can an canadian citizen file a spouse living in usa illegally?

[Sweet canadian]

Sorry for the late reply 2calgary..No his work permit expired in 2013. He was able to work with a valid work permit for 3 yrs. Since November 3013 he is out of status. Since he was legally admitted in the US for more than one year (he came to the US with a tourist visa but he used other names, he was able to use his real name when he was petitioned by his us citizen spouse). Is it possible that his application will be processed in the US? Anf if so, what document do i need to include with his application. Thank you in advance for any knowledge you will share with my case.

 

[Canad1anAl1en]

Umm my best friend (Canadian) is currently trying to get his wife (chinese) of 7 years admitted, their last PR application that was refused..I think that was their 2nd...or 3rd.

The main reason for refusal each time was...overstaying a work visa in the USA by 2 weeks (to get married), which shows, in the letter my friend showed me, that there is a strong possibility of MOC...I kid you not, it was there in black and white. I know everyone and their application is different, but she only overstayed 2 weeks, not years...Obviously because of this, she has not even been allowed to set foot in the country of her husband of 7 years as a visitor.

He's in Hong Kong right now prepping for the interview on his third or fourth attempt, they got it next week. (good luck bud)

Incidentally he owns his own business, earns six figures, they are 2 years apart in age, he has good lawyers on it took it through the appeals, not doing it himself..but each time they seize on that 2 week overstay in the US.

Just pointing out the over-stay might come back to bite applicants in the ass, as even though it is another country, Canada take it mega-seriously.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

The main reason for refusal each time was...overstaying a work visa in the USA by 2 weeks (to get married), which shows, in the letter my friend showed me, that there is a strong possibility of MOC...I kid you not, it was there in black and white. I know everyone and their application is different, but she only overstayed 2 weeks, not years...Obviously because of this, she has not even been allowed to set foot in the country of her husband of 7 years as a visitor.

Just pointing out the over-stay might come back to bite applicants in the ass, as even though it is another country, Canada take it mega-seriously.

CIC doesn't really care about overstays. This forum is full of people who overstayed for years, including in Canada, and were approved for PR without issue. Your friend and his wife must have some other major issues to make the VO think that it's an MOC.

 

[scylla]

CIC doesn't really care about overstays. This forum is full of people who overstayed for years, including in Canada, and were approved for PR without issue. Your friend and his wife must have some other major issues to make the VO think that it's an MOC.

That's actually not quite true. An overstay history can certainly have a negative impact on CIC's assessment of a spousal sponsorship application and cast doubt on the validity of a relationship (we've seen examples of that happening on this forum). If someone has an extensive record of overstays or is currently an overstay in another country - CIC may be concerned they are only using their Canadian spouse as a means of obtaining legal status in a Western country and could refuse the application for that reason.

 

[scylla]

Sorry for the late reply 2calgary..No his work permit expired in 2013. He was able to work with a valid work permit for 3 yrs. Since November 3013 he is out of status. Since he was legally admitted in the US for more than one year (he came to the US with a tourist visa but he used other names, he was able to use his real name when he was petitioned by his us citizen spouse). Is it possible that his application will be processed in the US? Anf if so, what document do i need to include with his application. Thank you in advance for any knowledge you will share with my case.

Given his US immigration history he should definitely be expecting to attend an interview. I expect his file will be processed through the visa office responsible for his home country (not the US) - but don't know for certain. If that happens, he will have to leave the US to attend the interview.

 

[Canad1anAl1en]

That's actually not quite true. An overstay history can certainly have a negative impact on CIC's assessment of a spousal sponsorship application and cast doubt on the validity of a relationship (we've seen examples of that happening on this forum). If someone has an extensive record of overstays or is currently an overstay in another country - CIC may be concerned they are only using their Canadian spouse as a means of obtaining legal status in a Western country and could refuse the application for that reason.

