Marriage Visas for Canadians

Although we handle family-based immigration cases from all over the United States and the world, we see a lot of cases from Canada because we are located in Michigan. Family-based immigrant visa petitions for Canadian citizens are not any different than green card petitions for family members from other countries. However, because Canadians can easily enter the U.S. as non-immigrants it can create some unique issues.

Immigration Fraud

One of the most common issues we deal with and counsel Canadian clients on in our practice is immigration fraud. Because the processing times for an immigrant visa or Fiance' visa can be 12 months or more, many Canadians are tempted to enter the U.S. as a visitor and simply apply for adjustment of status. However, this can create some potential problems. If the Canadian citizen presents himself at the U.S. border and requests entry as a visitor but in fact has the intent to immigrate to the U.S. this may be considered immigration fraud. If the Canadian is granted entry as a visitor and then shortly thereafter applies to adjust his or her status to that of a lawful permanent residency, the USCIS may allege that the Canadian citizen committed immigration fraud and therefore is not eligible to adjust his or her status. Although there are waivers available for adjustment of status applicants who may have committed immigration fraud, it is not an issue that you want to deal with and is better to avoid it.

Change of Circumstances

To be sure, immigration fraud is not an issue in all cases where a Canadian enters the country as a visitor and later applies for adjustment of status. Many people enter the U.S. as non-immigrants for vacation, business, as students, etc. and later become married to a U.S. Citizen. In many of these cases, the non-immigrant had no intent of immigrating to the U.S. when he or she entered the country and only decided to do so later. Immigration fraud only becomes an issue if the non-immigrant intends to immigrate to the U.S. when he or she enters the country. It doesn't matter if the non-immigrant hopes to immigrate to the U.S. at some later time as many non-immigrants do. If the non-immigrant enters the U.S. and has no intent of immigrating at that time but circumstances change after he or she entered the country and the non-immigrant now wants to apply for lawful permanent residency there is no issue of immigration fraud.

This applies to Canadian citizens as well. However, Canadian applications for adjustment of status are often more carefully scrutinized for issues of immigration fraud. This is because the USCIS does not want Canadians (who can enter the U.S. easily on a visitors visa) to avoid the proper immigration procedures by entering as a tourist and then applying for adjustment of status.

Immigration Options for Canadians

If you are a Canadian and plan to immigrate to the U.S. based on marriage to a U.S. Citizen and you are not in the U.S. you have 2 options:

1. If you are not already married, your U.S. Citizen spouse can apply for a fiance visa for you. (This is much more expensive than applying for an immigrate visa so you might consider getting married first and then applying for an immigrant visa.)
2. If you are already married you can simply apply for a standard immigrant visa. This is much less expensive than a fiance visa and takes about the same amount of time.

If your are Canadian and are already in the U.S. as a non-immigrant, adjustment of status is an option. However, before you consider applying for adjustment of status it is important to consider whether it may raise any questions of immigration fraud.

We frequently represent Canadian citizens and their U.S. Citizen spouses with respect to family-based immigration. If you are a Canadian or U.S. Citizen engage or married to a Canadian citizen and have questions about your immigration options please contact us for a free consultation.