ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaSicko
I don't think the questioner was intending to be mean, just expressing shock that Georgia's income taxes seem to be so high. ($16K usually means you'd owe about $51.)

homesick american, if your mom had been here in the U.S. without insurance, she just would have died or bankrupted her family trying to get treatment.

That's where the difference is usually. If you have good insurance in the U.S., you're probably fine. If you don't have any, be prepared to go into debt. The comparison isn't between people who have good health insurance and the UK. It's the 60 million who would say, 'gee, that cancer treatment could save my life? do I sell my house or drain my kid's college fund?' that a UHS would be good for. Presumably an UHS wouldn't outlaw private insurance that could cover expensive treatments.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-08 15:24:00
CanadaSicko
We're looking forward to seeing it. It boggles my mind that universal health care just hasn't become a point of American pride, like we think it's better that people go bankrupt because it's good for the moral character or something.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-07 10:08:00
CanadaJust beginning the K-1 journey.
Just remember to breathe. This process is a royal pain in the ###, but most of it is just a waiting game.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-24 17:14:00
CanadaWorking for a Canadian client before EAD
I'd be interested to know how the location of the *work* affects things. If I am working for a U.S. employer and while on vacation in Montreal I send a couple work-related e-mails, I don't need work authorization, because I'm not employed in Canada, you know?

So the question is how to handle telecommuting or work-from-home sorts of arrangements.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-28 14:12:00
CanadaSocial Security Number
Online the requirements for Allegheny County are a social security number, but when I called they said they'd take a passport.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-29 11:33:00
CanadaMarriage license

I have another question about the marriage license. I looked at the applications again and it shows that Applicant A and Applicant B are supposed to list their "CURRENT LEGAL RESIDENCE."


You answered your question yourself, I believe. At the time that you fill out the application, where is your legal residence? This would probably be Canada. I'm quite confident that you would be fine stating either address, though.


I'll most likely already have left Canada by the time we apply for it, unless I come just for the license and return to Canada a few days before the marriage... which isn't likely. My 'current' residence would then not be Canada.


If you're filing for a K-1, once you activate the visa, you have to stay in the U.S., generally. So once you're here and get the marriage license, you'll be staying here. C. and I put my address as his address. I don't think the marriage license office really cares.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-30 21:39:00
CanadaWe're new here!
Welcome!
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-29 18:59:00
CanadaSOOOOO PISSED AT TRAVELCUTS
I'd call your credit card company and challenge the claim. I had to do that once when Expedia charged me for a hotel room they failed to book. Making your credit card company fight the battle for you makes it easier on you.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-31 22:21:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
It's also worth pointing out that a sizable number of 'illegals' are people who DID put in the time to do it legally but fell out of status for one reason or another. How many of you would want your spouse deported because your AOS was considered to be abandoned because an RFE was lost in the mail? You'd be an overstay all that time. And technically out of status....
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-03 16:58:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
The only part of Canada I know well is outside of Edmonton. But on our drive across the country, I learned that
1) Parts of Ontario are astonishingly beautiful.
2) All of Saskatchewan is exceedingly flat.
3) Manitoba has nothing to brag about in that department, either.
4) 100km an hour is too slow of a speed when the terrain is that flat.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-18 07:40:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?

Come on, think this through. Everyone has to have a right to due process or no one does. That's how it works. Think it through. The government doesn't have the resources to track all the illegal immigrants; so how are they going to tell the illegals from the non-illegals? How are they going to tell someone who is appealing a legitimate asylum case and has fuzzy status from someone with a 181-day overstay? Not everyone who is here illegally is illegal in the same way nor subject to the same penalties. It would be easier to talk about this issue if people realized that differences, say, in entry lead to different penalties. That has to wind its way through the courts.

I'm sorry, it's got to be more than 'Did you enter illegally?' and if the person is dumb enough to answer 'yes', out they go.

----
I live in an area with a relatively high Hispanic population. I assume, given the odds, that many of them are here illegally, whether it's an overstayed visa, or sneaking in with a relative. You know what? Neighborhood's not gone to hell. Honestly. No mariachi bands, either!


