She’s in the process of getting a green card for her husband, which they cannot process because the cost is out of reach. And he this morning had an incident happen which is something they’ve always feared.
George was stopped at the American border crossing and entered into their database as a person who looked as if he was working illegally in the U.S.
George drives Canadian hauls to the U.S. and American hauls back to Canada so he’s a cross-border trucker. But he doesn’t drive American hauls to another state, for instance, because that would be working in the U.S.
He was able to enter, but George and Andrea face being ultimately separated because neither can live in the other’s country. It’s a hugely confronting situation for them.
They’re asking anyone who is an attorney in the U.S. or Canada who knows the immigration and work laws of both countries to assist them, pro bono for now, but easily paid for after the Reval, to help them clear up a problem that they have never faced in all the years they’ve been married or George has been trucking.
If anyone who can help her, can they respond to her please at [email protected]? Here is Andrea’s account:
As many of you already know I’m living an alternative lifestyle in an 18 wheeler that my husband drives for a Canadian company as he is a Canadian citizen and I’m not. This is the reason why we can be a married couple and live together and still be from different countries, because he hauls loads into the US, and spends most of his time in the US because of this.
We’ve already started the filing procedures to get him a marriage visa (with green card) to come into and work in the US. It’s been put on hold now for about a year because of the expense involved, which would put us into red zone in the bank account. Basically, we can’t afford to put out the extra 3 to 4 thousand dollars to get the red tape rolling out for the final three months of this process. We’ve already put about $3,000 into it.
The other issue is we will need a sponsor in the US willing to show three years tax records to insure that we won’t be on public assistance when he comes into the US. With him being my sole means of support, I don’t have these records, I haven’t filed for many years.
We’ve been living in this way for 10 years now, living in the work truck belonging to his company, without having a residence either in the US or in Canada. We are actually homeless, if one wants to get technical about it.
I’m unable to cross into Canada, as I haven’t always been well behaved. I’ve been refused at the border for it and he leaves me at the border on the US side when he goes into Canada on the return from the round trip to the US delivery. The closest we have to a US address is the motel where I stay regularly in Michigan right at the border crossing.
Today we’ve had the thrill we’ve been dreading at the border for this whole time we’ve been together. While crossing the border into the US, my husband was nearly refused entry into the US. They think he is living illegally in the US, because he spends so much time here vs the amount of time he spends in Canada, because his name is on our joint back account and because we own our car together and it’s also in the US.
Now he’s been flagged at the border and this is a serious and very real peril to us as a married couple. If they refuse him, which they may do at any time when he is crossing, (this is usually once or even twice a week), then this may keep him from working down here and leaving me stranded on one side of the border with him on the other. It may also have an effect on whether or not he is approved for the marriage visa if he is refused at the border.
The long-term remedy is to proceed with the filings for the marriage visa, but we don’t have the money to do so, which is the reason why it’s been put on hold for the last year. In the short term, we are in a situation where we most likely will need to retain an attorney to deal with the border authority which is demanding proof for a residence we don’t have and is being ignorant about it too.
If there are any attorneys out there who would consider helping us pro bono, with some legal counsel and/or would be willing to help us handle the authorities at the border, please contact me at: [email protected].
Whatever the outcome is, I’ve been putting it out to the Universe to get this issue resolved for a long time now. Maybe this is the birthing of the solution as I am typing this message. The thought of being stuck apart from my anchor, my husband, who is my sole means of support, is a presenting a challenge for me to stay balanced and trust that it’s all ok and will work out to our benefit. I’m riding on a wave of adrenaline nausea right now, for sure.
At this moment we have no idea how this situation will ultimately be remedied. If my attention is not on the forum as usual, this is the reason, and hopefully the magic is on its way now to deal with the problem because otherwise we are in serious trouble and who knows if I’ll be able to continue to serve the way I have been.
Between the money to pay an attorney before next week before he goes back into Canada and crosses back into the US and the money to pay for the rest of the visa, we are maybe looking at $5,000 and probably more. Money we don’t have right now. It ought to be interesting to see where I will stay if I need a place to live, so this is what I have now to think about as well.
So, this is the heads up from my world.
I’ll be checking in,
Andrea