Canadian, married to a U.S. citizen wants to move to U.S.

T

Taurk

Registered Users (C)
I am a Canadian citizen, my wife is a U.S. citizen and we have 2 teen age children who are both Canadians. My wife has not lived in the U.S. since she was 12. We are interested in living and working in the U.S. My question is what might be the best way for me to live and work in the U.S.?

Thanks in advance
 
No, they're not citizens

Citizenship rules depend on the laws in effect at the time of birth of the would-be citizen. According to another immigration law site, if you are born outside the US after 1986, and ONLY ONE PARENT IS A US CITIZEN, that parent must have resided in the US for at least two years after the age of 14 for his/her children to automatically have citizenship. Since the kids are both teens, this is likely the rule that would apply. (If, by chance, one is 19, well, the previous rule requires a longer period of residence than two years by the citizen parent).
 
You could move to the US

Based on what I've read elsewhere, you and your family could move to the US, with your wife sponsoring you and your kids for green cards. However, I believe she would have to meet the sponsorship requirements in terms of having enough income or assets to sponsor you.
 
laws

I was paraphrasing the requirements on the "FindLaw" site, which gives the laws in effect for various time periods. From what I read, how the mother got her citizenship (birth or naturalization) isn't really an issue--what's at issue is how long she lived in the U.S. prior to and after the age of 14, IF her children were born after 1985.

I'm not a lawyer either, but I do have an MBA and a Ph.D. Guess the best thing for Mom and Dad to do is try to file with the US consul, and see what they say. (And to check law websites themselves.) They just shouldn't count on her being able to pass on citizenship.
 
Well, my wife was born in 1969 in the U.S. and resided in the U.S. until 1982. At that time, her family moved to Canada. We were Married in 1987 and our first child was born in 1989, the second in 1990. It sounds like the 2 year rule would apply.

Would my children need to apply for a VISA in order to move to the U.S. for the first 2 years and if so, what would be the easiest VISA for them to obtain. I would probably work on a TN initially until I decided whether or not we wanted to stay in the U.S.

I appreciate all the input many of you have given already.

Taurk
 
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