Thank you, you have expressed the reason CIC has given each time for refusal much better than I ever could have. The letter I saw stated that as she married him while illegally in the US...blah blah blah. Ironically they dated for a very long period, he proposed to her as he did not want to be apart and he begged her not to get on the plane, she had a ticket, and was going...he put them in this position, not her.

 

[tipisqueen]

Speaking here from experience. I was in the same boat, my husband was illegal in the USA with two deportations prior. We had been living like this for about 12 years. We decided to move to Canada because we were risking breaking our family apart if he got caught again. I had the same concerns about if that would affect our case and also were scared to submit for the FBI. In the end, we did get approved for permanent residence thru the skilled worker ( I am a nurse) and thus he and our children got residence as well. The FBI records are not linked to immigration, like they wont send his enquiry to them. But the file they sent us did show that he was detained twice and deported.

Our process took 3 years, it may be faster now and it is different I guess if you apply as family sponsorship. I did the skilled worker program. Now we have been in Canada for 2 years. Also, we had children when I applied, husband had a clean record besides the deportations which were not because of anything criminal, just bad luck with minor traffic stops. So I guess that helped that we were a stable couple with children already.

As far as an interview, we were so lucky that it was waived. Because otherwise it would have been a problem as he would have to go back to country and would not be able to return to us. So God blessed us with that.

Also although we applied from within the USA, his file got transferred to Mexico because of his citizenship. But actually first it was in Los Angeles but because of a backlog they transferred to Mexico.

Hope this help someone, when I was looking into finding if this was an issue I could not find any help. So I hope this can be motivation for someone in my same situation.

 

[Sweet canadian]

Thank you everyone for sharing your knowlege.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

That's actually not quite true. An overstay history can certainly have a negative impact on CIC's assessment of a spousal sponsorship application and cast doubt on the validity of a relationship (we've seen examples of that happening on this forum). If someone has an extensive record of overstays or is currently an overstay in another country - CIC may be concerned they are only using their Canadian spouse as a means of obtaining legal status in a Western country and could refuse the application for that reason.

Yes, that is true. I should have worded my post better: CIC doesn't care about overstays when there is plenty of solid proof that it's a genuine relationship. The poster I responded to stated the friend's wife was refused because she overstayed in the US by a week; such a small overstay isn't likely to cause a VO to pause and without any other MOC suspicions and with plenty of genuine relationship proofs, it would not be an issue.

 

[Sweet canadian]

If CIC decides to send the application to his home country, an interview is required and he does not attend - then you should expect the application will be refused.

Hello Scylla. My husband just got his passport request, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. His application was processed to his home country but they requested his passport to be sent to Ottawa for the visa and they asked to povide prepaid envelop going to the USA for his passport with the visa. my question is once he received his visa in the USA where will be his point of entry? Does he need to go back home first or USA will be his point of entry? Thank you so much in advance

 

[scylla]

Hello Scylla. My husband just got his passport request, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. His application was processed to his home country but they requested his passport to be sent to Ottawa for the visa and they asked to povide prepaid envelop going to the USA for his passport with the visa. my question is once he received his visa in the USA where will be his point of entry? Does he need to go back home first or USA will be his point of entry? Thank you so much in advance

USA will be his point of entry. There's no need to return to his home country.

Congrats.

 

[Sweet canadian]

Hello Scylla. My husband just got his passport request, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. His application was processed to his home country but they requested his passport to be sent to Ottawa for the visa and they asked to povide

Sorry for the late reply 2calgary..No his work permit expired in 2013. He was able to work with a valid work permit for 3 yrs. Since November 3013 he is out of status. Since he was legally admitted in the US for more than one year (he came to the US with a tourist visa but he used other names, he was able to use his real name when he was petitioned by

USA will be his point of entry. There's no need to return to his home country.

Congrats.

