Biometrics - USC Spouse applying thru Outland but currently in Canada

[EmmaShazma83]

Hi,

I am PR sponsoring my USC husband. He is already here in Canada with me since March 2019.
We applied for his PR and decided to do Outland instead of Inland. His 6 months stay has also expired so we have also applied for extension of stay (visitor's record) and it has been received but is still in process. Currently he is staying in Canada with me with implied status.

Now, his PR application has gotten to the biometrics stage. We received an email saying he has to do biometrics outside of Canada.

We are thinking to do this at an ASC south of Alberta in Montana and take the 6 hours drive there. My question is: will my husband have an issue to enter Canada back? He is a USC with US passport but right now he is just on implied status. Will he just be allowed to enter back or will we face problems?

 

[Jnicole45]

So I'm in the same boat as your husband, US citizen applying outland while in Canada. I did get my visitor record prior to having to go do biometrics though so that's where things differ. I just showed my visitor record with my passport, explained why I had left Canada, and pretty much got waved through. If you have the ability to wait until the visitor record is approved, you'll be much better off. However...let's be honest, they're pretty lax with US citizens. And the application for a visitor record will certainly speak towards his desire to do things the proper legal way (makes him look like less of a risk to overstay). He'll be assessed as a new entry, just like always, but you might get pulled into secondary examination to explain your situation, so that CBSA can verify and make a fully-informed decision.

Yes theres a chance he could be denied. Theres always a chance. But they're really not interested in splitting up law-abiding families. The implied status goes away as soon as he leaves Canada, which does mean theres a smidgen more extra risk in leaving, so I hesitate to tell you that everything will be fine because it always depends on the CBSA agent you get at the border, but I don't expect you'll have much of a problem

 

[EmmaShazma83]

@Jnicole45 thank you for sharing your experience.

We don't think we can wait for his visitor record to be ready. Based on the website, they are currently processing applications from May 2019 and we submitted ours in August.

I guess we have to be ready for any situation, but hopefully we will just get waved through. Just curious, so if everything goes to plan, does he enter back into Canada with renewed 180 days status as visitor or still under implied status? Assuming they will stamp his passport as he is coming in via ground this time?

 

[Jnicole45]

They rarely stamp your passport anymore, even at a land border, at least for a US citizen. He'll get the default 180 day stay as a visitor, unless the CBSA agent(s) you deal with decide otherwise. The implied status is done as soon as he leaves Canada and doesnt come back.

 

[EmmaShazma83]

We have made an appointment at the closest US city, although the earliest date available is 2 weeks away. We plan to bring all paperwork including PR AOR as well as extension of stay receipt letter to show at the border.

I am nervous about the long drive in October in Alberta but I guess we just have to plan as well as we can and hope for the best. Thank you for sharing the info again @Jnicole45.

 

[EmmaShazma83]

Just to update this thread in case anyone is reading in the future:

We drove from Alberta to Montana to do my husband's (USC) biometrics. At the US border, we were questioned as to our purpose etc. As I was holding a non-Canadian passport (Malaysia) but with a 10 year US visitor's visa, I had to go into secondary where they scanned my fingerprints and asked the usual question about purpose, length of stay, etc.

I have prepared a binder of documents to show my ties to Canada just in case, including employment letter, paystubs, professional affiliation memberships, and professional exams I have purchased and scheduled. However, the US officials did not ask for any supporting document. I was given an I-94 for 6 months multiple entry on my (non-Canadian) passport.

After our biometrics was done (it took around 15 minutes after we arrived at the USCIS in Helena, MT for our appointment), we headed back towards Canada. At the entry point to Canada, once again we were asked to go inside for secondary screening. We were both questioned by the Canadian officer there, together at first, and then separately. They were quite thorough, and they also leafed through the paper documents we prepared (we prepared copies of my husband's AOR, SA, AOR of Extension of Stay, marriage certificate, my paystubs etc).

We were quite nervous but at the end of the day, the officer just wanted to be satisfied that my husband was not working / studying illegally in Canada whilst his status is as visitor, and also that I as the sponsor had adequate means to support him (the officer was very detailed in asking me how much I made, as well as asking me to list down my monthly expenses, also asked about how much savings I had). The officer also asked both me and my husband a few times what we plan to do if his PR was not approved, to which we answered we plan for him to return to the US immediately and that we always have funds for that purpose if required.

At the end of it all, my husband was given Visitor Record that allows him to stay for another 12 months. We were told that this Visitor Record should enable my husband to travel to and fro the US and Canada somewhat more 'easily' although the officer reminded us that 'entry is never guaranteed' for a non-citizen/resident.

We are quite happy with how everything turned, it should be more than enough time for the PR application to get its final decision. The officer also told us we could cancel our online application for the Extension of Stay and get a refund, but unfortunately, just the next day we got an email saying the online application has been approved (you can only apply for refund if they haven't started on it).

Thank you again @Jnicole45 for sharing your experience and giving us tips.