You might actually want to think this one through a little more. In case you haven't noticed, with supporters in high ranking places, many of the illegal immigrants are proud that they're here and have marched. Over ONE MILLION people across the country marched and wore shirts saying "I'm illegal, so what". They could've EASILY done a sweep of each of those protests and sent them away. That would've been around 1/12 of the entire illegal population in the country in one sweep. Employers that suspect fraudulent documents could forward them on to government agencies for an investigation. Whenever an overstay of a Visa happens, it could easily go across a national network to track any financial movements or such for that person. We already use this technology to track FBI's most wanted and APBs for the police, so it wouldn't be hard.

If someone is found to be illegal through this, they are NOT entitled to a court case or an appeal or such. They did not respect the system enough to enter it legally, so therefore they are not entitled to reap the benefits of that same system.

Once again, refer to the beginning of this post where I stated the article that upset me, which was ADMITTED illegal immigrants seeking asylum and sanctuary in churches. They have absolutely NO rights here and should be sent away, and any church getting involved in that practice should lose its tax exempt status, as they are involving themselves with politics instead of religion.


Wearing a shirt that says "I'm illegal, so what?" oddly enough isn't grounds for deportation. Just like wearing a shirt that says, "I did it legally" doesn't mean squat, either. Or wearing a shirt that says "we're legally married" means you get your green card. Or wearing a shirt with a Communist star on it means you're committing treason. It's a weird quirk of American law that people can't be arrested during a peaceful assembly for wearing a T-shirt. Take it up with the First Amendment.

You need proof, or else the government is going to be in the business of deporting people without actually determining whether they're illegal beyond whether they went to a rally, or look Hispanic. Due process is how you determine who needs to be deported, and what the penalty should be. "Illegal" covers everyone from the stereotypical EWI (with the fence-jumping mariachi band...?) to the former F-1 who is overstaying his expired student visa by 92 days and the family who was not granted asylum and dodged the deportation order to the spouse whose abuser hasn't filed for a greencard or a guy whose running drugs. The penalties for each of these vary. Some people who are deported are inadmissible. Some aren't. Some incur a ban. Some don't.

You can't just figure that out a priori. That's what due process is for. "If someone is found to be illegal then they're not entitled to a court case.".... look, you can't do that without a court case. That's what the court is for. That's why it's not feasible to just swoop in and arrest one million people (no matter where you'd put them while processing their deportation.) I get that it's Alanis-Morisette-style-ironic as hell that they are RIGHT there and that nothing can be done, but we're a nation of laws.

And the system you're proposing with all the information sharing is giving the government both way too much credit, in that they don't know nearly as much as you think, and way too much power, in that in your zeal to ensure that everyone illegal is punished, you're just tossing over the foundations of the American legal system.

You really want your financial information, as the spouse of a green card applicant, to be divulged to five different government agencies as soon as your sweetie's K-1 expires, just so they can track his or her movements just in case the green card is denied?
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-16 08:49:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?

Where are you going to get the money to beggar 11 million people and deport them? It's not as though we're going to suspend due process and just run a truck around picking up everyone who looks Hispanic or suitably brown (plenty of illegal immigrants aren't Hispanic, yet oddly none of the rhetoric seems to worry about them.) As I'm sure you know from your wife's circumstances, people have a right to a hearing, they have a right to appeal the hearing, if they lose that, then there's a deportation order and until that time, we can't just throw people in jail. If you're advocating no due process, then the miscarriage of justice is likely to be far, far worse.

If we started deportation hearings for everyone tomorrow, it would be years upon years before the appeals wound their ways through the system.


People who entered the country illegally have absolutely NO right to due process, as they are not a citizen or a recognized member of our society. They should not be jailed or anything like that, they should be sent home, and the payment for these flights or transportation would be received by liquidating absolutely all of their assets that they accrued while being in the country illegally.

I am not going against just Mexicans or Hispanics at all. If someone illegally immigrated from Canada to the United States, my stance would be the exact same for them. My wife's folks had the right to appeals and hearings because they were legally involved with the process, and all of the work they did submitting forms and money entitles them to those rights.

The bottom line should be: "Did you enter the country illegally?" and if the answer is yes, you transport them immediately, then after they're out of the country, you go to their home, sell everything in it, sell the home, and recoup any such debts that were attained by sending them away.


Come on, think this through. Everyone has to have a right to due process or no one does. That's how it works. Think it through. The government doesn't have the resources to track all the illegal immigrants; so how are they going to tell the illegals from the non-illegals? How are they going to tell someone who is appealing a legitimate asylum case and has fuzzy status from someone with a 181-day overstay? Not everyone who is here illegally is illegal in the same way nor subject to the same penalties. It would be easier to talk about this issue if people realized that differences, say, in entry lead to different penalties. That has to wind its way through the courts.

