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American husband visiting Citizen wife. I want to apply for residency

carmar777

Newbie
Jan 28, 2013
2
0
Hello. This is my first time posting/visiting this site and I am really lost. There is so much information that it is difficult to sort through it all to find answers to my questions so I figured that if I post what I am looking for, maybe someone will point me in the right direction.

As the title says, I am an American, my wife is Canadian by birth. We met in the USA, got married about 5 years ago. My wifes parents are here in Ontario and they are in their 80's. They are not doing well physically and none of the children live closer than 2 hours from them and do not want to move closer.

So my wife moved back to Canada and I came up as a visitor. I do not have a passport, I crossed with Birth Certificate and Drivers License from Florida. My wife works and has her own place. I know that I am allowed to "visit" for 6 months before I would be considered "illegal".

I have decided that I want to go ahead and apply for residency since I am already up here and from what I have heard, it is a bit easier to do it from here but here is where my issues lie.

I need help with filling out the forms so that I know that I have everything that is needed. I was never really sick, so I do not have any medical records to speak of to prove that I am not carrying a plague or something. I have my FBI records (or lack thereof) with me here. I have gone through the checklist and one of the things it says it requires is my passport number which I obviously do not have. I am afraid that if I start this process and pay all the fees which are sizable and I have "missed" providing something to them, not only will they reject my application, I will lose of on all the money I paid and have to start again.

Other than this great resource, are there any agencies, people, or programs our there available that specialize in helping Americans with this process and for little or no cost in the London, Ontario area? I know that In the states, there were Canadians who had gone through the process that would help Canadians who needed help with the paperwork and filing. I know that if I were to just get a nudge in the right direction, I could get this paperwork submitted before I have to go back which would put extreme hardship on my wife.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide in this matter.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
96,887
22,859
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
I don't know of any free resources. However have you read this section of the site? There are hundreds of threads discussing the process you're going throught chances are if you have a question the answer is somewhere there (or you can ask).

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/family-class-sponsorship-b5.0

Also read the first post here:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

You definitely need a passport to apply. So that's one thing I would get start on now.

Your FBI certificate cannot be more than three months old when your application is received by CIC. So you may need to get a new one.

The medical exam has to be performed by one of the selected medical practioners (you can't just go to anyone). A list is available on the CIC site.

You can apply "outland" while in Canada. This may be a better option for you.

You can request an extension to your visit one you are close to the end of your six months here.
 

carmar777

Newbie
Jan 28, 2013
2
0
Thank you for your response. I will check out those pages but there is something that I can't seem to find the reason or explanation for.

You say I need a passport but there is not a reason why this is since I do not "need" this same passport to travel back and forth into Canada. I have called Canadian immigration and they cant give me a reason why I need a passport. The passport is really only needed for Americans for identification and not for entrance into Canada.

Thank you again.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
96,887
22,859
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
carmar777 said:
Thank you for your response. I will check out those pages but there is something that I can't seem to find the reason or explanation for.

You say I need a passport but there is not a reason why this is since I do not "need" this same passport to travel back and forth into Canada. I have called Canadian immigration and they cant give me a reason why I need a passport. The passport is really only needed for Americans for identification and not for entrance into Canada.

Thank you again.
Passports are the only official identification document accepted by CIC for immigration purposes. Immigration requirements are different than border crossing requirements. That's probably the best explanation you're going to get.

You can easily apply for a US passport from within Canada.