Just got back from my Honeymoon, looking to move from TN to GC

T

The Jake

Registered Users (C)
Hey everybody, this forum is absolutely invaluable and has come in handy so often over the years as I renwed TNs etc. I am currently on my 8th consecutive TN with the same company (so yeah, it can be done) but the good news is that I just married my wife and I will no longer need to play the TN game. I had a wonderful time in Maui, thanks for asking!

I know that I need to begin this process ASAP and that I am going to have to remain in the US until I get the Advanced Parole document, so I wont even ask about that.

I have read in some places that CIS guarentees AP and EAD in 90 days, is there truth to this?

I am wondering, if I need a copy of the marriage certificate before I can start this process. I have put in a request with the Hawaii State Dept to expedite the copies of the certificate and am told it should arrive in about 4 weeks.

Other than that, what do I need to do? Is this a pretty simple process that I could do myself or do I need to hire a lawyer? I navigated 8 years of TNs without a lawyer FYI.

If I do go the lawyer route, how much am I looking at spending for such services? I believe that marriage-based applications are some of the most straightforward (especially since I am already in the US under a valid status) and I am hoping that doesnt mean ridiculous legal fees.

I absolutely appreciate everyone's replies and I will also read over some of the previous postings looking for my answers.

Thanks everybody and congratulations to me for marrying the love of my life.
 
The Jake said:
Hey everybody, this forum is absolutely invaluable and has come in handy so often over the years as I renwed TNs etc. I am currently on my 8th consecutive TN with the same company (so yeah, it can be done) but the good news is that I just married my wife and I will no longer need to play the TN game. I had a wonderful time in Maui, thanks for asking!

I know that I need to begin this process ASAP and that I am going to have to remain in the US until I get the Advanced Parole document, so I wont even ask about that.

I have read in some places that CIS guarentees AP and EAD in 90 days, is there truth to this?

I am wondering, if I need a copy of the marriage certificate before I can start this process. I have put in a request with the Hawaii State Dept to expedite the copies of the certificate and am told it should arrive in about 4 weeks.

Other than that, what do I need to do? Is this a pretty simple process that I could do myself or do I need to hire a lawyer? I navigated 8 years of TNs without a lawyer FYI.

If I do go the lawyer route, how much am I looking at spending for such services? I believe that marriage-based applications are some of the most straightforward (especially since I am already in the US under a valid status) and I am hoping that doesnt mean ridiculous legal fees.

I absolutely appreciate everyone's replies and I will also read over some of the previous postings looking for my answers.

Thanks everybody and congratulations to me for marrying the love of my life.
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The best thing to do is to go and visit the Family Based forum. It's got all the information you need. There are lots of threads about everything you need to do, including many of us that have come from Canada and have juggled the TN/GC filing process.

You need to file the following:
I-130 Petition ($355.00)
G-325a BIO for US citizen (no Fee)
G-325a BIO for Alien Spouse (no Fee)
I-485 AOS ($930.00 + $80.00)
I-765 – EAD (no Fee, if filed with I-485) - Optional
I-131 – AP (no Fee, if filed with I-485) - Optional
I-864 – Affidavit of Support (no Fee)
I-693 – Medical (no Fee)


Come on over to the family forum and ask your questions!
 
You will be filing I-130 and presumably I-485/I-131/I-765 all at the same time. You need to do your medical and provide as much other documentation as possible, if some is missing they will RFE you (but this should not delay EAD/AP). An RFE on marrige license is typical. There are good marriage-based immigration sites, but you have to wade thru the sappy luvvy-duvvy details. It is completely possible DIY, especially if you have no overstay issues, which presumably you do not. The approved medical list is short, so that will probably take the longest. Some recently have submitted I-485 without medical (becaause of June/July I-485 fiasco), but I would not now. Get the appointment, and start gathering your data for all the other forms (support, etc). If you read in posts that something may be required, send it if you have it, don't if you don't.

Only the EAD is 'guaranteed' to be approved in 90 days. the method to guaratee it is to advise USCIS at day 70 that you have not received it (at local office), and then they will take about 20 days to approve. If you do nothing, it will take about 110 days. AP takes longer (140 days) and there is no speed up mechanism.
 
You need to file the following:
I-130 Petition ($355.00)
G-325a BIO for US citizen (no Fee)
G-325a BIO for Alien Spouse (no Fee)
I-485 AOS ($930.00 + $80.00)
I-765 – EAD (no Fee, if filed with I-485) - Optional
I-131 – AP (no Fee, if filed with I-485) - Optional
I-864 – Affidavit of Support (no Fee)
I-693 – Medical (no Fee)
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... there is no way that EAD and AP are optional for a TN.
 
