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Guidance with sponsoring an american spouse to Canada

canuck_in_uk

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May 4, 2012
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hungrydan39 said:
One thing still escapes me, what happens after the 4-8 months, if its approved does she get her PR, the reason I am confused about this is because when I read about the inland application (which before I thought was the one I should be going with) it had a 2 year processing time to achieve first level of approval in which she would then have to live with me in the country for another 2 years to actually receive her PR, is it different for an outland application besides the processing times, or do I have the wrong information entirely?
You are completely mixing up a bunch of stuff with the inland processing times and Conditional PR, which is completely separate from the actual PR process.

With the outland app, after approval, she will land and become a PR.
 

canadianwoman

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Outland for an American applicant is generally much better. It is faster, for one thing - usually the applicant will get his or her PR within a year.
The PR the applicant gets will usually have Condition 51 on it: this just means that the couple must live together for two years after the applicant becomes a PR. If they break up before then, the PR could be revoked. The person is still a PR during this two-year period - they have the rights of any other PR; for example, they can work, apply for any job a Canadian citizen can (except for a few governmental jobs that require security clearances), can get health care just like a citizen, etc. After the two-year period is up, the person no loonger has this condition attached. If the couple breaks up then, the PR remains a PR and it cannot be revoked for that reason.

So after applying to sponsor outland, the application process might take 4 months to a year. Once it is done and the applicant has a PR visa, he or she enters Canada using this visa and becomes a PR.

If they have applied inland, and have included an application for a work permit, the work permit will usually be awarded about 4 months later. Then the applicant can work, but they are not yet a PR. The processing will continue, and after another year or more they will get their PR visa. They make a landing appointment, and then the person becomes a PR. It can still have conditions on it.

The thing to realize is that for an American, they might get their PR visa in 4 months if they apply outland - usually a bit longer, but it could be that soon. If they apply inland, they might get a work permit after 4 months, but they are still a long way from being a PR. So for most cases, an applicant who applies outland could be a PR and working in not much more time than it would take for the inland applicant just to get a work permit.
 

CDNPR2014

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canadianwoman said:
It is not a disaster to not have photos of the ceremony. You have lots of evidence that your relationship is genuine, so that helps to make up for it. In addition, American and Canadian couples have an easier time getting approved, simply because Americans are not usually suspected of marrying just so they can stay in Canada.

You can apply right away, once you have filled out the forms and gotten the necessary documents.
HA! the way american politics are going these days, this may not be the case for much longer... though it seriously boils my bubbles to see all the memes and articles suggesting people can just move to canada all easy peasy just because they want to. SMH I'd love to sit at the border with a bucket of popcorn and a lawn chair and laugh as these people get turned away or get slapped with exclusion orders for being dumb du dumb dumb duuuuuumb!
 

canadausa#11

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Jan 5, 2016
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CDNPR2014 said:
HA! the way american politics are going these days, this may not be the case for much longer... though it seriously boils my bubbles to see all the memes and articles suggesting people can just move to canada all easy peasy just because they want to. SMH I'd love to sit at the border with a bucket of popcorn and a lawn chair and laugh as these people get turned away or get slapped with exclusion orders for being dumb du dumb dumb duuuuuumb!

A lot of Canadians and Americans who have not looked into immigration at all are under the impression you can move and work between the two at will.
 

bluecanary

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CDNPR2014 said:
HA! the way american politics are going these days, this may not be the case for much longer... though it seriously boils my bubbles to see all the memes and articles suggesting people can just move to canada all easy peasy just because they want to. SMH I'd love to sit at the border with a bucket of popcorn and a lawn chair and laugh as these people get turned away or get slapped with exclusion orders for being dumb du dumb dumb duuuuuumb!
Aw man, do you think they'll really start viewing American applicants differently after the election? We won't be able to apply until sometime after and the thought has crossed my mind, hah. :(
 

CDNPR2014

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bluecanary said:
Aw man, do you think they'll really start viewing American applicants differently after the election? We won't be able to apply until sometime after and the thought has crossed my mind, hah. :(
No, i doubt it. i would think first there would need to be a problem presented. right now, there is no problem.
 

