Canadian PR marrying US H1B holder

[sparkle]

Hello,

I am a canadian PR (Since April, 2009). My fiance is in USA on H1B Visa. We are getting married in August. I want to know what would be the ideal and best option for us in order for me to maintain my PR and for him to get the PR status as well? I live very close to the border, however he is about 1 hour away. We both want to keep our jobs, and so the ideal situation would be for us to move somewhere midway which would have to be in US.
I was a student here and therefore if I continue to stay in Canada until April 2011, I will be eligible to get citizenship and also satisfy my 2 yrs out of 5 yrs condition to maintain my PR for another 5 years I guess.
If I live in US, but come and work in Canada daily, can that still count as a day in Canada?
For my fiance to maintain his PR, does he need to stay in Canada right away or can he complete those 2 yrs sometime later (2013/2014). Our main concern is to live together for now, and keep our jobs.
Please suggest !

 

[RobsLuv]

As a PR you have to be residing in Canada in order to be eligible to sponsor him for PR. You cannot move to the US.

To maintain your PR status you have to be resident in Canada for at least 2 years in every 5 year period, and time spent residing outside of Canada does not count towards citizenship.

As far as your husband-to-be: as long as he is living with you, he maintains his PR status, but because your status requires you to be in Canada for 2 of every 5 years, it will be the same for him - at least until you become a citizen. But if he intends to become a citizen, too, he'll have to live in Canada for at least 3 years. Time in Canada prior to getting PR status can only count for a maximum of one year - he'd have to live exclusively in Canada for at least 2 years (and maybe 3 if he doesn't live in Canada with legal temporary status at any time prior to getting PR) after getting PR in order to qualify to apply for citizenship.

There's really not much hope of the two of you living together and both being able to work before he gets PR. If he was admitted to the States initially for a period of at least one year, he is eligible to apply through Buffalo, though, and they're processing spousal PR aps in 4-9 months time. That's maybe faster than it would be through his country's embassy. You can check here - countries and visa offices, and processing times for visa offices. If it's faster processing through his country's visa office, he can still go through there but if an interview is required, he'd have to travel there.

 

[sparkle]

Thank you so much for your reply.

As far as completing the residence requirement is concerned, I was thinking if I could keep a residential address here in Canada, but would it be possible or rather advisable for me to live in US and then travel everyday. I would still keep my address as Canadian, although technically I would be in Canada just for the time I work.

We were thinking of getting a tourist visa for him for now, and then apply for his sponsorship once we're married. The question is, can he still visit me on his tourist visa while his sponsorship application is in process?

Thanks.