Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with immigration

Can't find the wife.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:13:02 -0800

How can I find out if I am still married? Back in a previous century, this Canadian guy was living with a student from overseas. (It was a standard boyfriend-girlfriend situation, lest someone assume that marrying someone from abroad is only an immigration scam or a mail-order bride deal.) When the end of her visa was approaching, things went south in her homeland and she would have been in danger due to her ethnicity, and the best short-term answer I could find to help her stay here was to marry her. We went to city hall with some witnesses and said the words.

Everything was fine, and two things happened subsequently: the situation in her homeland calmed down, and we drifted apart. First we were together, then we were living separately, then work took me away to a different city. We lost touch. She had my contact info but didn't use it. When I came back to town a few months later, she had moved from her last address and the people she had been living with said they had no forwarding address.

This was over ten years ago. Since then I have consulted with friends in both the RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency but they have no records of her. I have contacted every mutual friend we had, and no one has heard from her. Fifty or more Google searches for every variation of her name (including with my surname) have turned up nothing. And my final attempt (friends living in her home country) report that my last hope for contact, her parents, are no longer at that address and indeed there is no one under that last name in any phone directories for that city.

At this point, I am either still married to someone I have not seen in a decade, or divorced, or a widower. How do I find out which? If I want to get married again, I do not wish to commit inadvertent bigamy.

I realize that this question could be construed as asking for advice on stalking someone, but there is honestly no unpleasantness in our history together. We grew apart and split up amiably... if I never see her again, I am fine with that, but I just want to know if I can move on with my life. And while I know YANML: if I cannot locate her and must assume we are still married, how does one start divorce proceedings in the absence of one's spouse?

Throwaway e-mail at amistillmarried@live.com

Do I have to leave Canada to enter Canada?

Shepherd — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:00:50 -0800

Can I visit a Canadian border station without leaving Canada? Long story short: wife (U.S. citizen) needs to renew a temporary resident permit (TRP) to stay in Canada, we screwed up the paperwork, and there's a 4-6 month wait to process these things.

But she has an immigration interview in New York in January; we have to leave the country (obviously) for it. We'd much rather have a fresh TRP than have her try to re-enter Canada with an expired TRP and an explanation of how we screwed up the extension paperwork.

We live very close to a border station, and were considering just driving down and -- since it's where the TRP was initially issued -- seeing if they could issue another one rather than mailing everything back to the government. It's the same money and requirements there on the spot as it is far away.

BUT... she has "implied status" while she lives in Canada, since the extension hasn't been REFUSED, just on hold until we re-submit the appropriate paperwork. We don't want to LEAVE the country and re-enter to see them at the immigration desk, because if they can't renew the TRP, she might not be allowed back in. Period.

So: do we have to LEAVE Canada to see the people at an immigration station on the U.S. border? Or is it allowable to drive/walk over to it from the Canadian side and visit without leaving Canada?

This is most probably the station by Stanstead, if it makes a difference: Derby Line, VT on the American side.

Is the Visitor Visa as perfect as it sounds?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:32:03 -0800

Is a Visitor Visa (B-2) as perfect as it seems? What should I expect? I am a British citizen, my wife is an American citizen. We got married in the US a couple of weeks ago, and I have since had to return to the UK, as I was there through the Visa Waiver Program. We intend to apply for the appropriate spousal visa (CR-1) as soon as we can afford to, but in the meantime, we are settling with ~90 day VWP trips. (We're aware that the CR-1 is not the best visa to seek, but it's the one that works best for us.)

That, however, is rather expensive, and is severely limiting our ability to save for the CR-1, so we've been investigating cheaper workarounds, and I stumbled across the Visitor's Visa. It seems perfect: can be issued for between 90 days and 10 years, if I've read correctly, and it seems affordable, too: preliminary investigations suggest it should cost under $300.

Is this really as great and inexpensive as it sounds? Is there anything I should be aware of?

The only difficulty I can see is proving that I intend to leave before the visa expires. I've visited twice this year under the VWP and left within 90 days each time, which I hope will look good. I can also demonstrate that I've obviously researched the CR-1 rather extensively, which I would hope works in my favour, too. Aside from that, I don't have a great deal in the way of evidence, since I don't own a home in the UK (I sleep on a couch at my Mother's place), since I'm not here enough to warrant the expense (there was only 3 months between my last trip, and I hope to spend only around a month here this time before going back to the US, depending on how long the B-2 takes to process, if we go that route). I don't have a job here, either. My only income comes from some online work I do for an American citizen, which will do nothing for my case. I saw some advice given to someone on here asking about a different visa that suggested asking a friend with some authority to set up an "interview" for a date some time after my intended return date, to give authority to my claim that I do in fact intend to leave, but I'm wary of fabricating things, given some of the immigration horror stories I've heard. Exactly how stringent are they likely to be on this?

