Is it possible to retire to the USA?

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

To be honest, I don't know all the details as I wasn't involved in the process. I was living in San Diego, California at the time. I do know that they had to prove they had sufficient income. They were definitely not wealthy.

You need some basis to apply for your green card -- you were drawn in the diversity visa, your current US employer is sponsoring you in category EB3, you're a nanotechnologist with a Nobel prize and are self-sponsoring with a national interest waiver, you're the daughter of a US citizen, etc.

Without that basis, there's no green card.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

You need some basis to apply for your green card -- you were drawn in the diversity visa, your current US employer is sponsoring you in category EB3, you're a nanotechnologist with a Nobel prize and are self-sponsoring with a national interest waiver, you're the daughter of a US citizen, etc.

Without that basis, there's no green card.

None of those things applied. Maybe the rules have changed since then. I do know that it was much easier for Canadians to obtain a Green Card than others. I also know that a lot is up to the discretion of the immigration officer handling the case. That was certainly true when my wife and I received our Green cards though that was many years ago. My wife is a Mexican citizen. Actually she is now a dual US/Mexican citizen. We also went through the same consulate in Vancouver. When we crossed the border at Blaine, WA, the immigration asked me a question regarding our package of documents from the consulate. Apparently something was out of order. When I couldn't answer his question, he just shrugged his shoulders and said I guess Stevens ( immigration officer at the US consulate in Vancouver ) knows what he is doing. They stamped our passports and we were on our way to San Diego. A few months later we received the actual Green cards in the mail in an Diego.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

None of those things applied. Maybe the rules have changed since then. I do know that it was much easier for Canadians to obtain a Green Card than others. I also know that a lot is up to the discretion of the immigration officer handling the case. That was certainly true when my wife and I received our Green cards though that was many years ago. My wife is a Mexican citizen. Actually she is now a dual US/Mexican citizen. We also went through the same consulate in Vancouver. When we crossed the border at Blaine, WA, the immigration asked me a question regarding our package of documents from the consulate. Apparently something was out of order. When I couldn't answer his question, he just shrugged his shoulders and said I guess Stevens ( immigration officer at the US consulate in Vancouver ) knows what he is doing. They stamped our passports and we were on our way to San Diego. A few months later we received the actual Green cards in the mail in an Diego.

So you were the basis for your wife's green card -- family sponsorship. Still no idea what your parent's basis was.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

I do know that it was much easier for Canadians to obtain a Green Card than others. I also know that a lot is up to the discretion of the immigration officer handling the case.

Canadians don't generally need a visa as visitors, and have access to TN status under NAFTA for employment. However, TN status covers only a narrow range of specified jobs and the path to green card is a little tricky though not impossible. As an obscure oddity, there are also arrangements for green cards certain members of native American tribes with Canadian citizenship who live in the border area. Beyond that, I can't think of anything extra that Canadian citizenship provides extra in terms of US immigration.

The "immigration officer" does not have the discretion to give you a green card without a basis for so doing.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

So you were the basis for your wife's green card -- family sponsorship. Still no idea what your parent's basis was.

There was no family sponsorship. My wife doesn't have any family in the US. We were married in Mexico and lived there for 4 years. We went from Mexico to Canada where we lived for 16 months while waiting to get our Green cards to come to the US. We both applied for Green cards in Vancouver. We went to Canada as it was much much easier to get the Green cards there than in Mexico. Prior to getting married in Mexico and living there, I lived in Phoenix, AZ on a Green card. However, I had to give it up when I moved to Mexico as I had no address in the US and you had to report your address every year. Therefore, I had to start all over again to get a new Green card to return back to the US. After 5 years back in the US, I got my US citizenship. The law changed between getting my first Green card and getting my second one. The first one was very easy and took about 2 months and was pretty well automatic unless you were a criminal. The second one was a lot more difficult. Had I known that at the time I would have waited a few months until I got my US citizenship the first time before we were married. That would have made the process a lot easier. In any event it all worked out fine.

As I said, I do not know what the basis was for my parents getting their Green cards. They have both passed away so I can't ask them. All I know is they got them without any trouble other than waiting. That is all I can tell you.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

There was no family sponsorship. My wife doesn't have any family in the US. We were married in Mexico and lived there for 4 years. We went from Mexico to Canada where we lived for 16 months while waiting to get our Green cards to come to the US. We both applied for Green cards in Vancouver. We went to Canada as it was much much easier to get the Green cards there than in Mexico. Prior to getting married in Mexico and living there, I lived in Phoenix, AZ on a Green card. However, I had to give it up when I moved to Mexico as I had no address in the US and you had to report your address every year. Therefore, I had to start all over again to get a new Green card to return back to the US. After 5 years back in the US, I got my US citizenship. The law changed between getting my first Green card and getting my second one. The first one was very easy and took about 2 months and was pretty well automatic unless you were a criminal. The second one was a lot more difficult. Had I known that at the time I would have waited a few months until I got my US citizenship the first time before we were married. That would have made the process a lot easier. In any event it all worked out fine.

As I said, I do not know what the basis was for my parents getting their Green cards. They have both passed away so I can't ask them. All I know is they got them without any trouble other than waiting. That is all I can tell you.

Aha! I shouldn't jump to conclusions!

On the green card front, the backlogs have changed the game. It wouldn't have been unusual several decades ago for someone, for example, to sponsor their housekeeper directly under an employer-sponsored immigrant category -- and they'd have waited a year or so for the paperwork to catch up before they were issued green cards. Now, the wait on this category would make that highly unlikely.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

Aha! I shouldn't jump to conclusions!

On the green card front, the backlogs have changed the game. It wouldn't have been unusual several decades ago for someone, for example, to sponsor their housekeeper directly under an employer-sponsored immigrant category -- and they'd have waited a year or so for the paperwork to catch up before they were issued green cards. Now, the wait on this category would make that highly unlikely.

When I got my first Green card, there were no quotas, etc. for Canadians. As I said, it was automatic as long as you weren't a criminal. communist, destitute, or had some horrid disease. The process took approximately 2-3 months. Did not need any sponsor nor a job for that matter as long as you weren't destitute.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

When I got my first Green card, there were no quotas, etc. for Canadians. As I said, it was automatic as long as you weren't a criminal. communist, destitute, or had some horrid disease. The process took approximately 2-3 months. Did not need any sponsor nor a job for that matter as long as you weren't destitute.

I'm guessing it was a long time ago.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

I'm guessing it was a long time ago.

It was January, 1961. There was a big change in 1965 that made it take a lot longer when I got my second Green card and my wife got hers in January, 1970.

[Davis1]

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