American in Need of Advice to Enter Canada After Refused Entry

[derekisdman]

Hello everyone! I'm a US citizen and need some advice on gaining entry into Canada. Let me explain my situation as accurately as possible, as I would greatly appreciate your input and recommendations.

My girlfriend is a Canadian citizen - we've been dating for a little over a year. We initially met online and I first visited her (in Montreal) via plane in December of 2014 for about 3 weeks. I visited her again via car (I reside in Michigan) in April of 2015 and was not very specific with my return date. At the border, I said I was going to visit for 3-4 months. They seemed suspicious but ultimately gave me a visitor record saying I had to return by July 28th. My sister was getting married July 31st and the plan was for me and my girlfriend to go back to Michigan together for 3 weeks to meet my family. So we went back to Michigan a few days before the 28th. About 3 weeks later, we attempted to drive back to Montreal (I wanted to bring her back home and visit for another 2 months thinking I was able to stay for up to 6 months in a calendar year), however, I wasn't prepared and was refused entry. We had to go back to the US and she had to take a bus back to Montreal.

I had valid documentation (passport) and such, but the justification seemed to be that I "couldn't demonstrate sufficient ties with the US." I of course made a big mistake in underestimating the difficulties of going back and forth from the US to Canada, but in hindsight, I can see the problem. I wasn't employed at the time and stayed with my parents, but I didn't have evidence to show I resided there and such.

So, it's been about 6 months since that time and I'm in the process of planning another trip to Canada, hopefully next month. My question is, essentially, will my previous denial of entry play a significant role in whether I might be allowed entry in the future? In other words, am I now "flagged," making future denials more likely? Since October 2015, I've been working as an online tutor and have also just recently been hired at an online university as part time adjunct teacher. I'm still presently living at my parents' place, however. I would like to visit for 2-3 months but am unsure of the likelihood of this request being granted. I was planning to book a flight, but the fear is that I would pay for a ticket only to get there and be refused entry. But, with a return ticket, I would think that flying would be favorable... I'm only about a 2 1/2 drive from the border, so the costs wouldn't be as bad if I DID get refused again if I drove... But I didn't want my car sitting around in Canadian winters and I wouldn't have any documentation of an official return date, so I don't know if driving would be a good idea.

So my question is, basically, how hopeful is the situation and what would you recommend doing? In terms of my residency, should I have my parents sign a letter with ID supporting the fact that I live there? I planned to bring a bank statement, my letter of employment from the university and some pay stubs from my online tutoring and also a scan of my girlfriend's ID and contact information. Of course, I would still be working doing online teaching while in Canada (this is fine for online jobs, right?), so I'd have continual financial flow to support myself. I could also get insurance during that time if it would help.

Would it be best to fly? Drive? Should I try to get a visa? I hate not knowing whether I'll be allowed to enter until I actually attempt to enter. Is there anyway to guarantee future entry before planning my trip by working with immigration? What are my options? Any help would be appreciated - thanks so much!

 

[derekisdman]

I'd still love to hear some input if anyone has advice!

 

[scylla]

Since you have a refused entry on your record - I would make your next trip 2-3 week. Last time immigration was concerned you had insufficient ties to your home country and were possibly planning to remain in Canada long term. A 2-3 month trip isn't something someone does when they have strong ties - in fact it proves the opposite (i.e. that you really don't have any significant ties at all to the US). Make your first trip the length someone would visit if they were really a tourist. I wouldn't push your luck.

You can work online while in Canada provided you are teaching no Canadian students. If you are, or if you're unsure if any of the students could be Canadian, then you can't work while in Canada (it will be classified as working illegally).

 

[derekisdman]

Since you have a refused entry on your record - I would make your next trip 2-3 week. Last time immigration was concerned you had insufficient ties to your home country and were possibly planning to remain in Canada long term. A 2-3 month trip isn't something someone does when they have strong ties - in fact it proves the opposite (i.e. that you really don't have any significant ties at all to the US). Make your first trip the length someone would visit if they were really a tourist. I wouldn't push your luck.

You can work online while in Canada provided you are teaching no Canadian students. If you are, or if you're unsure if any of the students could be Canadian, then you can't work while in Canada (it will be classified as working illegally).

Thanks for the reply, scylla... Does this length of time apply even when I'd have a return flight confirming my departure? The worry of "not having strong ties" implies that a person might attempt to stay in Canada... But if a return ticket shows that they plan to leave, doesn't this refute this claim? If the return ticket doesn't refute the worry (meaning they'd think I was still intending to stay), then doesn't logic suggest that I could be just as likely to stay and not leave whether the time was 2 weeks or 2 months? In both cases I demonstrate evidence that I'm leaving (it least it seems so).

 

[scylla]

Thanks for the reply, scylla... Does this length of time apply even when I'd have a return flight confirming my departure? The worry of "not having strong ties" implies that a person might attempt to stay in Canada... But if a return ticket shows that they plan to leave, doesn't this refute this claim? If the return ticket doesn't refute the worry (meaning they'd think I was still intending to stay), then doesn't logic suggest that I could be just as likely to stay and not leave whether the time was 2 weeks or 2 months? In both cases I demonstrate evidence that I'm leaving (it least it seems so).

Yes - it certainly applies. CIC wants to see you have strong ties to your home country. Someone who can leave their country for 2-3 months doesn't have strong ties. A plane ticket can be changed and isn't that strong a tie. Strong ties are proof of employment (along with a letter from your employer confirming the length of your vacation and when you'll be back), proof of property ownership/rental, proof of residency in the US (e.g. utility bills, credit card statements), etc.

In the end what you do is really up to you. Immigration will be able to see the refusal when you enter Canada the next time - so my advice is to play it safe and make it a short trip. But again - up to you.

