Bringing US family on visitor visas

[KayakEnthusiast]

Hopefully this is the right place. I’m a Canadian citizen born in the US, so dual and hold both passports but new to Canada-ing.

I’m in the process of purchasing a little house with my US citizen wife. Her and my daughter’s PR application only just arrived per mail tracking, so I believe they’re most likely more than a year away from becoming PRs at this stage, right?

In the meantime I want to bring them temporarily to the new place in B.C., presumably they can cross with me as visitors? But I also need to have a goods-to-follow list with me for my furniture and what-not the movers are handling. We have to drive across several states because we can’t fly with the pets during winter, so I’m also trying to import my car as I cross. We do still have our place in the US.

Anyhow with all that clearly pointing toward at a minimum me moving permanently, am I jeopardizing their admissibility over the car and stuff? I mean they certainly won’t overstay their visas, if we can’t extend them to the end of the PR process we certainly could head back to the US. Or am I overthinking the border crossing?

 

[primaprime]

They can enter as visitors and apply to extend their status past six months until they get PR, but of course if you are moving all their stuff there will be questions at the border about length of stay and if they have anything to return to in the US if need be. You can be honest about the PR applications (it's called dual intent and is perfectly legal), but must satisfy the officer that they will not overstay or work illegally if their PR applications are refused for some reason.

 

[KayakEnthusiast]

Thank you! How should I go about conveying our intent? Can we explain our daughter is still enrolled in a US school, and my wife still has a US job, and we still own a US house, etc. or is there some kind of documentation to that effect that they'd need to see?

 

[primaprime]

Proof of those things can't hurt. They may just wave you through without a second glance, or it could turn out evidence they still have obligations/a home in the US to return to makes all the difference.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you! How should I go about conveying our intent? Can we explain our daughter is still enrolled in a US school, and my wife still has a US job, and we still own a US house, etc. or is there some kind of documentation to that effect that they'd need to see?

Would really not suggest they not come with you to move your stuff. Although dual intent does exist they are still entering as visitors and it doesn’t seem like they have anything to return to in the US. Their chances of entering will be much better if they appear like normal visitors.