Should we apply for a green card?

O

_Oro_

Registered Users (C)
Hi, I'm currently in grad school in the US with an F-1 visa. I'm a Chinese citizen so my F-1 visa expires every year. My husband (who is a US citizen) and I got married last year but we haven't applied for the green card yet. Now he has accepted a 1 year job offer in Canada starting in september 2010 and we want to move to Canada together. However, I have unfinished dissertation work here in the US and I want to work on my thesis from a distance. I still need to be able to travel back to the US during the year. The question is, should we apply for a green card right now? As far as we can tell, we have basically the following options:

1. Apply for a green card immediately, then move to Canada.

2. Do not apply for a green card, and try to renew my F-1 visa (multiple entries) and apply for a Canadian visa. I feel a little risky since I'm only taking a few dissertation credits.

3. My husband moves to Canada, and I stay here in the US, and this will be torturing...

If anyone can think of any other suggestions or options, that will be great! Thanks in advance!
 
#1 seems like the best option, if he can find a way to meet the income/asset requirements for the green card and you can move fast enough to get the GC approved by September. Are you aware of those financial requirements? Grad student stipend won't count.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jackolantern said:
#1 seems like the best option, if he can find a way to meet the income/asset requirements for the green card and you can move fast enough to get the GC approved by September. Are you aware of those financial requirements? Grad student stipend won't count.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the fast reply.

The stipend is 20,000. So I thought that was plenty. The poverty line is ~13,000 for a 2 person household.

Anyway, we're worried that if we apply for a green card now, then move to Canada for a year, we may lose it if I get
a job back in the US the following year.
 
Check with your DSO to determine what qualifies as full time student status in your particular instance. F-1 requires that.

Your stipend is also an issue. Most universities expect even RAs to be in residence for assignment (like when a faculty member is absent to take over teaching responsibilities temporarily, attend departmental and university meetings). I would expect a university to revoke it for a part time student not on campus. It is not required to pay for a student to do dissertation research. You are being paid to do a job; you are likely required to complete a timesheet and have someone attest that you worked the hours you state. No one should sign a timesheet that they cannot verify.
 
_Oro_ said:
The stipend is 20,000. So I thought that was plenty. The poverty line is ~13,000 for a 2 person household.
Click to expand...
The stipend could be $50,000 and it would still count for nothing. It is short-term income that will end when your studies end; it's not long-term employment. You can't use it towards the income requirement.
 
So we have decided to apply for the green card. I will go to Canada in September for my one year position but I only have to be in Canada for 8 months or less.
My wife will stay in the US working on her degree and keep her teaching assistanceship.
 
How are you going to meet the income requirements? The graduate stipend can't be used, neither can the Canadian job.
 
Sorry missed your post above. Hmm, so this is a good question. If I can't use my graduate stipend then I need to figure something out. Any suggestions?
 
If you have no intention of residing in the US, it is foolish to apply for a GC. You will lose it since it is not sufficient to visit the US. Accepting a position outside the US is one of the determining factors. Your husband can visit you since there are no issues of him crossing the border.

What makes the most sense, IMO, is to give up the stipend and work remotely. Apply for a visit visa based on your relocation to attend your defense. By working on your dissertation full time, you will be able to complete it more quickly. You will need to pay for only enough credits to meet the graduation requirements.
 
Concerned4us said:
If you have no intention of residing in the US, it is foolish to apply for a GC. You will lose it since it is not sufficient to visit the US. Accepting a position outside the US is one of the determining factors. Your husband can visit you since there are no issues of him crossing the border.

What makes the most sense, IMO, is to give up the stipend and work remotely. Apply for a visit visa based on your relocation to attend your defense. By working on your dissertation full time, you will be able to complete it more quickly. You will need to pay for only enough credits to meet the graduation requirements.
Click to expand...
You are confused, and _Oro_ is partially responsible for that. Apparently both the USC husband and noncitizen wife are using the same ID.

Reread the thread carefully and you'll see the USC husband has the job offer in Canada, so as a USC he has no limitation on how long he can stay outside the US. Of course, he should be domiciled in the US in order to sponsor his wife for a GC. But the job offer in Canada doesn't affect his domicile, as it is a short-term contact that is not going to exceed 1 year, and apparently the work can get done in 8 months. In addition, if the case is filed this month or next month, the green card is likely to be approved before he leaves for Canada.

He mentioned that his wife will continue to stay in the US to finish her studies. So her GC will be fine. I figure she'll probably take short trips to Canada to visit her husband, which can be done with a GC without needing a Canadian visa.

Their problem is with meeting the income requirements, because his current income cannot be used since he knows it will end when he leaves for Canada, and income from the Canadian job cannot be used. And the time-limited nature of her stipend also means she can't use her stipend income.

So that means they will have to use their assets to satisfy the income requirements -- every $5 of acceptable assets reduces the income requirement by $1. And/or get a co-sponsor.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Especially Jack you saved us a lot of trouble I'm sure. We decided that my spouse the alien will stay and continue her residence in the us while I the USC will take the position in Canada. Its a year position.. really 8 months and we'll be able to visit each other frequently. We will keep our apt in the US along with all bank accts/ credit cards/ cars/ and everything so hopefully we won't have any problems going from temporary to permanent.

Jack- My parents will hopefully joint sponsor (I'm going to ask them tonight).

Concerned- We just think its too risky to have her come to Canada and have to deal with trying to get back in the US. Besides the fact that she will be earning money here in the US next year. While there would be no guarantees in Canada that she would be able to find a job.

Thanks for all the great replies and help so far.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top