as soon as possible, understanding of course that this process takes time.

[NikLR 13,227]

Montreal is extremely strict on domicile. Most likely your wife will need to move ahead of you and get a job. You can use assets of course but a main house won't be considered and she would need 3x the poverty guidelines in assets. Each year the poverty guidelines is raised so expect that in about March-May in 2016. Your son will need an I-864w because he will be a USC once he arrives in the USA with his IR2 visa. (YAY.) But she still needs to have enough for 3 people. Jobs that will not continue after moving cannot be used.

I mention Montreal because that is the only consulate in Canada that processes IR1 visas.

Yes it's expensive to live in two places, but many of us do it. I lived in Canada and supported myself while my husband lived in the USA and supported himself. We both rented. We both had a vehicle. It just is what it is. Kids are quite able to be with just one parent. It's not ideal but if you guys want to move to the USA, it's kinda how it goes right? Sacrifices need to be made at times. At least as Canadians we have an easier time visiting than most.

Edited November 29, 2015 by NLR