Canadian Husband Moving from USA with American wife and our 2 children

[esirois]

Hi all.
I'm Canadian by birth. I moved to the USA a few years ago. I got married and have two children. I know the kids are citizens by birth and I just need to get them proof of citizenship.
I am wanting to move back to Canada and get a job as a police officer. My thoughts are to apply from the states and travel back there for the interview and testing process and everything else that's part of the police selection process.

***If I am selected then that is when we would move and only then.***

My issue however is this how are we supposed to go about moving back to Canada. If we applied for my wife to have permanent residence from the states it would take like 20 months (I think that was the waiting time last we checked for applications from the USA). We don't want to and really can't wait that long to move.
Would we be able to all of us go to Canada and apply for my wife to get permanent residence by marriage from Canada? Would she be able to do this? I know once we apply for permanent residence through marriage she will get a workers permit, but how long-ish will it take for her to receive that? We want to know how long she will be on her visitor visa and how many times we would need to apply to extend it.
We can't be apart as we will not be able to afford housing for me in Canada and her in the USA so we all need to move together at one time. We don't want to take any risks and wrap things up in the states only to get to Canada and be told she can't enter. We really want to move to Canada and only will if I got the job and once I do we wont have 2 years to apply and wait for decisions. We would need to move rather fast.
I have tried contacting the Canadian embassies in the USA and they will not answer any questions. the CIC website is really vague for my issues and their call center only accepts calls from within Canada.
Please help us. I want to return Home.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[rhcohen2014]

a) us citizens are NOT taking 20 months when applying OUTSIDE of canada. the current average is 6 months, now inching toward 7 months. the stats listed on CIC's website are misleading and not accurate based on real life, real time applications from the us.
b) your wife can be IN canada as a visitor when her applicaiton processes. if you move back with your canadian children, she can accompany you and be able to stay while her application processes. crossing the border in this situation may prove tricky as CBSA like to see proof of ties back to the us. she can't appear to be "moving" to canada, even though her family is. there are plenty of couples who can guide you in learning the right language and how to cross the border as a family.
c)OUTLAND applicants are not eligible for work permits. Currently only inland applicants are, and it is NOT a reason to apply inland. inland is taking 2 years to complete the process. the new owp rule is still open to interpretation, and there is NO guarantee she would receive the OWP as an inland applicant before she would have been fully approved as an outland applicant.
d) if you don't know exactly when you want to relocate, then you want to wait to apply. We have recently seen a case where an application was denied because the plan to move back to canada was too far into the future. CIC wants you to relocate IMMEDIATELY upon approval, so the application needs to reflect that.

 

[MilesAway]

The wait time for US applicants is definitely not 20 months, more like 6-8 months.
The wait time if you apply inland is 2+ years. There's a new pilot project where inland applicants can get an open work permit, but that would still take 4-8 months (based on what I've read. It's a new program, so it's unclear how it will work for new applicants).

She can come and visit Canada, but she cannot legally move there until she has PR status. So she can remain as a visitor (not allowed to work or study) for 6 months, unless told otherwise at the border, and then apply to extend her stay.

 

[keesio]

Hi all.
I'm Canadian by birth. I moved to the USA a few years ago. I got married and have two children. I know the kids are citizens by birth and I just need to get them proof of citizenship.
I am wanting to move back to Canada and get a job as a police officer. My thoughts are to apply from the states and travel back there for the interview and testing process and everything else that's part of the police selection process.

***If I am selected then that is when we would move and only then.***

My issue however is this how are we supposed to go about moving back to Canada. If we applied for my wife to have permanent residence from the states it would take like 20 months (I think that was the waiting time last we checked for applications from the USA). We don't want to and really can't wait that long to move.
Would we be able to all of us go to Canada and apply for my wife to get permanent residence by marriage from Canada? Would she be able to do this? I know once we apply for permanent residence through marriage she will get a workers permit, but how long-ish will it take for her to receive that? We want to know how long she will be on her visitor visa and how many times we would need to apply to extend it.
We can't be apart as we will not be able to afford housing for me in Canada and her in the USA so we all need to move together at one time. We don't want to take any risks and wrap things up in the states only to get to Canada and be told she can't enter. We really want to move to Canada and only will if I got the job and once I do we wont have 2 years to apply and wait for decisions. We would need to move rather fast.
I have tried contacting the Canadian embassies in the USA and they will not answer any questions. the CIC website is really vague for my issues and their call center only accepts calls from within Canada.
Please help us. I want to return Home.

Thank you all in advance.