I'm sorry, it's got to be more than 'Did you enter illegally?' and if the person is dumb enough to answer 'yes', out they go.

----
I live in an area with a relatively high Hispanic population. I assume, given the odds, that many of them are here illegally, whether it's an overstayed visa, or sneaking in with a relative. You know what? Neighborhood's not gone to hell. Honestly. No mariachi bands, either!
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-15 16:57:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
I don't think the point of the movie V was to be on the side of the fascist government.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-15 10:47:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
Where are you going to get the money to beggar 11 million people and deport them? It's not as though we're going to suspend due process and just run a truck around picking up everyone who looks Hispanic or suitably brown (plenty of illegal immigrants aren't Hispanic, yet oddly none of the rhetoric seems to worry about them.) As I'm sure you know from your wife's circumstances, people have a right to a hearing, they have a right to appeal the hearing, if they lose that, then there's a deportation order and until that time, we can't just throw people in jail. If you're advocating no due process, then the miscarriage of justice is likely to be far, far worse.

If we started deportation hearings for everyone tomorrow, it would be years upon years before the appeals wound their ways through the system.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-15 10:37:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
It's hard to say, bowflex. I feel for your wife's family, but what seems to drive my sympathy is not that 'they did it legally' but that it's so damn hard to get political asylum. Increasing scrutiny on immigrants I fear only leads to more denials in asylum cases.

I think the time does matter. If we had the resources to deport people as soon as they crossed the border, I would say, 'deport!' It would be swift, certain, and just a few weeks out of their lives. But we don't, and deporting an otherwise honest hard-working person after twenty years doesn't seem just. (It doesn't seem just to deport your wife's family either, but deporting illegals won't make the asylum cases easier.) I don't think that deporting 11 million people is a realistic option.

Plus, it's hard to say what would happen if Yugoslavia had bordered the U.S. I can imagine that people might have been desperate enough to skip the border, too.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-15 10:11:00
CanadaDoes illegal immigration upset you big time too?
I believe that illegal immigration is a problem, because it sets up a very bad situation where the wealth and growth of the United States is dependent upon having a permanent Hispanic, illegal underclass. Societies like that are not stable.

I think that any reasonable solution will secure the borders (though I think a fence is dumb), work with Mexico to improve their economy (cut off the supply), punish employers who break the laws (cut off the demand), give ICE the resources to enforce overstays, and give a path to citizenship for those already here. I think that if any one of those conditions isn't met, any sort of reform will fail.

But I don't think, for reasons documented elsewhere, that I have a right to be more upset because I did it legally. Honestly, the requirements for a legal marriage-based visa are so low. I had to prove that I met C. once in the previous two years, and once we marry, he'll have a green card number automatically generated for him. One meeting. More or less automatic green card. And that makes him more worthy than someone whose parents brought them here as an infant and has lived here for 20 years? Behold the power of sex.

I don't find the argument "I had to do it legally" at all compelling. This process has been a royal pain in the ###, but I don't know. It just doesn't make me all that angry. "Are you jealous because I am generous?" and all that.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-06-15 09:21:00
CanadaEAD on K1 after getting married
You can also file for the EAD with your green card petition (it's part of the package price now.)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 17:27:00
CanadaConnecticut Driver's License?
Once. They didn't really seem to have a clue. What DMV office did you go to? I'd rather go with an office that's dealt with a K-1 before.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-06 08:59:00
CanadaConnecticut Driver's License?
No problem. It's certainly not a rule to know the location of my husband! I just hope we don't have to wait for a green card to figure out what to do with the car. Worst case I guess we formally sell the car to me, insure under my name, and add him once we get the whole thing sorted out.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-06 08:37:00
CanadaConnecticut Driver's License?
Because he's currently in Oklahoma with work. He went right after we were married and they told him to come back when he had a copy of the marriage certificate. So I'm hoping if we bring along the NOA from the AOS we'll be okay.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-06 08:25:00
CanadaConnecticut Driver's License?
I know there's a couple Canadians now living in Connecticut. I've checked on the DMV's website and it seems they treat Canada as an out-of-state license (good) and they require proof of legal status in the U.S. (good), but I'm not quite sure what we'll do once C.'s I-94 expires. Right now he's just using his Canadian license, but by the time he's able to apply for a license he's going probably going to be past the K-1 window.

