We are writing to you because we are considering moving back to the U.S.
We are a family of four. My husband, xxxxxxxs a Canadian citizen by birth; I am a U.S. citizen by birth, and have been a permanent resident of Canada since 2005. We got married in 2000. We have 2 daughters -xxxx na (born in 2003 in the USA - she is a U.S. passport holder), and xxxxxxxxxxxx (born 2006, in Canada and a Canadian passport holder).
We would like to move to the U.S. by Christmas of this year.
Question 1:
Other than the I-130 form (petition for alien relative), and the G-325 (biographic information) what other forms do we need to fill out?
Question 2:
At what point can my husband start (a) seeking employment, and (b) start working?
Question 3:
How long will it take for his petition/Visa to be approved?
Thank you so much for your time,
Sincerely,
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david ingram replies:
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I am not a lawyer and not a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
What I am sending to has been distributed many times and I believe it to be true but if you have any serious questions, they should be directed to a US immigration attorney such as Terry Preshaw at http://www.crossbordervisas.com/trry.htm
or David Andersson at - http://www.whoswholegal.com/firms/6194/andersson-cross-border-law-corporation
Off the record, You are not going to get to the US for Xmas unless you just go for a vacation and stay there and apply from within. That is NOT something I recommend because you would be willfully violating US immigration laws if you crossed the border with yiour Canadian husband with the intention of staying and it is my opinion that it would likely take you longer to get his green card under those terms.
PLUS, if you went that route, he could not work until the green card was issued and that could easily take 18 months.
If you apply from Vancouver, you submit the I-130 to the Vancouver office. However, your actual interviews, etc, will take place in Montreal.
You can, if you wish, also mail your paperwork to Vermont. Again, I recommend that you do not do so.
GO TO http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/immigration_usa_relative.asp for a USCIS explanation of what you need.
Your Canadian born daughter is also a US citizen and your US born daughter is also a Canadian citizen. I recommend that you get both daughters their alternate passports as soon as possible..
Another complication is that for you to sponsor your husband, you should have earned $25,000 or so a year. You are not close to qualifying by income tests. However, depending upon your assets, you may be able to qualify but you may find you need to find a US relative to be a co-sponsor for you.
MY ADVICE.
Start your own application for Canadian Citizenship. There is absolutely NO disadvantage to your being a Canadian citizen. It means you can come back to Canada at any time without proving your status as a Permanent Resident and without having to live with your husband if something goes wrong with the marriage.
While youare waiting out your Canadian citizenshgip, you can get your husband's gren card at your leisure. It will take you at least a year to get his paperwork through so that he can just go down as a green card holder and work.
In the meantime, while he is waiting, he can continue to make his good income in Canada and maybe you can increase your income with a full time job for a year and a half and be in a better position to sponsor him withoiut depending upon a co-sponsor .
Also, be advised that while he is applying for a green card, he can NOT cross the US border in either direction.
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Another possibility is that he gets another job visa to go down as I assume he had when you were married and your daughter was born in Scottsdale.
If he was there on a working visa and you decided to apply from within the US, the process could be simpler while he is working and you do not have the time constraints.
However, I still recommend that you get YOUR Canadian citizenship first.,
The following older question will likely help you as well.
I am an American on a NAFTA work permit stationed at an office in Vancouver since 2003.
My legal residence is in
Last year, I married a Canadian citizen, and I am about to send K-3 forms in to the US Immigration in Kansas City in order that I can bring my spouse over.
According to the
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david ingram
replies:
I apologize for just getting at this now. It was buried in
some 2,000 emails which I have finally got to as our June 30th season winds to a
halt.
Bellingham is a neat place. I am looking at 4 steel
Chile Pepper plates from the Mexican Restaurant that I bought when I was
down there on June 18th.
BACK TO YOUR Question
Realize that from
the time you submit your forms, your wife can NOT cross the border either
way. If she is in the US when you file them, she can not come back to
Canada for any reason until the paperwork is done and the green card is issued.
(there is an exception if something particularly important comes up - she can
apply for an advance parole on an individual basis at a cost of
$170.00.)
See general directions for form I-131 at:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b11747a55773d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
See the actual form I-131 at - http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-131.pdf
If she is in Canada when you file your I-130 Application for your wife,
them, she can not go into the US either. When applying from Vancouver if
she is in Canada, the paperwork ends up being conducted through the Montreal
Consulate.
I am assuming that the paperwork has gone already. If it
has not, I would be glad to look it over for you.
The following is a list
of the forms that you will likely need (everything but the poverty guidelines)
.
