Immigration through marriage questions.

S

ST29

New Member
Hello,

I'm a Canadian man married to a US citizen woman (We have an American born child as well) and would like to relocate from Canada to the States. My wife already moved back with our son to stay with her parents and the idea is I would follow soon, the questions I have are the following:

- Is it a better idea to apply while I stay in Canada or cross the border and just apply within the States? Which one takes longer?

- If I do decide to cross the border and apply within, can I cross the border back to visit Canada while my application is pending? I understand that entering Canada may not be an issue, but will the US border deny me re-entry to the States if I tell them that I have a pending application while living in the States?

- If I do decide to apply within the US, will I have to be jobless until my application is processed or can I work before that? If a work permit is required what's the general time on that?

Thank you.
 
ST29 said:
- Is it a better idea to apply while I stay in Canada or cross the border and just apply within the States? Which one takes longer?
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The correct way is to do Consular Processing from Canada. From her filing the I-130 petition, to you receiving an immigrant visa, it may take about a year.

The issue with entering as a visitor and doing Adjustment of Status is that someone entering as a visitor is not supposed to have preconceived intent to do Adjustment of Status during that trip at the time they enter. If the immigration officer suspects you are going to do Adjustment of Status, they should deny you entry. If they ask you about how long you will stay, then you will either have to lie or tell them the truth which will lead them to denying you entry. It's also possible that they don't ask you anything about this and you don't lie and you can do Adjustment of Status later with nothing to worry about. The Adjustment of Status process usually takes a few months, but you will be in the US during this time, so it doesn't matter so much how long it takes.

ST29 said:
- If I do decide to cross the border and apply within, can I cross the border back to visit Canada while my application is pending? I understand that entering Canada may not be an issue, but will the US border deny me re-entry to the States if I tell them that I have a pending application while living in the States?
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If you leave the US while your Adjustment of Status application is pending, and you don't have Advance Parole, you will automatically abandon your Adjustment of Status application. You can apply for Advance Parole for free at the same time as applying for Adjustment of Status. You should get the Advance Parole within 3 months of applying.

ST29 said:
- If I do decide to apply within the US, will I have to be jobless until my application is processed or can I work before that? If a work permit is required what's the general time on that?
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You cannot work until you have an EAD or the green card. You can apply for an EAD for free at the same time as applying for Adjustment of Status. You should get the EAD within 3 months of applying.
 
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