Hi, any advice you can give will be helpful. Thanks in advance.
I am an American citizen and I am about to marry my boyfriend of 5 years, who is a Canadian. He has lived in NYC for 5 years, 4 years of which was on a TN visa. After getting laid off, he was required to return to Canada for lack of a visa. Now, he is a "tourist" who visits me often (still lives here, but returns to Canada when necessary). He is also collecting unemployment from the US government in Canada.
We have been engaged for 6 months, and decided to go ahead and have a civil service here in New York City. We just returned from Canada for the holidays, and are getting a little nervous about what lies ahead. We want to have a full picture of what paperwork and steps we should be taking, but cannot afford an immigration lawyer. Here are my questions:
1. Since we just returned to the US yesterday (12/27/04), will it be okay to get married this week? Or should we wait a specific amount of time?
2. Is there a pro bono organization in NYC that might help us sort this out?
3. Should we just get married and then:
- I file a "petition for alien relative" on Form I-130
- He files an "Application for Adjustment of Status"
- At the same time we file biographical forms, and a Medical Examination Form I-693 and the affidavit of support Form I-864
4. What is the I-95 or I-94W card?
5. He does want to work ASAP in the US, when do we file for the "employment authorization" on Form I-765 - after all the other forms or at the same time?
Thank you so much for reading this, we are getting overwhelmed, and I want to keep it in perspective and be as organized as possible.
-BGrady
I am an American citizen and I am about to marry my boyfriend of 5 years, who is a Canadian. He has lived in NYC for 5 years, 4 years of which was on a TN visa. After getting laid off, he was required to return to Canada for lack of a visa. Now, he is a "tourist" who visits me often (still lives here, but returns to Canada when necessary). He is also collecting unemployment from the US government in Canada.
We have been engaged for 6 months, and decided to go ahead and have a civil service here in New York City. We just returned from Canada for the holidays, and are getting a little nervous about what lies ahead. We want to have a full picture of what paperwork and steps we should be taking, but cannot afford an immigration lawyer. Here are my questions:
1. Since we just returned to the US yesterday (12/27/04), will it be okay to get married this week? Or should we wait a specific amount of time?
2. Is there a pro bono organization in NYC that might help us sort this out?
3. Should we just get married and then:
- I file a "petition for alien relative" on Form I-130
- He files an "Application for Adjustment of Status"
- At the same time we file biographical forms, and a Medical Examination Form I-693 and the affidavit of support Form I-864
4. What is the I-95 or I-94W card?
5. He does want to work ASAP in the US, when do we file for the "employment authorization" on Form I-765 - after all the other forms or at the same time?
Thank you so much for reading this, we are getting overwhelmed, and I want to keep it in perspective and be as organized as possible.
-BGrady