How can I immigrate to the US?

[NoCan]

I'm a white, male Canadian. I've been living in NYC for the last year, rotating tourist visas to keep it legal. I'm about to run out of those options though, and sooner or later am going to have to work (have been living off a modest chunk of savings).

I've gone back to Canada a few times and can't bear the thought of having to live there again. I figure BL is a good place for more 'creative' advice on all sorts of things. Any advice? Similar successful experiences?

I don't want to just stay and work illegally. I want to do it within the system, but obviously there are the straight-forward ways of working that system, and the less straight-forward ways....

 

[Yaj]

not sure how many answers you're going to get as this site is mostly about harm reduction when using drugs, not immigration.. But when you're dealing with immigration to the USA it's going to be a bitch any way you look at it. Its a hot political issue right now and there's not really any "less straight forward ways" of doing paperwork with the US federal government. There's a right way to do it within the system and that's it, there is no sneaky way to do it. I have a relative trying to get his fiancé here and he's having a really tough time with it I've been hearing about all the shit he's having to go through for like a year now. If I was you I would get a consultation with an immigration lawyer who will help you with the paperwork and make a good case for you to stay here. Without a lawyer you will have to figure out all the paperwork for yourself, so unless you're a lawyer it will be really difficult, they want it in a certain format and language. It's not like trying to get a driver's license, there's tons of red tape and bureaucratic bullshit you have to go through. It takes a long time like 6 months to a year to go through all the processes so I would get on it if you're serious about it. Be thankful you're not trying to come up from central/south America as that would be much harder. Why do you hate Canada so much?

 

[RecklessWOT]

I've gone back to Canada a few times and can't bear the thought of having to live there again.

Lol funny I'm the opposite. Every time I leave, when it's time to come home it's like "fuck, gotta go back to the states."

Also, I might add that (with the exception of Los Angeles) NYC is pretty much my least favorite place to be in this country. God I can't stand that fucking city.

What's so bad about Canada? I actually quite like it there.

 

[my3rdeye]

OP i feel you. Nowhere in Canada is even close to NYC. Or LA or San Fran. It has gotten increasingly harder to just marry someone and move there, that used to be a good way in.

 

[missmeyet?]

That's what I was going to say...get married. Does that not work anymore?

 

[RTrain]

I have a friend who married some girl from Germany while in the USA on a visa, which I believe was issued so she could attend school over here. When they got married she had a month left on the visa and after that she had to go back to Germany for a good length of time (6 months I think?). So its not automatic citizenship, but it works. The main glitch in that problem is you need a person to agree to marry you. Since my friend and his "wife" divorced after 3 months of her returning to the states as a citizen, our assumptions (we had from from the start of hearing about the marriage) that she played him for a Green Card seemed more likely than not. So there are people stupid enough to marry someone for a Green Card, I'd imagine its easier for a woman.

Why not just come over here and live illegally? Seems to work for most people. Boston is a good city to live for illegals.

 

[my3rdeye]

That's what I was going to say...get married. Does that not work anymore?

Actually I was basing that on going the other way as that's most people I know, moving foreign born spouse to Canada is a nightmare unless you are rich. Now that I did a little research it seems USA is actually pretty easy when it comes to marrying for citizenship.
http://www.canadiansinusa.com/Marrying-a-US-Citizen/index.html
It only takes 3 years for citizenship and you get a green card right after marriage. Canada makes you prove you can support partner should he/she get sick and pretty much means young broke poor people can't bring spouse here.
If you have a very in demand skill you could get sponsored by a business too. Lots of doctors get recruited, don't suppose you are a doctor are you? Also don't they have green card lotteries? What about studying? Student Visas probably let you work in USA, unlike Canuckistans student visas. You can drag out a graduate degree for years.
Don't go illegal route if you get caught they will ban you for years. And that lifestyle sucks, always hiding, crap jobs, cant even get drivers license or go to hospital.
Good luck if I was 20 years younger I would move to NYC in a heartbeat

 

[Johnny blue]

I wouldn't recommend marrying into US citizenship. It may take time so the sooner you start the process the sooner you'll be done. I personally know several Asian, African and European people who have done this. It's a process sure but, it wasn't as hard as any of them thought. Most have dual citizenship with their country of origin. The best advice is to just start the process the right way.

 

[Madhatter4]

^^^If you want to come to the US you just have to answer some questions by this woman. Her name is Judge Judy and she will ask you a series of questions regarding US history and foreign policy. Before taking the test read this book

 

[Welderman]

Years ago you could join the us military and after your service was up you got to be a citizen.