Canadian citizen in US on H1B, sponsoring wife (H4) and daughter US citizen

[Ambiance44]

Dear community,

I am a Canadian citizen currently working in the US on an H1B visa. I live with my wife, who is an Indian citizen on an H4 visa, and my daughter was born in the US, thus an American citizen.

I would like to move back to Canada and sponsor my family. As of now, my wife and daughter have no immigration ties to Canada. What would be the best procedure to follow if we all wanted to move to Canada? I understand that, according to the CIC website, I can sponsor my spouse and dependents, but I am not sure about what I would do in my situation. Since my wife's H4 visa depends on the validity of my H1B, that means that if I go to Canada, she would have to leave and go back to her "home" country. So does that mean that I need to move to Canada and my wife/daughter need to go to India before coming to Canada on the sponsorship file?

Another thought was for me to go to Canada, and get a visitor visa for my wife so that she and my daughter can come to Canada as visitors while their sponsorship file is underway. Is that a possibility?

Sincerely

 

[CDNPR2014]

as a canadian citizen, you can sponsor your wife and daughter "outside of canada" while you all live in the US. You do not need to move back to canada before they are approved, and they will not need to return to india.

Since you are living outside of canada currently, in your application, IRCC expects you to disclose your plans for how you plan to settle in canada upon your family's approval. IRCC will decide whether to process the application based on your wife's residency in the US or her citizenship in India. If they process it in India, an interview would be the only reason she would need to go back there. Interviews are quite rare for straightforward cases, so this shouldn't be a concern. Since your daughter is a US citizen and assuming your wife has valid status in the us for more than 12 months, it is highly likely the application will be sent to Ottawa, where US applications are processed.

 

[Ambiance44]

Thank you.

Should I start applying for jobs before submitting a sponsorship application for my family? Or is it sufficient to state on the application that I will immigrate there and then look for a job? The reason I ask is that I am not clear about what to tell a potential employer if they like me as a candidate.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Thank you.

Should I start applying for jobs before submitting a sponsorship application for my family? Or is it sufficient to state on the application that I will immigrate there and then look for a job? The reason I ask is that I am not clear about what to tell a potential employer if they like me as a candidate.

there is no requirement for the sponsor to be employed, so it really doesn't matter if you start to apply for jobs prior to submitting or not. It is perfectly acceptable to say in your application you plan to look for x type of jobs in y industries in z location(s). Some people also provide proof of jobsearch research done and/or communications with employers/recruiters. IRCC knows it's not possible to have things set in stone. They just want to make sure you have a plan that makes sense and it's unlikely you will apply for welfare upon settling.

 

[Ambiance44]

I truly appreciate the information.

 

[Ambiance44]

I have been researching on the CIC website for the past few days, trying to figure out what is involved in filing an Outland Application to sponsor my family. Is this something that a person can typically do by themselves, or is it recommended to hire an agent to help through the process?

 

[CDNPR2014]

I have been researching on the CIC website for the past few days, trying to figure out what is involved in filing an Outland Application to sponsor my family. Is this something that a person can typically do by themselves, or is it recommended to hire an agent to help through the process?

most people advise to do it yourself. an attorney or consultant will not be able to fill out the forms for you, their job is to double check your work and make sure you are submitting correctly, and a lot of people get very bad advise from them. the guide has been simplified and this forum is a valuable resource to help with the application. there's no need to waste money on consultants or lawyers when you have a straightforward case.

 

[canadianwoman]

Your daughter might be a Canadian citizen through you, if you were a Canadian citizen when she was born. If so, you cannot sponsor her - you just have to apply for proof of her Canadian citizenship, then get her a passport.

 

[Ambiance44]

most people advise to do it yourself. an attorney or consultant will not be able to fill out the forms for you, their job is to double check your work and make sure you are submitting correctly, and a lot of people get very bad advise from them. the guide has been simplified and this forum is a valuable resource to help with the application. there's no need to waste money on consultants or lawyers when you have a straightforward case.

Thanks. I was looking at the CIC webpage titled "Guide 5525 – Basic guide: Sponsor your spouse, partner or child" (cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5525ETOC.asp), which provides links to the sponsorship forms and has descriptions of fees and other requirements. Does this look like the right place to start for an outland application? It looks like most of the procedure can be done online or by postal mail. That's really quite amazing.

Also, I've read somewhere on this forum that if all goes well, an outland application can result in a decision within about 4-6 months. Is this true?

 

[Ambiance44]

Your daughter might be a Canadian citizen through you, if you were a Canadian citizen when she was born. If so, you cannot sponsor her - you just have to apply for proof of her Canadian citizenship, then get her a passport.

Yes, I was a (naturalized) Canadian citizen when she was born (in US). If she is indirectly a Canadian citizen also, would I need to only sponsor my wife?

 

[Pitt1234]

Yes, if you were already a citizen when your daughter was born, you could directly apply for her citizenship. This should be straight forward and quick.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules/

You do have to sponsor your wife for her PR. As others suggested, you can do this Outland while staying outside Canada or even while inside Canada. You don't need to be employed for this. But you should not be receiving any government welfare support to be approved as a sponsor.

You didn't mention if your wife has an American PR. If she does, her processing will be in Ottawa (and it's relatively quick: ~4-5 months). If she is not a American PR, her processing would happen in New Delhi, and currently it averages around 7-8 months.

