Trying to close the distance...

[Svalla]

So my significant other and I have been dating for 3 years.

When we met, he was living in South Dakota, USA, and I'm up north in Manitoba, Canada. He has since moved up North to North Dakota, which cut the distance between us in half, and we went from seeing each other once every two or three months to seeing each other twice a month. Which has been absolutely amazing

But now it's time for me to meet him half way and finally close the distance between us. Only problem is, I've become overwhelmed just from looking at the immigration process! The plan right now is for me to move down with him for a year on a working visa, see how that goes, and then make our next step from there. Does anyone have any suggestions on what sort of visa to look into, what hoops I'll have to jump through to make this a reality, and how long I should expect it to take?

[lucybelle]

Working visas to the USA are almost impossible to get. Check out www.visajourney.com to see all your options. Most of the visa processes take at least about a year.

[SoFarAway]

I worked for the international programs department at my university handling all the visa applications for international students and interns. I know for sure that the H1B visa would be the easiest to obtain. But Lucy is right! It is extremely difficult to get any work permission for the US. The H1B visa is a work visa for the US that requires you to have a bachelor's degree and already a job in the field of your studies. As options, you could find an internship with a company or university that can issue J visas. Those are usually valid for a year, and like the work visa, bound to the job you need to provide before applying for the visa. After expiration, you need to leave the country.

Too bad you are Canadian, otherwise you could go to an ESL school with a student visa. Or just go to college in the US. The F1 visa is the easiest to get.

Marriage is Not an option???

[Ocelotbren]

Actually, it's beneficial that you're Canadian (I am too), if you want a work visa. While the regular work visas are very hard to get, there's the TN which is available to citizens of Canada, the US and Mexico. Just google it for more information. But basically, if you have a degree and can get a job offer where your job title fits the set list of titles/job descriptions the visa works for (you can look up a list; I don't think I can post links), it's simple to get a TN visa. You show up at the airport with your application prepared and your job offer and whatever else may be required, do your interview on the spot and are approved (hopefully) then and there, for I think 3 years. There's no limit on how many TNs they issue annually so if you fit the bill, you don't have to worry. And it's issued on the spot.

However, with that said...be aware that if your long term intention is to get married while down in the US and stay there permanently, you will most certainly have problems getting a fiancé or spousal visa due to visa fraud and dual intent. For a TN, which is temporary, you MUST intend to return to Canada after it's over (although it is possible to apply for another TN after your term is up if you want). But TN straight to permanent residency via marriage could get you banned from the country because you entered the US on a temporary visa with intentions of staying permanently with your boyfriend. Make sure you do lots of reading. If you did intend to marry and settle down in the US, you'd have to apply for the fiancé/spousal visa while outside the US until it's approved (which can take 6-9 months or so). It sucks.

I'm moving to the US from Canada and just got approved for my fiancé visa this month, when we applied back in March. If any of this information is applicable or you have any questions about the immigration system, let me know and I'll share what I've learned.

Also, Visa Journey is a huge help.

[JennMarcus612]

Get an Immigration attorney!!!!!! My sister went through this with her husband. While he was from Chile they had to jump through so many hoops. As sad as it was they settled on a fiance visa and they had to be married within a few months but that was the quickest way for him to come here and for them to close the distance. His/her insight (although may be costly) could do a lot of good.

[SoFarAway]

I just looked into the TN visa. It pretty much is the same thing as an H1B, but apparently for Canadians and easier to get since you belong to a NAFTA country. The problem is you need to have a job before you travel to the US. It says specifically in there that your boss needs to prove that a foreign national is needed to fill that position. So, just a job at a coffee shop or grocery store won't get you the TN visa. BUt maybe JennMarcus is right. Immigration lawyers know the best ways to get you guys together, but they can be really expensive!

[Ocelotbren]

I just looked into the TN visa. It pretty much is the same thing as an H1B, but apparently for Canadians and easier to get since you belong to a NAFTA country. The problem is you need to have a job before you travel to the US. It says specifically in there that your boss needs to prove that a foreign national is needed to fill that position. So, just a job at a coffee shop or grocery store won't get you the TN visa. BUt maybe JennMarcus is right. Immigration lawyers know the best ways to get you guys together, but they can be really expensive!

I'm pretty certain you don't need the employer to prove that a foreign national couldn't fill the position (Labor Market Opinion [LMO]). I think that's one of the biggest advantages of the TN, is that you just find a job offer, fill out the TN application or whatever there is to do, and show up at the border for your interview. I did some searches on Google around the terms TN, visa, LMO and US and eventually found something that says the LMO is not required (there might be exceptions, but that's the general rule).

The downside is that yes, you need a job offer in advance, and yes, it must fit in one of the degree-based categories listed (ex. engineer, mathematician, pharmacist, etc.). But in theory it shouldn't be particularly difficult to get a job offer, given that you don't need to get an LMO.

[lucybelle]

Immigration lawyers are a waste of time and money. DON'T USE ONE! I have often seen people using lawyers take much longer to get approved because the lawyer just wants to get paid more.

Any and all information you need you can find or ask about on Visa Journey. Again- immigration lawyers are NOT necessary.

[Oldblighty]

Immigration lawyers are a waste of time and money. DON'T USE ONE! I have often seen people using lawyers take much longer to get approved because the lawyer just wants to get paid more.

Any and all information you need you can find or ask about on Visa Journey. Again- immigration lawyers are NOT necessary.

I agree!! When me and hubby were first looking in to filing the I-130 he went to see a lawyer because we were told that's what we should do. Anyway she said that it was pointless hiring her because it would be easy enough for us to file it ourselves and it would be a waste of money hiring her. I liked her honesty, so we are doing it alone......

[Svalla]

Thank you SO much for the helpful suggestions! It's good to know that I do have a few options for moving down like the TN visa, and I'm really glad that there were several opinions on hiring an attorney - I've been sorely tempted to hire one, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should try to sort this all out on my own first. I'm thinking that the TN visa would be my best option, because my partner and I have agreed that we aren't ready to tie the knot just yet.

As of right now, I'm applying for an internship, and I'm definitely going to look into that TN visa more. Hopefully we can make our dream of living together a reality!