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nelsona said:
... there is no way that EAD and AP are optional for a TN.
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Yes they are. If you don't leave the country while the I-485 is being processed, then you're still okay on the TN. You only need the EAD and AP if you have to leave and come back prior to the GC being approved.

Actually filing for the I-485 does not invalidate your TN - if it did, then as soon as you file, you'd be working without authorization between the date of filing and the date you received your EAD - up to 3 months or more of time. And that wouldn't make sense.

That being said - for those on TN's I would definitely file for the EAD and AP.

The family-based forum I was referencing was the family based green card sub forum on this site.
 
I had done it through a lawyer, just because I was moving into my wifes place which was an hour away, so had to deal with that, getting married and then the hassle of thinking of all the forms to fill out and information needed. My parents paid for the lawyer as a sort of wedding present, so it worked well for us.

Think it cost from pre-marriage to the Green Card about $2000 (included all the form fees as well) or something total. So yes it is a lot of money, but in our case so much easier. Many do it without a lawyer though, so it's not needed, however, there are little things that are required that aren't specified which was nice to point out (sorry it's been years so can't remember the little things), but some of these things can result in the application being returned etc.

So that's my take on the lawyer issue. It did save me a hell of a lot of stress, but if I had paid for it myself, that $2000 might have caused me just as much stress too. Every lawyer is of course different, so might be a lot more expensive now as well (been about 4 or 5 years now since I went through it).

Anyways I was on a TN for 7 years, so seems you're case is very similar to mine. I was lucky to have about 10 months left on my TN when we applied for AOS (right after marriage) and I got my EAD and AP in less then a month, then the Green Card 4 months after. My entire process to Citizenship went rather fast and very smoothly. Can't say that for everyone though...
 
If you don't leave the country while the I-485 is being processed, then you're still okay on the TN. You only need the EAD and AP if you have to leave and come back prior to the GC being approved.
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Yup. and who stays in the US that long. There is no guarantee that AOS will come in short order. Any emergency trip outside US kills your AOS, and then your job is toast, and you need consular involvement to get back into US just to be with your spouse...

Like I said. AP and EAD are not optional when filing AOS while on TN.

... and yes filing AOS does not kill TN. I think we are all aware of that.
 
nelsona said:
Yup. and who stays in the US that long.
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The AOS for marriage based only takes 3-5 months now providing you don't get stuck in the namecheck black hole, so I don't really follow that statement.

nelsona said:
There is no guarantee that AOS will come in short order. Any emergency trip outside US kills your AOS, and then your job is toast, and you need consular involvement to get back into US just to be with your spouse...

Like I said. AP and EAD are not optional when filing AOS while on TN.

... and yes filing AOS does not kill TN. I think we are all aware of that.
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That's true and that's why you should file for the EAD and AP, but it's still not required.


What I meant by the AP and EAD is simply this... while they are not required, they are certainly recommended to go for while on a TN. Since the OP has now married a USC, he can file and go through AOS and lately most people have been getting them in 3-5 months, which is about the same timeframe as EAD and AP. The EAD's are required to be done in 90 days, but that really doesn't do him any good unless he also receives his AP. And unfortunately the AP's are not required to be done in 90 days. Some are and some aren't done that fast.

So if you have to leave for an emergency before the EAD and AP get there, it's the same as not filing for it anyway. And some people have even been getting their interviews and GC prior to actually receiving their AP - as strange as that seems.

Bottom line... once you file the I-130 and AOS you can count on not being able to leave the US for about 3 months regardless. And if you do, the AOS is considered abandoned and you can't come back on a TN because you've already shown immigrant intent. So you have to stay out of the country and try to file for one of the K visas (sorry I'm not sure which ones are which - the one for a US spouse) and wait until it's granted. Or finish the process through CP.
 
As TNguy78 mentionned, the EAD and AP are free. Filing I-131/I-765 along with AOS is really the only sensible option for a TN.
 
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nelsona said:
As TNguy78 mentionned, the EAD and AP are free. Filing I-131/I-765 along with AOS is really the only sensible option for a TN.
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I wholeheartedly agree! :)

It might not matter much if you get you AOS done in a short timeframe, but that is not a gaurentee and there is a possibilty of being stuck in the Namecheck thing for months or years, so you had better file for both the EAD and AP concurrently with the AOS. And you don't want to wait until you need the EAD and AP before you file because by then it might be too late and you won't get them on time.
 
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