Bahamian citizen living in Us, married to Canadian citizen

[Vinnigurl]

Islandgirl:
I am from GUyana, so Buffalo transfered my application to Port of Spain, Trinidad.

 

[chelley]

In my first reply to her I mentioned the requirement of being legally admitted for at least one full year (in order to qualify for processing through Buffalo). However given how long it's been and give her current illegal status in the US (and given she wants to visit Canada while the application is being processed which would trigger the 10 year ban) - I think Kingston would be a much safer bet.

i think the *at least* one year implies that the applicant must have maintained and still be in legal status in the country they are applying...

so i don't think applying from the US is even an option unless she can reinstate status in some way or another... its possible that applying from the US could trigger an order of removal once the overstay is identified... not sure how integrated the border officials are, but it would likely (as the previous poster said) get the application booted to kingston anyways, probably with a red flag would require an interview (from my experience with the office, kingston isn't big on interviewing and when they do the process has almost always been over a year long, never seen an interview from a 3rd country tho, only Jamaican)

good luck!

 

[rjessome]

i think the *at least* one year implies that the applicant must have maintained and still be in legal status in the country they are applying...

so i don't think applying from the US is even an option unless she can reinstate status in some way or another... its possible that applying from the US could trigger an order of removal once the overstay is identified... not sure how integrated the border officials are, but it would likely (as the previous poster said) get the application booted to kingston anyways, probably with a red flag would require an interview (from my experience with the office, kingston isn't big on interviewing and when they do the process has almost always been over a year long, never seen an interview from a 3rd country tho, only Jamaican)

good luck!

The at least one year instruction means when the OP was initially admitted they were allowed to stay for at least a year. It does not mean for the previous year. And it doesn't mean that they had to maintain legal status either although it is advisable. Also, it doesn't even mean that the applicant must have lived there for a year, just been legally admitted for a year. For example, if a person landed in the US on January 1 with a study permit for 1 year, they could legally choose Buffalo as their processing office even if they applied to CIC for PR on January 2.

In the OPs situation, I would worry less about CIC reporting the overstay to US Immigration authorities (they won't). The applicant is protected under Canadian privacy laws. However, they are still in a tricky situation that requires full disclosure and should seek legal advice.

 

[islandgirl25]

thank you all for the helpful replies!!!!! i think i will be safe and just go the kingston route! i do agree that US officials probably won't be alerted b/c i really won't be dealing with them...we'll definitely be seeking legal counsel....would love more replies!

 

[canadianwoman]

thank you for the replies! i really appreciate the help! i guess we're in a sticky situation..b/c i've been here over 20 years..so i'm guessing, it would be wise to send it into kingston incase i'm called for an interview? or like another poster stated, to avoid delays by having to explain why i overstayed...good grief...very discouraging ..thanks again!

You're probably going to have to explain why you overstayed no matter which office processes your application. Since you were brought to the USA as a child, I don't think this long overstay will hurt your Canadian PR application, but you will still have to explain it.
If you apply through the Buffalo office, you won't be able to leave to visit your husband in Canada (since you won't then be able to go back to the States), but applications through Buffalo are processed a lot faster than apps through Kingston. Keep in mind that even if you are able to use Buffalo as your office, the visa officers there can decide to send your application to the office responsible for your country of citizenship, even if this is not what you requested. So you might end up with your file being processed in Kingston in any case.
If you decide to have the file processed in Kingston, you wouldn't have to leave the USA until an interview is called, but you could move back to your country of origin to wait. Citizens of the Bahamas do not need a visa to enter Canada as a visitor, so you can come to Canada to visit your husband while the PR application is being processed.

 

[islandgirl25]

thank you canadian woman! i appreciate all of the responses!

another question, how detailed should the "proof" be? we have tons of pics..should we send them all in? hundreds of emails...literally thousands of pages worth of chatting..should we go all out?

 

[canadianwoman]

another question, how detailed should the "proof" be? we have tons of pics..should we send them all in? hundreds of emails...literally thousands of pages worth of chatting..should we go all out?

How much proof you need depends on the visa office processing your application (some are a lot more suspicious than others), and on your relationship. A normal relationship needs less proof; if there are a lot of things in your relationship that seem unusual, you need more. Basically, the two of you having different races, religions, languages, ages, relationship backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds: all are 'red flags'.

For a basic application with few red flags, but some problems (such as yours, having been staying illegally in the USA), I would send in at least 100 photos from the whole length of your relationship, showing the two of you with each other's friends and family, and including some candid shots that don't look posed; send in a screenshot of your inboxes showing all the emails you have sent each other, and then choose a selection of emails to print out and include - some people pick one a week from their whole relationship, others choose emails that show them discussing important parts of their relationship, or very romantic emails; send in a selection of your chats, again chosen from the whole length of your relationship.
Then add a note telling the visa officer that you have sent in just a sampling of your emails and chatting, but that you have much more if he/she wants to see it. It is unusual for them to ask to see more, but at least this way they know you have more.

Photos are considered better evidence than emails or chats, by the way.

 

[islandgirl25]

thank you, canadianwoman! one other thing and i'm done ...as i stated earlier we married in the courthouse..it was just the two of us..it's what we wanted..when explaining the why's of that on the spouse questionnaire..should i elaborate fully?? or keep it short and sweet, i.e, we wanted it that way?? thanks

 

[canadianwoman]

thank you, canadianwoman! one other thing and i'm done ...as i stated earlier we married in the courthouse..it was just the two of us..it's what we wanted..when explaining the why's of that on the spouse questionnaire..should i elaborate fully?? or keep it short and sweet, i.e, we wanted it that way?? thanks

I would make the explanation short, but add a bit more detail than just "we wanted it that way." If you have photos of the occasion and you look happy in them and it looks like it was a special occasion for you, it should be OK.

 

[islandgirl25]

thanks so much, canadian!