Hey all I've recently made a life decision to go to the University of South Carolina. However, I am a Canadian citizen,young,and really confused at what it is I have to do to become a US citizen. I need all the help that I can get as to what it is I'm supposed to do. By the way, I am engaged to my girlfriend who I've been dating for a long time, if that helps at all, or could speed up the process. She is a US citizen, and has been her whole life. Thank you to anyone who can help. TJ
First off, to become a citizen you need to be naturalized. There are three ways to do this. 1) Have a USian relative. Is your dad, mom, grandfather USian? Go that route. 2) Marry a USian. That speeds up the process a bit. 3) Get a job and have your company sponsor you. Takes about seven years - it has to be a job for which they can find no qualified American etc. Unlike Canada, which hands out citizenship to anyone who asks for it, the US makes it REALLY difficult, time consuming and onerous to get it. If you do intend on getting married, get married in the US - enter the US on a spousal visa - and then apply for GC with that. Do yourself a MASSIVE favor and talk to a qualified lawyer. You can't just say "hey, I've made this life decision to move to America." They will say "yeah, three quarters of Mexico thinks the same way - now go home."
Once you get your green card (1 yr-3 yrs if you marry) you have to live in the USA continually (no going back to New Brunswick) for FIVE YEARS and then you can apply to be a citizen. Look at investing 5-10 years in the whole process.
It may take a while to become a citizen, but it should be pretty easy to get a study VISA. You should probably talk to BraveSirRubin, but heres a website that tells a lot about it. http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/studying.html Good luck.
A study visa has NO route to citizenship. He cannot enter that way and then decide to change over. What would probably be best for him is get GC status then apply to the college, that way he isn't an INTERNATIONAL STUDENT (read get hosed for tuition)
Ahh, I just knew you had to be a legal resident for 5 years. (or 3 if you have a citizen for a spouse) I'm here cause this is where my parents fucked.
So wait wait wait... I can't get a job in the US unless I live there for five years? A job of any kind?
You can't be a CITIZEN without living there five years (three if you marry an american). With a student visa, no you can't work (you can work a few hours in a very specific subset of jobs per week) With a lot of other types of visa, no you can't work. The kinds of jobs you will be able to get a visa for typically require a degree (you can't get a work visa to work at Starbucks) So either save all your money and go to the uni down there and pay for it all cash ahead of time OR Marry the girl and get work authorization as fast as possible. (EAD) Take a few moments and pay someone who is a lawyer specialising in immigration. If you screw it up you can be barred permanently from the US. PM me I will give you a good reference.
You're not dealing with Canada, here. You can do three things in the US either Study - you have the money to pay for the education already and are just working a few hours a week for groceries - no full time jobs, not even part time ones. Your hours and options are VERY VERY limited. In fact in the first year you cannot work off-campus. In short, Ali Pander Jam Singh, Indian Millionaire, can prove he has the money to go to Harvard, shows up with cash and studies. Work - you have a degree, years of experience, and are going down to work in a capacity in a specific job title for which the US has decided it doesn't have enough people - e.g. Computer Systems Analyst. OR that you are a Nobel Prize winner, Grammy award winner etc. going in on a visa for exceptional alien talent (prepare to show Nobel Prize and/or Grammy - you can't just say you're special or that Aunt Gwen thinks your paintings are nice). This is a visa category like H-1B which is limited and has quotas and specific limitations on job title and salary. Family - you're going in to join your FATHER, MOTHER or SPOUSE. NOT your children. Until they're 21.
People in Canada all the time say "oh the heck with this I'm gonna move to Arizona" and find out that Homeland Security (which now runs the Immigration services) has other ideas. Whereas countries like Canada want more more more people, the USA is constantly keeping them out while trying to cherry pick the high wage earners and Pulitzer Prize winners. You can get in, but it's not easy.
I didn't say "oh heck," i said, "oh fuck, how am I gonna make this work," and apparently I can't because I don't have the money or the experience.
Get married. It is literally your only way. If you go the study route, you can't work. You don't yet have the education to get the job. If she will marry you, marry her.
she will marry me, but she's also said she can't stand in the way of my education, and i need to make money for us, and i need to get a good job, because its always what i wanted, but she can't just pay for us, and i only have enough to cover my tuition for the first year.
RE: she will marry me, but she's also said she can't stand in the way of my education, So get married, live together, and go to school. RE: and i need to make money for us, and i need to get a good job, because its always what i wanted, but she can't just pay for us, and i only have enough to cover my tuition for the first year. Then you got a problem. Point out that after you get the degree you'll be able to get a great job. But until then you'll both be living near the campus and a bit tight on money.
i have a brother-in-law and a sister who both have a greencard and are in their 30s with kids... he has a great job and they are moving to new hampshire from florida.... thats all i got for close relatives..
Call an immigration lawyer. They should be able to sponsor you, I think. Maybe when they become citizens I don't know but I think they can help you out.
My cousin married a gal from Guatamela who was un-documented. ( nice girl ) Boy did Immigration bust balls. They sent her deporataion papers. Seemed they didn't care one way or another about the marriage. They dropped Thousands on some snarky lawyer. Finally their congressman helped out. They lived happily ever after. Best of luck to you. Seems all you hear aout is Americans moving to Canada.
huh. how strange. my friend's brother married a woman from thailand IN thailand, and they've had no trouble whatsoever. oh, and you can't apply for financial assistance, my friend from australia had a hard time with that. the easiest route is to get sponsored by a company. one of the ladies my husband works with was just naturalized.
