Thoughts on our situation and GC

[globalgal]

Hi. I just found your site last night and have been reading like a maniac.

Seems there are alot of helpful people here so I thought I would post to get some feedback. Hope this is the right place since we have alot of issues.

I am a US citizen marrried to a dual citizen from the Caribbean who also holds Canadian citizenship. Married for 15 years as well.

We actually lived together in the Caribbean for 15 years. Our child became ill last year and had a life threatening emergency and after improper results, we brought her to the US to get answers. Never thought we would be here more than maybe a month but turned out different.

Anyway, my husband travels on the Canadian passport and has twice been given a b-2 for 6 months. If we had a crystal ball that said she is fine we would go back tomorrow. But we are unknown. BTW..I have residency to the Caribbean country and actually may get my citizenship...

Well, went to a lawyer, a great one who gave us more options than 'just get the greencard'. The lawyer actually was concerned about our family's needs versus what is the easiest... The only reason we are here is due to our daughter and her illness takes a long time to get under control and actually diagnosed. We had options like TN, L-1 or 2?, H1-B, dual intent visas and of course GC. The honest to God truth is that we just don't know our future answers..but we need to deal with immigration law which has not fully embraced the world as it changes to be more global....

Well, in the end, we wound up thinking about executing the GC only becuase it gives us the most flexiblity SHOULD it wind up we are here due to her illness for long term. He will apply as a Canadian since he is here already. We carefully considered the TN's or L. as well....but should he need to work in another field up here..GC is mosts flexible..BTW..GC is via marriage to me...

My question is this: Our business is still in the other country..and will continue to be. Husband's parent is ill and he was the primary caregiver till we had our problems and are now in the US..

Will his/our life just be miserable at POE because one of us will travel alot back and forth to check on our business /family and obviously at times spend a couple weeks at a time there? I know there are times constraints to spend out of country with a GC..but is it going to be a constant harrassment?? We will follow rules on days, etc...but the truth is if we have the GC we will not be LIVING somewhere else but will have to travel...Maybe even him more than me since it is his parent ill....Also we will travel separately(take turns) since I am not yet comfortable with taking my daughter to where I don't have a major good hospital should we need it.

.....Any thoughts??

Just an FYI..it is not going to be a situation where we will try to live outside but have the GC. Obviously if our daughter is in school it will be either here or there and if we have the GC it will be in the US.

My other quetsion is this: As I said, all this happened due to our daughter. WE did not expect this and some day MAY wish to return if she gets controlled better. (the health care was terrible/wrong over there)...If at some point he were to give back the GC because we were able to go back,(this may not happen).... can he ever apply again or multiple times without them giving him/us a hard time?

Our situation is not black and white and even her illness is not wholly understood even if I took the time to explain it to the immigration. But I just don't want any hassles in our life regarding travel...

I don't mean to sound ungrateful about the GC...I know we are completely fortunate with that as well as great medical care....It is just life threw us a huge curveball and we are trying to deal with the situation best we can and I just want some feedback regarding the immigration part.



Thanks in advance

 

[wantmygcnow]

All you need to know that is you can't be out of the country for more than 6 months if you have a GC. You can get a Rentry Permit which will allow you to be out but it will break your residency requirement to obtain U.S Citizenship.

Once you get a GC, you have to maintain it so if your situation makes it hard for you to maintain it, its better you dont get it. Since your husband is a canadian citizen, I would recommend you wait till you have solved your problems before applying a GC for him. Since he has no trouble traveling to the United States, its not a requirement for him to have a GC at this time.

Once he loses a GC because of abandonment, its very hard to get it back in my opinio

 

[globalgal]

Hey thanks for your reply so quickly. The only thing is that he can't just keep staying here wouldn't you agree? I mean it has been almost a year (he left before his prior b2 expired and got another 6 months )....and to keep our family unit together we need to do something. At some point they are going to stop giving a b2 for so many consecutive stops..right?

We will have no problem abiding by rules (ie..time)..I just want to see if they see it as 'reasonable' to have to travel out multiple times per year. And that 6 months is 6 months spread out or a one time 6 months? Calander year? I see our situation not the easiest to maintain IF THEY THINK something funky is going on..But that is definitely not the case. AGain you are at the mercy of Imm Officer A or B and what mood they are in

We would definitely get that visa to be out of country for the GC you mentioned IF we were going to be out for say a year..but actually if that happens at that point we would most likely have decided to return to live and therefore give it up. (GC). I would imagine that visa is a one time thing anyway and we don't need to be out for THAT long at this point....
Ours is going to be frequent shorter trips that honesly may not add up even to 6 months in the year..just the frequency might annoy them..We cannot leave the business/parent at too long of time periods..

Again, it may in the end be we stay here for good...You mentioned to straighten out my daughter illness first...for sure..would love to. However, it is so not concrete (from doctors) that we just found a 'good medication' for her at the end of November..and then usually they try this for 2 years..So you see it is a longer process than I dreamed..