Recent times for US citizens applying outland sponsorship is more like 3-6 months (maybe a touch more these days). Don't get confused by what CIC posts on their website. See my post in the link below for more explanation:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-pls-help-to-get-me-out-my-situation-thank-you-t252017.0.html;msg3733815#msg3733815

Hence it is recommended for your wife to be sponsored by outland sponsorship. And she can even stay with you in Canada even though she is being sponsored "outland". Many Americans do this with no issue at all. Americans can visit Canada for up to 6-months visa free. And before the 6-months is up, she can file for an extension in Canada to get another 6 months. By that time her application should be done, if not already.

She can't work until her outland application is done but again, the timelines for US citizens is pretty fast.

There is inland sponsorship with a new pilot program that will allow applicants to get a work permit quicker but right now there is little details on how it will work and given the long inland sponsorship times, I cannot recommend an inland sponsorship for Americans.

There are several threads here for US outland applicants with a lot of info. I suggest checking those out for more info.

Good luck!

 

[thewolfs]

I am a Canadian citizen who came to the US to be with my American husband. After 5 years we are now moving to Canada together. From beginning to end, it took 12 months to get his Canadian PR (applied end of November 2013, received beginning of December 2014). We will be moving to Canada next week.

Unless you are certain that your wife can get a work permit in Canada solely through marriage, and before having her PR (I would check government websites regarding this), I would suggest you wait it out in the US and then move when you're all set with the documents. Or just apply from within Canada and have her not work for a year. Registering your kids in a Canadian school would be an issue though I think.

 

[monstergirly]

I am the sponsored US spouse in a similar situation but one step farther along (we just submitted my PR application and we are moving in March regardless of if I have my COPR)... Good luck to you! Happy to share any lessons learned if I can.

So far this board is very helpful! Thanks to keesio, rhcohen2014 and others who respond to all of our questions...

 

[monstergirly]

b) your wife can be IN canada as a visitor when her applicaiton processes. if you move back with your canadian children, she can accompany you and be able to stay while her application processes. crossing the border in this situation may prove tricky as CBSA like to see proof of ties back to the us. she can't appear to be "moving" to canada, even though her family is. there are plenty of couples who can guide you in learning the right language and how to cross the border as a family.

Where can I find these couples? As our end of March move date gets closer and there's no sign of my PR application even being looked at yet, the more anxious I get. We are getting a U-Haul because it's all we can afford!

 

[ruanp28]

Hi guys

Can we move to Canada together, and then once we are there apply inland the next day? According to the new pilot OWP program it should only take about 4 months for my open work permit to arrive. Ater applying for PR, do I have to extend my visitor visa the whole time? (Every 6 months until PR is granted?) Seems like it will just be unneseccary. The current state in our country is driving us to skip outland and get to Canada asap. Pease give some advice the issue with applying outland (we live in South Africa) is proving intention to move to Canada. Weve seen a lot of people rejected due to the VO not "satisfied" that they will return. But, tha last thing we ever want to do is lie at the border. We want to be honest and state that we are going to apply for my OWP and PR while I am in my visitor visa, since there is no shame in doing it like that.

 

[Alurra71]

Hi guys

Can we move to Canada together, and then once we are there apply inland the next day? According to the new pilot OWP program it should only take about 4 months for my open work permit to arrive. Ater applying for PR, do I have to extend my visitor visa the whole time? (Every 6 months until PR is granted?) Seems like it will just be unneseccary. The current state in our country is driving us to skip outland and get to Canada asap. Pease give some advice the issue with applying outland (we live in South Africa) is proving intention to move to Canada. Weve seen a lot of people rejected due to the VO not "satisfied" that they will return. But, tha last thing we ever want to do is lie at the border. We want to be honest and state that we are going to apply for my OWP and PR while I am in my visitor visa, since there is no shame in doing it like that.

So where are you from? Where is your spouse from? Why does the situation in the US have any bearing on you living in South Africa? If you are a US citizen applying Inland is just absolutely crazy. The time it takes to be granted PR is over 2 years. An outland application is surprisingly fast and very minimal waiting. Proving the intention of your sponsor to move back to Canada once you're granted PR is really that big a deal, just a bit of forethought on your part will have you with plenty of information to satisfy that necessity.

 

[Snowisland]

My Canadian husband sponsored me, an American. We mailed our Outland application in October and I received my COPR by mail a few days ago. We had Decision Made in February . So yes, it can be very fast. Look at the USA Outland thread as was suggested and also the September and October threads. Everyone is getting Decision Made and COPR.