H1B vs Marrying a Citizen: Best way to get a green card?
I'm a Canadian who has been in the US for the better part of a decade, on TN statuses. Recently I have been given the opportunity to come in on an H1B instead, with my employer offering to sponsor a green card after that. However, at the same time, I'm in a long term relationship with a US citizen and we will likely get married in the near future. I understand that that also offers a path to a green card. Should I take the H1B? Or stay on a TN? Between H1B and marriage, which is the better way to apply for permanent residency? Would taking an H1B cause any conflicts or additional stress if I then get married anyway? How does any of this worK?
Spouse visa doesn’t have a waitlist, and it’s not tied to your employment, so I’d favor it over a employer sponsored immigrant visa.
but it's tied to a spouse tho 🤣🤣
This is true 😅 fortunately my spouse is more stable than my job but i guess that cant be true for everyone
A marriage based green card is instant and path to citizenship is 3 years instead of 5. But of course difficult to apply and interview is tough. 2nd interview at 2 years mark which is hard if no baby or a house together.
Get the H-1B. It is a dual-intent visa, meaning that it allows you to stay in the US while applying for a GC. If you end up getting married at a later point it won’t prevent you from pursuing the GC through marriage. In contrast, a TN visa is not dual-intent, so if you end up applying for a GC through marriage while you’re on the TN, your TN status may end up getting denied and you may not be able to work until you get your EAD through the GC.
Go for it nothing wrong with it
As a Canadian getting gc should not take longer than ca. 1.5 yrs....
I did TN -> EB GC with no issues whatsoever. The only problem was I couldn’t travel back to Canada for 4 months from when I-131 and EAD were filed until the combo card came in mail. As quite a few also mentioned here, you cannot file I-485 for 90 days after your last entry into the US on TN. So the max you cannot travel is that 90 days plus however long it takes to get EAD/AP combo card. Now it’s your call which route you take. The EB GC’s PERM will take at least a year. H1B is also a lottery and even if you win it, H1B won’t kick in till October. Do your homework and figure out the fastest path to GC for your circumstances. If I were you and if my marriage was for real and not for convenience, I would go down the FB GC as soon as the 90 days rule was satisfied. Just tighten the belt and don’t travel outside the US for that period of time.
Everyone here seems to be missing the fact that EB GC to citizenship is 5 years but marriage based GC to citizenship is 3 years that is if OP cares about getting US citizenship.
Not everyone cares about US citizenship. OP’s question is with regards to GC. I for one ain’t interested in US citizenship. I just wanna work here, save money and then retire up in Canada without having to file US taxes. US citizens are subject to US taxes regardless where they live in the world. Some countries like India don’t even allow dual citizenship. I have Indian friends who don’t wanna renounce their Indian citizenship. That’s why it’s a different topic altogether.
That is why I said if OP cares about it then marriage based would be worth considering.
Get married when you want a greencard. A month or so to get ead then front of line for greencard.
Agree - marriage GC takes one year. Quickest route. Then only 3 years instead of 5 if you want citizenship. But you must stay married minimum of 1 year after you get greencard and go through all the crap of showing it’s a bonafide marriage. Still better than H1B route by a long shot