But make sure you quickly apply for her FBI background check ASAP, as that takes ~4 months. In the meanwhile prepare her application.
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

The forms and process have changed in Dec 2016. So make sure you follow the latest checklist and recent forms.

Good luck!

Yes, I was a (naturalized) Canadian citizen when she was born (in US). If she is indirectly a Canadian citizen also, would I need to only sponsor my wife?

 

[Ambiance44]

Yes, if you were already a citizen when your daughter was born, you could directly apply for her citizenship. This should be straight forward and quick.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules/

You do have to sponsor your wife for her PR. As others suggested, you can do this Outland while staying outside Canada. You don't need a job for this. You didn't mention if your wife has an American PR. If she does, her processing will be in Ottawa (and it's relatively quick: ~4-5 months). If she is not a American PR, her processing would happen in New Delhi, and currently it averages around 7-8 months.

But make sure you quickly apply for her FBI background check ASAP, as that takes ~4 months. In the meanwhile prepare her application.
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

The forms and process have changed in Dec 2016. So make sure you follow the latest checklist and recent forms.

Good luck!

Thank you very much. Neither my wife nor I are on PR status in US. She is an Indian citizen, living in the US on an H4 visa. Since she's been here lawfully on an H4 visa for over 10 years, is there a way to get the processing done through a nearer location than New Delhi?

 

[CDNPR2014]

You didn't mention if your wife has an American PR. If she does, her processing will be in Ottawa (and it's relatively quick: ~4-5 months). If she is not a American PR, her processing would happen in New Delhi, and currently it averages around 7-8 months.

A person does not need to be a US PR or Citizen to be processed through Ottawa. generally, if a person has any type of legal status for more than 12 months somewhere, IRCC may choose to process the application based on that residency. Residency does not have to be permanent. it can also be temporary and we have seen files of temp US residents be processed through ottawa. also, since there is a US citizen child included in the application, there is even more of a chance the application will be processed in Ottawa. There's no way to know for sure until IRCC makes that determination.

Thank you very much. Neither my wife nor I are on PR status in US. She is an Indian citizen, living in the US on an H4 visa. Since she's been here lawfully on an H4 visa for over 10 years, is there a way to get the processing done through a nearer location than New Delhi?

where the application processes is at the descretion of IRCC. there is no way to request a certain office. Since your US citizen daughter is included in the application, and your wife has legal status in the us for more than 12 months, it is highly likely they will be processed with other US applicants, although only IRCC can guarantee that. US applicants are not limited to citizens or PRs, it can also include people who have long term legal residency in the US, which includes work visas. with that said, it is common for US residents to have longer processing times than citizens because IRCC is still required to do background checks through the applicants country of citizenship, and some countries take longer to respond to requests than others. So essentially, you'll want to assume a 6-10 month process until you know for sure where it processes.

unfortunately, you won't know where it processes until you receive sponsor approval.

 

[Ambiance44]

where the application processes is at the descretion of IRCC. there is no way to request a certain office. Since your US citizen daughter is included in the application, and your wife has legal status in the us for more than 12 months, it is highly likely they will be processed with other US applicants. US applicants are not limited to citizens or PRs, it can also include people who have long term legal residency in the US, which includes work visas. with that said, it is common for US residents to have longer processing times than citizens because IRCC is still required to do background checks through the applicants country of citizenship, and some countries take longer to respond to requests than others. So essentially, you'll want to assume a 6-10 month process until you know for sure where it processes.

unfortunately, you won't know where it processes until you receive sponsor approval.

OK, so I'll start an "Application for a citizenship certificate" for my daughter on http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/certif.asp. And in parallel, I will start the prerequisites for my wife's application as described on http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp. Is that advisable?

 

[Pitt1234]

But IRCC don't do that usually. At least, that' my experience. I have been here in US for about 9 years now, and currently I am working on my PhD in US with a valid US Visa until a future date, but my application is still being processed by NDVO. I think, if she holds an Indian passport in most likelihood her processing will be done by New Delhi Visa office. But then, you could get lucky!

One catch: Using India-specific vs. USA-specific checklist for her application. I assumed my application would be processed in US or Canada, but that was not true. I had to send them additional doc (travel record) that is expected by NDVO and there in the India-specific list. My suggestion would be to include that anyways and let them decide whether they need it or not. Hopefully, they would decide to process it in Ottawa

A person does not need to be a US PR or Citizen to be processed through Ottawa. generally, if a person has any type of legal status for more than 12 months somewhere, IRCC may choose to process the application based on that residency. Residency does not have to be permanent. it can also be temporary and we have seen files of temp US residents be processed through ottawa. also, since there is a US citizen child included in the application, there is even more of a chance the application will be processed in Ottawa. There's no way to know for sure until IRCC makes that determination.

where the application processes is at the descretion of IRCC. there is no way to request a certain office. Since your US citizen daughter is included in the application, and your wife has legal status in the us for more than 12 months, it is highly likely they will be processed with other US applicants, although only IRCC can guarantee that. US applicants are not limited to citizens or PRs, it can also include people who have long term legal residency in the US, which includes work visas. with that said, it is common for US residents to have longer processing times than citizens because IRCC is still required to do background checks through the applicants country of citizenship, and some countries take longer to respond to requests than others. So essentially, you'll want to assume a 6-10 month process until you know for sure where it processes.

unfortunately, you won't know where it processes until you receive sponsor approval.