Changing states during IR1 process

[Airline Pilot 37]

Hello,

My wife who is Canadian is in the limbo land of being scheduled an interview with the US Consulate in Montreal. I am in Massachusetts and have an opportunity to move within my company to another state. How does this affect her immigration? Our immigration attorney is useless and never answers anything so I am asking if anyone knows here. I am afraid to do anything to make this already painful process worse.

 

Anyone have any info I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks

[Cndn 98]

Moving states does not affect her immigration. Her interview with Montreal will not come earlier or faster based on you moving states. I had to wait 8 months for an interview at Montreal, and that was in 2017/18. I would expect for it to take longer now. 
 

Can I ask why you have an immigration attorney? I have done my entire immigration case DIY with this site as a reference and have had no problems. Barring any complications like felony convictions or something the vast majority of people really don’t need an attorney. I’ve seen more examples on here of attorneys messing people up than being worth the money. The instructions are clear and you can absolutely do this without an attorney. 

[AJ2019 58]

Your address won't affect anything at the consulate level for your wife. However, I would still recommend filing a change of address with the USCIS, so you won't have to worry about that later on. You can do that here: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange

[Airline Pilot 37]

@Cndn Thanks for the info. Yes we have an attorney who is the most useless unhelpful person ever. I have an opportunity to move this winter within the same company and dont want anything to get messed up any worse than it already is. She has already lived in the US before and turned in her green card when I went to work in Montreal for an international organization. We had no idea that when that ended and I got a job back in the US this was going to happen. There seems to be no indication of anything happening anytime soon. Had I know this was going to take over 2 years I would have stayed there. By the look of things it appeared we would have had an interview scheduled in August this year prior to COVID. Look like next year for sure now.

 

@AJ2019 Thanks for the link. Now that everyone will work from home at my company I would like to move away from Boston where the cost of living is much much less. Especially seeing I have to pay for a house in Quebec in addition to the hideously expensive rent in the Boston area. I can get a mortgage for less than 1/3 of rent in Boston.

[payxibka 10,047]

1 hour ago, AJ2019 said:

Your address won't affect anything at the consulate level for your wife. However, I would still recommend filing a change of address with the USCIS, so you won't have to worry about that later on. You can do that here: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange

Do what later on?  USC doesn't have a pending case to do an address change on.

[AJ2019 58]

21 hours ago, payxibka said:

Do what later on?  USC doesn't have a pending case to do an address change on.

I thought IR1 was more like a green card which is mailed after spouse enters US. I had to look it up that it's a visa, so it's stamped in the passport. 

 

But, I also saw the below, so there's apparently a Form I-130 filed with the USCIS for the IR1? There's also an adjustment of status process as well. Sorry, I'm not familiar with these forms. In my head, you can stop worrying about the USCIS once you become a citizen 😀

 

(removed)

How to Apply for an IR1 Visa

After cross-checking the eligibility requirements, the application process can begin. In this section, we’ll explain the step-by-step process for getting an IR1 visa granted by the USCIS.

Filing the Petition

Before you start the application process, you need to file a petition with the Department of Homeland Security. This has to be submitted by the U.S.-based spouse, who will be sponsoring their foreign spouse. Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, needs to be submitted. For complete information on this topic, visit the USCIS website here.

 

IR1 Visa to Green Card

An IR1 visa opens up the door to a green card since you have already proven the legitimacy of your marriage. To become a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., you must file a petition with the USCIS and be present in the U.S. for a specific amount of time. Then you have to change your status by filing another application, namely, Form I-458, Application to Register or Adjust Status. Once it is verified, processed, and approved, you will get your green card.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Ontarkie
removed link to 3rd party site

[payxibka 10,047]

4 hours ago, AJ2019 said:

I thought IR1 was more like a green card which is mailed after spouse enters US. I had to look it up that it's a visa, so it's stamped in the passport. 

 

But, I also saw the below, so there's apparently a Form I-130 filed with the USCIS for the IR1? There's also an adjustment of status process as well. Sorry, I'm not familiar with these forms. In my head, you can stop worrying about the USCIS once you become a citizen 😀

 

(removed)

How to Apply for an IR1 Visa

After cross-checking the eligibility requirements, the application process can begin. In this section, we’ll explain the step-by-step process for getting an IR1 visa granted by the USCIS.

Filing the Petition

Before you start the application process, you need to file a petition with the Department of Homeland Security. This has to be submitted by the U.S.-based spouse, who will be sponsoring their foreign spouse. Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, needs to be submitted. For complete information on this topic, visit the USCIS website here.

 

IR1 Visa to Green Card

An IR1 visa opens up the door to a green card since you have already proven the legitimacy of your marriage. To become a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., you must file a petition with the USCIS and be present in the U.S. for a specific amount of time. Then you have to change your status by filing another application, namely, Form I-458, Application to Register or Adjust Status. Once it is verified, processed, and approved, you will get your green card.

Except the OP is the USC and asking about HIS change of address while his wife's application is waiting for interview.   A USC only needs to update the USCIS if they have an active case or an in place  I864.   At the present time, the OP has neither. 

 

If you arrive on an immigrant visa (IR1), no such thing as adjustment of status as they are immediately granted resident status the moment they set foot on US soil.

 

That website you quoted is so very wrong 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Ontarkie
edited quote for 3rd party link

[AJ2019 58]

5 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Except the OP is the USC and asking about HIS change of address while his wife's application is waiting for interview.   A USC only needs to update the USCIS if they have an active case or an in place  I864.   At the present time, the OP has neither. 

 

If you arrive on an immigrant visa (IR1), no such thing as adjustment of status as they are immediately granted resident status the moment they set foot on US soil.

 

That website you quoted is so very wrong 

Interesting. Ok, thank you for the clarification.