American living in Canada on the verge of homelessness

[SirksSirks]

I'm a young American woman living in Ontario Canada with my Canadian boyfriend. I've been living here for about two years now. My current problem now is - I've overstayed my visit, and now I'm about to face homelessness with my boyfriend. When I first moved in with him he was working and I'd stay home. The plan was to live together for 12 months consecutively and then apply for common law sponsorship. Well, we've been living together since Oct. 2013 and we haven't done anything to start the process for a few reasons. My boyfriend lost his job in the beginning of 2015 so it's been pretty rough financially ever since then. Our rent is a little over 1,400 dollars and now we're behind three months rent and are scheduled to be kicked out on the 15th of this month. My question now is - is there anyway I can still stay in Canada even though I've overstayed my visit? At one point in 2014 I went back to the states for about three days and came back to Ontario to restart the clock on my 6 month visitor stay. I haven't been back to the states since May of 2014. The entire situation is a big mess, but I have no where to go if I have to leave Canada. I have no family back home, and my boyfriend is all I have. He also doesn't have family he can go to for help because he's gotten so much help from then last year that they're finally at a point where they simply don't want to anymore. Is it possible for us to get married (so I can stay) and then start all of our PR paperwork once we sort out our impending homelessness.

 

[Ponga]

Since you have now met the requirement to apply for Common-Law sponsorship, you might consider returning to the U.S. to sort things out.

You could submit an Outland sponsorship application from there and would hopefully be approved in ~6-8 months (as most Americans are). This would take the financial pressure off of your partner, since you are unable to work in Canada, and would also help you to earn some money `back home'. There must be someone there that can help, right?

You will still qualify as a Common-law partner, even if you no longer live together. You just have to maintain the relationship. Many people have done this.

As long as you have ample evidence that you have lived together for at least one year, I'd do this ASAP.

Good luck to you both.

 

[yijiequ]

I agree.. even though CBSA does not track the exit; CBP/DHS does...maybe ask him to go to the US with you too. he can live there up to 6 month as well. no matter what, he can not take any social assistance; or he is ineligible to sponsor you..

Since you have now met the requirement to apply for Common-Law sponsorship, you might consider returning to the U.S. to sort things out.

You could submit an Outland sponsorship application from there and would hopefully be approved in ~6-8 months (as most Americans are). This would take the financial pressure off of your partner, since you are unable to work in Canada, and would also help you to earn some money `back home'. There must be someone there that can help, right?

You will still qualify as a Common-law partner, even if you no longer live together. You just have to maintain the relationship. Many people have done this.

As long as you have ample evidence that you have lived together for at least one year, I'd do this ASAP.

Good luck to you both.

 

[Aquakitty]

With no source of income and no help whatsoever this is going to be tough. You need the application fees, doctor fees, fingerprint fees etc. to apply.


What we did in a similar situation was sell our truck and RV and traveled to the US for 6 months, just to clear his(my spouse's) overstay. We even lived in a tent for 6 months, on purpose, lol. There are ways to get around being "homeless", like tenting in a park while looking for work. No one has to know you are in between housing, and you can use a dropbox as a mailing address.

What I might do in your situation is pay the fees at least minus the RPRF (which can be paid later), cross the border, then come back and use the receipt as proof that you've applied for PR. Then, you can apply inland and get the OWP in 4 months.

Most people here don't recommend applying inland especially for an American because of the huge time difference, but in your case if you need money that badly maybe it would be an option.

It's going to be an issue if he can't show proof of funds to support you for 3 years though.

 

[cheng9999]

With no source of income and no help whatsoever this is going to be tough. You need the application fees, doctor fees, fingerprint fees etc. to apply.


What we did in a similar situation was sell our truck and RV and traveled to the US for 6 months, just to clear his(my spouse's) overstay. We even lived in a tent for 6 months, on purpose, lol. There are ways to get around being "homeless", like tenting in a park while looking for work. No one has to know you are in between housing, and you can use a dropbox as a mailing address.

What I might do in your situation is pay the fees at least minus the RPRF (which can be paid later), cross the border, then come back and use the receipt as proof that you've applied for PR. Then, you can apply inland and get the OWP in 4 months.

Most people here don't recommend applying inland especially for an American because of the huge time difference, but in your case if you need money that badly maybe it would be an option.

It's going to be an issue if he can't show proof of funds to support you for 3 years though.

I have no experience in this, so this is just a reminder.

When the applicant fills in past residences, would it not show that she was in Canada for 2 years, and it would not be difficult to check that she would have been out-of-status during that time?

 

[Alurra71]

With no source of income and no help whatsoever this is going to be tough. You need the application fees, doctor fees, fingerprint fees etc. to apply.


What we did in a similar situation was sell our truck and RV and traveled to the US for 6 months, just to clear his(my spouse's) overstay. We even lived in a tent for 6 months, on purpose, lol. There are ways to get around being "homeless", like tenting in a park while looking for work. No one has to know you are in between housing, and you can use a dropbox as a mailing address.

What I might do in your situation is pay the fees at least minus the RPRF (which can be paid later), cross the border, then come back and use the receipt as proof that you've applied for PR. Then, you can apply inland and get the OWP in 4 months.

Most people here don't recommend applying inland especially for an American because of the huge time difference, but in your case if you need money that badly maybe it would be an option.

It's going to be an issue if he can't show proof of funds to support you for 3 years though.

She has no valid status therefore wouldn't qualify for the OWP, so that is not a viable option for them.

 

[scylla]

She has no valid status therefore wouldn't qualify for the OWP, so that is not a viable option for them.

Agreed. She won't qualify for an OWP until she has AIP (first stage approval) - which takes well over a year. Additionally, it's quite possible AIP will take longer in her case due to the length of her overstay. Her application may end up with the local office for closer scrutiny.

 

[Rob_TO]

Is it possible for us to get married (so I can stay) and then start all of our PR paperwork once we sort out our impending homelessness.

Unfortunately getting married does nothing for your situation, as just being married to a Canadian doesn't give you any extra rights to remain in or enter Canada. You would still be expected to follow the rules of a typical visitor. You are already common-law anyways, which is practically the same as married.

Unfortunately there is no easy fix for your situation. As long as your common-law partner doesn't go on welfare, he can submit an app to sponsor you for PR. With no income and if you can't get letters of support from his family, it may be tough to convince CIC that he is financially able to sponsor you. Basically they need to be convinced he'll not go on welfare as soon as you've gotten PR status.

When the applicant fills in past residences, would it not show that she was in Canada for 2 years, and it would not be difficult to check that she would have been out-of-status during that time?

There are a few sections in the PR app which ask for length of time spent in a country, and what your status was. So she would need to state quite clearly she has been here without status for all this time. This will immediately let CIC know her status situation, and possibly CBSA as well. How CBSA then acts on this info is up to them. Even with a PR app in progress (outland or inland) there is always the chance CBSA will want to begin removal process to make her leave. Although most people believe with an inland app, there is less chance CBSA will actually deport someone and may actually try to expedite the AIP process.