Canadian marrying an American

[adanna]

Hi,

Wondering if someone can help with some questions that I have about immigration process and border crossings. I am in a same sex relationship since 2010 and my partner and I are planning on getting married very soon. I live in Quebec and she lives in West Virginia and we plan to marry in Ontario while she will be here on vacation. Since in Quebec there is a 20 day waiting period, we decided to get married in Ontario so we could begin the immigration process sooner rather then later. My first question is after we are married, will she be able to continue visiting me in Canada and will I be able to visit her in the USA without any special forms or visas? What do we say at the border and what do we need to bring with us as we are traveling?

Second question: I have read that for spousal sponsorship, medical inadmissibility is waivered under the excessive demand on the health system. My partner has a kidney disease where maybe one day she might need dialysis, but that is not the case right now, she takes half a blood pressure pill, is stable, and works Mon- Fri, and takes care of her mother. My question is would this kind of disease cause a problem with her immigrating to Canada?

These are my two major questions, however I might have more in the future.

Any help with this would be great, since there is not that much information on this on the CIC website.

Thank you!!

 

[DuberBlue]

Hello Adanna

The US is a visa-exempt country, so there would generally be no issues with back-and-forth visits, even extended stays. An American can cross the border and stay up to 6 months in Canada, and you can apply to extend that. Your partner will likely receive a visitor record at the border if she declares she is staying longer than, say, a few weeks. If she is applying outland (as my American wife did) she will continue to have freedom of movement, assuming no other red flags are present (criminal record, etc).

As far as the medical question goes, I'm afraid I'm not an expert to speak to that exact situation. I don't believe it is "waivered" in the sense that you don't need to have one done (you still do!). I don't personally feel that your partner's situation is likely to cause a serious problem with the immigration process since they seem to be looking for the more "contagious" type ailments, such as Syphillis and HIV (which is why they administer the blood test, as was explained to my wife). Still, someone else may have better advice than me on that matter

Good luck to you!

 

[screech339]

As for the medical side of the sponsorship, I don't think it would be an issue. They are more looking for health issues that is a treat to the general population such as active TB. Even though they did mention if applicant will cause undue stress on health care system, I don't think really enforce that rule. It would be pretty rare to get denied on that basis. If you were ever denied, you can appeal the decision since you apply outland and probably win the appeal.

Screech339