Advice please- Canadian/ American cohabitating without marriage?

[fishstix]

Hello! My boyfriend is Canadian and I am American. We live right across the border from each other, and we'd like to move in together. Ideally, I would move to Vancouver with him, but keep my job in America and simply commute across the border each day. I am not seeking Canadian citizenship or even employment, but I would be establishing a primary residence on Canadian soil. How could we do this legally? Americans may visit Canada for up to 6 months out of the year without needing any special visas- would my leaving and coming back each day for work reset the clock? Could I just move and use my visitor status to get across the border each day? We want everything to be above- board. We've only been together for a few months, so it wouldn't be possible for him to sponsor me and, even if he could, I'm not seeking Canadian citizenship. The Canadian immigration website states that a Canadian may sponsor their significant other to move to Canada if they have cohabitated for at least a year, but how can we cohabitate without him sponsoring me? It seems like a chicken and egg problem. If I move to Canada, work in the US, and use visitor status to cross the border each day, will that count as establishing cohabitation for the year? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We'd just like to share a home!

 

[zardoz]

To achieve what you are planning, you would have to marry and he would have to sponsor your PR application. You are playing with fire otherwise. In other words, you don't stand a chance of making this work. You will sooner or later be blocked at the border and refused entry to Canada.

 

[fishstix]

Thanks for the quick reply! As I stated originally, we're really not trying to 'put one over' one anyone, and we'd like to cohabitate legally, if that's possible. I'm unclear as to why they would stop me at the border eventually or why this would be "playing with fire." Honestly, I'm just naive here, so if you or anyone else wouldn't mind explaining why my commuting across the border for work in my home country (and receiving insurance and all that through my home country) would be an issue, I really would like to learn. I'm also curious whether the 6 month visitor status for Americans in Canada is out of each total year or whether they mean 'at any given time.' For example, if I leave and come back after a short trip, does the 6 months reset?

I've noticed quite a few people here on the forum using visitor visas to be with their significant others, and simply not working in Canada- is the problem here that I would be working in America? Would there not be any issue if I were not commuting or working in Canada? That seems strange, that any government would prefer I not work and just sit around, not leaving. Thank you for clarifying!

 

[zardoz]

It's quite simple. They will believe, correctly, that you are residing in Canada. This is not permitted as a visitor. You are not the first to attempt this, and you won't be the last. Every time you cross the border, this test may be applied. Those who do manage this avoid crossing the border.

 

[fishstix]

Again- and perhaps I'm just being thick here, so please bear with me- it is only necessary that I "satisfy the immigration officer at the border that I intend to return to my home country at the end of my visit." If I am returning to my home country 5 days a week, it seems as though I am fulfilling this criteria. Also again, we're not trying to be surreptitious. Would this problem be resolved if, in addition to sleeping in a shared home with my boyfriend most nights, I also maintained an American address? I suppose I'm simply trying to understand exactly what specifically about the scenario I've described would be considered illegal, so that we can figure out a way to solve that. It may help to clarify the matter if I explain that we are literally only a few miles from each other, and border crossing is a non- event in the lives of us and our neighbors- it's really a very casual thing that most people we know do many times per week, as is common in many border towns.

 

[Leon]

Keep in mind that it is always up to the immigration officer whether to let you enter or not, regardless of you being visa exempt.

You are not supposed to be living in Canada on visitor status. The rule of thumb is spending at least as much time outside Canada as you do inside so if you live in Canada for 6 months, you would be expected to stay out for another 6. Visiting every evening until morning and every weekend is not really visiting anymore. You are living with your boyfriend and that means living in Canada, not visiting.

Some people have done this and been successful for a while, that is until an immigration officer decides to question their motives and to deny them entry. You can try it and see what happens. If you do end up being denied entry at some point and told to stay out for unspecified time before trying to enter again, you'd have to abide by that and go back to living in the US. This would interrupt your 1 year qualification period for common law so in that case, you may want to consider marriage.

In order for you to be able to legally live in Canada, you need him to sponsor you for PR and he can only do that if you are common law for one year or more or if you get married.

The way other people have done it, that is cohabited for one year, is usually by entering once and spending 6 months and then either applying to extend their visitor status or by leaving and re-entering. However, not crossing the border and not being allowed to work in Canada would mean not working for a year and that is often what other people have had to endure in order to get their year as common law.

 

[truesmile]

In the meantime, (while you sort this out), I suggest you get a Nexus card. You have seen the NEXUS lane driving the across the border right? You generally get to cross without even stopping to say "hi" to the border guards, the cards have an RFID chip in them. They're $50 and valid for 5 years. Your girlfriend could get one too, in the event you're ever crossing in the same car (all occupants of a vehicle must be card-holders to use the Nexus lane). They're great at airports also, you show your peepers to an iris scanner, it gives you a card and you're all set. You're subject to about a 1 in a 1000 random check, I've only ever seen this once . . . the guy ahead of me got pulled aside.

