Exclusion Order/ Temp Resident Visa/Spousal Sponsorship - OH MY!

[rhcohen78]

Hello,
I am a US citizen, and my boyfriend is a Canadian citizen. Last December I was issued an exclusion order for 1 year, and have since stayed away from Canada. We are ready to take our relationship to the next level and are planning the next stages in our life. As it is almost time for the exclusion order to be lifted, we are confused on how to do things “the right way” this time around. Here are my questions:
What type of entry should I be applying for next? Do I go for a temporary resident visa first THEN apply for a spousal sponsorship once that expires? Or do we just start with the spousal sponsorship? If we are married, will I be able to stay in Canada while the application is under review? Will I be free to come back to the US during this time to see family?

I am so confused and really don’t want to get into any more trouble with CIC and have our lives be put on hold again.

Thanks for any advice or resources you can share!

 

[scylla]

If I were in your shoes, I would submit an outland sponsorship application before you try re-entering Canada. Ideally wait until the application has been submitted AND you boyfriend has been approved as a sponsor before re-entering. Given you already have the history of an exclusion order (i.e. are flagged in the system), there's a good chance you'll be questioned during future border crossings and may run into trouble again. If you can bring proof that you have submitted a sponsorship application and paid all fees, this will demonstrate that you are working to make your status in Canada legal. (Note that to sumbit the sponsorship application, you and your boyfriend must either be married or common law.)

Assuming you are allowed into Canada, you will have the status of a visitor. This means that you will likely be allowed to stay for six months. After that, you will have to apply for an extension to be allowed to stay longer. As for leaving and returning while the application is being processed, each time you re-enter Canada you will have to pass through immigration all over again and be accepted as a visitor to this country from scratch. So ideally you should keep these trips to a minimum since there's always a chance you could be refused entry.