Unusual situation, need expert opinion please?

T

tilt

New Member
Hello and thanks for this very informative forum.

My situation seems to be very different from everyone else's on this forum and I would really appreciate help from an expert or even an attorney.

I am a Canadian citizen, my wife is a US citizen.
My wife lives with me in Canada since 2002.
My wife has no property or family in the US.

We would like to move to the US and live there.
My wife obviously does not have a job in the US since she lives in Canada with me.
She also does not have a lot of money in the US (or in Canada for that matter) in order to be able to prove that she can support me.
I have an open job offer in the US for whenever I arrive, but my wife does not.

Questions:
---------
1. Can my wife apply for a green card for me if she does not live in the US? My wife cannot move to the US and apply for my GC because she does not have a job or a home in the US and it would be difficult to maintain two households on one salary. She already has a good job here in Canada.

2. Will her lack of funds (in the US or Canada) be detrimental to my application?

3. If indeed we can apply from Canada, would we submit the application at the US Consulate in Toronto or should the application be submitted to an INS office inside the US?

4. Can we use my job offer as proof that I do not need my wife to support me? Will that help my application?

5. If I get my green card, my wife will still continue to live in Canada for a while till I get settled in the US and can send for her. Would that be OK or would it harm my application?

With such a situation would it be better for me to schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney?

Thank you and cheers.
 
1. No. The petitioner must have a residence in the US, not necessarily live there for her entire life but at least must have a residence in the US. Please check the process at www.uscis.gov

2. Well, part of the forms is an Affidavit of Support which the sponsor must proof that you won't be a charge for the US government. So she will has to show that she makes more than 125% over poverty level, in the case that that is not enough then you can use assets or use joint sponsors who must live in the US as well and proof the same thing. Now for Consular Process I don't know how that part works. BUt in any case she must have a residence in the US.

3. The first step she can do it, file the I-130 Petition for An Alien Relative but she must check that out with the Consulate in Toronto. For further information check with the Consulate but first go to www.uscis.gov

4. No.

5. When you say that you have a job offer in the US, means that you will get a work visa?

6. It is your personal call.

Good luck,
 
Thank you Cherr1980. I guess I am screwed then. My wife has no assets or income in the US, nor does she have anyone who can co-sponsor. The only way we can move to the US is for me to move first and settle down.

As regards your response to my question 5, the answer is, there is a company that said that if I am able to legally work in the US, they will give me a job, irrespective of when I come. They are also willing to process a TN visa for me if necessary, but the TN is specifically one where there is no intent to immigrate and so applying for a GC from a TN would be very difficult. The company will not process an H1B.

Thanks again and cheers
 
Okay, I don't know about the TN, but I know there was a case of a person (long ago) that was on TN and married a USC and was in AOS process.

But in any case, good luck then...I mean the one who must make the first move is your wife then to bring you over there, not the other way you know....
 
Tilt,
Here is a suggestion...you come on over on a TN visa and work until you can send for your wife. Once she gets here...you can apply for the AoS. Here is why...there are so many folks on this forum who have entered illegally or overstayed or come on business or tourist visas and have still managed to get a GC through marriage!
Yours seems to be a genuine case and you have already been married for 4 years!

Did you contact the American consulate in your city to get some insight?

All the best and don't give up...I am sure it will work out.
 
You could follow this sequence:

You come here on TN and start working.

Your wife quits her job in Canada and joins you here and finds a job.

After finding a job your wife can file an AOS application for you.

You said your wife has a good job in Canada - she is filing US tax returns isn't she? The most recent US tax return will be necessary for your AOS application.
 
tilt said:
...but the TN is specifically one where there is no intent to immigrate and so applying for a GC from a TN would be very difficult.
Click to expand...
tilt,
As long as you don't offer the information that your wife is a US citizen to the officer at the POE, then you can continue to apply/renew your TN until you file for Adjustment of status by filing an I-485, at which point you'll need to apply for an EAD and an Advance Parole. Only a pending I-485 is proof of clear immigrant intent. If you get your GC processed at the consulate, you'll never file for an I-485, and so there is no problem with renewing your TN.
 
Thanks to everyone who responded :)

ageorge, the option you mention is the first one I thought of, but then there is a high likelihood of my TN being rejected because I do not have a related degree. This is why I wanted to take the GC route instead of the TN.

And no, I have not contacted the US embassy here. They do not answer general questions. The only way you can get to talk to them is to actually apply for the visa and go to the interview and have it rejected (or approved if I am lucky) and then maybe ask some questions which they may or may not choose to answer.

Backroady, thanks :). Part of my reply to your suggestion is the same as above. As to the other part, yes, my wife has been filing tax returns in the US, but her address is Canadian, plus since she pays taxes here in Canada, her taxes in the US are zero. I don't think that will go well with the INS because the reason they ask for tax returns is to show that you are indeed making at least 125% more than the poverty line, right? And in my wife's case, she is making nothing and so she only proves that she cannot support me!

CuriousGeorge, I replied to your PM :)

Thanks again and cheers
 
payala said:
Are you sure you can get that type of visa even though you're married to a USC?
Click to expand...
The officer has no reason to ask if he's married to a USC, so if he never offers that info to the officer at the POE, then it would never come up. Never offer info when not specifically asked for it.
 
tilt said:
....plus since she pays taxes here in Canada, her taxes in the US are zero.
Click to expand...
Even though here US payable taxes are zero, she still must declare her Canadian income on the US income tax forms. US tax laws want all USC's to declare thier worldly incomes, even if no taxes are due. IRS is sort of nosy in this way, but those are the joys of being a USC.

tilt said:
....I don't think that will go well with the INS because the reason they ask for tax returns is to show that you are indeed making at least 125% more than the poverty line, right? And in my wife's case, she is making nothing and so she only proves that she cannot support me!
Click to expand...

I believe there is a way around this if you have have a job in the US that can support both of you, and / or if you take into account your wife's worldly incomes that she should have declared on her US income tax forms. You should seek the advice of a good immigration lawyer on this one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks curiousgeorge. Yes, she has reported her Canadian income on her US tax returns, plus we have a house in Canada that we can sell and show some money there.

Yes, I guess we really need a good immigration lawyer. Thanks again :)

Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top