Spousal immigration vs. grad school woes

[Paul & Ilona 0]

Hello everyone,

I've been married to a lovely Canadian woman for 5 months now, and we're looking to begin the immigration process to bring her to the States. Problem being, I will likely begin graduate school in an as yet to be determined other state than the one I currently reside in.

Some fun facts about our situation:

We originally thought that I would apply to both Canadian and American graduate schools and then simply apply for paperwork in whichever country I got the best funding offer.

I had been living in Canada since June 15th with my wife with no job as I had no legal status. We lived in her folk's house for free. She worked the whole time. We have joint bank accounts and credit lines.

I came home to the States for a 3 week visit and in the course of that decided that I no longer would apply to any Canadian schools. Thus the plan became to bring Ilona here, and I will remain here working and living at my parents' home for free.

I will in all likelihood have my parents co-sponsor Ilona, as I will be at best a PhD student living on a 16 grand stipend.

I'm applying to schools at the moment and will likely find out where I'll be accepted in the spring.

Now the worries:

Is there any particular benefit to our situation to apply for an IR/CR visa vs. a K3? My wife is certainly intent on working and living with me as soon as possible.

Is there any worry that if we begin the application process with me in Ohio at my folk's place that later on in the game I will have relocated to whatever state I'm attending school?

Should we be concerned about my income level vis-a-vis (no pun intended) sponsorship being dictated by my graduate scholar status? Is this concern obviated by my parents' cosponsorship--which exceeds the 125% poverty level many times over?

Are we idiots for even falling in love and marrying?

Thank you for this great resource. It's already helped and we haven't even filed yet.

-Paul

[thermophile 0]

yes you are idiots for getting married to a foreigner, but now that's done its done.

I'd say apply now and worry about changing your address later when you need to.

Check out the timelines in the Canada forum for current waits k3 vs. cr1. we opted for cr1-which became ir-1 because the process took so long. but it seems now that k's are being processed a bit faster than cr-1s, but she won't be able to work for several months after moving. you're call.

as far as income goes-your's probably won't be enough even if you end up at a richer school. your parents are willing to be cosponsors then take them up on it. you'll fill out all of the forms but your income won't really be considered, just your cosponsors.

good luck with everything

[Jigi 0]

Hi,

Marriage is the best Institution of relationship, and commitment.... And you are not stupid because you have married the person whom you love.

IF your parent co - sponsor that wont be a problem at all. Go for IR / CR ... thats what I think is better because K3 also nearly takes a lot of time. And i have heard that there is a long wait list for people to have interview dates set even their cases are completed.

Just send the application tomorrow itself. Dont even wait for a day. One day is also very crucial.

Best of Luck

Jigi

[Paul & Ilona 0]

Thanks for that, both of you. The more we look, the more enticing the IR visa appears.

[rika60607 215]

Start now, think later

You have to submit I-130 either way. You will or will not file I-129F also (depending on wether you later decide to go for K-3 or not), that is once you receive a receipt for your submitted I-130.

So, DO make sure that your I-130 is completed correctly and that all required documentation and evidence is included. But you have to start right now, the waiting times are outrageous.

Thanks for that, both of you. The more we look, the more enticing the IR visa appears.

[radsr2002 0]

yes you are idiots for getting married to a foreigner, but now that's done its done.

Errr calling someone a idiot for loving someone is a bit out of line!!

past that:

The real question is; how important to you is her ability to work when she arrives here?

If it is important then you should file the I130. A k-3 would have both of you out of work here

and that could lead to a rocky beginning here for you both.

[thermophile 0]

sarcasm people-stop looking for reasons to be offended. obviously, I'm in the same boat and also married a foreigner-love is usually pretty unreasonable.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Maybe I can help some on this (and yup, we're all out of our minds here for marrying foreigners and surviving the process! - that's what my dear termophile meant).

My husband -USC- was a grad student in Canada when we married. So yup, grad stipends are a joke in most cases; hence we lined up a darling of a co-sponsor. The petitioner (my husband) still had to fill in all the affidavit of support stuff nonetheless, but the process was painless (HA!... seems like that know, you should have seen me 4 months ago )

As per what type of visa, most definitely go with the CR1. Why? Well, it's cheaper in the long run, gets you an immigrant visa (as in you do not have to later adjust status) and with the wait times in Montreal being a pain, a K3 is not quicker.

Good luck in your journey (and in the insanity of grad school whom we all love and adore!)

Peace, L.

[thermophile 0]

oh one more thing about the cosponsor. the cosponsor is an individual not a couple. so if one parent makes enough money themself to support 4 people (self, spouse, you, wife) ask him/her to be your cosponsor. if their money needs to be pooled then you and one parent will fill out the i864 and the other parent will use the i864a. not a huge deal just something to keep in mind.

this is probably tmi at this point in the game.