Hi all,
hoping someone here has experience on the US side of things that might be able to offer some advice. Myself and my partner (She's American, I'm Canadian) are getting married in Canada and then she'll be returning to the US to file the I-130. Once that's done I'll be applying for a green card from Canada through the I-485, and hopefully joining her once that's approved. We've researched the applications and should meet the criteria.
My question is this - while I am applying for a green card in the US, am I allowed to enter the United States as long as I prove I'm entering/exiting on a visitor's visa?
I also live very close to Buffalo, would I be able to schedule my interview in Buffalo instead of a US consulate in Canada?
If anyone has experience like this their advice would be greatly appreciated!!
So, you are going to remain in Canada while the I-130 is filed? I'm a little confused because the I-485 is for an adjustment of status for someone who is already legally in the US and will remain there while the application is processed (this is similar to the Canadian inland process). This would not be necessary for consular processing (outland). If you are filing outland through the I-130, it is a 3-step process. The application is first filed by your spouse to USCIS where they determine that you have a genuine relationship and that you are legally married. They also confirm that she is a US citizen or PR holder at this time as well. Once they approve your application (which can take anywhere from 7-9 months these days - ours took 10 months), it is forwarded to the National Visa Office at the Department of State. It takes them 6-8 weeks to receive it and get you in the system. Then you will have to submit all your police checks, biographical info, etc and she will have to submit documents showing that she meets the financial threshold to sponsor you. (another 1-2 months). After that, it is forwarded to the relevant visa office for further review and they will schedule an interview and ask for medicals to be done. In your case, the interview would be scheduled in Montreal. They are one of the slowest visa offices to schedule interviews, unfortunately, taking up to 3 months. If you are approved, they will take your passport and send it back to you within a week or two. Expect somewhere from 14-16 months to complete the process. You would only have an interview in the US if you are applying through the I-485 adjustment of status route. Otherwise it would be Montreal. They are the only US consulate that processes these outland applications.
To answer your other question, yes, it is possible to visit while your application is processed. We found that they didn't seem to know the application had been filed until it reached the Dept of State. If they did, they never mentioned it when my husband visited while we were in the first stage. The biggest thing is to show that you have strong ties to Canada and will be returning home. Lease/mortgage, employment, family, etc. and a return ticket helps. My husband always traveled with a copy of his lease, and a letter from his employer verifying his employment, and that he was on vacation and expected back on a certain date. He also brought bank statements just in case they wanted to see them. If you have never had trouble crossing the border, you should be fine. The biggest advice I can give you is to be honest, but don't offer information that they don't ask for. My husband never mentioned that he had an application for PR pending until they asked him about it. At that point, he had the receipt for our case being filed and paperwork from whatever stage we were in and showed that to them and added that he was trying to do this legally and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. His trips were no more than 2 weeks so he showed a pattern of going home and not trying to stay months at a time.
