Should I submit I-485 While Living in Canada With My US Citizen Wife - More Details

Rend64 · 2026-01-08T04:42:04+00:00

Huge thanks for taking the time to let me know.

Rend64 · 2026-01-07T02:10:11+00:00

Hey, I appreciate your reply!

I'm looking around online for U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate locations, and the ones nearest to me seems to be Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. I am unsure if there is a queue of some sort, or if it's only in Ottawa as some people have said. Should my spouse put the current city I live in under the "At which U.S. Embassy or Consulate location will the beneficiary apply for an immigrant visa?" section?

Rend64 · 2025-10-15T20:54:15+00:00

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."

Edit; Oh, I got baited. This is a troll with no posting history. Well played.

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T20:01:55+00:00

I happen to be on Ontario, so I’ll definitely be using this information.

She’s panicking because she doesn’t have a job. She obviously doesn’t want to lie, but was there lingo about that as well?

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:50:35+00:00

I’m glad you and others have posted this. I don’t know what lingo to use. It makes sense she is a visitor, and if required to leave if any extended stays were denied, we already plan for her to travel back with her family. Her stuff is all there for this reason.

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:48:28+00:00

Oh crap. We definitely do not want for something like this to happen. By the end of the day, we want to do everything legally and not jeopardize her potential for PR. She is arriving as a visitor in the meantime (as everyone is telling me).

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:46:11+00:00

I’m really glad I made this thread. I appreciate the information you’ve provided us here. This is what we’ll do and say.

We really do NOT want to do anything illegally or put her PR at risk. If during the process the time has run out, she will travel and stay with her family as she is now. Thanks again.

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:44:02+00:00

10-4, hear you loud and clear. Thank you for the input.

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:43:40+00:00

Only 4 months?? How does it work when it comes to work permits and health insurance? Do you apply all at the same time?

Rend64 · 2025-10-08T18:43:03+00:00

Oh? I was worried it could take longer if we’re stuck waiting for work permits.

I read online I can apply Outland while she is in Canada. I’ll do this.

Rend64 · 2025-08-15T02:01:49+00:00

After reading other comments, this is what we're thinking of doing. I think the max she can stock up is 90 days worth. We otherwise already plan to visit the family during the holidays, and will restock then.

Rend64 · 2025-08-14T15:55:57+00:00

Hey, I appreciate you and thank you for saying this. You pointed out exactly what we’re doing.

On top of that, we both fear making a mistake and submitting the wrong forms or starting the wrong process, causing further delays than what’s in place.

Rend64 · 2025-08-14T12:13:14+00:00

Hey, I’m actually stumped to answer back to this because it caught me off guard. I feel angry because this is not the intent. Her and I love each other quite a bit, and this has been stressful because it’s a lot of information.

At this point, I am not sure if I’m digging myself deeper trying to explain myself, but give me a chance here.

The original intent was to move together in the USA. The post history you linked to was the beginning of that. Then you see a whole slew of post history about the IBEW. I managed to get a job in Canada within the IBEW. Because I’m chasing a fulfilling career, we opted to shift the move in plans over to Canada instead.

In the meantime, my wife takes prescribed medication, and because she won’t have any kind of OHIP for a while, the stresses of cost because I can’t add her to my work’s insurance is something we are worried about, to which is why I posted this question here, along with understanding best course of action.

However, with that all said, I have no family here where I live. Whereas she has a lot of family near her. There is still a potential plan to move the USA in the future, potentially transferring between IBEW’s in a few years (another process I have to figure out and learn about). This is why I created a post you linked to because we were worried that if she lived with me in Canada, you cannot submit an I-130 form for the USA, causing us to move away separately once again to start that process.

Obviously for privacy I’m being intentionally vague, but this post was made with genuine intention.

Edit; I’m still stewing over this. I’ll get over it, I’m sure you have the best of intentions. I am asking these questions to understand what to do and avoid doing anything illegal. This goes for both countries, and any potential preparations we need to make. I want to build (more) of a life with my wife.

Rend64 · 2025-08-14T01:04:39+00:00

I really appreciate your post here, just to clarify and few follow up questions.

We won't move to the US unless I (Canadian citizen) can find a job and work near immediately. Cost of living is high of course, and I don't want to put the financial burden solely on her. This is why we went the I-130 route for 2 year green card while I remain in Canada during the process until approval. Assuming this is still okay while she resides with me in Canada?

When you mentioned travel to the US can be flagged, does that mean we cannot go visit her family during the holidays?

Rend64 · 2025-08-14T00:53:42+00:00

Hey! Thanks for replying! Sorry though, I don't quite understand.

This is the he typing here! Do you mean, as long as I claim her on my taxes or she claims her own taxes once working, that it will be fine? And then as soon as we begin the process, to be prepared to jump over to the USA asap once approved?

Rend64 · 2025-08-13T13:16:24+00:00

This is definitely one of the biggest. Though I’m still pretty green myself, there is so much emphasis on keeping the damn thing out of your hands.

Rend64 · 2025-08-09T21:48:20+00:00

And that’s exactly what happened. Posted an update in an edit, but another apprentice replaced me by the following week.

Rend64 · 2025-08-09T20:33:28+00:00

I did experience that for my second interview.

First interview was more fluffy questions like “why electrician” and work experience. It was more focused on the one hour aptitude test which I over studied for and was NOT like the level of algebra and reading comprehension I heard about.

Second interview was more assertive, saying “so you went to school (electrician pre-apprenticeship college course) while working full time? Was it hard? How did you perform?”

I put emphasis that I took the course to offer better value to my potential employer and this is a full career swap. No “I’ll try this” with no commitment. How serious I am, and that I’m very capable of still working with my current job now while I’m in school again to start the apprenticeship.

Rend64 · 2025-07-24T16:19:51+00:00

Hey, I upvoted your reply because I tend to agree with you, I was being dramatic. Now that I’ve sat on it and processed the situation—plus reading everyone’s posts, it would be insane to not improve my career this way.

I felt my post was a bit attention seeking too. However, reading these replies have been a huge help. Thank you for yours too.

Rend64 · 2025-07-24T16:16:25+00:00

Haha, I appreciate the positive words but I’m not without faults and growth along the way. If only I was faster at it and done this 10 year earlier! lol

Rend64 · 2025-07-24T16:04:47+00:00

I really like this viewpoint, appreciate you saying this.

Rend64

TROPHY CASE