National Visa Center

[Efrem]

I am a green card holder and my wife is a Canadian citizen, I applied for her I-131, seven moths ago....I got a letter of approval from Vermont center last week.Now they said NVC will contact her through Canadian consulate.....she is pregnant due end of January...she came to US last week and we want the baby to be delivered here. Question
1. Is it possible to adjust her status here in USA without her going to Canada ?
2. Will there be any problem if the baby is born here and she goes to American Embassy in Canada with the baby when she is called for appointment ?

Thanks for your advice on this
Regads
Efrem

[Efrem]

I am a green card holder and my wife is a Canadian citizen, I applied for her I-131, seven moths ago....I got a letter of approval from Vermont center last week.Now they said NVC will contact her through Canadian consulate.....she is pregnant due end of January...she came to US last week and we want the baby to be delivered here. Question
1. Is it possible to adjust her status here in USA without her going to Canada ?
2. Will there be any problem if the baby is born here and she goes to American Embassy in Canada with the baby when she is called for appointment ?

Thanks for your advice on this
Regads
Efrem

[ImmortalE]

Efrem,

what is her immigration status that she got approval notice for I-131 (US Travel Document)?

Just curious

[dragonlady]

She cannot adjust her Canadian staus in the US unless you are an American citizen. She has to go to Montreal for the issuance of her visa number and then cross into the US where her GC is issued. She should not go to the interview with the baby - it will anoy them and they do not want "other" people at the interview. Her 1-130 (131???) may have been approved (to give her relative status) but now she has to meet the priority date. Could be five years from now. Priority date for November is January 2002. So she may have a 3.8 yeaar wait. Do not worry about it until you get the notice from NVC. Once you get the notice, you have 1 year to "get it together." (Been there, done that!!!)

[Efrem]

Dragon lady, thanks for your valued information.
the application I filed for my wife was I-130 like you have guessed not I-131.
I only applied 7 months ago, and I got the approval notice last week, I am amazed it was too fast....I was hoping NVC will call her for appointment very soon. I did not know that it will take up to 3 years or more once it is approved by INS. I thought it would take about taht much time for INS to approve it . any more info ?

THanks

[dragonlady]

The USCIS website is good - you can get almost any information including history and law.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm

The Department of state has the visa bulletins which you can have e-mailed to you monthly.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_1360.html

I filed an 1-130 In April 2003 along with an 1-485- had an interview on September 30 2003 - 1-130 approved on the spot. Got work permit on September 27,2003. Got 2nd work permit December 2004. Received a letter from NVC July 2005. Sent them money. Received 2nd packet. Phoned NVC and asked about time lines and leaving the country. They said they were about 9 months ahead and that we had to go to Montreal. If we wanted to adjust within the country I have to file for citizenship and they would send the information to the District Office in my area. Otherwise, we could go to Montreal. Either way the Visa number is on the way. Current priority date for Canucks is January 2002. We filed April 2003 so we have about 1.3 years - but it could be sooner.

[Efrem]

DRAGON LADY, thanks so much again for all the info. I want to know if your petitioner was a green card holder or a US Citizen ?
I am a green card holder ( LPR) not a Citizen...can I apply for work permit for my wife ? will she be able to work here in the US until her visa becomes available then once her priority date is due she can go to Canada and adjust ???

I appreciate your info about this ?

Efrem,

1. An alien spouse of LPR can adjust status in the US, providing that the priority date is current and that he/she is in legal status in the US (student, working visa..) and has no prior bad record ( overstay, illegal employment..) with the USCIS.
Your wife's priority date will become current in about 4, 5 years.

However, if and when you become USC, you can upgrade your petition. The visa numbers are immediately available to the spouses of the USC. Even more, alien spouses of USC are eligible to adjust status in the USA, even if they are not in legal status (overstay is forgiven).

2. I don't see the problem of having the baby born in the USA, as long as your wife leaves before the expiration of her authorised stay (not sure if that's 3 or 6 months for Canadians, and maybe she can ask for an extension due to circumstences) and not accumulate an overstay. An overstay would complicate things a great deal if she was to receive her immigrant visa as LPR spouse (cannot do in US, bar imposed due to overstay).

Caution: if your wife overstays, better be sure that you'll become USC before her priority date becomes current, and that she will adjust her status as a spouse of USC.

Efrem, by approving I-131 USCIS only says: OK, we agree that you -LPR can file for your spose for immigrant benefits, and we agree that you two are legaly married, have bona fide marriage.... At this point it has nothing to do with your wife's immigrant status. So, no - your wife is not eligible for work permit.

Dragonlady doesn't explain much about the timeline she provided, so it can be confusing. Here is what I gathered: she received GC in 2003 and applied for her daughter the same year (the timelina above). An I-485 was filed at the same time (incorrect) which led USCIS to believe that Dragonlady is an USC...so daughter was issued employment authorisation document and called for interview.. I am sure Dragonlady will correct me if I misunderstood something here..

If something is unclear, just ask...

[Efrem]

Aneri, thaks a lot for your info. I appreciate it....I will apply for Citizen in about 2 years and 3 months......so may be I will become a USC before her priority date....she is authorized to say for six months......she will have the baby in two months then she will leave.......I wonder if they allow her to come visit with the baby ??\

Thanks
Efrem

[dragonlady]

Actually, I have been a LPR since 1966 and have worked and gone to school on both sides of the border for years. I have also lived in Europe and Australia and have travelled extensively. My I-485 was filed correctly and we are legal. My child is attending college here and is authorized to work. As Canadians, we do not need visas or passports. We can cross the border as many times as we like. (Some of us work in one country and live in another!!) We do not need visas to attend schools and colleges. We can do many things in both countries (as can Americans in Canada) We have Canadian companies in the US and vice versa. We can collect our pensions on both sids of the border and buy land. We can live in both counties - six months here and six months there. Why? Because we have treaties and agreements and particularly in the border states, we often tied relationally. We can stay. She can stay here for six months - leave and come back. If she is a Canadian citizen - born in the country and not a landed immigrant. She can come in with her children. Soon we will have to get passports to cross the border because of the 'terrorist' threat - but they are trying to figure out how to get around that hassel for people because Canada is the largest trading partner with the US - and neither side can afford to slow the process. Having worked and lived with the situation for almost 40 years - I know this all to be true. Go to State Department website and review the information on Visas. Where in Canada is you wife from?

Hi dragonlady - it was not my intetion to challange or question your status, and how you have done things. I just remembered some of your posts:

dragonlady: "Posted November 16, 2005 12:38 PM
I came in on a TN Visa (2001)- renewed once. Had my GC December 2003. Filed for adjustment of Status in person at Distrct office. (I have a 4 yr Bachelors and 2 Masters Degrees. Did it myself - cost me $700."
dragonlady: "Posted October 18, 2005 04:08 PM
In April 2003, I applied for a AOS for my daughter. I filed an I-130 and the 1-485 with all supporting documents (financial and medicals). On September 30, 2003, my daughter was interviewed for her green ...everything was fine and then the officer asked me if I was a citizen..."

It is true that there are some exceptions for Canadians, but there are also some rules.

Efrem, it is a long process, but respecting the rules will save you a lot of headace in the long run. I am glad to hear about your plan.

Good luck.