Applying GC for wife who is a Canadian PR

[maisflocon]

Hi all, please excuse me for a long post. We really need your help on this.

My wife and I have separated for more than three years since we got married because I didn't know it would be so hard to get her here based on my green card until after marriage. I just became a citizen recently and I would like to apply for my wife to come over. I hired a lawyer to handle my case (N400 for me and I-130 for my wife) but his firm charged me a lot of money before I-130 is even filed, so I thought I'd handle I-130 myself from now on before I get charged further.

My wife is currently in her home country, in order for her to be close to me, I have applied for Canadian PR a while ago and it has been approved. I will be bringing her to Canada to activate our Canadian Permanent Residence so we can be there together while we wait for I-130 to come through.

These are the things we were told we need to submit right away:
1) I-130 ($355)
1) DS-230 (visa fee $355 + $45 surcharge)
2) G-325A
3) Form I-864 (Affidavit of support fee $70)
4) DS-2053 (Medical examination)

The lawyer said I could either file for my I-130 here or submit to a US consulate while we are in Canada (as permanent residents).

The lawyer said the process takes time and planning (which means more money). He also mentioned that consular processing is time-consuming and document-intensive and that we are required to travel to Montreal. I believe we will probably spend another $5k on this, and by the time we are done, we would have spent around $15 - $20k with this lawyer (for both our N400 and I-130).

Could you please help me with these questions (so we can save the money to buy milk for our kids when we have one)?

1) How much time does it take to process I-130?
2) My lawyer said I should file right after I got my citizenship. Does that mean if it will amount to longer waiting time if I file say a month later?
3) In your opinion, should we apply here or submit to a US consulate in Canada?
4) What's consular processing? Why is it that we need to travel to Montreal? (We plan to stay in Vancouver)
5) Where can I find more info on petitioning for wife to come over as a citizen? I read the sticky thread "Family-based GC" but our situation doesn't fall into any of the three categories listed.
6) Where would she do her medical exam for DS-2053?


This is all the info we were told we need:
1) Marriage certificate (with certified translation)
2) Passport photo for my wife and I
3) Documentation showing joint ownership or property or
A lease showing joint tenancy or
Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources
4) Birth certificate for my wife
5) Police certificate for my wife from anywhere she has lived for over 6 months in the past five years (or 12 months in a foreign country)
6) Her passport

Did I miss anything?

Thank you so much for your help. We will document your advice and our journey and give back to this forum with what we have learned and go through.

[truckensafely]

for starters, I recommend you visit the us consulate in canada & apply for a K visa for your wife, my understanding is that, it usually taked 30 days for such visa. while your wife in the states, you can do the paper work yourself & only pay for the application costs. I know there more experienced folks in this matter on this forums & I'm asking these fine folks to please help you! Good luck brother.

[lazycis]

1) How much time does it take to process I-130?

Who knows, check USCIS processing times, but do not rely on them.

2) My lawyer said I should file right after I got my citizenship. Does that mean if it will amount to longer waiting time if I file say a month later?

Of course it will take longer. They cannot start working on I-130 until you file it.

3) In your opinion, should we apply here or submit to a US consulate in Canada?

File I-130 here and let her apply for K-3 visa. If she gets K-3, not need for you to go to Canada. She comes to US and files I-485 to get a GC. If you are planning to live in US, that's the way to go.

4) What's consular processing? Why is it that we need to travel to Montreal? (We plan to stay in Vancouver)

After I-130 is approved, she needs to get an immigrant visa (green card). She has to go to the US consulate to do that. I am not sure if there is a consulate in Vancouver.

5) Where can I find more info on petitioning for wife to come over as a citizen? I read the sticky thread "Family-based GC" but our situation doesn't fall into any of the three categories listed.

refer to this site
http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/fa...ion/index.html

6) Where would she do her medical exam for DS-2053?

Use this link to locate a USCIS approved doctor
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?ac...ffice_type=CIV

[maisflocon]

Thanks Trucken and Lazycis. I have been desperately looking for some advice but it seems like most of the pros are leaving people like us out.

Lazy, I am sorry I mis-stated my question (2). I already got my citizenship, and I am trying to figure out if it makes a difference to the waiting time if I file now versus filing two months later. My lawyer said I should file right after citizenship, giving me the impression that it's better to file right away.

