Commuter status - and greencard conditions etc.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Interesting idea, to be sure. It also seems like you're doing the right research and asking the right questions. You might also look at alternative housing within the Greater San Diego area. Almost every major US urban area have community living situations where multiple families share smaller living units and larger common areas, and sometimes even shared meals, etc. Good luck.

[lindo 0]

interesting idea, 

 

fyi i just did the citizenship application after 5 year greencard down in miami, and from application to interview chair was only 4 months! the uscis update was telling me it would take 2 years...

 

 

 

[KozmicBlues 592]

21 hours ago, Heather&Kevin said:

Hi!   Hope you can help...

 

I am a British ex-pat, married to a US Citizen, living in Vegas.  

I have a Greencard thru marriage - two years are up on Dec 12th and I'm aware I can apply for Conditions To Be Removed 90 days before (mid Sep) using I-751.  And it will take maybe 4-12 months for that process. 

After that I can apply to become a citizen using N-400 and that will take maybe 6-12 months.

 

My wife is being offered a job in San Diego.

As housing and other costs are so high in San Diego we are wondering if we can live in Tijuana.

I thought initially that would invalidate my Green Card - but I read about 'Commuter Status' from Mexico and Canada.

 

1. Any idea if this status can be used BEFORE conditions are removed?  or only AFTER conditions are removed?

2. I see that I have to have a certain amount of employment in the USA (and not just work from home in Mexico) to retain my Green Card - any idea how much work would be needed to keep my status? Would teaching a few hour-long classes each week in the US be enough?

3. Anything else I should think about in terms of my Greencard - journey to citizen etc?

 

We are leaning towards DO NOT DO IT! - but I have to check everything before we put the idea on hold and just pay the $price of San Diego 

 

I assume once a citizen - and I have the US passport - that we can live anywhere on earth we choose and just come and go to the US when we like?

If that is the case then maybe just worth toughing it out until I get the passport and then we could move to Tijuana no problem?

 

Ok - hope that's enough clear info without going OTT.   Please be advised that everything else is perfect - marriage is super strong - we have no criminal records! etc.  We also have no need to bring people to the US etc. or any of the other things that people often need to do.                                     Many thanks for you time!!!   Kevin & Heather.

 

Not sure about your specific question, but related to moving to San Diego - try looking at locations outside of central San Diego. La Mesa, Grossmont, El Cajon, etc. You can often find housing pricing comparable to other major cities. I live in Phoenix but my mom and dad are from SD so its my 2nd home. 

 

My mom has a nice 1-bedroom apartment in La Mesa for around $1200/month rent with ALL utilities included. It's only 20 minutes from central SD/beaches, and that price is not much more than what you can find here in PHX. If you go further out to El Cajon you can find even more affordable. Also there are some cities further out (i.e; Temecula), depending on where your wife's job offer is and how far she is willing to drive, where you can find even more affordable housing. 

I know of a few people who commute back and forth between TJ and SD, but to my knowledge they are US citizens so I have no clue about the impact to green card holders. Good luck and I hope it works out for you guys to move because San Diego is great! 

[Ben & Katy 168]

22 hours ago, Heather&Kevin said:

Hi!   Hope you can help...

 

I am a British ex-pat, married to a US Citizen, living in Vegas.  

I have a Greencard thru marriage - two years are up on Dec 12th and I'm aware I can apply for Conditions To Be Removed 90 days before (mid Sep) using I-751.  And it will take maybe 4-12 months for that process. 

After that I can apply to become a citizen using N-400 and that will take maybe 6-12 months.

 

My wife is being offered a job in San Diego.

As housing and other costs are so high in San Diego we are wondering if we can live in Tijuana.

I thought initially that would invalidate my Green Card - but I read about 'Commuter Status' from Mexico and Canada.

 

1. Any idea if this status can be used BEFORE conditions are removed?  or only AFTER conditions are removed?

2. I see that I have to have a certain amount of employment in the USA (and not just work from home in Mexico) to retain my Green Card - any idea how much work would be needed to keep my status? Would teaching a few hour-long classes each week in the US be enough?

3. Anything else I should think about in terms of my Greencard - journey to citizen etc?

 

We are leaning towards DO NOT DO IT! - but I have to check everything before we put the idea on hold and just pay the $price of San Diego 

 

I assume once a citizen - and I have the US passport - that we can live anywhere on earth we choose and just come and go to the US when we like?

If that is the case then maybe just worth toughing it out until I get the passport and then we could move to Tijuana no problem?

 

Ok - hope that's enough clear info without going OTT.   Please be advised that everything else is perfect - marriage is super strong - we have no criminal records! etc.  We also have no need to bring people to the US etc. or any of the other things that people often need to do.                                     Many thanks for you time!!!   Kevin & Heather.