Zake424

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Jul 8, 2015
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Landing on April 18, 2016
I'm an American and my husband is Canadian. I received my COPR [Confirmation of Permanent Resident] in 5 months. We got married at Town Hall and did not have a big ceremony. As long as ya'll have text messages, facebook messages, phone calls, Skype calls, receipts and whatnot when visiting each other then you will be fine. We did not send in a ton of proof. First thing you have to do is get her FBI background check done. It takes about 3 months or so to get that back from the FBI. Also, do the medical exam up front. We filed our application on Sept 9, 2015 and I will be landing as a PR in Canada in 2 weeks. There is a lot to learn about this process but these boards are a godsend and helped me through the process without any problems.
 

hungrydan39

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Mar 28, 2016
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Thank you for all the tips, we finally started the process and she also got approved for her extension, however there has been a family emergency and she has to return home for a week or two, would they give her a hard time at the border coming back to Canada if she has proof she has a visitors visa extension?
 

Ponga

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hungrydan39 said:
Thank you for all the tips, we finally started the process and she also got approved for her extension, however there has been a family emergency and she has to return home for a week or two, would they give her a hard time at the border coming back to Canada if she has proof she has a visitors visa extension?
When she leaves Canada, her status leaves with her, meaning that the visitor extension will be void.

She will be assessed upon re-entry, as all other visitors to Canada are, but with an active sponsorship application submitted, she'll need to know what `Dual Intent' is...and how it is used by CBSA.
 

hungrydan39

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Mar 28, 2016
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So even though we payed for an extension and she has to leave for an emergency she is not allowed to re-enter even though she is approved to be in the country longer?

Edit: We didn't send in the application for sponsorship yet, we just had the application for an FBI background check to get done, so we wait 3 months now to receive that till we can actually send in the spousal sponsorship.
 

Ponga

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hungrydan39 said:
So even though we payed for an extension and she has to leave for an emergency she is not allowed to re-enter even though she is approved to be in the country longer?

Edit: We didn't send in the application for sponsorship yet, we just had the application for an FBI background check to get done, so we wait 3 months now to receive that till we can actually send in the spousal sponsorship.
1. I never said that she is not allowed to re-enter. This will be up to the CBSA officer that examiners her to decide.

2. You should send the sponsorship application now and include a note (with proof) that you're waiting for the FBI IHSR letter. The proof could be a copy of the delivery receipt (assuming you sent it with delivery confirmation).
 

hungrydan39

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Mar 28, 2016
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Okay and when I get the FBI check from them do I just send it along to them to be added to the sponsorship application?
 

Aquakitty

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hungrydan39 said:
Okay and when I get the FBI check from them do I just send it along to them to be added to the sponsorship application?
Yes, make sure you put a note in the application that you are waiting on the PCC, and provide a payment receipt as proof. Bring proof of the PR application just to be safe.

You can use the same VR to cross the border. If the border guard was a total jerk, they could void it, but usually they are less strict about the situation when you have a VR.
 

Ponga

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Aquakitty said:
Yes, make sure you put a note in the application that you are waiting on the PCC, and provide a payment receipt as proof. Bring proof of the PR application just to be safe.

You can use the same VR to cross the border. If the border guard was a total jerk, they could void it, but usually they are less strict about the situation when you have a VR.
The OP has a visitor extension submitted to CIC, but has not heard back yet. Are you saying that this is the same as a VR that CBSA would have issued?
 

hungrydan39

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Mar 28, 2016
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Ponga said:
The OP has a visitor extension submitted to CIC, but has not heard back yet. Are you saying that this is the same as a VR that CBSA would have issued?
We got the reply for the extension and it was approved. What are these abbreviations, VR, PCC, CBSA?