PMVX

sadly you've got a very valid point here.

Spouse can certainly do it within the US. This was the initial plan before we stumbled upon the re-entry permit option. The downside of doing this is us earning about 75% combined income of what we currently earn in Canada taking into account the exchange rate. But we are taking in the reality of the situation that we might need to go plan B sooner than later. I have an upcoming vacation to Texas (preferred state to settle) and California (sponsors) end of this Month and that may be cancelled because of the current situation. We certainly can't move that quickly as we have to deal with selling the house or have it placed into a property management for rental if we go plan B. Current options: A: Proceed as planned if lawyer can figure this out. B: Move to US permanently as soon as we can. 😄 Land a remote job first and move in shortly. D? I'm leaning towards C if initial plan is no longer a viable option.

Thank you for your input. This is one of our option. I can work remotely/in office while spouse can work as pharmacy technician (still need to pass an exam but it's easier vs the pharmacist ). Having a remote US job while in Canada and already have that same job when we re-enter would be ideal so I can take on the living costs while spouse looks for a job. We will be contacting a lawyer next week to see if there's a remedy that can be done so we can avoid this issue at the border. Otherwise you are right, we might need to go plan be prematurely.

The spouse needs at least a year to get all the requirements. She had to prepare/study for those and these are not something that you can easily predict. Case in point the TOEFL exam, because of the anxiety she had yesterday she failed the reading part today and thus need to keep on trying. Next time she will be taking it in Toronto/Montreal alone this time because of the uncertainty with our border experience. Could it be done less than 6 months? less likely, less than a year? maybe. We just dont know and applying for i-131 just gives us that leeway that in case it can't be done in a year, then we would have extra time without having to worry about re-entering.

Without providing too much specific information, I'll just include info that I think is relevant to our situation. Got our IV issued in March with validity until May. We were not yet ready to move because the spouse would not be able to work as a pharmacist until the professional certifications required in the US are completed. Because of this, we looked into our options and we figured that our best option would be to apply for re-entry permit, go back to Canada and complete the requirements for my spouse while i get a remote job in the US and then permanently move to the US once the bare requirements are completed. Per our research, the I-131 re-entry permit can be filed even on the same day as entering the US and then returning back for the biometrics. We entered early in May via Maine land border and filed for I-131 a day after. Spouse took the TOEFL exam on the weekend and then we went back to Canada. A few days later, the TOEFL results showed that the spouse did not get the speaking score required for FPGEE so another TOEFL exam was scheduled for the first week of June. Meanwhile, we got our I797 NOA delivered in California as that's the address we originally had in the application as well as during POE. Shortly after, we received biometrics scheduled for an ASC in California. I immediately rescheduled the biometrics appointment a few weeks early and this time requested it done in an ASC in Maine as that's the nearest one for us. A couple of weeks back we re-entered the US to have our biometrics taken and we spent a little bit more time at the border entry this time. Questions about why we have not taken care of the requirements before moving in were raised. We explained to the agent that these exams have a validity expiration and that we are taking care of those requirements while in Canada and thus the reason why we applied for I-131. Eventually we were let in. With the way things being very slow with the immigration process, it did not make sense for spouse to take the exams without knowing when the VISA would be approved although the spouse already started preparing for the exams after we received a VISA interview date sometime in Oct last year. Spouse already passed FPGEE more than 10 yrs ago but that is no longer valid and spouse need to start over with the entire process. Yesterday we entered US again so that spouse can re-take the TOEFL exam today. This time we got into secondary. The issue with the certifications not being secured back then were brought up again and so we tried to explain again that we are securing those while we're in Canada and thus the reason for the I-131. We were asked for the notice of action but unfortunately we do not have it with us as I did not think that will be asked. Clearly this was an oversight on our part. I explained that the original copy is still in California. She then said that we do not have the copy because we did not live in California. At this point the agent also suggested that we misrepresented that we're living in that address but we actually are living in Canada. The I-131 requires an address in the US so that's the reason why we put California as the address as that's the same as sponsor's address in the application. The agent also said that the I-131 is for returning residents and thus we do not qualify for the I-131 because we are not residing in the US. She also said that it looks like we're trying to game the system with what we are trying to do. We have no intention of doing as such as we know anyone should not be messing with immigration laws. We are trying to do our best so when we eventually move in about a year, we would not be a burden to our sponsors while making use of the tools available for immigrants. In the end the agent said that nothing is going to happen today and we can proceed going to our destination however we were cautioned that everything we talked about will be on the notes and what I take from it is that if this continues, we may be referred to an immigration judge and the judge will determine our status. Is the agent correct in saying that we do not qualify for I-131 because we do not reside in the US? If so, for purpose of immigration how long does one need to stay in an address to be considered as a resident? Should we have just stayed in Canada and not re-enter US until I-131 is approved? What could have been the better option for us in this case? Thanks!

