mam521

@HoneyBadger26 your husband can still begin work even without the SSN. Read the I-9 form. He can provide his passport with his endorsed I-551 which serves as a List A document demonstrating both identity and work authorization (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). The SSN can be updated in the near future as you work out the details on where the card actually went to. If his employer has questions, they can refer to the USCIS I-9 Central page. The HR team should have received updated training on this. @Shades8 you are correct. There are no I-94's for LPR's. The information @HoneyBadger26's spouse is being presented is for individuals with work visas, not permanent residents of the US. As for the greencard, @Shades8, MyUSCIS should have the information. Also, you can further track on Informed Delivery from USPS when it's mailed out.

If you've been an LPR for 16 years, you could have naturalized any time from 11 years ago onwards under the 5 year rule, irrespective of your spouse's status.

It's the Government and this particular division is funded by the fees you pay. Absolutely no canapes lol

We will, but our mortgage is dwindling down so less and less interest paid = less and less of a return!

It's shockingly informal, considering what it is. I was a bit surprised. The formality up to the Oath itself felt more like a date at the Driver's License office. You'd have thought it would feel a bit more important. I find a lot of American things are like that though. I'm Canadian and Remembrance Day is an important and solemn day. The US doesn't treat Veterans day in the same way.

Ha...should have been 30 months. Underlying point remains - gotta be physically present to apply!

Excellent news! Watch your MyUSCIS account - I had my oath ceremony instructions from there before they'd even sent the notice in the mail. Neither ceremony is super formal. Smart business casual is fine. Hubs did his at the auditorium and yes, it took like 4 hours. I did mine at Gears Rd and it only took about 1.5-2 hours. No one was super formal, but pretty much everyone were smartly dressed and not sloppy.

Agree with @OldUser - you have to be physically present in the U.S. for 18mo in the preceding 3 year period before applying. If you are out of country for more than 6 months, it will be presumed that you've broken the physical presence rule. If you plan to be gone for 10 straight months, I would highly recommend applying for a re-entry permit. You are going to have to build a stronger case for ties to the US and a strong marriage. Your current evidence, as you stated it, is pretty weak. You may want to reconsider applying under the 3 year rule and apply under the 5 year rule. You need 3 years (913 days) of physical presence under the 5 year rule and won't be required to prove your marriage is legitimate and strong in the same way you do for a 3 year filing.

I know. I've been following the Montreal DS-5535 thread since it's inception. It's a rob Peter to pay Paul scenario of shuffling the buck.

My heart breaks reading this. No one should expect a DS-5535. Active discrimination at it's finest. Good luck and I genuinely hope you don't get a DS-5535.

Good luck today!

Be thankful Montreal even took your DCF. It's pretty rare that they do DCF, period. Normal processing takes 18-24 months without a 221g or a DS-5535. Add the later to the mix and you're looking at an additional 6 to 18 months, possibly longer. Just fair warning that the group here has been waiting to reunite with their spouses on a permanent basis, so they will be happy you get to reunite with your partner, but aren't going to be empathetic to a DCF wait versus a normal processing wait. They will ask you if you had chicken pox. If you say yes, that's good enough. It's a bit of an outlier. As for the other documents, they may not have been able to proceed until they had them. If they were e-mailed and not attached to the DS-260 - not sure how that's going to factor in. Usually it takes Montreal at least a month to answer an e-mail, typically more like 6-8 weeks. Yep, Montreal is pretty unfun to deal with!

He has his greencard with extension letter. It sounds like they are in ROC, not AOS. I do agree, a trip to the Embassy for an emergency passport sounds like the best course of action.

You'll be truly free once you do citizenship Good luck with your move!

The "visa" option is for people working, not immigrating. It's extremely confusing and unless a knowledgeable finger printer was working with your parents, it's a commonly made mistake. I had an RFE for the same thing because I had asked the finger printer whether the "visa" option was the correct one - I didn't believe it was and they were new - the promised to ask their supervisor and didn't and, of course, it lead to a RFE and a delay. So, new one looks good and don't beat yourselves up for a less than transparent PRC! Good luck!

Which part? Over 18 and the 5 year rule? Yes. They are not considered derivatives of their mother after 18 and have to follow the general qualification and processing path. The 3 year rule is dependent on the continuation of the marriage that brought the beneficiary to the US in the first place. Minors who obtain citizenship as derivatives gain it by whichever way the parent did (3 year or 5 year filing). The rule here is that the parent actually files and obtains citizenship.

