Will partially depend on what his crime would be in the Canadian criminal code. This is a very specific situation and complex situation so your lawyer will have the best information and advice. You always have the option to live in his home country. Knowing he had a criminal record and had spent years in a U.S. prison and the repercussions of being a felon most have come up when dating or having before children. Did you meet online? You seem to have only lived in the same place from 2016-2018. Although I don’t think vacationing is a great idea due to Covid, you are able to travel and have been able to do so for quite a long time and travel to reunite with a spouse and to reunite a father with his young children is very different than travel for leisure reasons . If you are trying to sponsor a spouse it is quite important that you continue to meet in person throughout the process so you can show that the relationship continues and that your spouse is taking an active role in parenting. He may not have even met all the children in person?