I-130 question for my son (US citizen) son with Canadian wife

H

HumbleMarv

New Member
My son is a US citizen but we are living in Canada for the last 7 years. On Dec 31 2024 my son married a Canadian, and they are moving to Boston for a job he lined up - to start in May or June. He wants to get her US citizenship (but I think a 2-year green card comes first). My questions are a) should he file an I-130 from Canada before he goes, or after? He was told by a Canadian lawyer (I think wrongly) that he must wait until living in the US. So he plans to bring her in under the auspices of a "Tourist visa" which only 6 lasts months. b) If he can he file the I-130 now from Canada, can he then bring her in under some sort of other visa- will that work? I was googling and just read about the IR1 or CR1 maybe she can come in under one of those instead of as a "tourist" ?
 
I know parents of US citizens are IR1 but am not sure if foreign spouse on US citizen are IR1 category. My feeling is they are not.

I am US citizen and have gone through the process of filing 1-130 for parent who were in US on visitor visa. I filed exactly on the day when 6 months of US visit were getting over or maybe a day late. I know for sure if IR1 overstays for few days for some reason, it is forgiven.

Your son can bring his wife to US on visitor visa and then file for I-130. But don't do it too soon after landing at US. Give it few months otherwise it is considered the intent of visiting US on visitor visa was not for just visiting but to apply for immigration benefit.

I am not sure what is the process and timeline to apply for I-130 while still in Canada and planning to travel to US soon.
 
Hi thanks BelRed,

Thanks for the info, that was very helpful. I confirmed that the IR-1 does not apply, his Canadian wife will need a CR-1 (or "Conditional Resident Spousal" visa (essentially a 2 year conditional green card) which is meant for spouses married to the US citizen for less than 2 years. I also did a bunch of investigation and confirmed that it is bad to apply soon after entering as a tourist, and *for sure* not sooner than 90 days or it is automatically "suspicious". I also found out that it is better (or at least less problematic) for her to enter as a tourist and then file the I-130 than the reverse, because if the I-130 is on file, the border immigration officer can see that, and may outright deny entry as a tourist. But it is still somewhat risky (even without filing an I-130) to enter as a tourist -because technically she has "immigration intent" and she is not really a tourist (unless she really was going to visit her husband as a vacation, and still come back and live separately in Canada for some time).

The good news is that it appears there are 2 valid routes I can find. First, my son files an I-130 (online) from Canada, then uses the acknowledgment receipt to file an I-129F to petition for a K-3 Visa. Apparently that can be quick, and with a K-3 Visa she has 2 years to cross the border either way, including while the I-130 is being processed (otherwise she may have to stay in the US for that portion). She can also work under a K-3 Visa during this time (but EAD approval for that may take 90 days). With a K-3 visa she can also file an I-485 in the US once the I-130 is approved (or maybe earlier not sure). So the K-3 seems to be the way to go, to legally and honestly enter while waiting for a CR-1. Once she has the CR-1 after 2 years she can get a regular green card and from there US Citizenship after some time.

The 2nd valid route seems to be even better - just file for a CR-1 directly while in Canada -- at the local US embassy/consulate. It is not always allowed, and is usually only for US citizens living in another country for some time (which they have to prove), but it may be possible, and may take only 1 week to 3 months. Then she can enter directly as a CR-1, work right away, etc. I will be calling the local embassy tomorrow to see if this could work!
 
Nice @HumbleMarv

You seems to have done a lot of research on this.
I didn't have to deal with CR-1 or K-3 visa so I can't really comment much on that.
I know there are a lot of Canadians in this forum who discuss TN visa and other issues of travel between Canada and US.

@nelsona do you have any opinion on this thread.
 
Thank you all for any help. I tried calling the US Consulate in Ottawa, had to do a lot of button pressing to get to a live person. He was able to answer some questions about renewing our US passport but as for direct consular processing (if they do it) he said he did not know the answer, and he would not even know who to contact. Bizarre. I will try the Toronto consulate this week, see if I can reach them on the phone.
 
HumbleMarv said:
Thank you all for any help. I tried calling the US Consulate in Ottawa, had to do a lot of button pressing to get to a live person. He was able to answer some questions about renewing our US passport but as for direct consular processing (if they do it) he said he did not know the answer, and he would not even know who to contact. Bizarre. I will try the Toronto consulate this week, see if I can reach them on the phone.
Click to expand...
In Canada, only Montreal consulate processes immigrant visas.
 
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