If refused when should I leave?

[commonlawing]

Hey folks,

American Common Law applicant here.

I received a procedural fairness letter regarding my common law application. I'm submitting my response today with more information regarding out year of cohabitation, which is what's in question.

I am deeply worried that our application will be refused. During this process though, we got married (hooray!). We will, if denied, re-apply as spouses.

We want to apply inland next time (again, IF we are refused).

All of this said, I was not given an OWP, as I lost status due to a complication with the CIC. They claimed I never sent proof of payment with my OWP app (I did provide it) and when I did send it, unbeknownst to me, I had lost my 6 month temporary visitor status and didn't know and never fixed it within the allotted 90 day period.

My MP reached out to CIC and confirmed that my PR app being open was a form of implicit status, so while I wasn't given the OWP, I could remain in the country.

With the prospect of a refusal though, I'm not sure what to do about leaving.

Ultimately I want to return to apply again, but it seems vital to leave the country and re-enter in order to restart my visitor visa.

Should I leave before we get the decision? The same day that I'm refused (if refused)? Or is there some kind of window such that I won't be penalized for overstaying?

Any information would be immensely helpful. Thanks!

 

[scylla]

Hey folks,

American Common Law applicant here.

I received a procedural fairness letter regarding my common law application. I'm submitting my response today with more information regarding out year of cohabitation, which is what's in question.

I am deeply worried that our application will be refused. During this process though, we got married (hooray!). We will, if denied, re-apply as spouses.

We want to apply inland next time (again, IF we are refused).

All of this said, I was not given an OWP, as I lost status due to a complication with the CIC. They claimed I never sent proof of payment with my OWP app (I did provide it) and when I did send it, unbeknownst to me, I had lost my 6 month temporary visitor status and didn't know and never fixed it within the allotted 90 day period.

My MP reached out to CIC and confirmed that my PR app being open was a form of implicit status, so while I wasn't given the OWP, I could remain in the country.

With the prospect of a refusal though, I'm not sure what to do about leaving.

Ultimately I want to return to apply again, but it seems vital to leave the country and re-enter in order to restart my visitor visa.

Should I leave before we get the decision? The same day that I'm refused (if refused)? Or is there some kind of window such that I won't be penalized for overstaying?

Any information would be immensely helpful. Thanks!

There's really no such thing as "implicit status". There is such a thing as "implied status" - however you don't have it unfortunately (this would have required you to apply for PR along with the OWP when you still had valid status in Canada and for the OWP to be accepted). You are out of status in Canada right now. It's not so much that you are allowed to remain in Canada until your application is processed - as IRCC most likely won't go to the trouble of removing you.

I would remain in Canada until you have a decision. You never know - it may be an approval. If it's a refusal, you'll want to leave within 30 days.

 

[commonlawing]

There's really no such thing as "implicit status". There is such a thing as "implied status" - however you don't have it unfortunately (this would have required you to apply for PR along with the OWP when you still had valid status in Canada and for the OWP to be accepted). You are out of status in Canada right now. It's not so much that you are allowed to remain in Canada until your application is processed - as IRCC most likely won't go to the trouble of removing you.

I would remain in Canada until you have a decision. You never know - it may be an approval. If it's a refusal, you'll want to leave within 30 days.

Sorry, wrote quickly. "implied" is what I meant. I suppose what the MP meant was more that it shouldn't negatively impact my possible next spousal application for staying here despite not having proper "implied" status. Does that sound right?

Thanks a lot for the advice. That was the answer I was really hoping to hear. I will be sure to get a stamp when I leave too so I have proof.

 

[commonlawing]

Sorry, wrote quickly. "implied" is what I meant. I suppose what the MP meant was more that it shouldn't negatively impact my possible next spousal application for staying here despite not having proper "implied" status. Does that sound right?

Thanks a lot for the advice. That was the answer I was really hoping to hear. I will be sure to get a stamp when I leave too so I have proof.

Whoops, just to clarify, I applied for the OWP with the common law app. Sent it all in together. Not sure if that changes anything.

 

[scylla]

Sorry, wrote quickly. "implied" is what I meant. I suppose what the MP meant was more that it shouldn't negatively impact my possible next spousal application for staying here despite not having proper "implied" status. Does that sound right?

Thanks a lot for the advice. That was the answer I was really hoping to hear. I will be sure to get a stamp when I leave too so I have proof.

Being in Canada without status shouldn't impact your new sponsorship application provided you have plenty of evidence to show your relationship is real.

It's possible you may run into an issue re-entering Canada if you have been here a while without status. You may want to consider remaining outside of Canada for a while before attempting a re-entry - or alternatively applying outland.

 

[scylla]

Whoops, just to clarify, I applied for the OWP with the common law app. Sent it all in together. Not sure if that changes anything.

Did you have valid status in Canada when you did that?

Was your OWP accepted or returned as incomplete?

 

[commonlawing]

Did you have valid status in Canada when you did that?

Was your OWP accepted or returned as incomplete?

I did have valid status when I submitted everything (I only have about a week to spare when I submitted)

My OWP was returned as incomplete very quickly and then I re-submitted it with the missing receipt. During that time I had lost status and not known. 4 months later I was told it was refused because I didn't have status and at that point it was too late to resolve the issue within the allotted 90 days.

 

[scylla]

I did have valid status when I submitted everything (I only have about a week to spare when I submitted)

My OWP was returned as incomplete very quickly and then I re-submitted it with the missing receipt. During that time I had lost status and not known. 4 months later I was told it was refused because I didn't have status and at that point it was too late to resolve the issue within the allotted 90 days.

In that case you're out of status. You do not have implied status. You lost implied status when the OWP was returned.

 

[Jazzercise]

Sorry, wrote quickly. "implied" is what I meant. I suppose what the MP meant was more that it shouldn't negatively impact my possible next spousal application for staying here despite not having proper "implied" status. Does that sound right?

Thanks a lot for the advice. That was the answer I was really hoping to hear. I will be sure to get a stamp when I leave too so I have proof.

Do they still stamp US passports? Haven't had mine stamped in a long time. Anyway, depending on when/if you leave, it might not even be necessary with the new Entry/Exit Program, which will give IRCC direct access to CBSA entry/exit information.

With that said, I'd stick around until a decision is made. If it's a favorable result, it's a moot point. If you aren't granted PR, you'll have some time to leave the country -- no one will come beating on your door to deport you. The next time you apply, make sure you're truthful about what happened and provide proof to back your claims.

If you can, keep us posted on what happens.

 

[commonlawing]

Thanks for all of the replies. When it comes to updating marital status, I should use the IRCC web form, correct?

I know that I still have to qualify for common law to be accepted even if we are married. I just want to make sure I update things correctly.

 

[Jazzercise]

Thanks for all of the replies. When it comes to updating marital status, I should use the IRCC web form, correct?

I know that I still have to qualify for common law to be accepted even if we are married. I just want to make sure I update things correctly.

I think that's right, but I could be wrong.