If I did decide to apply, I think I'd seek permission to stay for somewhere between 6 months and a year, which should be plenty of time to save enough for the CR-1, since there won't be ~$800 expenses for flights every 3 months. Presumably, they're more willing to give the visas for shorter stays, so I'd aim to make it as short as possible.

I know that I can't work on this visa. That shouldn't be an issue. My wife earns enough to support us while I'm there. And, though I need to do a little research into the legalities and details, I'm fairly sure my aforementioned job should be legal while I'm in the US. (It's contract work, which as I understand it, is allowed as long as I'm paying tax on whatever I earn. But that's something I'm still researching. Any advice is welcomed, on that front.)

Thoughts?

Anonymous, just in case. A lot of the immigration talk I've seen on here seems to include advice to stay anonymous.

Why do some people travel under noms de voyages?

westerly — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:48:51 -0800

Why do some people use false names when travelling? Is this legal? I'm interested in the history of people using noms de voyages, people who do it now, attitudes towards them, and what practical difficulties there are and were.

Do I need to get a multiple entry visa for Spain/Andorra travel as a US citizen?

anarchivist — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:21:55 -0800

I'm going to Spain (Barcelona) for 10 days, and I'm a US citizen, which in my understanding grants me a de facto 90-day single entry Schengen visa. I've been thinking about going to Andorra, a non-Schengen country, which suggests to me that I would therefore require a multiple entry Visa. Preliminary research confirms this. Stupid question: do I need to do this before I leave? Can anyone else who has gone to Andorra from Spain attest to the strictness or laxity of the immigration controls?

Best European country to move to, for a software guy

raghuram — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:33:12 -0800

Which is the best European country to move to, for a software engineer? bit of background: born and studied in India, came to US for work. looking at options - Canada, Europe or going back to India.

I have some idea about Canada but no clue about Europe. The first problem that comes to mind, with European countries (other than UK) is language, which is not an issue with Canada. I'd like to stay in one country for at least 5-6 years. Anybody has experience living in any of the
European countries? Especially from software field?

How do I help my amateur non-American singer get a U.S. visa?

malocchio — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:41:32 -0800

I've been working with a Finnish singer who hopes to come to the U.S. next spring. Ideally, we'd like to play some shows in the U.S., but it looks like obtaining a visa may be very challenging... She has contacted the U.S. Embassy, who informed her:

Even as an amateur musician you must have a work permit approved by the US immigration. The US-contact needs to file the work petition, Form I-129 (www.uscis.gov under ‘Forms’) with the USCIS.

I reviewed the I-129, and it looks like our best bet is to file as a P-3: "an alien coming temporarily to perform, teach, or coach, individually, or as part of a group, in the arts or entertainment fields in a program that is culturally unique."

In order to file as a P-3, we must submit

1) A written consultation from an appopriate labor organization

2) Evidence that all performances will be culturally unique and documentation that the performance of the alien or group is culturally unique as evidenced by actual reviews in newspapers, journals, or other published materials.

So, we are lacking in these items. And I suspect that a demo CD isn't really enough to get reviews in any type of publication that will be good enough for the DHS. She probably has until the end of January to file, so we have a couple of months to scrounge something up.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

Help me track down my uncle's appearance on CNN's "American

Roach — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:17:44 -0800

Help me track down my uncle's appearance on CNN's "American Morning" this morning. He's an immigration attorney and is sometimes interviewed locally and regionally for issues related to immigration law. I guess he was recently interviewed for this CNN piece, which aired at 6:24 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. this morning. His name is Tom Roach.

Any idea how to track down the clip? I don't have a television.

Thanks!

A research question

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:15:01 -0800

I need to do some empirical research of a kind I know next to nothing about. Please help! (Asking anonymously so that friends on metafilter don't connect my real identity to my pseudonym, as they would recognize me from the question).

I am trying to figure out the economic circumstances of illegal immigrants in Texas in 1993. I don't really know where to start, and I am very constrained in how much time I can spend on this, so I don't want to spend too much time groping blindly in the dark. I don't even know how good the data is, given that illegal immigrants are probably trying to avoid visibility (right?). How would I go about trying to figure out things like median income, family size, and so on? I am also worried that my total ignorance will make it difficult to determine how trustworthy data is. For example, googling led me to the Center for Immigration Studies, but since I have never heard of them, I don't know what their reputation is or whether they have an institutional bias.

