- Jun 25, 2003
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I would appreaciate if people would join my wife and I in prayer about our situation concerning immigration.
My wife and I were happily married on september 2nd of this year. This came after years of us both praying and fasting for the Lord to send us the right spouse. We both hung onto our integrity and waited upon the Lord. THis September when we married, we both knew that God had finally answered both of our prayers and sent us our soulmate. The last few months together have been the happiest of my life.
Anyway, here is the problem. My wife is a Canadian citizen and I am a United States citizen. Before we were married, we had looked into immigration laws in both countries and decided that she would immigrate to the United States. We were told by United States immigration that I could sponser her as her spouse once we were married and it was a matter of submitting forms, paying the fees, and pretty much automatic.
However, a few weeks ago we got a very nasty surprise. It turns out that in order for me to sponser her I need to meet certain minimum income guidelines for the past three years. They have in the 1000's of pages of instructions an income chart for the sponser to meet. No one at immigration thought to mention this to me as it seldom is an issue since the guidelines are low amounts and most people either easially meet them or get a family member as a "co-sponser" who can meet the income guidelines. A mere formality for most people according to the immigration officer which we spoke with a few weeks ago.
Anyway, bottomline. My wife can only immigrate to the United States if I can find a "co-sponser" since my income the past three years is too low. After March 2nd, she will be illegal in this country since her time as a visitor will expire and she will be forced to go back to Canada. If she is caught here after that time, she will be deported and barred from any possible immigration for several years. In fact, the immigration officer said that since we are married now , then she would not even be allowed accross the border for visits since they would assume she is "living" here illegally and only pretending to visit.
We called the Canadian immigration to get information about me moving there and it is very complicated and hard to sort through so we are not sure if that will work or not. Canada has similar laws about income guidelines for sponsers.My wife was a college student for six years while in Canada before we married. Therefore she had a small income also. It is unclear whether the Canadian government will allow her family members (who are willing to do so) to "co-sponser" me.
So please pray that this situation will be resolved quickly. That my wife and I will not be forced to be seperated for years.
Sorry to be lengthy. I do appreaciate prayer on this subject. It has been a difficult process emotionally with the immigration. The workers are frequently rude and seem to also frequently threaten deportation if things are not done quickly enough and correctly. My wife has left the immigration office several times frustrated in tears. Also everything costs huge amounts. Just the forms we had to file cost 600 dollars. There are fees for everything. 50 dollars for a fingerprint fee which is not optional. Things like that.
My wife and I were happily married on september 2nd of this year. This came after years of us both praying and fasting for the Lord to send us the right spouse. We both hung onto our integrity and waited upon the Lord. THis September when we married, we both knew that God had finally answered both of our prayers and sent us our soulmate. The last few months together have been the happiest of my life.
Anyway, here is the problem. My wife is a Canadian citizen and I am a United States citizen. Before we were married, we had looked into immigration laws in both countries and decided that she would immigrate to the United States. We were told by United States immigration that I could sponser her as her spouse once we were married and it was a matter of submitting forms, paying the fees, and pretty much automatic.
However, a few weeks ago we got a very nasty surprise. It turns out that in order for me to sponser her I need to meet certain minimum income guidelines for the past three years. They have in the 1000's of pages of instructions an income chart for the sponser to meet. No one at immigration thought to mention this to me as it seldom is an issue since the guidelines are low amounts and most people either easially meet them or get a family member as a "co-sponser" who can meet the income guidelines. A mere formality for most people according to the immigration officer which we spoke with a few weeks ago.
Anyway, bottomline. My wife can only immigrate to the United States if I can find a "co-sponser" since my income the past three years is too low. After March 2nd, she will be illegal in this country since her time as a visitor will expire and she will be forced to go back to Canada. If she is caught here after that time, she will be deported and barred from any possible immigration for several years. In fact, the immigration officer said that since we are married now , then she would not even be allowed accross the border for visits since they would assume she is "living" here illegally and only pretending to visit.
We called the Canadian immigration to get information about me moving there and it is very complicated and hard to sort through so we are not sure if that will work or not. Canada has similar laws about income guidelines for sponsers.My wife was a college student for six years while in Canada before we married. Therefore she had a small income also. It is unclear whether the Canadian government will allow her family members (who are willing to do so) to "co-sponser" me.
So please pray that this situation will be resolved quickly. That my wife and I will not be forced to be seperated for years.
Sorry to be lengthy. I do appreaciate prayer on this subject. It has been a difficult process emotionally with the immigration. The workers are frequently rude and seem to also frequently threaten deportation if things are not done quickly enough and correctly. My wife has left the immigration office several times frustrated in tears. Also everything costs huge amounts. Just the forms we had to file cost 600 dollars. There are fees for everything. 50 dollars for a fingerprint fee which is not optional. Things like that.