If you bank at RBC or TD, they have comprehensive cross border banking packages. Since it doesn't sound like DH has a US credit card, I'd probably look at getting one based off of your Canadian credit with one of these major banks. I'd assume you have an ITIN as well if DH has been doing his taxes, so that can be associated to a credit card account in place of a SSN until you get one to really start building US credit. It's challenging to do anything south of the Canadian border without a credit card and a credit history. If hubs does qualify for a US CC through that US bank where the bank account is, get one there, too. I'd also sign up for Credit Karma and look at your scores. You'll want to try and bump em up as fast as you can. It's a bit of a shock to the system when you go from having credit to not. I'd also say keep a Canadian account or 2 alive, too. I ended up having to move back to Canada with my kids for 18mo while we were going through the process and I was extremely lucky I still had great credit in Canada. It allowed me to easily rent a house and buy a car without a big headache.

Learn something new every day. I hadn't seen D/S before but I have heard people on the forum saying their passports weren't being stamped. I wonder if the D/S is perhaps a response to the confusion no stamp caused!

This ^^^ Usually the people fingerprinting can tell if the fingerprint images are good enough, but occasionally, it's not quite good enough. Nothing to stress over other than it's an inconvenience.

Hate to say it, but Canadians are notoriously awful for wanting to sit on the fence - they get US PR but don't move or take their sweet time. Montreal, as a result, is a notoriously strict consulate for proving domicile. Canadians have pretty lax attitudes because they don't require a formal visa process to visit (and are one of the worst offenders for overstays). As a result, many Canadians forget that immigration is a privilege, not a right and the US isn't obligated to allow Canadians in. I trust your husband has been filing his US income tax while residing in Canada. That will be needed. You could choose to move your assets now and fulfill the requirements of the AOS. That form can be updated to reflect your husband's US work when you appear for your interview. If you own a house, you'll want to sell it before he (and you) moves to the US. Dealing with CRA NRA and tax withholding is a ROYAL pain in the rear. When you do finally get to the interview, your husband isn't required to be there. It's just you. He's not even allowed into the Consulate. But as it stands, if you're not yet documentarily qualified, you have another probably 3 months for the DS-260 et al to be approved once you submit and you have a 4-5 month wait for an interview after that. I would imagine that your husband would have some vacation time accrued in that time to come move you. You may also want to consider downsizing and keeping it simple on the Canadian end.

The unfortunate reality for you is that the US does take parental rights seriously and works to head off cases of parental abduction. Even in Western countries, parents who can actually co-parent effectively face challenges if they don't want to involve the courts. I am one of these people. The immigration process requires parental permission. I have 2 children that I immigrated with. I had 2 options: provide a court order labeling me as the custodial parent or get permission from their to immigrate. Luckily, their father is supportive, so he provided a barrister notarized permission letter in addition to our informal parenting agreement that was surrendered to the Consulate during our interviews. You should fill out your timeline which will help others provide more accurate answers: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=447133

You should fill in your timeline so people can better advise you: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=467271 Sometimes you can show up to a local port and import from there, rather than having to cross from the border.

It sounds like your case was accepted as a DCF (direct consular filing), which does not follow the "typical" processing workflow of I-130 submitted to USCIS, once approved, case is sent to NVC where the DS-260 is filled out and once that and the AOS are approved, it's put in line for an interview. DCF is not common in Canada, so you're likely going to have to do a bit of searching on the main forum for further information. Did you receive your German PRC? You will still have to do an immigration medical, so while you're waiting for information, make sure you have your immunization records. If you don't, I recommend having a titres test done now. In either case, if you're missing any required vaccinations, begin fulfilling this requirement while you're still covered under Canadian health care.

So, my question would be given the circumstances and knowing there's a chance B's visitor visa will be denied, what's the harm in getting married as soon as the PGWP is issued? Or sooner? Yes, it's significantly easier to bring B to the US when A is a citizen and there's nothing stopping waiting to file the I-130 after citizenship happens (you can file before and "upgrade" the petition, but it sounds like grad school will take some time anyway). If you guys are married 2+ years, B enters the US on an IR-1, not a CR-1. They get a 10 year greencard and you don't have to remove conditions. The whole process takes 18-24mo as it is, with the I-130 being the slowest part of the process at the moment. You could always pause the petition after the I-130 is approved and the petition is with NVC, planning to continue with it once a more final date for post grad graduation is known.