Post here if you are an American citizen but your FI is not

[~Melissa~]

oh and I almost forgot...

 

Good luck on your interview Maura!!!

[Bride010101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raeka Yes definitely open up a joint bank account. It won’t hurt and it’s a good way to start saving for the wedding – together. I’m not sure about the poverty line thing and using relatives as a co-signer. We were fine because they only put the poverty line at $13700, and as long as the US citizen makes more than that they don’t care. Are you working part time at all? Hmmm I’m sorry I’m of no help when it comes to that question. Oh and that would be awesome if he could extend his visa. Much easier than filing all the paper work IMO. Hey if you need any help I don’t mind one bit. PM me and I could even talk to you on the phone and go over the paperwork once you begin the process. You can download all the forms you need now from UCIS and start filling them out ahead of time if you’re really eager lol

Yeah, not even a part time job right now... I decided to take the school year off of work as the most recent company I worked for isn't in my local area and the rest of the pharmacies in town are already overrun w/ my classmates. I start rotations in May which means I will be basically switching jobs every 5 weeks (jobs that I am paying full time tuition to work at...) so not sure if I will try and pick up somthing part time.

We are hopefully meeting with someone next week who can maybe shed some light on the student visa and whether we can extend it. So for now I'll just keep my fingers crossed that we can... Then we wont have to deal w/ the paperwork for a year and half at which time we will have more of the requirements (money, proof of relationship, etc). I'll let you know how it goes... and what we decide to do. I'll probably take you up on the help w/ filling out forms ... my goal is to at least start them soon so they are closer to being completed if we have a change of plans and need them.

Thanks so much for your help! I don't know what I would do w/o this site! I was telling my family the other night about some of the basic info I have learned about the process through BDW.... and they just didn't understand. My dad kept saying... you are getting immigration info from your wedding site? Haha... you guys are the best!

[Maura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raeka oh and I almost forgot... Good luck on your interview Maura!!!

Thanks mel but my meeting on the 25th is just to meet with the lawyers about starting our paperwork, we dont have our first interview set up yet. I kinda wanna try to convince my FI that I can fill out the paperwork and maybe we can just have the lawyers submit it on our behalf...it sure would save a ton of money.

I think you are thinking of Monica because she is waiting for ICE to contact her about her first interview!

[~Melissa~]

Oops my bad.. yeah I meant the lawyer interview. He my offer goes out to you too Maura! If you want to even try and do the paperwork I'd be more than happy to assist you some way either on phone or chat/email. It can get confusing at some parts but for most it's just filling out your names over and over again haha.

 

I recommend at least trying to fill out the paperwork yourself. Has he went for the medical yet?? You need to send that in with your I-485

[Maura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raeka Oops my bad.. yeah I meant the lawyer interview. He my offer goes out to you too Maura! If you want to even try and do the paperwork I'd be more than happy to assist you some way either on phone or chat/email. It can get confusing at some parts but for most it's just filling out your names over and over again haha. I recommend at least trying to fill out the paperwork yourself. Has he went for the medical yet?? You need to send that in with your I-485

thanks mel youre the best! i really want to try to fill out the paperwork so we dont have to pay someone else to do it. i think its stupid but my FI is so paranoid about it. i may just print out all the forms and fill it out without him knowing and then make him sign whatever. why pay an associate lawyer $170/hour to do something we can do on our own? so dumb. but my FI is afraid something will get screwed up if we dont use the lawyer.

and no, haha he hasnt done the medical yet - we were just talking about that the other day... i need to get the list of all the things he has to have done for the vaccinations and stuff because he hasnt had any of them since he was a kid. he is so pissed about having to get them too. in grad school they required us to get vaccinations and send the medical record proof to the school, and he always just used to pay the $50 fine per semester to avoid doing it! he has not been to the regular doctor for a checkup in i dont even know how long, but if it says anything, he doesnt even have a regular doctor here in chicago and he's lived here for 5 years. i'm going to make him go to a guy doctor at my general physician's practice really soon though. is there a time frame within which he has to have the vaccinations or is it ok if he gets them now and files later? i'm not really sure how that part works

[Pazoop]

Hi all! I guess I am in the same situation that Evonut was originally in...I am an American with a Canadian fiance living in Toronto. Because I was attending grad school up here and we were living together for two years (and luckily had documentation including joint lease, bank accounts, shared credit cards, etc. long before we got engaged), my FI was able to sponsor me for Canadian Permanent Residency as his "common law partner". The definition of common law under the Immigration Act is living together for one year consecutively - no idea why.