How can she do the medical exam if she is not in the US?

I will look into K3 visa, the strange thing is my lawyer never mentioned about this. Isn't I-130 the same as getting a GC for spouse, why does she need to apply for I-485?

Thank you guys. You are the water in the desert for me, otherwise I have to spend lots of money on the blood sucking lawyer again.

[lazycis]

Originally Posted by maisflocon

Thanks Trucken and Lazycis. I have been desperately looking for some advice but it seems like most of the pros are leaving people like us out.

Lazy, I am sorry I mis-stated my question (2). I already got my citizenship, and I am trying to figure out if it makes a difference to the waiting time if I file now versus filing two months later. My lawyer said I should file right after citizenship, giving me the impression that it's better to file right away.

How can she do the medical exam if she is not in the US?

I will look into K3 visa, the strange thing is my lawyer never mentioned about this. Isn't I-130 the same as getting a GC for spouse, why does she need to apply for I-485?

Thank you guys. You are the water in the desert for me, otherwise I have to spend lots of money on the blood sucking lawyer again.

OK, I do not think it makes a big difference if you file right away or not, the USCIS processing time should be the same.

There are panel physicians that can take a medical outside US. Call US consulate to get a list.
Family-based GC is a two-step process: I-130 is the first step. After I-130 is approved your wife will need to either adjust status in the US (I-485) or apply for immigrant visa outside of the US.

[TheRealCanadian]

Originally Posted by maisflocon

I am trying to figure out if it makes a difference to the waiting time if I file now versus filing two months later. My lawyer said I should file right after citizenship, giving me the impression that it's better to file right away.

If anything, it's best to wait. Get all of your documentation together and make sure the I-130 package is complete. If that can be done a day after your oath, great. If it takes two weeks, it takes two weeks. That's still better than if you put together an incomplete or incorrect package and you get an RFE or a rejection. Don't rush, do it right.

I don't see much point in the K-3, since it doesn't save much time over consular processing and it delays the final GC. I'd file the I-130, and let her get her consular immigrant visa. Don't bother with the K-3/I-485 route.

How can she do the medical exam if she is not in the US?

She'll do it in her home country.

[maisflocon]

Thank you all. If I understand you correctly, there is no need to go I-485 if I just do I-130 and get an immigration visa after I-130 is approved.

I like your idea of doing it carefully than rushing it, and that's what I will do. Where can I find more info on this forum on all the documents I need to prepare so I can be sure I am doing everything right?

[usatimes1]

Why don't you get an appointment with an US consulate officer. He can tell you what you should do. Also check check www.uscis.gov
We had to hire a lawyer at the end because they would not issue me a visa. But it was a total waste. He was the laziest ......
He had a lot of time to prepare our documents but the due date came for us to send documents and he even didn't start anything. We had to do everything on our own. My wife had to stay in the office until almost 3am and flew to the country to give the documents to US embassy in person. Guess what, we had to pay over 7k for his .... signature.

After that we never hired a lawyer anymore.

But I can not say that you should hire one or not.

As far as I know if they approved our application I-130 immediately, it would take less than a month for them to issue me a visa. It should be really fast since you are a citizen. Cause at the end of the interview they will tell you that you will receive your visa in a week or something like that.
But you should both be well prepared for interview. Document everything. Bring all your supporting documents. Organize it. Put all the photos in a cd or dvd and take it to print shop and ask them to print on a letter size paper in color. Write dates, names and events on the white space.

They like to see everything on the paper. Not separeted. if you have telephone records that you are calling each other, make a copy. All the email, letters, .... whatever you can think of. All the papers it includes both your names. It could be financial or other type of documents. Know what your hobbies are. What you like or not. It is better to be well prepared than to be denied a visa.

Never assume that you already sent a lot of documents already before. Treat every application process as if you are applying for the first time. You will probably fed up at some point doing the same things and answering the same questions over and over again and submitting the same or similar paperwork, collecting more proof of relationship but don't let your frustration prevent you from doing a good job every step of the way. Make sure everything is consistent from the beginning.

I am not a lawyer or immigration adviser. I take no responsibility for accuracy of information I provided. Please use at your own risk. I am just sharing our experience