Sure...we could have returned and chance it and maybe nothing happens to her. That is what I would love to do...As a parent I cannot do that and we cannot afford inadequate medical care that she had the first time..It was a life and death thing at the time; and now she is prone to it.

Thanks again..I told you it is not black and white and straight forward
G

 

[TheRealCanadian]

All you need to know that is you can't be out of the country for more than 6 months if you have a GC.

This is not true.

Since your husband is a canadian citizen, I would recommend you wait till you have solved your problems before applying a GC for him. Since he has no trouble traveling to the United States, its not a requirement for him to have a GC at this time.

This is also not true. While Canadians do not require a visa, having a US citizen wife and child residing in the US makes it difficult to re-enter, and the fact that he's spent the better part of a year in the US adds to this.

Once he loses a GC because of abandonment, its very hard to get it back in my opinio

And again, not true. There's nothing preventing her from petitioning for another GC in the future. Abandonment of a past GC is not grounds for denial of an immigrant visa petition.

Please don't frighten the OP unnecessarily.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

to keep our family unit together we need to do something. At some point they are going to stop giving a b2 for so many consecutive stops..right?

That's a correct assumption. You are best doing something soon before your husband is stuck outside the US for several months. Really, you need to decide where you want to live. If it's the US, that's fine, start the GC. If it's outside the US you can do so too, and don't bother with the GC.

I just want to see if they see it as 'reasonable' to have to travel out multiple times per year. And that 6 months is 6 months spread out or a one time 6 months? Calander year? I see our situation not the easiest to maintain IF THEY THINK something funky is going on..

The key for your husband's overseas business activities is to ensure that his residence and base of life is in the US. If he takes numerous short trips, he should be OK. Having you and your child in the US is another tie. Having a house and financial ties is even more. There are plenty of Permanent Residents (and US citizens) who spend in aggregate months each year outside the US on business, without issues, because it's clear that these are multiple, temporary trips from a US residence.

Where your husband might run into issues is if he was outside the US for months on end, with you, and no US ties.

But that is definitely not the case. AGain you are at the mercy of Imm Officer A or B and what mood they are in

This is an overblown fear.

Ours is going to be frequent shorter trips that honesly may not add up even to 6 months in the year..just the frequency might annoy them..We cannot leave the business/parent at too long of time periods..

Then there's not going to be an issue. You have enough to worry about. Stop troubling yourself about this.

 

[globalgal]

Thanks Canadian. That is what I was thinking and discussed with the lawyer.(reentering after being here for so long) In our case, I just see the GC as the best option in the end (this is not the route we wanted btw).

I mean I technically have residence somewhere else, but if he travels alone (and will) how can he prove this- that his wife and child and 'just waiting and watching the illness'.......PLUS..They will never believe us it has taken us this long to get to this point with our daughter unless they have a MD degree as well. I have documents from the doctor..but common sense tells me that at some point I am still going to have an officer question 'why so long' and they may just decide he is 'intending' at some point....

And...I actually have the most freedom. I can freely travel. If he leaves to visit family in Canada, maybe he cannot get back in without some application/change anyway. So we feel he is sort of stuck here so we need to get something done..which is why we enquired about various options...We just need to move on somehow and are lucky to have options...maybe not what we want..but....

So who needs the aggravation? Not us..We have enough stuff going on
E

 

[globalgal]

Thanks..just read your last post..no more thinking about it..

BUT..can you answer your thoughts or suggestion on what other visa/stamp besides a GC given our situation?

I know you are not a laywer..just looking for feedback..

Thanks..hopefully after this no more questions..

 

[TheRealCanadian]

I mean I technically have residence somewhere else, but if he travels alone (and will) how can he prove this- that his wife and child and 'just waiting and watching the illness'

He doesn't need to. If the two of you have a US residence where you are together, that's all he needs. The fact that you may have another residence abroad is immaterial, and isn't even worth bringing up unless asked. He's not the only US permanent resident with significant business interests abroad, you know.

I have documents from the doctor..but common sense tells me that at some point I am still going to have an officer question 'why so long' and they may just decide he is 'intending' at some point....

What do you mean? If he has a clear pattern of short trips and a US residence, there's no problem. I am puzzled why you believe there will be. It's not like he's going to be away for months at a time, is it?

 

[nelsona]

The spouse in this case does not have US residence, does he?

 

[globalgal]

Clarification...Nelsona..The spouse (him) does not have Residence yet...Probably going to apply next week. A side point..yes we have A residence somewhere else....(caribbean) and I have PERMANENT RESIDENCE there as a status besides my US citizenship......

Apparently you can have residence but be domiciled somewhere else..which is my case right now..

And no Canadian...it will not be months on end..I was worrying for nothing..These will be frequent trips every 6 weeks or 2 months...up to 2 weeks at a time maybe...

I was only starting think it cause I saw others posting here about 2 trips here and there gone for a few days and was wondering why they were panicking about that...

Thanks again..