You can find all of the forms at: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Start off with form I-130 Petition for an Alien relative (this is after a
marriage)
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c67c7f9ded54d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
If you decide to go the fiancée route, he has to apply from out of the US
and can NOT cross the border back to the US until it is approved, use form
I-129-F
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-129F.pdf
At some point you will need G-325 For his Biographic
Information http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/g-325.pdf
Or you might need G-325-A instead - http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/g-325a.pdf
He will need an I-683 - Medial certificate
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-693.pdf
You will need an I-134 - Affidavit of Support
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-134.pdf or
instructions at:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=fe3647a55773d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
I-864 - Or another Affidavit of support - If you do not work, you will
need a relative to co-sponsor or use other household income and
assets
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b70f8875d714d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
I-864A - contract between yourself and household member
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864A.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0c7e8875d714d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
You will want to read this for the poverty guidelines
Form I-864-P -
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf -
extra instructions at
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=73c63591ec04d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Employment authorization I-765
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-765.pdf
extra instructions - Family Unity is Number
274a.12(a)(13) here (Family Unity)
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=73ddd59cb7a5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Hope this helps.
In the meantime, I hope that you are getting your
US returns done properly and filing form T D F 90-22.1. These are only
necessary if you had more than $10,000 in Canadian accounts at any time in
2006. If you had an RRSP account, you also need to file form 8891 for each
RRSP. See the following older
question.
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Hello Mr. Ingram:
I understand your rates. I wish to find out if you have any experience in dealing with the following issue.
A first-time filer, US citizen by birth only, 42 years old, trying to determine what non US accounts need to be reported to the Treasury Department and what the possibility is of leniency in the case of penalties on RRSP and such accounts, which were never before reported.
As background, I am a dutiful tax payer on the Canadian front, totally by the book. I was ignorant of the full impact of delaying my US tax returns (I thought real estate would be my only issue). I intend to renounce my US citizen (and have an appointment to do so) on July 27. I cannot get an appointment any sooner.
I have a tax preparer in the US who deals with Ex Pat issues, but is not terribly familiar with Canadian situations. He has prepared ten years' worth of returns for me but when preparing the Treasury Forms and looking into the background, and at Form 8891, he became concerned that I should seek advice from someone more familiar with actual practice in this area.
If you have experience of feel you can substantially guide me, I would like to call you and engage your services for the 15-50 minute time period. I live in Vancouver and will of course provide more of my particulars.
S_____________________________________________________________________________________________
david
ingram replies:
With your occupation as a XXXXXXXXXXXX, I can NOT even
begin to understand why you would renounce your US citizenship.
If
you ever intend to visit the US again, do NOT renounce your US
citizenship. If you are doing so to avoid having to file Income tax
returns, you are banned from entering the US for life AND are still liable to
file US tax returns for ten more years PLUS are subject to capital gains tax on
your assets as everything is deemed sold upon your relinguishing your
citizenship.
The most common and most important ex-pat forms after the
TDF 90-22.1 Treasury forms and the rules for their preparation are the
same, no matter which of the 265 countries you may be living in. In
addition, the rules are the same for any US resident who may have an account in
another country.
If your US preparer has 'any' question about the
treasury forms, he or she is NOT an experienced preparer of EX-PAT tax
returns.
The form 8891 is a substitute for form 3520 which applies to
ex-Pats who live in any other country other than Canada. An EX-PAT
preparer would know how to fill in the 8 page 3520 which applies to retirement
accounts in any country. If he or she has any problem with the one page
8891, the same situation applies. In my opinion, the person has NO
credible ex-pat experience.
We provide the services you require. If
you have not done so already, You should read my Oct 95 newsletter (nothing new)
which deals with just what you need to do as a US citizen in Canada (top ;left
hand box at www.centa.com).
Then you should read the US/Canada Taxation section in the second box
down on the right hand side.
Then you should read the Oct 93 newsletter
on dual citizenship.
If you would like to talk to me, call Gillian Bryan
at (604) 980-0321 Monday to Friday between 10 AM and 4 PM. If you come to
see me, bring in the Dec 31 2005 and Dec 31 2006 year end statements for any
RRSP accounts you have and bring in a list of all of your Canadian financial
accounts including life insurance policies, trust company accounts, Credit Union
accounts, Bank Accounts, Securities accounts, RRSP accounts and even a girl
guide, church, brownie or company account you have signing authority over
I will need the highest balance in 2006 (to the nearest $10,000 or so).
Rather than just talk, we can likely get the reporting done in the
hour.
_____________________________
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service help.
$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries
Catch - up returns for the US where we use the Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to $600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be informational rather than taxable. In fact, if there are children involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years. We have done several catch-ups where the client has received as much as $6,000 back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over $12,000 refund.
Email and Faxed information is convenient for the sender but very time consuming and hard to keep track of when they come in multiple files. As of May 1, 2008, we will charge or be charging a surcharge for information that comes in more than two files. It can take us a valuable hour or more to try and put together the file when someone sends 10 emails or 15 attachments, etc. We had one return with over 50 faxes and emails for instance.
--IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, please be advised that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used or relied upon, and cannot be used or relied upon, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.--
-Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist for expert help, assistance, preparation, or consultation in connection with personal or business affairs such as at www.centa.com or www.garygauvin.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." -