 

[scylla]

What others have said - it's not going to work. What you are planning on doing is living in Canada (not visiting) - and you're not allowed to live in Canada at this time. You might cross successfully for a few weeks - but sooner or later you're going to run into issues entering Canada.

The reason why it's "playing with fire" is that you could get slapped with a one year exclusion order if immigration officials are really displeased with what you're doing (yes - this does sometimes happens to Americans). A one year bar from entering Canada will complicate your lives greatly.

 

[Alurra71]

You also must understand that even though you are technically only 'sleeping' for the night and then headed back to the US for work, they count each and EVERY day you enter/exit as one full day in Canada. Even if you cross the border at 11pm at night on Weds, and then leave at 7am on Thur, they will count both Weds and Thurs as a full day spent in Canada. Strange? You betcha it is! They can and will stop you from crossing each and every day back and forth. As a US citizen you are only ALLOWED to 'visit' with your boyfriend. What you describe is gearing his house to accomodate your daily routines, this is classified as living. CBSA will noticed this, either quickly or after a period of time, but they WILL notice it, and trust me, it is NOT fun to be dragged into secondary, have them pull your FULL traveling records between the borders and sit and count them. It will take them HOURS to do this and you will find yourself most agitated. I am speaking from experience here, and I wasn't even living with my now husband. I truly WAS only visiting. I only crossed on Tuesday nights, left Weds morning back to work, and came back late Friday night and stayed through until Sunday afternoon. Guess what, they sent me packing back to the good old US of A because it appeared that I was 'living' there with him simply because how they count days. I was in Canada Tues, Weds, Fri, Sat, Sun. Even though total I spent less than 48 full hours in Canada.

Anyway, I hope this helps you to understand why this won't work. I understand the desire for you to want to test out this relationship to see how it works, but until both of you are sure you want to be 'committed' to one another for a lifetime, then it is going to be difficult, at best, to try and work out a cohabitation routine. Once you've both decided this is the 'one' then it will work out because you both can formulate a plan to work within the restrictions that are in place.

Good luck.

 

[fishstix]

Thank you so much for the replies. I'm beginning to understand. And I'm feeling incredibly heartbroken. But maybe there's some way for us to be together... it seems like, even if we were to get married, we'd still have to live apart for a huge chunk of time while my visa is processed, unless he wants to move to the states, in which case it really wouldn't be that big a deal, I suppose. In the U.S., they even still have a fiance class where he could come for 90 days prior to the wedding and then just be here legally after the wedding- the problem with that is that he really must continue his job in Canada. Does anyone have experience with using the fiance class in the U.S., but commuting to work in Canada? Is it usable for multiple entry or must you stay after you're accepted as fiance class?

Well, this is just terrible. Sorry to vent. :/ Thank you, everyone!

 

[scylla]

I'd recommend that you ask your US fiance visa questions on the following US immigration forum:

http://forums.immigration.com/forum.php

Post your question to the K visa section of the forum.

Good luck.

 

[Leon]

If you get married and he applies to sponsor you, it will probably take several months for you to get PR, maybe 9 or 10. During which time you can still visit him or even try to live with him and commute to work and see if you get away with it.

 

[Soleil2020]

Thank you so much for the replies. I'm beginning to understand. And I'm feeling incredibly heartbroken. But maybe there's some way for us to be together... it seems like, even if we were to get married, we'd still have to live apart for a huge chunk of time while my visa is processed, unless he wants to move to the states, in which case it really wouldn't be that big a deal, I suppose. In the U.S., they even still have a fiance class where he could come for 90 days prior to the wedding and then just be here legally after the wedding- the problem with that is that he really must continue his job in Canada. Does anyone have experience with using the fiance class in the U.S., but commuting to work in Canada? Is it usable for multiple entry or must you stay after you're accepted as fiance class?

Well, this is just terrible. Sorry to vent. :/ Thank you, everyone!

vent away. Dealing with this immigration stuff is hard. I do agree with those that are saying u will likely get snagged.( even tho you aren't intending to do anything wrong),.then worse, tagged..which means they might tag u so every time you try to enter Canada, they might pull you in for secondary questioning.

I don't like the tone one of those responding was taking with you. The implication was that you were trying to pull one over on Canada or that you assume preferential treatment because you are American. I believe you when you say you are jyst trying to figure out what is legal and possible so you can continue your relationship.

I would say maybe you could consider the other way around...both of you in USA.

I really hate to see borders come between loved ones. Love is, after all the most important thing in life. Right?

Anyway...if you need to vent, vent away. I totally get it. ( just landed today as an immigrant after a very long wait.)

I wish you well.

 

[OhCanadiana]

I saw your note yesterday morning and drafted a reply but was unable to post it. It looks like it still may help, so here it is:

Hello, and welcome to the forum, fishstix

I see the extrapolation you are trying to make: you currently live in the US and cross the border frequently for temporary visits; under your proposed scenario you'd continue to cross the border frequently, sleep in Canada each night in your boyfriend's home (essentially moving to Canada) and cross the border to work M-F in the US. In both cases, you would be entering and leaving Canada at least once a week.