 

[TheRealCanadian]

I was only starting think it cause I saw others posting here about 2 trips here and there gone for a few days and was wondering why they were panicking about that...

There seems to be a common theme in these forums where people (not you) want a situation with absolutely no risk, and then start to panic if they cannot get it.

 

[nelsona]

Clarification...Nelsona..The spouse (him) does not have Residence yet...Probably going to apply next week. A side point..yes we have A residence somewhere else....(caribbean) and I have PERMANENT RESIDENCE there as a status besides my US citizenship......

Thanks again..

Yes, I was refering to his lack of US permanent residence. Your citizenship does not (yet) bestow on him any right to be in US. His admittance in B2 status is conditional on his NOT having immigrant intent, which, by your own words, he now has.

In any event, he cannot travel and be re-admitted to US once he submits I-485 until he gets AP, which will take several months. So, be wary of applying for GC too quickly, if he needs to leave US soon.

A wary CBP officer would be in his rights to deny him entry right now, regardless of filing I-485 or not, given his being married to a US citizen who lives in US. The presumption of immigrant intent in his case is well-nigh insurmountable.

 

[globalgal]

Nelsona you are sort of changing the words and how I mean them..

You are implying that he had intent at the entry with his B-2 but this is not the case.....At issuance of the B2 upon landing...there was NO/ZERO intent. We had purchased a house which was and did close in October in the Caribbean, registered her for school down there (even paid for school since August and she is not even there )....My pets are even still there-ANyone who knows me knows I would never leave my animals...(if we are here then of course I will go get them...

We were to return back at the end of August when 2 weeks after husband arrival on the B-2, the medication had an adverse rx with my daughter and 3 hospital stays over a 6 week period....... and it took till the end of November to get rid of that problem and start all over again with her treatment..which so far so good for now....

.... So no..there was no intent and there really is not even an intent now...Just doing what I may have to possibly do...

As I stated and not meaning to be rude..but not everyone has an INTENT to want to stay/migrate to the US....as in our case. Circumstances arose while we were here to change that final outcome. I love where I was born but I love other places too and somewhere else is my home at heart.

We were told it (application)could take aobut 60 days where we are which is acceptable..I can travel as usual in that time...Not him....But please don't walk away with any type of misguided INTENT..If that was our INTENT we could have filed for this last March onwards....GC was not my/our intent..in fact we were looking at every other venues/visas for doing this..even those with dual intent ( word I learned last week)....Do you know what it is really like to be in limbo because of circumstances in every direction beyond your control? This immigration is not the most serious one for us..I just wanted some advice..I even went to 2 lawyers..One was EXCELLENT with all the highest credentials (ie..former immigration judge,etc) ..but his wife was an a** micromanaging the office and giving advice (wrong) before we even got to see him..And just pushed GC and did not offer any other suggestions...Found a second lawyer...great credentials..but offered us so much more and explained so much....And so we are happy...

You were right about any CBP being wary..I guess they see all kinds. But, we always tell the truth and always have...and he never has had a problem..It was my sense that decided to get proper legal advice and read up to see if this b-2 can continue when I found out otherwise..Hence I was trying to find rules and and make well educated choices.

Finally Canadian thanks for the straight answers...I know you were not directing it at me..But based on experience in life....it is always good to know all angles BEFORE you take the plunge for anything..as it can have BIG consequences for FUTURE choices..and since I am a thorough person..I always ask ask ask..I was not worried about risk so much as getting hassled at the airport or other's experience...We never had any 'abuse' at the border..but man what I have been reading makes me a bit leary. Anyway, you answered my questions great..except for what would your other considerations be (L, TN,,etc)..Either of those were/are within our reach with ease...the H1-B was given less consideration only because it seems like a lottery system and suppose you loose...Then I had to spend time/money for another visa anyway....I just found all this out last week btw...That is how 'unserious' we are/were about truly wanting to stay....More of a necessity...

Thank you for your time..I will be lurking...not just this thread but others. A

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Nelsona you are sort of changing the words and how I mean them.

I think you're misinterpreting.

Under the law, every non-citizen entering the US is presumed to intend to stay permanently, and the only way they can enter in a non-immigrant classification is to overcome this presumption. You are guilty until proven otherwise.

Now for many Canadians, all it takes is to say that one has a job and a home in Canada and one is just visiting for the day/week and off you go. However, in your husband's case, he's staying for periods of time, has a US citizen spouse who is staying in the US with a sick US citizen child. It becomes much, much harder to overcome that presumption of immigrant intent.

Whether that's fair or not in your husband's specific case is another question. Based on his foreign business interests and frequency of trips, it's reasonably clear that every entrance will be temporary and he'll be off again in a few days or weeks. The I-94s he's been given are double-edged swords; it's clear that CBP is quite suspicious, but at the same time they provide much better tracking of his departures which may actually bolster his case.

Current US immigration law doesn't provide really good alternatives for the spouses of US citizens to live and work in the US and abroad. If you are planning on an extended stay in the US, the GC is the way to go to simplify matters.