Thank you

 

[Sweet canadian]

Thank you

 

[Hopeful-Chy]

Speaking here from experience. I was in the same boat, my husband was illegal in the USA with two deportations prior. We had been living like this for about 12 years. We decided to move to Canada because we were risking breaking our family apart if he got caught again. I had the same concerns about if that would affect our case and also were scared to submit for the FBI. In the end, we did get approved for permanent residence thru the skilled worker ( I am a nurse) and thus he and our children got residence as well. The FBI records are not linked to immigration, like they wont send his enquiry to them. But the file they sent us did show that he was detained twice and deported.

Our process took 3 years, it may be faster now and it is different I guess if you apply as family sponsorship. I did the skilled worker program. Now we have been in Canada for 2 years. Also, we had children when I applied, husband had a clean record besides the deportations which were not because of anything criminal, just bad luck with minor traffic stops. So I guess that helped that we were a stable couple with children already.

As far as an interview, we were so lucky that it was waived. Because otherwise it would have been a problem as he would have to go back to country and would not be able to return to us. So God blessed us with that.

Also although we applied from within the USA, his file got transferred to Mexico because of his citizenship. But actually first it was in Los Angeles but because of a backlog they transferred to Mexico.

Hope this help someone, when I was looking into finding if this was an issue I could not find any help. So I hope this can be motivation for someone in my same situation.

Hello, i just joined this forum after much search of a proper forum that discusses issues concerning Canadian immigration. My situation is kind of same with @tipisqueen although slightly different.

I am currently applying for canadian immigration and I have submitted all documents and waiting for response from cic. My account says that I do not need interview and I passed medicals. Also says that background check and final decision in progress and response will be sent to me after all is complete. My first question is - its over 2 months and few days since i submitted my documents, so how long will it take for final decision to be made and what is the next step after that.

Secondly, I started my application as a single person but right now i have a fiance and we want to get married but I want to wait till I get response from CIC to know my fate. My fiance came to US this year on a B2 visa and he is now out of status for a only a few months (less than a year). I want to know if we can go ahead and get married so I can include him in my canadian application and our documents processed together or I should wait till i get my PR then we get married so I can sponsor him as a spouse. I do not know our chances if I add him to my application at this stage and I do not know what effect his illegal status will have on my application. I have read a lot of informative stories in this forum and I have hope that my fiance can still get through on canadian immigration even with his illegal status in US. Question is what are the limitations and risks? Can someone please kindly advise me .....Thanks

 

[scylla]

Hello, i just joined this forum after much search of a proper forum that discusses issues concerning Canadian immigration. My situation is kind of same with @tipisqueen although slightly different.

I am currently applying for canadian immigration and I have submitted all documents and waiting for response from cic. My account says that I do not need interview and I passed medicals. Also says that background check and final decision in progress and response will be sent to me after all is complete. My first question is - its over 2 months and few days since i submitted my documents, so how long will it take for final decision to be made and what is the next step after that.

Secondly, I started my application as a single person but right now i have a fiance and we want to get married but I want to wait till I get response from CIC to know my fate. My fiance came to US this year on a B2 visa and he is now out of status for a only a few months (less than a year). I want to know if we can go ahead and get married so I can include him in my canadian application and our documents processed together or I should wait till i get my PR then we get married so I can sponsor him as a spouse. I do not know our chances if I add him to my application at this stage and I do not know what effect his illegal status will have on my application. I have read a lot of informative stories in this forum and I have hope that my fiance can still get through on canadian immigration even with his illegal status in US. Question is what are the limitations and risks? Can someone please kindly advise me .....Thanks

This is the Family Sponsorship section of the forum. So you won't get answers here regarding processing times for your application. You need to post those questions to the right economic immigration section of the forum.

Yes - you can get married now. Once you get married, you must add him to your PR application. Provided he is honest about his immigration history and current status in the US, there will be no issues being approved. He really needs to leave the US before he reaches the six month mark of being out of status (even if this means returning to his home country). If he overstays six months or more - he's going to end up with a ban from re-entering the US. He should avoid getting a ban if at all possible.