If it helps, the specific question I am trying to answer is this: how many illegal immigrants in the state of Texas in 1993 could have afforded to spend $400 per child per year if that money were required as a "tuition" before their child could attend the public schools?

Making the move: Australia --> New Zealand

simplesharps — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:36:55 -0800

What's involved in moving from Australia to New Zealand? I've been flirting with the idea of moving over to NZ for at least two or three years after thoroughly enjoying myself a couple of years ago on holidays.

I've done a little bit of googling and found a few sites, but I'm after more specific information:

- Does Australia have some agreement with New Zealand that allows both citizens to move and work freely in either?
- What process, as an Australian, would I have to follow, ie - 1) get job offer, 2) apply for residency etc...

There are quite a few jobs of interest (web design) on seek.co.nz in the area I'm after so that shouldn't be a problem.

nanny Visa

jasondigitized — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:16:16 -0800

My wife and I live outside the United States. We are both U.S. citizens. We currently employee a full-time nanny for our daughter. Our nanny is from the Philippines and she is awesome. She is not a U.S. citizen. Eventually we will be moving back to the U.S. What is the likelihood that we could take our nanny with us when we move back? What would we have to do to make this possible?

can we use our tiny Canadian to become candian?

chasles — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:07:20 -0800

story: 2 Americans living in Canada on a work permit. we wish to become permanent residents. challenge: bureaucracies have confusing websites and documentation. so we can't answer the core question. the twist: we made a baby. shes a certified canuck. question: can we use her somehow to avoid the whole "skilled worker" style process (Which has a daunting amount of historical requirements...).

How long for a Judge to communicate decision on a Political Asylum case?

3dd — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:22:41 -0800

ImmigrationLawFilter: How long for a Judge to communicate decision on a Political Asylum case? My friend and his family have been defending his Political Asylum case on Immigration Court in Miami for several years now. They had the final hearing a few months ago and the judge promise to issue his decision in 90 days (I don’t know if he said in, within or after 90 days). Well, the 90 days are over (a couple of weeks ago) and there is no decision. Their attorney contacted the judge assistant and was told that there was no decision yet and there is nothing she can do but wait. I know Judges sometimes doesn’t want to tell the answer on the spot to avoid dealing with parties reactions but why would he ask for 90 days and also is there a specific amount of time a judge has to issue and communicate his final decision in this kind of cases.

How do I get hired in the UK?

theraflu — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:51:58 -0800

My favorite site is hiring developers and I'm qualified. I'm American and they're in the UK. Possibly assuming they're willing to sponsor me for a work visa, what do I need to know? Information on differences in the application/hiring process, any business-related etiquette quirks an American might miss out on, and how to present myself as an employee worthy of sponsorship are all helpful.

A little background: I am young, married, no kids and have a very small amount (just enough for maintenance) in the bank. I've been professionally working in Web dev for about two years - the position I'm looking at is entry/associate level. The company has fewer than 100 employees but is an internationally-known site. I'd be going from a very rural to a very metropolitan style of living.

I'm pretty sure that getting what would be my dream job is a (very) long shot, but I'll be more disappointed if I didn't give it a go. I want to give it my best shot. Any advice and input is more than welcome and I'd like most to hear from Americans working abroad in the UK.

ayudela para no ser mojada!

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:06:27 -0800

I'm thinking of using a shell company to hire my Mexican girlfriend, so that she can enter to Canada and be with me. What's the catch? I have met the love of my life and want to help her enter the country. But of course, Canada has just enacted a visa requirement for Mexicans to even visit the country. She applied for a tourist visa and got rejected, on the grounds that she cannot support herself financially (a ridiculous assertion).

So, I am looking at alternatives. I know of people that, under Appendix 1603.D.1 of NAFTA, fall into special professional categories under which a work permit is automatically granted if one has secured a job offer. My girlfriend's qualifications are on the list.

I have a shell company in BC that I have used for contract work in the past. Can I use the company to offer my girlfriend a job? She would then support herself by securing contract work -- clients would be billed by my company and she would pay herself 100% of the revenue my company brings in. She is very good at her profession, so let's assume that it would not be difficult for her to establish herself financially.

What are the legal and tax implications? Has this ever worked? Might either of us get into trouble? Would I lose much money, say, through taxes?

