Shot-Gun Weddings

[antda 13]

Hi Stardust72 (and other VJers),

In answer to your questions, from my personal experience:

-I came for a visit to the US, and stayed longer than I expected. Lol...to be exact, about 7 months longer (from my visit to when I got my Green Card). I couldn't leave the US and go back to Canada during that time, but that was not a problem, as my husband and I were starting our new married live together here in the US. We planned our wedding in a week in the US (boy, that was a rush) and got married on a whim, with only a minister and few family witnesses in attendance. It was good that we wern't apart during the entire immigration process. Meanwhile, I do admit, I had my worries about being deported back to Canada and about having problems with the immigration process.

-I was a college/university student in Canada, so I had no problems there. All I needed to do was notify the school, and told them I was in the US, instead, so they sent all my books and other materials here (I was studying via distance education). Lol..the only bad thing was that my tuition doubled (lol..I was now a foreign student) and I had to rebook all my in-person exams here in the US at a local college. At the time, I was also doing some volunteer work locally in Canada, so I just notified my supervisor and told them I moved to the US. Being a student at the time, I was broke (lol...after all, what student isn't?) and had some loans, so I did what I had to do, and live with some relatives for awhile (hey, whatever helps with the expenses), so in that sense I didn't have to worry about rent and stuff like that. As for small bills, I had those relatives forward them to my address in the US, and I paid for them here. I had access to my Canadian bank account in the US, but boy, did I have to pay a lot in service charges to get my money. I only brought two weeks worth of stuff when I came to the US, so I had to buy a lot of the daily living stuff here too (for example, clothes, personal items).

-As for moving my stuff, I had my husband drive once over the border by himself, to pick up important documents, such as medical records and other important things needed for the AOS process. The other items, my husband and I picked up on various car trips (about 3-4) when we went over the border after I got my Green Card. Thank goodness I didn't have too many things (lol..one doesn't have much when they are a student). The only thing I couldn't bring back...my pet cat...sigh, I miss her.

Hope this helps, and offers some insight. Yes, "just staying and not leaving in the US" can be done!

Ant

What I always wonder about when I read stories like this is how can you just decide to stay in the US? I mean, if my boyfriend proposed to me the next time I'm there (and I have no indication that he will ) , I'd still have my job and apartment and lots of other stuff here in Holland to take care of. But without AP I wouldn't be able to leave the country. I'd get in all sorts of trouble if my rent didn't get paid and I just didn't show up at my job. So I'm just wondering how people do this.

Edited September 3, 2007 by AntandD