 

[derekisdman]

Thanks again for the reply, scylla. I'm sure you're busy, but if you have time I'd like to ask you a few more questions.

Though I do want to visit my girlfriend, it is a priority to ultimately/eventually go to Canada to live together. But part of the importance of building a relationship is of course spending significant time together. Obviously I want to do this lawfully and not have any issues... And, up to this point, I have broken no rules. So, how can I demonstrate ties by CIC's standards while simultaneously being allowed to spend time in Canada with her, since by definition having ties seems to be not being in Canada? If I did end up getting refused again, what happens at that point? Do more refusals equate to a greater probability of future refusals? Could someone be continuously refused and not allowed in even though they've not done anything wrong? Further, do refusals play a role in one's ability to receive visas? I was trying to review my options for potential visas or long term opportunities to stay in Canada, and I've noticed things like:

- common-law partner (but here, we would need to be living together for a year, right? How can we do that if I'm not potentially allowed to stay for even a few months?)
- conjugal partner (if I'm refused at the border and we're unable to be together, could we be apply under this?)
- Canada's Federal Skilled Worker Class (I believe I qualify for this as well)

Will refusals show up if I attempted to apply for any of these options and be used against me? For instance, if I went the express entry route for the FSWC program, would the fact that I was refused entry reduce my ranking and make it less likely to receive an invitation to apply as a permanent resident? And if I did apply as a permanent resident at that time, would the refusals be used against me? Any other visa options you'd recommend or general advice for trying to spend significant time in Canada as I go forward? Thanks again.

 

[mikeymyke]

Conjugal will never work for an American. In your case, there's no reason why for example, your g/f couldn't simply go to the US to marry or become common law with you over there.

 

[derekisdman]

Conjugal will never work for an American. In your case, there's no reason why for example, your g/f couldn't simply go to the US to marry or become common law with you over there.

Thanks for the response about the impossibility of going the conjugal partner route. Common law would be fine to me... But again, the difficulty here arises in that we'd need to be living together for a year, correct? This doesn't seem possible given that ties need to be maintained to a home country, which means NOT staying in Canada for a long time. And with marriage, a similar absurdity seems to arise in that you'd obviously want to spend significant time living together prior to getting married. So the question just seems to be how to go about spending significant time together... Thus continuing to explore the relationship and take things to the level of marriage.

 

[scylla]

Thanks for the response about the impossibility of going the conjugal partner route. Common law would be fine to me... But again, the difficulty here arises in that we'd need to be living together for a year, correct? This doesn't seem possible given that ties need to be maintained to a home country, which means NOT staying in Canada for a long time. And with marriage, a similar absurdity seems to arise in that you'd obviously want to spend significant time living together prior to getting married. So the question just seems to be how to go about spending significant time together... Thus continuing to explore the relationship and take things to the level of marriage.

Yes - you need to live together for a year to become common law. Lots of people do this successfully by coming to Canada for a visit and then extending their visit until they hit the one year mark. Although we applied as married, my own American husband traveled back and forth across the border frequently for a few years and effectively lived with me in Canada before he became a PR. The trick is saying and doing the right things at the border - and being able to demonstrate proof of ties to the US. The challenge in your case is that you have already run into issues at the border since you didn't look like a genuine visitor earlier. This complicates the situation significantly. I would once again say that you should aim for a 2-3 week trip the first time you re-enter Canada and pack accordingly - again, this is specifically because you have the refusal on record and you want to very clearly demonstrate that you are a genuine visitor. Assuming you are allowed it, it's quite possible immigration may simply stamp your passport or let you in without a stamp which would mean you've technically been allowed into the country for six months. You can then certainly stay for the six months and towards the end of that trip apply to extend your visit to Canada. Again, all of this is very possible and many (many) have done it. Your situation is just more complicated than most since you didn't take the right approach with your attempted 3-4 month trip and ended up with a refusal.

 

[derekisdman]

Yes - you need to live together for a year to become common law. Lots of people do this successfully by coming to Canada for a visit and then extending their visit until they hit the one year mark. Although we applied as married, my own American husband traveled back and forth across the border frequently for a few years and effectively lived with me in Canada before he became a PR. The trick is saying and doing the right things at the border - and being able to demonstrate proof of ties to the US. The challenge in your case is that you have already run into issues at the border since you didn't look like a genuine visitor earlier. This complicates the situation significantly. I would once again say that you should aim for a 2-3 week trip the first time you re-enter Canada and pack accordingly - again, this is specifically because you have the refusal on record and you want to very clearly demonstrate that you are a genuine visitor. Assuming you are allowed it, it's quite possible immigration may simply stamp your passport or let you in without a stamp which would mean you've technically been allowed into the country for six months. You can then certainly stay for the six months and towards the end of that trip apply to extend your visit to Canada. Again, all of this is very possible and many (many) have done it. Your situation is just more complicated than most since you didn't take the right approach with your attempted 3-4 month trip and ended up with a refusal.

Thanks again, scylla. This makes sense. I think I'll plan for a 3 week visit and get everything in order to substantiate that visit and avoid problems... And depending what happens at that time, I'll take things from there. Hopefully all goes well!

 

[scylla]

Thanks again, scylla. This makes sense. I think I'll plan for a 3 week visit and get everything in order to substantiate that visit and avoid problems... And depending what happens at that time, I'll take things from there. Hopefully all goes well!

Good luck!

 

[derekisdman]

So, I made it to Quebec! I was asked just one question "what's the purpose of your visit?" I answered and was let through in literally 20 seconds without a single problem. I really don't understand the drastically different approaches in each scenario, but I'm happy to be here now at any rate! As you mentioned, this technically means I'm allowed to stay up to six months?