Let's explore each scenario a bit more.

Under your current arrangement, when you cross the border for the day, whether to visit friends or go shopping or just picnic in a park, etc. your visit to Canada is temporary in nature and it is clear that you are living in the US. This means that you have closer ties to the US: your home is in the US, your belongings are in the US, etc. Similarly, if you were to go on vacation for a week, a month or even a bit longer to Canada, if someone looked at the details if your case, it would be clear that you were still be living in the US (i.e., you would be staying in temporary accommodations, have limited goods with you, and many other little things that would add up to living in the US and visiting Canada).

When you propose to go live with your boyfriend in Canada in a marriage-like relationship (necessary for common-law status) you'd be moving your primary residence up to Canada. You'd be sleeping in Canada, your social and financial life would move up to Canada, and you would end up with many/most of your belongings North of the border.

This shift in your primary residence is key.

In order to move to Canada (vs visit Canada), you need to have permission to live in Canada. US Citizens are visa exempt only for temporary resident purposes (i.e., temporary resident = visitor). Therefore, you would need a work permit, study permit, permanent residency, or other form of visa or permit that would grant you the right to live in Canada (short term or long term). Depending on your profession, and if you would consider switching jobs to one in Canada, you may be able to get a wok permit easily. For example, if your profession is NAFTA eligible, you can get a work permit at the border once you have a job offer. Other opportunities would require your employer to get an LMO so that they can show that Canadians can't fill the job. (Note that the US has equivalent programs if your husband were to decide to seek employment in the US instead).

-----

Given the additional conversation, let me add don't get discouraged. You can continue visiting each other (as you do now) and dating to get to know each other. If you decide you are ready to get married, as soon as you are married, you can apply to immigrate (him to the US or you to Canada). In the US there is a fiancé(e) visa, but keep in mind that once he applies for PR status he'll need to apply for advanced parole and get it approved before he travels out of the US while his application is pending. Take a look at http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas and https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/991/kw/k1%20visa%20travel. Canada doesn't have a fiancée visa, so independently of where you get married, you'd apply straight for PR status once you are married. If you decide you want to be able to move to Canada, he can sponsor you (currently takes ~8 months for US applicants if you apply ‘outland'). You'll be able to visit Canada during the process. Once you are a PR you will have the freedom to live in the country you have a Permanent Resident status in.

 

[LoneEarthling]

Hello! My boyfriend is Canadian and I am American. We live right across the border from each other, and we'd like to move in together. Ideally, I would move to Vancouver with him, but keep my job in America and simply commute across the border each day. I am not seeking Canadian citizenship or even employment, but I would be establishing a primary residence on Canadian soil. How could we do this legally? Americans may visit Canada for up to 6 months out of the year without needing any special visas- would my leaving and coming back each day for work reset the clock? Could I just move and use my visitor status to get across the border each day? We want everything to be above- board. We've only been together for a few months, so it wouldn't be possible for him to sponsor me and, even if he could, I'm not seeking Canadian citizenship. The Canadian immigration website states that a Canadian may sponsor their significant other to move to Canada if they have cohabitated for at least a year, but how can we cohabitate without him sponsoring me? It seems like a chicken and egg problem. If I move to Canada, work in the US, and use visitor status to cross the border each day, will that count as establishing cohabitation for the year? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We'd just like to share a home!

Hi!

I understand that this thread is a little old but I just wanted to share a stupid idea I had, in case it may be helpful to you.

I hope you two eventually found love and I hate this stupidest, of stupidest ideas; of man-made borders creating stupid bureaucratic problems.
I mean this entire conversation thread seems like trying to solve a problem as complicated as quantum mechanics. It's just man-made bureaucracy being a hurdle between two human beings.

I miss the good old days when it was as simple as boarding a ship/boat to move to the new world or discovering a new one. Perhaps man being afraid of flat earth was worth something. Both of these Canadian & American governments are essentially being operated by bigot sort of Canadians & Americans, respectively (not respectfully ) who blindly give themselves in to man-made pieces of paper called constitutions to perpetrate innocent, helpless, fellow humans in the name of politics.
Essentially they came in without even a visa, butchered the North Americans, ripped off their civilizations and installed own governments.

Anyways, ........., I feel a bit light now .

So regarding your issue:
Why don't you try purchasing some property in Canada. Anything affordable like a cabin on a farm. You may eventually get a temporary residency for this and will be able to travel rather easily.
Secondly, I must say that still being Americans/Canadians you too are blessed to have been close enough. I mean imagine if he was Iranian or you were Cuban .
So, it should also be convenient for you to find good employment opportunities on either side of the border/fence .
Canadian experience & education is worth something in US and vice versa.

Anyways, good luck to you two. I hope you two are married by now .

Bye.