A few questions...

[Jewels]

Some background information: I'm an American citizen and am being sponsored by my Canadian husband. We're doing an inland application. We were married in 2006. I've been staying with him here in Canada since early 2007.

1. In the application for PR it asks me for two things of which I don't have. Documentation of status and a passport stamp showing most recent entry into Canada. I don't have status here. When I crossed the border in '07, they didn't even ask for my travel documents so I also have no stamp. I didn't realize at the time that I would eventually need this stuff. So what to do? Do I go and apply for a visitors visa (a risk being denied and deported) and cross the border (and risk not being let back in) just to get a stamp? Any recommendations?

2. It asks for a police check of every country I've resided in since my 18th birthday. Does my prolonged "visit" in Canada count as a residence? Will I be required to have a police check done by the RCMP or will just the FBI check suffice?

3. Okay, this one isn't that big of a deal. In my application for PR it asks what my intended occupation is. I have no bloody idea. I plan to work at whatever job I can get and hopefully go back to finish my education. So what is a girl to put on there? Waitress, store clerk, unskilled labor?

Thanks in advance for any help y'all throw my way. I'm so glad I found this forum. It's nice to commiserate with others going through this arduous process.

 

[iarblue]

Hi Jewels
Well typically you are only to be in any country no more than 6 months,so if you have been here longer than that you have over stayed,they assume you are not staying longer but you did so,you can apply for a visit visa,or cross the border turn around come back in and ask for a visit record.
You dont have a stamp so send in a copy of your passport showing you have no stamp.And you have no status so you can not send in something you dont have.
If you have been in Canada more than 6 months then you need the RCMP and FBI plus state from he states you have lived in more than 6 months.
Intended occupation?Well tell them exactly what you told us you have no idea as of yet,tell them what field you may be looking into if you have a field.

 

[tgchi13]

This is one where you'll have to be honest as you have to recreate your entire timeline, without gaps, from age 18.

 

[Jewels]

Thanks guys.

After some more digging it looks like I found the answer to question #2. CIC may or may not request an RCMP background check; depends on the case. ???

Has anyone called the Call Centre? Are they actually helpful? I think I definitely need to speak to someone about question #1. If I had know then what I know now... So it goes.

 

[HoneyBird]

Jewels, you could probably say something like
Administrative field. (clerical/admin duties)
Or Marketing/Sales (Salesperson etc)

 

[AllisonVSC]

Thanks guys.

After some more digging it looks like I found the answer to question #2. CIC may or may not request an RCMP background check; depends on the case. ???

Has anyone called the Call Centre? Are they actually helpful? I think I definitely need to speak to someone about question #1. If I had know then what I know now... So it goes.

Don't rely on call center answers. I suspect if you called three times and asked the exact same question you would get three different responses. I'm interested in following your thread #1) because you used the plural y'all, so I'm guessing you're a southern girl 8), and #2) I met a couple this weekend in a very similar situation. He's US and has overstayed since 2007. They are common law (living together 3 years, she is not yet divorced from previous spouse) and have a child together. I have no experience with inland apps, so I am hoping to learn a few things in this thread that I can pass along to my new friends.
Good luck with your application. Allison

 

[canadianwoman]

2. It asks for a police check of every country I've resided in since my 18th birthday. Does my prolonged "visit" in Canada count as a residence? Will I be required to have a police check done by the RCMP or will just the FBI check suffice?

You don't need a police check from Canada. You send the police checks in with your application for most other countries; if Canada wants one from Canada, they will ask for it later. They usually don't.

But keep in mind that prolonged visits in any country count as 'residence' for this portion of the application. So if you had been in Australia for 7 months as a tourist, you would still need a police check from there.