# Moving to NYC from Australia - plz help



## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

Hi Guys, 

I am totally new to the forum and that's my very first thread.

I am writing to you as I am willing to move to NYC in a couple of years from now - let's say 2016-2018 at last.

I am a Canadian / French citizen currently living in Melbourne. My Australian visa expires in 2016 and I need to make a decision by then.

I am about to get married with my fiancee who's a Russian citizen having grown up in France - she does not hold a French passport.

Now my question is; what can I do to prepare the moving and to make it as smooth as possible. I know that the fact of being a Canadian citizen makes my case way easier to process however my soon to be wife is still Russian.

We've been together since 2008 and our relationship can be 500% backed with pictures, lettres, emails, plane tickets, friends testimonials, family etc.

Our marriage will be done in Melbourne so it'll be 100% legitimate as well.

Now the thing is that I don't know where to start as myself I have left Canada years ago when I was a kid and I was living mainly in France ever since.

Has anybody moved to NYC recently so that they can give me some tips or other remarks on how to get in done as smooth as possible.

If it was only myself I guess that I wouldn't be that worried but I don't know how to bring my soon to be wife to the USA.

Just for the record, none of us has family in the states. However I do have relatives in Montreal...

Thanks in advance,
Cheers,


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

cI cannot see on what ground you thing you can move to the US


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Why do you think that as a Canadian you have an easier route to living and working in the US?

Unless you have some professional role and can take advantage of, say, something like the NAFTA agreement or you wish to study you will need a visa just like anyone else.

Once you have obtained the necessary visa (work/investment?) your wife may be able to obtain one based on yours.


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

Davis1 said:


> cI cannot see on what ground you thing you can move to the US



As my post says: I am not thinking that I can move in there freely. Instead my post says that it's gonna be easier for me than for my wife.

Thanks a lot for a useless response.


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

Crawford said:


> Why do you think that as a Canadian you have an easier route to living and working in the US?
> 
> Unless you have some professional role and can take advantage of, say, something like the NAFTA agreement or you wish to study you will need a visa just like anyone else.
> 
> Once you have obtained the necessary visa (work/investment?) your wife may be able to obtain one based on yours.


You are right - every single Canadian is affected by NAFTA given that we can travel to the USA without being bound to hold a visa as well as we have some agreements making processing times faster and required documentation less voluminous. No matter what your profession is.

Again - it does not mean that we can permanently settle in the USA 'just because'. Nonetheless it means that the entire procedure is easier for us rather than for and individual coming from Kazakhstan or South Sudan for example.


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

Before you worry about NYC you need to think about how you are going to get a visa for the USA. Being from Canada isn't going to help you out in the area.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Have you verified that you have kept up with everything a Canadian citizen in good standing is required to do? 
What is required for your wife to get Canadian citizenship?
Is your/her professional/educational background covered by NAFTA list?
You forgot the other two US locations open to expats - FL and CA.


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

twostep said:


> Have you verified that you have kept up with everything a Canadian citizen in good standing is required to do?
> What is required for your wife to get Canadian citizenship?
> Is your/her professional/educational background covered by NAFTA list?
> You forgot the other two US locations open to expats - FL and CA.


Yep, I've always been very cautious about keeping everything in order. I've got an up to date passport, up to date proof of citizenship, and up to date social number etc. Everything is in order from this point of view. I am also visiting my family in Canada on a regular basis which allows me to keep all the paperwork in order.

That's a bit of a tricky one as she would have been required to live somewhere in Canada for at least 3 years provided that I get approved as a sponsor before she even enters the country. Being approved as a sponsor would not be an issue but as mentioned previously, she would need to spend 3 years in Canada with a permanent resident card to get a passport.

Yes, we both have recognised qualifications, both from English speaking universities. At the same time (with regards to Canada) we both speak French.

I've never been to California honestly. I know Florida quite well but have no clue about CA...

Why do you think that those 2 could be a good idea?

Cheers,


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

beatitboss said:


> Davis1 said:
> 
> 
> > cI cannot see on what ground you thing you can move to the US
> ...


It wasn't a useless post. Davis1 was inviting you to suggest the basis on which you expect to move to the US. That would then be a discussion point from which others could suggest next steps.

If you believe it's going to be easier for you than for your wife, that would suggest that you have a mechanism in mind. Would you care to share it? If you don't have anything in mind, how can you know/think/guess that it will be easier for you than for your wife?


