Family in USA to Canada?

[mskristac]

Hello

Ive been researching a bit online and was wondering if I could get some help. My husband and I (along with our 13 month old son) live in the USA. My husband was born and raised in Canada. He moved to the USA to be with me 10+ years ago and has since become a US citizen but is still a Canadian citizen.

We are thinking of moving to Nova Scotia to be near his family now that we have a child and I was wondering a) what the process would be, b) how long it would take and c) how expensive it would be. We would want to stay together as a family during processing.

Am I correct that he could sponsor both me and my son while living in the USA and that I would just need to apply for permanent residency? I believe that my son is a dual-citizen beings he was born to a Canadian.. but I could be wrong.

Thanks for much for any insight or help.

 

[AAL1984]

Yes, your son is a dual citizen since his father was born in Canada. You don't have to sponsor the kid or anytihng, simply go to the CIC website and get an application for his Canadian citizenship certificate, you can use that to make his passport.

As for you, if you really want to move to Canada you can have your husband sponsor you. Do an outland application it is much faster, you can do that even if you are living in Canada. Costs about $2,000 with the landing fee and everything, you don't have to pay the landing fee right away. The basic process fee is around $575, just check out the CIC website,- family sponsorship, -outland. You can file your application at any Canadian consulate in the States, just use Buffalo since it is close to the border.

Just check out the family sponsorship section of this website.

 

[computergeek]

Start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

US Specific application information is here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3910e.pdf

This will provide you with the applications and what-not that must be completed as part of sponsorship. The application fee is $550 ($75 for sponsor, $475 for applicant.) The Right of Permanent Residence Fee is $490. If you can pay it with your application, it will save you 6-8 weeks off the processing time (because they will ask you to pay it later, and that will take a while for them to get back to your application.)

You will also need a medical examination by a designated medical practitioner. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/dmp-md/medical.aspx for a listing of doctors authorized to do immigration physicals. This should be done just before you send in your application. A medical exam can cost from $200-500 from what people have reported. In general, these are cheaper to obtain in Canada.

The other thing to do (because it has the longest lead time) is to obtain your FBI clearance letter. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp The FBI clearance letter can take as much as 3-4 months (my last request took six weeks, from the time I sent it to the time I received it. I used FedEx both there AND back, and I provided them with the credit card authorization form so I could tell when they had processed my application.) While some people send this form in later (after stage 1 approval of the sponsor and AOR from Buffalo for the actual application,) I prefer to submit a complete application (fewer things for them to lose and to go wrong.) However, once you have that FBI clearance letter, you want to send in your application ASAP - that letter must be less than 90 days old.

Good luck on your application!

 

[mskristac]

This will provide you with the applications and what-not that must be completed as part of sponsorship. The application fee is $550 ($75 for sponsor, $475 for applicant.) The Right of Permanent Residence Fee is $490. If you can pay it with your application, it will save you 6-8 weeks off the processing time (because they will ask you to pay it later, and that will take a while for them to get back to your application.)

Good luck on your application!

Thanks for the help; both of you! On average, how long would we be looking after submitting our application? Couple months or so? What is a landing fee?

 

[muffy1]

@AAL1984-

If you're living in the States, you can use an FBI-approved channeler to complete the police clearance certificate (aka background check)
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks/fbi-approved-channelers

Depending upon the company you use, I was able to get mine within one week the first time. However, those docs were "lost in the mail" and then I had them done a second time. Got it same day.

Hope that info helps a bit

Start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

US Specific application information is here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3910e.pdf

This will provide you with the applications and what-not that must be completed as part of sponsorship. The application fee is $550 ($75 for sponsor, $475 for applicant.) The Right of Permanent Residence Fee is $490. If you can pay it with your application, it will save you 6-8 weeks off the processing time (because they will ask you to pay it later, and that will take a while for them to get back to your application.)

You will also need a medical examination by a designated medical practitioner. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/dmp-md/medical.aspx for a listing of doctors authorized to do immigration physicals. This should be done just before you send in your application. A medical exam can cost from $200-500 from what people have reported. In general, these are cheaper to obtain in Canada.

The other thing to do (because it has the longest lead time) is to obtain your FBI clearance letter. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp The FBI clearance letter can take as much as 3-4 months (my last request took six weeks, from the time I sent it to the time I received it. I used FedEx both there AND back, and I provided them with the credit card authorization form so I could tell when they had processed my application.) While some people send this form in later (after stage 1 approval of the sponsor and AOR from Buffalo for the actual application,) I prefer to submit a complete application (fewer things for them to lose and to go wrong.) However, once you have that FBI clearance letter, you want to send in your application ASAP - that letter must be less than 90 days old.

Good luck on your application!

 

[PMM]

Hi

@ AAL1984-

If you're living in the States, you can use an FBI-approved channeler to complete the police clearance certificate (aka background check)
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks/fbi-approved-channelers

Depending upon the company you use, I was able to get mine within one week the first time. However, those docs were "lost in the mail" and then I had them done a second time. Got it same day.

Hope that info helps a bit

You may wish to read this from the FBI site"

Note: An FBI-approved Channeler cannot authenticate (apostille) fingerprint search results. A request for your FBI Identification Record or proof that a record does not exist must be submitted directly to the FBI if an authentication (apostille) is needed.

 

[muffy1]

I called VO to verify that, yes, you are able to use channeler.

 

[mskristac]

Says Buffalo processing time is 11 months. Sponsoship is 55 days.. so we'd be looking at about a year before we could move (where I could legally work, etc)?

