Canadian citizen marrying and sponsoring American citizen

[gordbot]

Hello,

I have proposed to my American boyfriend and he has accepted. YAY! Then we started looking into immigration. He is currently living in Florida, and I live in Ottawa.

We would like for him to arrive for the wedding, and be able to stay from that point onward. I can support him while he is unable to work.

The plan so far is to complete all of the application except for the marriage certificate, fly down before the wedding and fly back with him so that I can go through customs with him. We will have a return ticket for him booked at 5.5 months from his arrival in Canada and a place for him to return home to as well as his intent to return home should the application fail or an extension not be granted. We would be applying under the IRPA 22(2) "Dual Intent" with the hopes of getting a visitor record for 6 months to a year and then we could file after the wedding and include an application and fee for an extension. Our biggest fear is him not being allowed in the country in the first place.

Any other suggestions on how to improve our chances at the border.

Also, I still cannot determine whether we are better to do Outland or Inland, especially with Buffalo closing. If we choose Outland, will he have to 1) mail his passport somewhere, and 2) exit and re-enter Canada at some point? Secondly, how long until he can work on Outland? I understand First stage of Inland is around 11 months.

Thanks so much in advance for your time.

Gordon

 

[scylla]

Outland is almost always much faster for Americans. You could be done in as little as 4-6 months.

With outland, he will not be authorized to work until his PR visa has been approved and he has landed in Canada as a permanent resident. Open work permits are only granted as part of the inland process.

 

[OhCanadiana]

Congratulations, Gordon, and welcome!!!

At the border, the key will be to show sufficient ties to the US to show he will move back in the short term if his status were to expire before his PR is approved. You have a good start to that. There may be other things like US driver's licenses, bank accounts, family, etc that you may want to bring with you. It's a bit luck of the draw so I always think it's best to be prepared for a tough border guard (or heightened security) and then sail on through. Also, have him fly up the first time around a few days before the wedding so he can try again should something go wrong. Some people have reported driving up and then having to try a different border the next day successfully after getting more proof.

Has he traveled to Canada several times before? I ask to see whether a pattern of entries exists to show he always leaves.

Regarding Outland vs Inland, there isn't enough data yet to know how long Outland will take through CPC-M. Personally, I would still plan to go Outland for a US citizen. As you said, Inland takes 11 months just for step 1 and another 8 for step 2. They have closed several Inland offices, so step 2 may increase (although he could work by then). Outland you'll be facing around 3 months for step 1 and then for step 2, 80% of the cases were completed in Buffalo in 12 months (many much faster). FWIW, I think that CIC has a lot of incentive to try to make CPC-O work well. It's a pilot of the new strategy to consolidate processing inceasingly in Canada so they want to make it work. He wouldn't be able to work in Canada until he has his PR card, unless he can do it through some other means like a NAFTA visa (he would need a job offer in one of certain professions and then can apply for work permit with job offer at the border).

Hello,

I have proposed to my American boyfriend and he has accepted. YAY! Then we started looking into immigration. He is currently living in Florida, and I live in Ottawa.

We would like for him to arrive for the wedding, and be able to stay from that point onward. I can support him while he is unable to work.

The plan so far is to complete all of the application except for the marriage certificate, fly down before the wedding and fly back with him so that I can go through customs with him. We will have a return ticket for him booked at 5.5 months from his arrival in Canada and a place for him to return home to as well as his intent to return home should the application fail or an extension not be granted. We would be applying under the IRPA 22(2) "Dual Intent" with the hopes of getting a visitor record for 6 months to a year and then we could file after the wedding and include an application and fee for an extension. Our biggest fear is him not being allowed in the country in the first place.

Any other suggestions on how to improve our chances at the border.

Also, I still cannot determine whether we are better to do Outland or Inland, especially with Buffalo closing. If we choose Outland, will he have to 1) mail his passport somewhere, and 2) exit and re-enter Canada at some point? Secondly, how long until he can work on Outland? I understand First stage of Inland is around 11 months.

Thanks so much in advance for your time.

Gordon

 

[gordbot]

Thank you so much. The work isn't that important as I can support him.

I'm flying down and returning with him one month before the wedding. One reason is that he is a bit shy, and the second is I am hoping I can help vouch for him. Our biggest fear is him being turned back at the border.

Here's what we'll bring
Both of us
Completed application minus marriage certificate, including receipt of fees paid
Proof of wedding
Return ticket for less than 180 days from entry
US Driver's license
US Bank accounts
US Credit cards
Proof of US address
Pattern of entry and exit (always less than 1 month)

And it seems like we should apply outland.

Thanks again.

 

[gordbot]

Can he wait with me in Canada if we do Outland? Also, can we do Outland from within Canada?

 

[scylla]

Can he wait with me in Canada if we do Outland? Also, can we do Outland from within Canada?

Yes - absolutely. Just make sure he keeps his status valid (i.e. extends his visit if required.)

 

[tinytortoise]

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and good luck! This is a great place for information and support.