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

Bellthorpe said:


> It wasn't a useless post. Davis1 was inviting you to suggest the basis on which you expect to move to the US. That would then be a discussion point from which others could suggest next steps.
> 
> If you believe it's going to be easier for you than for your wife, that would suggest that you have a mechanism in mind. Would you care to share it? If you don't have anything in mind, how can you know/think/guess that it will be easier for you than for your wife?


That's because I've done lots of travelling with her and all Russian applications take up to 3/4 times longer to be processed. Even the simple fact of coming to Australia took her almost 3 months of collecting paperwork etc. whereas my Australian visa was issued within 24 hours. Just for the record.

At the same time I checked a US website which clearly states that Russians can expect longer delays/more paperwork to be presented etc. 

Finally do not forget that as Canadians, we have the opportunity to visit the US visa-free as well as we can settle there easier.

One example is that we cannot apply for the diversity lottery but there are other options/visas we can use.

And with regards to our own case - I am still figuring out what mechanism to apply. I was even thinking about the green card lottery.

Has anyone done that previously?

Cheers,


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

beatitboss said:


> One example is that we cannot apply for the diversity lottery but there are other options/visas we can use.
> And with regards to our own case - I am still figuring out what mechanism to apply. I was even thinking about the green card lottery.


Do you mean that your spouse would enter the lottery? Yes, that's an option. The 2016 lottery should open for applications on or about October 1, 2014.

The 2014 lottery received over 9 million applications (over 14 million including family members) for 50,000 green cards. So the statistical probability of getting a visa and green card this way is not very high. But it's not zero.


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

BBCWatcher said:


> Do you mean that your spouse would enter the lottery? Yes, that's an option. The 2016 lottery should open for applications on or about October 1, 2014.
> 
> The 2014 lottery received over 9 million applications (over 14 million including family members) for 50,000 green cards. So the statistical probability of getting a visa and green card this way is not very high. But it's not zero.


Why not. Even though the probability is very tiny - it's still not impossible.

At the same time I can enter the lottery as well given that I have 2 passports and I do not necessarily need to present myself as Canadian.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

beatitboss said:


> At the same time I can enter the lottery as well given that I have 2 passports and I do not necessarily need to present myself as Canadian.


Read the rules carefully on that. As I read them, your ability to enter the lottery is contingent on your continued legal marriage to your particular born-in-an-eligible-country spouse. If you were not married to that eligible spouse, you would (presumably) not be eligible since, presumably, you were born in Canada to legal residents of Canada at the time of your birth. Your possession of any number of citizenships is immaterial for these purposes.

Davis1's remark was not "useless" as it turns out. Most individuals born in Russia (and their legal spouses as long as they are legal spouses, e.g. you) are indeed treated more favorably under the U.S. diversity lottery than most individuals born in Canada. Please do thank your spouse for the favor.


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## beatitboss (Apr 1, 2014)

BBCWatcher said:


> Read the rules carefully on that. As I read them, your ability to enter the lottery is contingent on your continued legal marriage to your particular born-in-an-eligible-country spouse. If you were not married to that eligible spouse, you would (presumably) not be eligible since, presumably, you were born in Canada to legal residents of Canada at the time of your birth. Your possession of any number of citizenships is immaterial for these purposes.
> 
> Davis1's remark was not "useless" as it turns out. Most individuals born in Russia (and their legal spouses as long as they are legal spouses, e.g. you) are indeed treated more favorably under the U.S. diversity lottery than most individuals born in Canada. Please do thank your spouse for the favor.


And that's where it actually gets interesting because I was born outside Canada to Canadian parents. Wy parents were working abroad for a couple of years and I was born abroad (Poland) what enabled me to become a Polish citizen later on.

Hence I am as much Canadian as an alien .


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Well then, you're on equal footing with your spouse, at least if the list of eligible countries is the same as the 2015 lottery. You would qualify as a "native" of Poland since that's your country of birth.

Citizenship isn't actually relevant for the diversity lottery, so don't get confused by that. Also, Poland was knocked off the list in the 1998-2001 and 2007-2012 lotteries (inclusive), so one never knows. Russia was ineligible in 2005-2009 inclusive. I think it's fair to say both countries are borderline participants in the diversity lotteries.


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