It seems that this is an arbitrary date. Most would say that it's the date that they opened to process the application and I would agree that this would be the safest interpretation. My I-131 timeline: May 3 - Mailed Application to Arizona lockbox using USPS next day delivery. May 4 - USPS tracking shows delivered to lockbox May 9 - Received I-797C Paper notice. Notice Date shows May 9. Received Date shows May 3 May 10 - Received I797C Paper notice Requesting for Biometrics scheduled for May 30th. May 17 - I rescheduled Biometrics for May 20th in another state. May 20 - Biometrics done. (we were not charged anything. They said that their ASC does not charge for biometrics)

Definitely need a lawyer. They could provide what options are available for her and at the very least, the lawyer could request to have them given more time and thus get a few more months before the next court date while you look at her options. I have undergone the same issue when I overstayed my visa and was released on Recognizance and have to go thru that ankle monitor. Unfortunately there wasn't a feasible option for me at to adjust status at that time so I was given option for voluntary departure and I took it. I got about 6 more months before I flew back home and presumably got at 10yr ban because I overstayed for over a year. Now I'm a LPR and there was not even a mention of it at point of entry.

Update on this: I am so lucky they used the mailing date as the receipt date!!! Sent it on Friday, Delivered on Saturday and not likely opened until Monday. I just got the receipt notice today and the receipt date was showing May 3rd. Would CBP have visibility if we have a pending re-entry permit?

I'm not sure if that was about one from Sweden? If I recall correctly, the reason was something like records indicate that you left US before day of receipt and did not come back so denied. It's disgusting that they they have to wait that long until they get a decision when they could have easily checked the date of departure and did outright denial. Anyway, I'm hoping that us going back next month would make a difference. Otherwise I'll continue to cross borders with my temp i-155 and showing them I have applied for re-entry. And if decision ultimately shows denied, I may have already gone back to the US for good. I just need about a year to prep for professional certifications otherwise I can't work as my profession is highly regulated.

Then my application likely would be denied if they base it on receipt notice vs at the time of mailing. Will the denial show right away during receipt notice or will it take months? I am going back to the US next month for a couple of weeks and was wondering if I should re-apply for re-entry permit and hope we get the receipt within that time frame. On the other hand, If they ask for biometrics, does that mean I just go for the biometrics and I should be okay?

Do you have an update on this? Did you leave prior to getting the notification?

Anyone else have submitted a re-entry permit application and travelled outside the US before USCIS provided notice? I have entered via US/Canada border last week and submitted an I-131 re-entry permit and on the next day moved back to Canada as we still have a lot to work on (ex: need professional certifications before allowed to work as health care professional). I have seen some who already have their greencard and submitted their re-entry permit application then travelled the next day without waiting for USCIS notice and got notice after a few weeks that biometrics are no longer needed however after after several months got their re-entry permit declined because it shows that they left the US before the application was received. I've also seen some where they left the country the day after submitting the re-entry permit and got notice for biometrics however I have not seen an update if they eventually got approved. As a Canadian living near the US border, I can re-enter US easily if needed to do biometrics however I am worried that I might not even be given that chance as I left immediately. Anyone in the same situation and what was eventually the result? Thanks!