 

I do the cross border commute everyday from Nogales,Sonora to Tucson,AZ 4 times per week.  On Friday I commute from Nogales,Sonora to Nogales,AZ which is an awesome deal for me from my company.  I am the petitioner though (US Citizen) and my spouse is waiting on her visa so we can relocate to Tucson eventually.  The cross border commute from Tijuana to San Diego is a nightmare.  The lines are packed like crazy even in the Sentri lanes beginning at 5 ish AM.  A lot of San Diegans do this commute everyday.  My commute in Sentri with border wait times only lasts me 15 min.  With the wait and crossing it usually takes me from my house to the office in Tucson 1 hour and 14 min.  I highly recommend trying to work it out in San Diego because you are a green card holder and because the commute is not worth it.  Also San Diego companies discriminate against applicants that have Tijuana addresses.  If they find out afterward you live in Tijuana it doesn't look good either. 

 

We have a friend that committed visa fraud and she can never ever come across to the USA again.  Banned for life.  She is married to a USC and they live in Rosarito,BC,Mexico and he works in San Diego.  His company was nice enough to set him up with a place to live in San Diego for part of the week and then goes home usually on weekends to Rosarito to avoid the stressful border crossing everyday. 

[Heather&Kevin 25]

On 5/29/2018 at 4:45 AM, Russ&Caro said:

Interesting idea, to be sure. It also seems like you're doing the right research and asking the right questions. You might also look at alternative housing within the Greater San Diego area. Almost every major US urban area have community living situations where multiple families share smaller living units and larger common areas, and sometimes even shared meals, etc. Good luck.

 

Thanks!  Yes - want to make sure no stone is left unturned.   

 

On 5/29/2018 at 8:57 AM, lindo said:

interesting idea, 

 

fyi i just did the citizenship application after 5 year greencard down in miami, and from application to interview chair was only 4 months! the uscis update was telling me it would take 2 years...

 

 

 

That's great news!   Really encouraging.

 

On 5/29/2018 at 12:19 PM, KozmicBlues said:

Not sure about your specific question, but related to moving to San Diego - try looking at locations outside of central San Diego. La Mesa, Grossmont, El Cajon, etc. You can often find housing pricing comparable to other major cities. I live in Phoenix but my mom and dad are from SD so its my 2nd home. 

 

My mom has a nice 1-bedroom apartment in La Mesa for around $1200/month rent with ALL utilities included. It's only 20 minutes from central SD/beaches, and that price is not much more than what you can find here in PHX. If you go further out to El Cajon you can find even more affordable. Also there are some cities further out (i.e; Temecula), depending on where your wife's job offer is and how far she is willing to drive, where you can find even more affordable housing. 

I know of a few people who commute back and forth between TJ and SD, but to my knowledge they are US citizens so I have no clue about the impact to green card holders. Good luck and I hope it works out for you guys to move because San Diego is great! 

Thanks very much for the suggestions.  Really appreciated.

 

On 5/29/2018 at 12:49 PM, Ben & Katy said:

I do the cross border commute everyday from Nogales,Sonora to Tucson,AZ 4 times per week.  On Friday I commute from Nogales,Sonora to Nogales,AZ which is an awesome deal for me from my company.  I am the petitioner though (US Citizen) and my spouse is waiting on her visa so we can relocate to Tucson eventually.  The cross border commute from Tijuana to San Diego is a nightmare.  The lines are packed like crazy even in the Sentri lanes beginning at 5 ish AM.  A lot of San Diegans do this commute everyday.  My commute in Sentri with border wait times only lasts me 15 min.  With the wait and crossing it usually takes me from my house to the office in Tucson 1 hour and 14 min.  I highly recommend trying to work it out in San Diego because you are a green card holder and because the commute is not worth it.  Also San Diego companies discriminate against applicants that have Tijuana addresses.  If they find out afterward you live in Tijuana it doesn't look good either. 

 

We have a friend that committed visa fraud and she can never ever come across to the USA again.  Banned for life.  She is married to a USC and they live in Rosarito,BC,Mexico and he works in San Diego.  His company was nice enough to set him up with a place to live in San Diego for part of the week and then goes home usually on weekends to Rosarito to avoid the stressful border crossing everyday. 

All sounds very challenging.   Thanks for sharing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So... we've decided to NOT pursue the TJ idea for now.  We will move to SD.   Pay the $$.  Settle in.  Spend a year or two checking out TJ.   Getting really good at Spanish.   Plus I can hopefully get my Citizenship in that time.   THEN... we can go where we choose.

 

We were never intending to be super-regular commuters across the border.   Just max 3 times per week, to make it doable.  And to work from home more in TJ.   Live by the beach.  Try out a new life.  So all that is going to be possible in a couple of years time.   For now, we will enjoy the wonderful SD to the full.  LOVE that city.  LOVE the ocean.   Surf and sun and burritos every day.

 

THANKS AGAIN for ALL the input and advice.  We really appreciate the time you all take to share your varied experience, opinions and advice.

 

Best wishes!

Kevin and Heather.