Canadians moving to America

[NikLR 13,227]

Canada allows common-law partners and inland processing. So you can move there with a spouse with intent of immigration and do the equivalent of adjusting status without being turned back at the border.

It takes longer than outland processing however.

[life-journey 7]

Thanks for explaining. There is always more to everyones story and I'm glad i know yours.

I say more because of health care. My husband pays $250 a month in healthcare costs for the two of us (it's a self + 1 plan). Its a high deductible plan that requires us to pay 3k before we are covered for anything but preventative care. So a simple hospital visit for maybe a broken arm can cost you 2k+! Now he works for the US federal government and gets a discount on his healthcare plans. This plan normally would cost twice as much I believe.

In Canada I never had to worry about paying for healthcare. Granted there can be some long waits. It can sometimes take a while to get into a specialist. But when I was a kid and my horse kicked me in the face, I was seen right away. Or when I fainted in the ER because of dehydration due to tonsillitis, my stay in the hospital for a week didnt cost a fortune.

However you have to take the cost of living into consideration as well. Its more to buy a house in most of Canada and i know food costs more in general (I havent found a gallon of milk for $1.99 since the 90s!) But I was just fine on $13/hr in Canada in a 2 bedroom apartment. I couldnt live on my own without a roommate down here for that. My EI cheques were only $100 less than my pay checks after taxes!

Healthcare in Canada is a big plus, although long waits in the E.R and the lack of specialist is not, the assurance of not having a "surprise" bill on the mail after a hospital visit really makes up for it.

Yes buying and owning a house is a lot more difficult in the part of canada we are planning to move in than here in california. If we do decide to move to canada we will get by with just my husbands paycheque, it will be difficult to have savings but I know we will be fine. If we continue his petition my husband, our daughter and I will be living off of our savings, and for free at my parents house until he finds a job and that unknown of when he will find a job scares me.

I honestly don't know if Im just ranting here but I am just so stress thinking about everything!

By the way what part of canada are you from if you don't mind me asking

[NikLR 13,227]

I grew up in the Okanagan in BC and lived for 10 years in Alberta with a year of that in Calgary (before it got too big.) I also spent 2 years of college in Alberta after high school. I have family on the island.

[life-journey 7]

My fiance and I have been together for 6 years in an online relationship when we met on an art-gallery website. About 2 years ago we toyed with the idea of getting married and him moving up to Canada (We've been engaged since Jan 2014), however there were so many pitfalls with the situation, not just financial but I don't think he wants to move away from his family at all. On June 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in the US, that's when we decided it would be best for me to move down instead. I'm an explorer anyways and I don't mind living long-distant from my family on my side, and my employer stated that they would more than love to hire me back in Atlanta when I can legally work again (international very large global company). On top of that, my fiance wanted us to live together sooner than later, and the US had the K-1 option that made that possible (Canada doesn't seem to have an equivalent, only an equivalent to the CR1/IR1 visas here in the US). That sealed the deal and here I am, near Atlanta now. We're getting married next week and filing for AOS.

I'm not going back to Canada.

Common-law partner

You are a common-law partner—either of the opposite sex or the same sex—if:

• you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in an ongoing 12-month period (you are allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons).

You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household together. This can be in the form of proof of:

• joint bank accounts or credit cards.
• joint ownership of a home.
• joint residential leases.
• joint rental receipts,
• joint registration or payment of utilities (electricity, gas, telephone),
• joint management of household expenses,
• joint purchases, especially of household items, or
• mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address.

Conjugal partner

This category is for partners—either of the opposite sex or same sex—in situations beyond their control that keep them from living together so they would count as common-law partners or spouses.

A conjugal relationship is more than a physical relationship. It means you depend on each other, there is some permanence to the relationship, and there is the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law partnership.

You may apply as a conjugal partner if:

• you have had a conjugal relationship with your sponsor for at least one year and you could not live together or marry because of
  • an immigration barrier,
  • your marital status (for example, you are married to someone else and living in a country where divorce is not possible) or
  • your sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where you live) and
• you can prove there was a reason you could not live together (for example, you were refused long-term stays in each other’s country).

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:

• you could have lived together but chose not to, as this shows that you did not have the level of commitment needed for a conjugal relationship (for example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together),
• you cannot prove there was a reason that kept you from living together,
• you are engaged to be married (in this case, you should either apply as a spouse once the marriage has taken place or apply as a common-law partner if you have lived together continuously for at least 12 months).

[life-journey 7]

My fiance and I have been together for 6 years in an online relationship when we met on an art-gallery website. About 2 years ago we toyed with the idea of getting married and him moving up to Canada (We've been engaged since Jan 2014), however there were so many pitfalls with the situation, not just financial but I don't think he wants to move away from his family at all. On June 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in the US, that's when we decided it would be best for me to move down instead. I'm an explorer anyways and I don't mind living long-distant from my family on my side, and my employer stated that they would more than love to hire me back in Atlanta when I can legally work again (international very large global company). On top of that, my fiance wanted us to live together sooner than later, and the US had the K-1 option that made that possible (Canada doesn't seem to have an equivalent, only an equivalent to the CR1/IR1 visas here in the US). That sealed the deal and here I am, near Atlanta now. We're getting married next week and filing for AOS.

I'm not going back to Canada.

There are options in Canada too, you can sponsor a conjugal or common law partner IF you meet the requirements.

[life-journey 7]

Question: Which country in your opinion is best for your child, Canada or America? (weighing healthcare, child benefits, and overall quality of living pros and cons)

[NikLR 13,227]

Imho, Canada. My daughter lives in Canada with her father most of the year. Of course thats her choice, but I think the schooling is much better, at least until post secondary.

[AstroCanada 206]

Canada allows common-law partners and inland processing. So you can move there with a spouse with intent of immigration and do the equivalent of adjusting status without being turned back at the border.

It takes longer than outland processing however.

Just a heads up on the above, inland processing is currently taking 26 months. During that time it's hard (but not completely impossible) to get a work permit or government health insurance.

My partner is really struggling with the election. He's a Canadian moving down here. We're just starting the NVC phase, and he's pretty down about the government here. I'm trying to reassure him that California is practically it's own country and that Trump won't affect him. Just glad we got this in when we did. Once he gets citizenship, we can always revisit our choice of country.