 

[computergeek]

If you can find an employer willing to sponsor you, then you can work on a work permit prior to obtaining PR. While I haven't seen anyone mention this, if you are a US Citizen and you qualify in one of the dozens of NAFTA categories it is quite easy to obtain Canadian employment because an employer does not need to obtain an LMO ("Labour Market Opinion" letter, which basically says you aren't taking a job away from an existing Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident. The US does the same thing for work visas as well.) The US equivalent for a NAFTA work permit is known as a TN visa (Canadian Citizens can do the same thing - show up at the US border and pick up their TN visa.)

For example, I have a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. That is one of the NAFTA categories - any job that requires a BA in Mathematics means that I would qualify under the terms of NAFTA. A NAFTA work permit may be issued for up to three years at a time (and can be renewed, although some categories, such as "intra-company transferee" have limits on how long they may be renewed.) Best part is you show up at the border with your employment offer, documentation that it fits into a NAFTA category, $200 (which can be paid by credit card) and they issue you a work permit on the spot. I picked mine up at the Vancouver airport and the longest part of the process was waiting in the line. The actual work permit was issued in about 15-20 minutes.

Another option, again seldom discussed that I've seen, is that while there is a prohibition against being employed, there is no actual prohibition against doing business. If you are comfortable doing contract work, nobody will care. Further, being married to a Canadian Citizen, you can have your spouse file the paperwork for a business (whether as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation) and you can do the work. In theory, there's nothing that actually prevents your Canadian spouse from getting an LMO for you to work for her/his company, either. Or you can just work and not get paid for it (since then you aren't technically employed.)

Some people aren't comfortable without employment, which is fine as well. But if you're creative, you can find ways to bring in income for your family without violating the laws.

 

[luckcy]

Thank you all so much for the information.
Our case is similar to mskristac. My husband just got his Canadian citizenship certificate.
I have a few questions.
1. Does my husband need a Canadian passport?
2. Do I need a medical examination before application?
3. Can the application fee of $550 and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee of $490 be put in one check ?
4. I have lived in US for 6 years and am now a US citizen. Do I need another country’s clearance letter?
I got a clearance letter from the other country when I became a US resident, can I use this clearance letter now (plus the FBI letter)?
5. For some reasons, we will move to Canada in January 2013. Which is the better application for us: The outland or inland application?
6. How many forms, in total, do we need to fill out?
7. When is the best time to get my FBI clearance letter?

 

[CharlieD10]

Thank you all so much for the information.
Our case is similar to mskristac. My husband just got his Canadian citizenship certificate.
I have a few questions.
1. Does my husband need a Canadian passport?
2. Do I need a medical examination before application?
3. Can the application fee of $550 and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee of $490 be put in one check ?
4. I have lived in US for 6 years and am now a US citizen. Do I need another country's clearance letter?
I got a clearance letter from the other country when I became a US resident, can I use this clearance letter now (plus the FBI letter)?
5. For some reasons, we will move to Canada in January 2013. Which is the better application for us: The outland or inland application?
6. How many forms, in total, do we need to fill out?
7. When is the best time to get my FBI clearance letter?

1. Yes, he will need to provide a copy as part of the sponsor's documents.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. You must have a police certificate from every country you spent 6 months or more in since the age of 18. No, you may not use the one done when you became a US resident, police clearances must be issued no more than 90 days before the application is submitted.
5. Outland is faster for US citizens.
6. See here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp
7. Get the FBI application in when you are sure you will have everything ready to go within the next 60-90 days.

 

[luckcy]

Thank you CharlieD10.

 

[luckcy]

In the Guide 3900 it shows where to mail.
cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp

Sponsorship: ( Type of sponsorship*)
Case Processing Centre ─ Mississauga
P.O. Box 3000, Station A
Mississauga, Ontario
L5A 4N6

 

[scylla]

In the Guide 3900 it shows where to mail.
cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp

Sponsorship: ( Type of sponsorship*)
Case Processing Centre ─ Mississauga
P.O. Box 3000, Station A
Mississauga, Ontario
L5A 4N6

Yes - you should follow those instructions.

Do you have a question about them? (Sorry - it's not clear from what you've written.)

 

[can_usa_97]

We've just done this recently.

There are other costs to note that you may not have thought about-we thought about most but others we hadn't really expected to be as high (the hydro deposit or the unexpected brakes thing (the US has very different standards apparently!)

Are you bringing vehicles with you?
- we brought two which ended up costing 100 to plate +260 to import + 100 inspection = 560x2 = 920, then one needed day running lights and the other required new brakes to pass the provincial testing which was $280 and $630 so our cars ended up being $1830 to bring (way better than a new one here considering we owned them, and they were newer and in great shape (another 15 years probably on them)

It was then another $200 for us to get our drivers license.

Movers? moving truck? Ours from WI to Ontario ended up being just over 2,000 (this included gas for our one vehicle - my husband had moved a month before the kids and I and took one car at that time)

Initial costs when you arrive like deposits on rental, for cable, phone, water, ect. (we had to pay first and last month rent for our specific place ( 2400 ) and we didn't get a phoneline but rather majicjack which was $100, or cable we got a boxee for $150 instead. We did have to pay however a hefty $300 deposit for our hydro.

Our kids (2) certificates of citizenship ran us around $300 due to the fact we needed my husbands proof of citizenship as well before we could do theirs.

We lost around 700 in transferring our funds from the US to CA

Our gap insurance for the three months without OHIP was 1700.

The possibility of needing an accountant the first tax year. We just forked over $750 for our US/Canada taxes to be done and remember your whole family will need to file for the rest of their lives.

I know I'm missing something! I can't remember. Not meant to deter you just things I wish I'd known fully, we expected and anticipated most but seeing 10K go out the window having already spent 2K on the application was no fun and another 10K on our house sale (though I'm glad we took that-it's been 7 months soon for me and a neighbors house is STILL for sale and lower than ours was sold at-we'd have spent 7 months double paying)