Let's go to Little Canada!

Korou — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:15:40 -0800

A few months ago I read about French-Canadian immigration into the U.S. from the 1840s to 1930s. Evidently, some of these immigrants established "Little Canadas." I'd like to learn more about them. Are they still established in some form, like Little Italys or Chinatowns? How did their culture change from when they lived in Canada to living in the U.S.? What resources cover this topic? (there are some sources mentioned on the page I read)

I had never heard about this type of immigrant community, and hadn't ever considered their existence. What other little covered, niche, or surprising immigrant groups came/are coming to the States?

How not to get detained at customs

nostrich — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:35:03 -0800

At what point during the customs process did they decide I was a "red flag" and how do I avoid it happening again? I'm travelling to the US in the next couple of weeks -- to Indianapolis, probably via Ohio, if it matters -- and I'd like to know how I can avoid being detained at customs again, and what I should say if I am.

Last time I was in the US -- which was less than 3 months ago, which I understand may be a red flag in itself -- I was asked to get my luggage and "go to that room" after trying to get through at customs. I don't remember the details very clearly, but this is how I think it went down:

The guy at the desk asked what the purpose of my visit was, and I told him I was visiting my girlfriend (mistake #1, I suspect). Then we went through the usual hoohah of taking my fingerprints and so on. He asked how long I intended to stay, and I told him 3 months. He said I can't stay longer than 90 days, I told him I knew that and would not. He also asked how much money I had with me, and I told him $200, which probably didn't help. He asked some other questions, but I don't remember them. That was when I was asked to collect my luggage and go to a side room he pointed me to.

The guy in there was very brisk and unfriendly and immediately took to a thorough search of my luggage, and lots of questions about the purpose of my visit, the majority of which I don't recall. I do remember that he asked for the phone number of my girlfriend and called her to corroborate my story. He was very concerned that we were planning to marry while I was in the country. We both assured him we had no intention of doing so. Eventually, I was allowed to pass through -- having re-packed my luggage myself, of course.

Ridiculously, at one point, he alse noted that I seemed nervous and asked why. As if being detained at customs wasn't enough to make a person nervous!

I later noticed a label in my luggage that informed me that it had been searched at some point before reaching customs, too. I'm guessing because my computer (a Mac Mini) was inside. So I'm wondering if that showed up on their system at customs and was a contributing factor.

The circumstances this time will be largely the same. I will have more money -- closer to $700 -- for one. But this time, my purpose _is_ to get married, and then return home to apply for a K-3 visa. I will also be travelling with largely the same luggage.

I'm assuming my luggage was what prompted the difficult questions, and my wrong answers that prompted the eventual detaining. If I'm right, I'm almost certain I'll at least be questioned again. So what should I say if I am?

Honesty is usually the best policy. But telling customs I'm here to marry my girlfriend is almost definitely a bad idea, right?

At the moment, I'm thinking the best course is to say I'm merely visiting a friend, and leave out all the romantic stuff. Why do I have my computer? I'm a geek, I can't go 3 months without my computer, sir!

But is lying to customs like this likely to get me in trouble somewhere down the line? Can they check up on this stuff? And more importantly, will it affect my chances of being granted a visa?

EU and US citizen, no passport, considering move to UK - Considerations?

MeetMegan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:27:49 -0800

U.S. citizen considering potential move to U.K. within next five years. Has E.U. citizenship but no passport (citizen of Ireland via FBR - can apply for passport). What are the challenges I need to consider? Do not have job, UK boyfriend or other easy means of obtaining a visa. But, is it necessary with EU citizenship? Would everything be easier with an EU (Irish) passport? I understand it's illegal to use a tourist visa to search for a job, so I certainly don't want to get busted there. Any suggestions for this clearly long-term plan?

How do we fight the anti-immigration propaganda?

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:06:22 -0800

I'm sick and tired of all the downright racist, anti-immigration rhetoric being bandied about in the UK and I want to do something about it. What can I do? It seems I can't go a day without hearing, reading or seeing something about how immigrants are overrunning the UK. The government milks us for money and gives us next to zero rights, the natives do nothing but complain, and, quite frankly, it's getting on my nerves.

I AM one of these so-called immigrants and I'm TIRED of it. I would like to organize something that really punches the message that the economy relies on us home. I was thinking that a national day-of-protest similar to the one organized in California some years ago would be ideal. I think a day with smelly toilets, no service, no cleaning, no taxis, etc would probably make a lot of people take stock of the situation. However, I don't know how to begin organizing such a thing to make it successful or where to look.

