Moving from BC to the Oregon.
February 5, 2020 8:31 AM Subscribe
I've got a Canadian family member who wants to move from BC to Oregon. He's currently here on a tourist visa. We are now exploring the mountain of paperwork involved and we have questions.
Half my family is Canadian, some dualies CA/US. I am only a US citizen. My family member is only Canadian. He's young, charming, has money, and has income. And he's determined to figure out how to stay here.
We're currently focused on getting him a driver's license and an ITIN. We live in Oregon where nonresident aliens can get a drivers license. He needs an ITIN so he can get a bank account, and maybe rent an apartment.
He's got 6 months here on a tourist visa. Current thoughts are: File a W7 with a 1040NR to get an ITIN. Use his passport with an I94 to get the drivers license. Use those both to start establishing residency. And he's already putting tindr to work.
He's from Vancouver so jumping back and forth between here and there is easy, if he has to file any paperwork in BC.
Would love to hear advice from people who know this process! Thank you!
Half my family is Canadian, some dualies CA/US. I am only a US citizen. My family member is only Canadian. He's young, charming, has money, and has income. And he's determined to figure out how to stay here.
We're currently focused on getting him a driver's license and an ITIN. We live in Oregon where nonresident aliens can get a drivers license. He needs an ITIN so he can get a bank account, and maybe rent an apartment.
He's got 6 months here on a tourist visa. Current thoughts are: File a W7 with a 1040NR to get an ITIN. Use his passport with an I94 to get the drivers license. Use those both to start establishing residency. And he's already putting tindr to work.
He's from Vancouver so jumping back and forth between here and there is easy, if he has to file any paperwork in BC.
Would love to hear advice from people who know this process! Thank you!
He [...] has money, and has income. And he's determined to figure out how to stay here.
Get a lawyer (MeFi Wiki) with a practice that includes a focus on immigration (AILA).
posted by katra at 9:20 AM on February 5, 2020
Get a lawyer (MeFi Wiki) with a practice that includes a focus on immigration (AILA).
posted by katra at 9:20 AM on February 5, 2020
There are elements of your question that make me think that you may not have done a lot of research on this issue yet (for example, Canadians do not normally need tourist visas to enter the US as tourists for up to 6 months). If that's the case, please stop taking *any* steps toward establishing residency until you are much clearer on his current status and what the requirements are for getting the kind of visa he would need to be allowed to stay. Violating the terms of a tourist visa (if he has one) or being seen as having intent to remain in the United States while travelling as a tourist could create huge problems for him later in the process.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:24 AM on February 5, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 9:24 AM on February 5, 2020 [14 favorites]
Don't file ANYTHING until you have spoken to an immigration lawyer, as you could be jeopardizing your family member's case. Ditto to the above resource on Visajourney, if you want to do some initial research before approaching an attorney.
You are right, that the best (only) possible avenue is through a close US family member who can sponsor him. That needs to be done from Canada. He can't stay in the US and initiate that process.
(Stop exploring the establishing residency angle, that is not how it works and will work against you).
posted by nanook at 10:16 AM on February 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
You are right, that the best (only) possible avenue is through a close US family member who can sponsor him. That needs to be done from Canada. He can't stay in the US and initiate that process.
(Stop exploring the establishing residency angle, that is not how it works and will work against you).
posted by nanook at 10:16 AM on February 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Getting an Oregon driver's license, bank account, taxpayer identification ID number, etc. will contribute nothing at all to his ability to legally move to the US permanently and at this particular stage/in this particular situation, can backfire on him a lot.
The sole relevant thing you need to explore at this stage is what visa can he get to move to the US permanently and visas are issued only by the federal government.
Once you're looking at immigrant visas, there are a number of different ways of course -- a job can sponsor you, you can come via family reunification, you can get married to a US citizen (for real, do not attempt a sham marriage!), there are visas for "investors" with high net resources, etc.
This is where you need to focus your research on and probably engage an immigration lawyer on. Good luck!
posted by andrewesque at 10:59 AM on February 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
The sole relevant thing you need to explore at this stage is what visa can he get to move to the US permanently and visas are issued only by the federal government.
Once you're looking at immigrant visas, there are a number of different ways of course -- a job can sponsor you, you can come via family reunification, you can get married to a US citizen (for real, do not attempt a sham marriage!), there are visas for "investors" with high net resources, etc.
This is where you need to focus your research on and probably engage an immigration lawyer on. Good luck!
posted by andrewesque at 10:59 AM on February 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Yeah, for things like an apartment, driver's license, and bank account -- that's how an American establishes residency in one state versus another (like for purposes of filing taxes or paying in-state tuition at a college), but it's not the same as immigrating from one country to another. Spend his money and y'all's time on finding an immigration attorney.
Also, if your plan is for him to go on Tinder to ... find someone to marry him to help him get citizenship? Yeah, talk to an attorney!
posted by bluedaisy at 11:34 AM on February 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
Also, if your plan is for him to go on Tinder to ... find someone to marry him to help him get citizenship? Yeah, talk to an attorney!
posted by bluedaisy at 11:34 AM on February 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
He can't legally work without a non-immigrant visa. Look into the TN visa provided he meets the employment requirements.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-nafta-professionals
posted by asharchist at 8:41 PM on June 25, 2020
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-nafta-professionals
posted by asharchist at 8:41 PM on June 25, 2020
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posted by cozenedindigo at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2020