Has anyone had experience using the NOA from AOS in Connecticut?

I'm also confused as hell about insurance. We need to insure his car and register it in Connecticut, but can we do that if the car is in his name but he has a Canadian license?
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-05 22:19:00
CanadaLen's ranting time....
Honestly, with all the hassle I'm thinking Canadians are better off coming in as they usually do as tourists, marrying on day 61 and filing for AOS. 5-7 months for a rubber-stamp interview is just ridiculous.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-05 22:21:00
CanadaPeople can be so horribly insensitive sometimes
In the U.S. His family is Canadian -- meaning that Canadians sometimes have misconceptions about the U.S., too.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-07 11:58:00
CanadaPeople can be so horribly insensitive sometimes
My husband's family seemed to be expecting more guns when they came down from the wedding. Misconceptions abound.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-07 11:33:00
CanadaIs this legal? To marry while on a visit, and file K3 while in US?
If you come in with the intent to marry and adjust status (not going back to Canada), you need to get a fiancee visa. Because otherwise you're misusing the ability to travel between the U.S. and Canada freely.

If you come in with the intent to marry, file the K-3, but decide to hang out for a few months before going back for the interview, you're not misusing the visa because you DID go back to Canada. Just be sure you don't overstay. Then you'll get your K-3, and move back here, and use that to adjust status.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-10 10:07:00
CanadaIs this legal? To marry while on a visit, and file K3 while in US?
It's perfectly legal to get married and return to Canada and file the K-3. Having someone in the U.S. to marry, however, gives you a very strong tie to the U.S., which might make the immigration people at the border think that you're intending to stay. So just tell the truth -- you're here for a visit and you're returning on such-and-such a date.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-10 10:02:00
Canadathe last 2 weeks

not sure what to say but just wanted you to know that I will be praying for you and your family...

Posted Image


Ditto.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-01 09:21:00
CanadaI want to go back
We probably will eventually. C. will be inheriting land and he'd like to retire there. But we're here until he gets his citizenship barring unforeseen circumstances as I really am not a fan of dealing with USCIS.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 15:34:00
CanadaMESSAGE FOR ALL ABOUT DANGERS

hi all , we have no idea why they charged me ,Maybe because of my condition they did. When I realized I musted of been drugged I did ask for a drug test but they ignored my request. I'm seeing a lawyer first thing today. I totally agree with the sippy cup idea.I'm still have after effects of this. I checked online and everything points to acid.I don't use drugs so I'm sure it explains the bad trip. I'll keep you all informed. Thank you all for caring. I guess the first court date is in 2 weeks so we have no contact till then. I guess hubby did tell them about immigration stuff and they said its ok ,its a misdemeaner charge.


Please, please, please ensure that your lawyer knows something about immigration! I don't mean to increase your anxiety, but 'just a misdemeanor' doesn't necessarily mean 'not a problem for an immigrant.' Even just a consult with an immigration attorney might be advisable here.

You poor kid. Goddamn people who spike people's goddamn drinks oughta be hit with a baseball bat a few times upside the head. Hang in there, okay?
CaladanMaleCanada2007-07-31 22:38:00
CanadaCanada and USA immigration question
Polygamy isn't permitted in the U.S. For immigration purposes (I am forgetting where I read this, someone will be along with a citation), only the first wife counts as the real wife, say in the case where a man in a culture that permitted him multiple wives wanted to bring his spouse to the U.S. Only the first wife would count as a spouse.

I don't have my INA pdfs handy, but I think if the intending immigrant intends to practice polygamy that is grounds for denial.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-13 11:49:00
CanadaHow long for receipt notice
I filed on the first. They're experiencing a backlog, and last Friday most of the 7/24-7/25 submissions were cashed, but no NOA1's yet. (I find it ridiculous that we're adding a month to C.'s inability to work because our receipt date will be in late August rather than early August because they can't hire someone at $11 an hour to type in a form and put a check in a bag for the bank, but why the hell would they care if immigrants go bankrupt?)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-14 15:40:00
CanadaCareer change at 33.
Could you start by taking a few courses at a local college? Most will offer a couple evening classes and even adult learner programs that you can schedule around work.