Also, how much trouble this can get me into?

I'm open to ideas.

Best way to immigrate?

nostrich — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:55:50 -0800

What's the easiest/best way for us to be together with regard to immigration and all the associated considerations? I am in the UK, she is in the US. Obviously, this is not ideal. We're both willing to move to the other's country, we're just having a hard time figuring out which way round will be best. Long explanation follows.

We met online around two years ago. She came to the UK for NYE this year (not strictly for me, but her other plans fell through and she ended up staying with me for the whole week). I spent the maximum allowed 3 months on the Visa Waiver Program with her in the US between March and June. Since then, I've been working in the only job I can find -- line picking in a refrigerated warehouse, it is awful -- and not really earning very much. She has been doing much the same, in that she's working the only job she can find in her field, which is a couple of part time jobs at a University. Neither of us earn enough to comfortably afford any immigration costs without considerable saving. It's taken me this long to have a plane ticket to the US in sight (but I've only actually had my job for a month).

Some background: she has had a pretty fruitful career up until the last year or so. She has a Master's degree, and has worked in pretty good jobs in her field more or less every day of her life. But the last year she's faced unemployment, debt, her car got repossessed, and just a whole heap of bad luck. At the moment, she is preparing to file bankruptcy and start fresh. For my part, I dropped out of sixth from in the UK, then dropped out of college when I tried again, then did a 1-year access course successfully, and got accepted into university to study Linguistics. I dropped out within a semester, due to problems mostly beyond my control (and, for once, not my own laziness). So I have very little qualification, and I haven't worked much in the last 5 years. (I'm 23 and she's 27, by the way.) So neither of us are in ideal positions.

At the moment, we're trying to figure out what our best move for being together is (and we are 100% sure the other is The One, etc). Our current plan is for me to buy a plane ticket and spend another 3 months in the US with her, for now. Meanwhile, we will both be saving as hard as we can for the inevitable immigration costs when it comes to it. For now, our main focus is me moving to the US. Since I don't have a degree, or very relevant experience in any focused field, an H1-B visa is not a particularly viable option, so we've been looking at marriage visas. All of them seem to entail being apart for considerable time, which is obviously not ideal, but if we save well enough, I might still be able to afford 3 month trips while all the paperwork is being processed and so on.

So question 1: I know this is frowned upon, but that seems to be about the only information I've been able to find, which is not helpful. If we just got married over there, with me in the country as a tourist, what would the following steps be? Am I likely to be denied whatever I need to be approved for because we didn't do it the proper way?

2: Whichever route we take, how is her financial situation likely to factor in? As I understand it, there is an element of her being able to support me until I can work in most of the K visa routes, and while she definitely earns enough for us to both survive on her income, I don't know how her limited income and her filing bankruptcy (which will have already been done by that point, if all goes to plan) will look to officials.

Another option we've been considering mainly as a last resort is her moving to the UK instead. It's not forefront, because she has a lot of friends there already, a pretty considerable and far-reaching professional network, and so on, whereas my career is nonexistent and I'm pretty light on friends and commitments, so I'm willing to go anywhere. That said, she's grown frustrated with the US, so is probably willing to consider it if it offers enough advantages. I am definitely unable to support her on what money I make, though, so it would be important that she be able to work ASAP (putting aside the recession-based difficulties in finding work, for now, yuck). That said, my googling for information on US to UK immigration has proven largely fruitless. The information doesn't seem as readily available as it is for US immigration. Maybe it's my google-fu failing me, or maybe it really is just harder to get hold of. So my hope is that there is someone on MeFi with UK immigration knowledge that can either fill me in or give me some helpful links/a starting point.

One thing that only came up very recently is the direct consular filing route. If she lived here for a year or so, we could then apply directly to the US consulate here in the UK, and have a much easier time, as I understand it. Would that be a viable route? Is there a way we could do this whereby she is able to come here and be allowed to work?

So that's more or less where we stand right now. We haven't done a great deal of research on all this yet, because we're both broke and can't afford this stuff yet, so it's just frustrating more than it is informative (more for her than I, I'm an anal has-to-know-everything planner). And she's busy with all her bankruptcy, and trying to find a decent job, and some other unrelated personal issues. Most of the research we have done has been mine, since I have nothin' but free time when I'm not working.

What I'm mainly asking is what's the best route, and how likely are we to be successful, given her financials and my lack of anything desirable to the US (other than not being a criminal).

