Bringing family with you to the US

suzanne4, RN · Mar 18, 2006

If you are moving to the US permanently, then they will need the green card. The TN Visa doesn't give them permission to work, and is actually only a visa for you to work. And it is a temporary visa that needs to be renewed yearly. Your family can join you for your assignment, but will none will be able to work legally, other than you.

To get the green card, you will need an employer to do the petitioning for you.

mrsbondee · Mar 18, 2006

Thanks for your reply.

How long does it typically take to get a Green Card? Would this make me a Permanent resident? Would my family need to apply for permanent residency? Is there anything that they can do, (other than US citizenship which I know takes a long time) to apply for something that would allow them to work?

I remember seeing advertisements for Florida seeking Canadian nurses and they said that they could get working visas for spouses. Scam or legit?

Thanks

suzanne4, RN · Mar 18, 2006

Permanent residency is the green card and allows them to work. Citizenship is something else entirely and that requires sever years of being in the US, before it cvan even be applied for. The only thing for them is the green card, since you will be able to get one relatively quick. That is the best thing, in other fields, there are temporary work permits and green cards take about five years to get.

If you come on the TN Visa, then that is only for you to work on. Any other visa would have to be gotten separately and they do take time.

There are no instant work visas for the US, other than the TN Visa for Canadian RNs. Visas for work are employer-driven, and the TN come under a special waiver, so to speak.

Don't trust everything that you see from agencies in ads. Or phone them and ask specifically how long the wait will be. There are no instant visas and they take months and months to get.

lalaxton · Mar 21, 2006

I did bring my family to the US when we first went. It took us 18 months for our green card to arrive before my husband could work. (He did the Mr.Mom thing and I worked). After that it is a minimum of 5 years before you can apply for citizenship, however you can live and work in the US on a green card for a very long time, I don't think there is a limit. Peter Jennings did it and only became a US citizen a year or two before he died.

breatheez · Mar 21, 2006

I have been here for 7 years now and I came from Canada on a working TN VISA. I applied in 2001 for my green card and just received it before this past Christmas '05! Under the TN, your family and husband can join you legally, but through you, they will not be able to work legally. You can get the hospital to petition for your green card, and after some time, your family will receive permission to work and exit and reenter the country (these work and travel permits last one year and must be renewed by you, for a fee, each year). It's a difficult, long road to the green card. That's been my experience anyway. Good luck!

mrsbondee · Mar 21, 2006

Thanks SOOO much for your reply! I knew there was a way! Where are you at and how did you get your green card? There is a reponse under yours that says that she had to wait like 4 years to get her green card. She was working on a TN. I use a TN now to work in Detroit. Renew every year etc. But the green card is what I want so that my husband can work. And hopefully my daughter. I know I read that she could until she was 21 under that green card. Oh please give me that info, what you had to do to get it. Did your hospital have to sponser you etc?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Trisha

breatheez · Mar 23, 2006

This is what I basically have understood from my experience. If you get a hospital to sponsor you for your green card, you also apply for you spouse and children. Once immigration has unofficially approved your application, they will send you and your family temporary working VISAs. You also MUST apply for travel permits if you wish to enter Canada and be able to come back into the U.S. Both the temp. working card and travel permits expire after one year and must be renewed (you can do that part online by yourself). If you go online to the website uscis.gov there is a lot of info there. You can also apply yourself for your green card online, providing you have a sponsor. The easiest bet though is through the hospital with their immigration lawyers. Good luck!

PICC chic · Mar 23, 2006

I lived in the US for 12 years, I am married to an american, and I still work on a work visa, just cos the green card hassel is nuts! My oldest is Canadian as well, they do not issue SSN to children of TN's until the age of 16. I do not mind the trip to the boarder once a year