In any case, you're not too old. That's just silly talk. :)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-14 08:12:00
CanadaVisa Denied
Oh, man, Ron. I'm so sorry. Shouldn't this stuff be grandfathered in?
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-12 18:32:00
CanadaI went to a bridal shower yesterday...
My cousin's bridal shower was like that, but a lot lower key. It was at a restaurant where we had salads and soft drinks, and then my cousin opened gifts for hours and hours. My other cousin's bridal shower was a classic tea party. I didn't get one for reasons that led to a small falling out with my maid of honor, but we're okay with it now.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-13 11:04:00
CanadaWahoo the CDN dollar is dropping!!!!
Dammit. I was hoping it would go the other way. C.'s dad gave us a nice chunk of change in Canadian funds as a wedding present. Guess we'll leave it in C.'s account.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-15 16:18:00
CanadaUS Customs at Toronto airport
Just be honest and brief. When C. traveled and when I did, we both said 'fiance' and tagged on something like 'while I'm on vacation' or 'for the next two weeks before the semester starts' or 'For New Year's.' Of course, I don't know what went on in the officer's head, but I think emphasizing the return trip helped indicate that we had no immigrant intent on this visit.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-14 21:01:00
CanadaGroomsmen Gifts
We did pocketwatches for our groomsmen at around $40 each.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-17 18:00:00
CanadaCareer advise...
C.'s employer subcontracts from an American firm now, so he was lucky enough to get re-hired as an American (though the first paycheck they took out Canadian taxes) worker.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-20 19:25:00
CanadaBreak time! Albertans and Texans...
QUOTE (DeadPoolX @ Aug 24 2007, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Caladan @ Aug 24 2007, 09:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
C.'s spent the last two months in and around Texas and he thinks it's nothing like Alberta on the following grounds: 1) Texas is 6 zillion degrees outside 2) poisonous snakes 3) the existence of dry counties and 4) Texans.

He has nothing but praise for the Mexican assistants his company hires.

You do realize, of course, that there are many different landmasses and climates in Texas, right? It's not all "hot and desert." In fact, the the desert areas are mostly in west Texas. East Texas, for instance, is practically all forest (well, what's left of the forest areas, due to city expansion) and hills, with no desert to speak of at all.

North Texas also gets a lot of snow in winter. Dallas, for instance, regularly gets blizzards and let's not even get into Amarillo, which can be very cold. So it's wrong to say that Texas is "6 zillion degrees outside." Is some of Texas very hot? Absolutely. Is all of it? No.

Alberta has a very dry climate. I've been there and my fiancee is from there. She's noted many times how dry the province is and actually enjoyed (to some degree) the humidity in east Texas, as it was easier on her skin.

Texas does have far more bugs and other critters, such as poisonous snakes. This is true. This is probably just a product of being further south and having longer summers, however.

As for "Texans," what is that supposed to mean? Texans are, as a whole, fantastic people. Some are jerks, sure, but you'll find that with any group. For the most part, Texans are very nice and welcoming. My fiancee even commented that she found the people here to be very hospitable. Whether or not that directly compares to Albertans... I'm not entirely sure, but it's definitely not a mark against Texans. wink.gif


Just that he had built up in his mind that Texas was pretty much like Alberta, and that Texans are different from Albertans. Different people, different ways of getting things done, different policies. I think he had heard so much that it's Just Like Alberta from people who had been to neither that he was a little surprised.

You seem to be in a nitpicky mood, and that's fine, but I didn't say that Texas was all desert, and by dry counties, I meant the inability to buy a beer at the hotel but instead having to drive over the county line where there's a giant liquor store the size of Rhode Island.* And I'll stand by my assertion that his impression of Texas working 12 hour days out in the hot sun is that Texas is six zillion degrees. I don't think I need to point out exaggeration for comic effect especially since zillion is a made up number and Texas isn't actually made out of superheated plasma.

You may get a lot of snow in winter but that's not helping him much in August. wink.gif

*N.B. the liquor store isn't actually the size of Rhode Island.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-24 15:41:00
CanadaBreak time! Albertans and Texans...
C.'s spent the last two months in and around Texas and he thinks it's nothing like Alberta on the following grounds: 1) Texas is 6 zillion degrees outside 2) poisonous snakes 3) the existence of dry counties and 4) Texans.

He has nothing but praise for the Mexican assistants his company hires.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-24 09:00:00