Apologies for the super-long post; as much detail as possible seems helpful when it comes to this, I think. Happy to answer questions if it helps to give clearer advice. And I know we'd be far better off asking an immigration lawyer, but that's something we can't afford right now, and all the reading I've done suggests the process itself should be simple enough with enough research (and consultation of Visa Journey), we're just having a tough time figuring out where to start.

Could a large influx of culturally-similar refugees help save Detroit?

jjjjjjjijjjjjjj — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:58:55 -0800

St. Louis, Missouri lost over half its population from 1950-1990. Since the mid-1990s, 80,000 Bosnian immigrants (coming to represent over 20% of the city's population) have established communities that have saved large areas of housing stock from decay. In which other instances have large, permanent groups of non-migrant, non-domestically employed immigrants been settled en masse helping to shore-up a city that is losing population but otherwise has the infrastructure to accommodate more? Has there been any debate or discussion about hypothetical proposals to encourage something similar in Detroit? To clarify: I'm looking for "pull" factors, not "push" factors. (In other words: not "there are a lot of Irish in Boston because of the Irish potato famine".) Not (just) "[specific group]'s needs for X caused them to come here", but "our [individual city]'s desire to stave-off atrophy caused us to incentivize large numbers of [specific group] relocating here." And specifically: examples where a city with waning population is to be rejuvenated, not where a booming city is to be expanded

Additionally, because my curiosity is specifically in its applicability/inapplicability for the problems in Detroit, I'm less interested in things that have brought only certain types of professionals over (Southern Asian medical personnel would be one example of many), or things that've brought populations of people to fill (semi-)rural labor-intensive industries (Latin-American workers in Midwest meat-packing CAFOs, early-20th century Appalachian coal-mining, or Chinese rail workers would be examples).

Have people proposed, discussed, or debated the applicability of encouraging similar things? Where are these proposals or debates?

As always, thanks for your ideas and your expertise. I am not a professional in this field, but I am willing to read challenging things.

How to get the boyfriend to the States...?

Evil Chicken of Doom — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:59:07 -0800

My better half is trying very hard to move from Eastern Canada to the States. Are there any avenues we haven't explored? Any thoughts? After several years of being close friends and nearly two years of being more, we've come to the realization that we can't be apart for much longer if it can be helped, and so we're trying to get him to the US on a permanent basis.

The catches are that this economy is currently not friendly to anybody trying to find a job, and at this time, we are not wanting to marry. He has been applying for jobs like crazy out in the Portland, OR and outlying regions (his skillset lies in UNIX/Linux systems administration), but most employers don't seem to be willing to sponsor people for Visas at this time.

My question is this - other than applying for jobs out here to obtain a Visa, are there any other possible efforts I can make to get him out here (legally)? We feel like we're hitting a brick wall, and I can't help but wonder if we're missing something vital.

Any thoughts/help would be appreciated...thank you!

How to find a immigration case decision?

dragoon — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:17:48 -0800

How can I find the decision for the immigration case for the "heretical two"? Specifically, I'm looking for Judge Rose Peters' decision that Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle should be returned to the UK. My searches on PACER came up empty, and I haven't been able to get a case number from their supporters.

I'd like to see the arguments by the prosecutor and the defendants, but I've read on PACER that immigration cases restrict what's available online.

If the online documentation isn't enough, where would I go to see the court documents in person?

Can SSA keep my wife's passport?

dcrocha — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:36:31 -0800

Can the Social Security Authority keep my wife's passport in this particular situation? Long story.

My wife came to the U.S. in November in an L-2 visa. Everything was fine til she applied for an SSN, which was denied because her name on the I-94 was different than the one in the passport and Visa (she has a big name).

She got the I-94 correct and went to apply again for the SSN. After doing all the requested procedures, she was informed that she would have to wait another 4 weeks for document evaluation and update, so USCIS and SSA would know what the correct name is now. She leaves in a hurry.

Hours later she calls me and says she can't find her passport. She doesn't recall whether the SSA agent kept it or not.

Question: would be normal in this situation that the agent would keep her passport to finish evaluation of her documents, including the change of name on the I-94?

Leave and re-enter Canada while work permit is being processed?

pravit — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:07:47 -0800

Can I leave Canada and re-enter while a work permit is being processed? In August, after my master's program has completed, I'll be applying for a postgraduate work permit. I also feel like I need a vacation. I'm currently in Canada on a study permit that is valid until the end of September.

Can I leave Canada and re-enter while they are processing the new work permit? I am a US citizen.