Guidance needed for complicated situation - new journey

[atomicstorm 0]

4 minutes ago, Going through said:

How on earth did that happen?  Her ex knows your ex?

He looked her up on facebook.

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Do the children go to school?

Yes, they will be done for the summer by the time we are about to file.

[atomicstorm 0]

3 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Could you visit them also? You go for a few weeks, next school vacations, they come to you...

Husband and myself saw each other a few times per month, usually alternating who would travel.

It is difficult because of my career. I can remote work but they frown on doing that across country boundaries. I also have several dogs that would require someone to look after while I am gone (like in a few weeks). It is doable though but not for long stretches.

Edited April 26, 2019 by atomicstorm

[JFH 12,191]

She needs to change her phone number then. 

[atomicstorm 0]

Just now, JFH said:

She needs to change her phone number then. 

Doing that this weekend.

 

From a procedural stand point, does it make more sense for a K1 where processing time is shorter then, given the circumstance?

[JFH 12,191]

9 minutes ago, atomicstorm said:

Doing that this weekend.

 

From a procedural stand point, does it make more sense for a K1 where processing time is shorter then, given the circumstance?

Possibly. It’s only a couple of months faster and that applies to getting your feet on the soil here. It’s not faster to a green card. Or citizenship. 

 

Personally, you couldn’t pay me enough to do a K-1. Months in limbo, not being able to work (and that is not just about money but structure, routine, making friends, not being left behind by the industry I’ve worked in for almost 20 years, etc), not being able to leave the country for months, many states don’t allow K-1 arrivals to drive until they have their EAD. No way. Not for me. 

[carmel34 3,654]

As for health care while she and her kids are waiting for the visa process in Canada, they all still qualify for Canadian health care?  And as others have said, be careful about abusing the visits too much or she could risk being denied entry at the border then that would stop the visits until the visa is approved and you probably don't want to risk that.  Good luck with the process.  It takes a lot of patience.  My husband and I filed for a CR-1 last July and are now at the NVC stage, waiting for review and approval of our documents before an interview can be scheduled in Rio in the next few months.  In the meantime we are doing lots of visits to be together, 8 already with another planned for June so it will be 9 visits to be together before his interview, then I'll go for a tenth visit to be with him for the interview in Rio.  Canada is one of our backup places to live together if for some reason he gets denied, as I have dual US/Canadian citizenship.

Edited April 26, 2019 by carmel34

[Ontarkie 14,435]

 Sole custody in Canada will not be enough to get them a visa.  The father still has rights and visitation with the kids and is nearly impossible to have his rights removed. You will need either his consent to move the kids or a court order. 

[NikLR 13,232]

12 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

Doing that this weekend.

 

From a procedural stand point, does it make more sense for a K1 where processing time is shorter then, given the circumstance?

Depends.  Weigh the pros and cons.

Financially does it make sense? Is she used to working/driving herself? She will be rather dependent on you even for getting groceries for 6 months (ish) until the EAD/AP comes through. 

[Neonred 3,638]

Getting a hostile ex to give consent to take the kids out of the country could be a major problem.  Better start working on that right away.

[SalishSea 18,125]

21 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

Doing that this weekend.

 

From a procedural stand point, does it make more sense for a K1 where processing time is shorter then, given the circumstance?

There is nothing quick about immigration.  Expect it to take a long time, either way. I have also heard that Montreal is very slow to schedule interviews, because of volume.

 

Honestly, I forsee your largest hurdle, by far, to be the custody arrangement.  My ex and I had no hostility whatsoever following our divorce, but neither one of us would ever have consented to moving our kids abroad. 

 

Is your GF divorced yet?

Edited April 26, 2019 by Jorgedig

[AstroCanada 206]

21 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

Doing that this weekend.

 

From a procedural stand point, does it make more sense for a K1 where processing time is shorter then, given the circumstance?

Honestly K-1's are only a little bit faster these days than just getting married and doing the CR-1, and then there are a number of extra hoops to jump through once you're in the US for AOS, travel, and employment authorization.  The process from Canada, sadly, does not really go any faster than any other country even though it's our closest neighbor.  

 

Best of luck!

[dwheels76 5,469]

23 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

Any idea of expediting was due to the hostile situation and circumstance. There is evidence to support but to what degree USCIS cares about it is another story. For us though, it is which path is more appropriate and as long as they can come here for regular visits, the time of processing is not that much of an issue as we can lean on the supportive parent.

 

Yes - stalking, tapped her phone (reads her text messages remotely, etc), got my ex-wife to install a camera in my house while she was here on a visit that I wasn't aware of - police, etc knows. It is fine if there is no expedite path. Healthcare cost doesn't change for me by adding dependents. There is a family rate ($330). I work for a hospital. Luckily this is the only complicated matter in the situation.

Does your fiance' have written permission for the child to immigrate? Seems like her ex will be a handful of trouble seeing her leave you may want to sort that out.

[atomicstorm 0]

On 4/26/2019 at 5:06 PM, Jorgedig said:

There is nothing quick about immigration.  Expect it to take a long time, either way. I have also heard that Montreal is very slow to schedule interviews, because of volume.

 

Honestly, I forsee your largest hurdle, by far, to be the custody arrangement.  My ex and I had no hostility whatsoever following our divorce, but neither one of us would ever have consented to moving our kids abroad. 

 

Is your GF divorced yet?

She wasn't married. Custody is not an issue but given the situation - I don't want to get into details in case the ex happens to read this board for some reason.

 

On 4/26/2019 at 5:43 PM, AstroCanada said:

Honestly K-1's are only a little bit faster these days than just getting married and doing the CR-1, and then there are a number of extra hoops to jump through once you're in the US for AOS, travel, and employment authorization.  The process from Canada, sadly, does not really go any faster than any other country even though it's our closest neighbor.  

 

Best of luck!

I spoke to an immigration attorney this week and the opinion was for us to do a K1 and K2 visa route. She made it seem like it was several months earlier than a CR1 being as that our primary goal right now, given the circumstance, is to get her on US soil. We can go through all the other paperwork for change of status and green cards after the fact - which does not present a problem.

 

We will file our petition at the end of the month once all our paperwork is in order and then start our long journey. Thank you everyone for your advice and help.

 

[Lemonslice 4,963]

2 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

She wasn't married. Custody is not an issue but given the situation - I don't want to get into details in case the ex happens to read this board for some reason.

 

I spoke to an immigration attorney this week and the opinion was for us to do a K1 and K2 visa route. She made it seem like it was several months earlier than a CR1 being as that our primary goal right now, given the circumstance, is to get her on US soil. We can go through all the other paperwork for change of status and green cards after the fact - which does not present a problem.

 

We will file our petition at the end of the month once all our paperwork is in order and then start our long journey. Thank you everyone for your advice and help.

 

The consulate will still ask for the approval of the other parent, or to show his parental rights were terminated. 

 

FYI: K1 is barely any faster these days, not several months faster.

[Going through 5,671]

6 hours ago, atomicstorm said:

She wasn't married. Custody is not an issue but given the situation - I don't want to get into details in case the ex happens to read this board for some reason.

With Canada, she's still going to need permission from the father or court order whether they were married or not to move the kids to the US, even with her having sole custody.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Going through