 

I had to fill out an INSANE amount of paperwork, get family members to complete statutory declarations, go through an FBI background check, and have a full medical exam completed by a specific certified physician. I did not hire a lawyer but often wish I did. I have not been approved yet but it can take up to 1.5 years to process through the Buffalo, New York office.

 

We're planning to get married in Mexico and my FI wanted to have the legal ceremony there....I told him NO WAY am I looking into trying to figure out how that would work! We are getting legally married at city hall in Toronto.

 

I appreciate having this thread because we have not decided that Toronto is our permanent home base and have been talking about trying to get my FI legal status in the US after we are married. If anyone reading this ever wants to know about doing it in reverse (applying in Canada), just let me know and I'd be glad to try and help. Otherwise, I can just offer support and understanding about how anxiety producing and frustrating and LONG the immigration process is....

[Maura]

i just wanted to say also that i am so glad i started this thread because there are more of us out there than i realized. this can be such a scary/confusing process and i am so glad we can all offer each other support and advice from our own experiences. i dont know what i would do without BDW!

[~Melissa~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mauraw i just wanted to say also that i am so glad i started this thread because there are more of us out there than i realized. this can be such a scary/confusing process and i am so glad we can all offer each other support and advice from our own experiences. i dont know what i would do without BDW!

NO kidding! Me too. Gosh where was this thread 8 months ago? lol I was such a mess back then... I'm happy it's over with now. It's so nerve racking and frusterating. I was nervous about doing th paperwork properly but it's all ok. Are you filing for an I-131 (application for travel). That was scary it almost didn't come in time for us to go to Mexico for the DW!!!! I was a mess but thanks to the girls on the forum I held it together. Such a great support system. I hope I can support you girls with all my experience now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mauraw i'm going to make him go to a guy doctor at my general physician's practice really soon though. is there a time frame within which he has to have the vaccinations or is it ok if he gets them now and files later? i'm not really sure how that part works

Hmm.. is your general physician's practice authorized by the UCIS? They have specific doctors and only use their doctors. So messed up. i was mad because I had to pay to use their stupid doctor and drive 2 hours to get to their office. I was pissed. It was $150 for 10 minutes of the doctors time. USELESS!

As for vancinations, my mom saved all my records of shots and my last ones Expire next month so i was safe. Just barely safe though heheh.He should be OK if he gets them all now. The vacinations don't expire for 10 years.

[Maura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raeka NO kidding! Me too. Gosh where was this thread 8 months ago? lol I was such a mess back then... I'm happy it's over with now. It's so nerve racking and frusterating. I was nervous about doing th paperwork properly but it's all ok. Are you filing for an I-131 (application for travel). That was scary it almost didn't come in time for us to go to Mexico for the DW!!!! I was a mess but thanks to the girls on the forum I held it together. Such a great support system. I hope I can support you girls with all my experience now.

i dont think we need to do the I-131 for travel because my FI has a valid work visa that doesnt expire until like 2011...shit i didnt think about that. i better ask the lawyer on monday!

Quote:

Hmm.. is your general physician's practice authorized by the UCIS? They have specific doctors and only use their doctors. So messed up. i was mad because I had to pay to use their stupid doctor and drive 2 hours to get to their office. I was pissed. It was $150 for 10 minutes of the doctors time. USELESS! As for vancinations, my mom saved all my records of shots and my last ones Expire next month so i was safe. Just barely safe though heheh.He should be OK if he gets them all now. The vacinations don't expire for 10 years.

shit didnt realize that you have to use specific docs they pick. guess i better find a list!!!!

maybe we should start compiling links on this thread too for all the documents needed...

[Maura]

Here is the USCIS main page with all the immigration forms, plus a list of how much they cost

 

Immigration Forms