I-485 (married to us citizen)

[Benvandam 1]

Bit of a long story, hope I can be brief.

Wife - American citizen/ Canadian PR

Me - Canadian citizen

Lived together and common-law in Canada since 2015. Married in USA June 2024 and applied for I-130 (CR1). We stayed for a few weeks then came back to Canada.

We came back to the USA this December for the Hollidays and wife has a job offer - she wants to take it! I'm here on a standard B2 visa and thinking about waiting 90+ days after arrival and applying for I-485 instead. I know I can't leave USA/work/or go to school until it's approved, but am I missing anything else?

Any advice is appreciated

[SalishSea 17,970]

Odd to be able to drop your life in Canada and not return for up to one year, if the plan was just to be here for Christmas?  
 

Don’t you have jobs, a home, pets, lives there?

[Benvandam 1]

I rent - would continue to do so. No pets. Not much family. Lost my job upon coming here.

We did not come with the intent to stay, but things have changed.

[appleblossom 2,802]

1 hour ago, Benvandam said:

I rent - would continue to do so. No pets. Not much family. Lost my job upon coming here.

We did not come with the intent to stay, but things have changed.

 

If you didn't intend to stay then why was your wife applying for jobs in the US? If you only applied in June then you're at least 18 months away from a visa, so seems strange that she would job hunt so early on in the process? That coupled with you no longer having a job may be a red flag for USCIS. 

[SalishSea 17,970]

35 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

If you didn't intend to stay then why was your wife applying for jobs in the US? If you only applied in June then you're at least 18 months away from a visa, so seems strange that she would job hunt so early on in the process? That coupled with you no longer having a job may be a red flag for USCIS. 

Yup, totally agree.

[SalishSea 17,970]

1 hour ago, Benvandam said:

I rent - would continue to do so. No pets. Not much family. Lost my job upon coming here.

We did not come with the intent to stay, but things have changed.

So you’d just leave your apartment intact and continue to pay rent on it for a year, without being able to go there?   Or did you pack everything up before coming here?

[Benvandam 1]

I "rent" from family so would not have any payments. I only lost my job upon being here. Wife looked for work after I lost my job. Not sure what is wrong with any of this.

 

[OldUser 6,976]

2 minutes ago, Benvandam said:

I "rent" from family so would not have any payments. I only lost my job upon being here. Wife looked for work after I lost my job. Not sure what is wrong with any of this.

 

Right, what's wrong with cutting all ties to home country right before or right after coming to the US. Especially if there may have been no real ties afterall.

I'm not being sarcastic, you may get an interview and get asked these questions by officer. Your case looks suspicious. It may invite more scrutiny. It may sail through. We're just pointing out potential issues based on fact pattern you shared.

[Bob in Boston 753]

4 hours ago, Benvandam said:

I "rent" from family so would not have any payments. I only lost my job upon being here. Wife looked for work after I lost my job. Not sure what is wrong with any of this.

You d .ont have to convince us here on VJ, This is a well known avenue for couples to shave off a few months of waiting. Whats wrong with this? Far to convient to just happen on a holiday trip and will raise a lot of questions. We here have heard it all and USCIS has heard more, I can see right through this . Not saying your making this all up but... your story has all the ducks in the row. Did you bring all your legal papers your going to need to do this? Has your spouse paid  and filed all her taxes, got a joint sponsor lined up. You can AOS but it might no be as smooth as you would like. My step daughter pulled all this _against my and her moms advise) and she is on her second round. First one was denied. work permit revoked going on 2.5 years. Marriage is not going so well now with the added stress and financial burdon all this costs and not being able to work. Your call

[Daphne . 1,901]

11 hours ago, Benvandam said:

Bit of a long story, hope I can be brief.

Wife - American citizen/ Canadian PR

Me - Canadian citizen

Lived together and common-law in Canada since 2015. Married in USA June 2024 and applied for I-130 (CR1). We stayed for a few weeks then came back to Canada.

We came back to the USA this December for the Hollidays and wife has a job offer - she wants to take it! I'm here on a standard B2 visa and thinking about waiting 90+ days after arrival and applying for I-485 instead. I know I can't leave USA/work/or go to school until it's approved, but am I missing anything else?

Any advice is appreciated

Any reason you want to wait 90+ days before filing? Better start the process asap because it might take a while. Waiting 90 days is not going to take away any suspicion that USCIS might have. 

[mam521 2,111]

14 hours ago, Benvandam said:

I "rent" from family so would not have any payments. I only lost my job upon being here. Wife looked for work after I lost my job. Not sure what is wrong with any of this.

 

If there's no real lease agreement and you can just drop everything, it's gonna look sketchy to USCIS.  It's also sketch because most people from North American countries need to work.  Was your wife gainfully employed in Canada or were you the sole income?  She just dropped everything and started looking for jobs in the US, knowing you didn't have status beyond a visitor visa in the USA? It's a story of a bit too much convenience. 

 

Are you guys aware of the filing costs?  AOS, ROC, etc?  

 

Yeah...all a little dodgy.  Dare I say dodgy like some of the high fraud dodgy cases from high fraud countries.  Expect scrutiny.