Have questions about spousal sponsorship

[Christmarie]

Some back story:
My boyfriend and I have decided that we are going to get married. I would like to be with him after we do. I would like to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. I have some questions. I've been researching this for a while. I am from USA and my boyfriend is Canadian, he is going to sponsor me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I plan on applying for inland and getting a OWP. I plan on coming over on a vistor visa and we plan on getting married then, after that we plan on applying for the sponsorship.

1. When we get married, should I change my name? Does this matter on the forms?

I need to know because I will probably have to come back to USA to gather new documents.

2. How to provide proof of living together?

We will only be living together for a month or so before marriage because we have been in a long distance relationship.

3. How long does inland spousal take?

I've seen it takes about 12 months, is this accurate?

4. Will us not being together in person for long amounts of time matter?

We talk every day, video chat daily. There is plenty of proof to show our love is real, not just to get into Canada.

5. Can we get married and apply as soon as we get our marriage certificate?

 

[Ncik]

Hey there,
It does not matter whether or not you change your name, you just have to use whatever name you choose in all forms then.
The proof of cohabitation is going to be tricky because you will not be living together for a month (which is a necessity for common laws, not sure if married applies the same)
It only matters if you leave the country for an extended amount of time after you started your application because then they might dismiss it (because your not inland anymore)
roughly 12 months should be accurate, you will be able to find the older threads here too and see how long it took people.
You should be able to apply as soon as you are officially married yes.

Best of luck

 

[Christmarie]

Hey there,
It does not matter whether or not you change your name, you just have to use whatever name you choose in all forms then.
The proof of cohabitation is going to be tricky because you will not be living together for a month (which is a necessity for common laws, not sure if married applies the same)
It only matters if you leave the country for an extended amount of time after you started your application because then they might dismiss it (because your not inland anymore)
roughly 12 months should be accurate, you will be able to find the older threads here too and see how long it took people.
You should be able to apply as soon as you are officially married yes.

Best of luck

Great! Thank yous and thank you for the insight!

 

[Bagofnails]

I can't answer all of these questions, there are more senior members who will be able to advise, but I will put my two cents in where I can.

Some back story:
My boyfriend and I have decided that we are going to get married. I would like to be with him after we do. I would like to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. I have some questions. I've been researching this for a while. I am from USA and my boyfriend is Canadian, he is going to sponsor me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I plan on applying for inland and getting a OWP. I plan on coming over on a vistor visa and we plan on getting married then, after that we plan on applying for the sponsorship.

1. When we get married, should I change my name? Does this matter on the forms? I need to know because I will probably have to come back to USA to gather new documents.

I would imagine that you would need to change your name in the state in which you are located. My wife and I were married in BC but she is from Australia originally. We had to wait until we were back in Australia for her to change her name.

In theory you could go back and change your name, but then you would need to update all of your documentation (drivers license, state ID, passport etc) to reflect your new name. It may pay to wait until you've applied and been approved in order to change your name. You could explain in a statement on the nature, history and development of your relationship that this is what you are planning to do. Just a thought.

2. How to provide proof of living together?

If you have never lived together you can't prove this. If you start to live together make sure both you and your partner are on the lease, utility/cable/internet bills.

We will only be living together for a month or so before marriage because we have been in a long distance relationship.

Have you met in person at all as of yet?

3. How long does inland spousal take? - I've seen it takes about 12 months, is this accurate?

This spreadsheet is a life saver. You can check and see what the average inland processing times are. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Gm315tmNKWoywb7PwZBiE67fUmznYQrNhYVWXPXXJBw/edit#gid=121381705

4. Will us not being together in person for long amounts of time matter?

I can't answer that, but explaining why you can't or haven't been together may help.

5. Can we get married and apply as soon as we get our marriage certificate?

I would assume so? But I think there is a lot more that goes into proving you and your partner are in a genuine relationship than a marriage certificate.

I am by no means an expert, but just sharing some insight and advice given to my wife and I. We've applied outland and are still awaiting AOR.

Hopefully some more senior members can chime in and help you out

 

[Christmarie]

I can't answer all of these questions, there are more senior members who will be able to advise, but I will put my two cents in where I can.

Some back story:
My boyfriend and I have decided that we are going to get married. I would like to be with him after we do. I would like to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. I have some questions. I've been researching this for a while. I am from USA and my boyfriend is Canadian, he is going to sponsor me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I plan on applying for inland and getting a OWP. I plan on coming over on a vistor visa and we plan on getting married then, after that we plan on applying for the sponsorship.



I would imagine that you would need to change your name in the state in which you are located. My wife and I were married in BC but she is from Australia originally. We had to wait until we were back in Australia for her to change her name.

In theory you could go back and change your name, but then you would need to update all of your documentation (drivers license, state ID, passport etc) to reflect your new name. It may pay to wait until you've applied and been approved in order to change your name. You could explain in a statement on the nature, history and development of your relationship that this is what you are planning to do. Just a thought.



If you have never lived together you can't prove this. If you start to live together make sure both you and your partner are on the lease, utility/cable/internet bills.



Have you met in person at all as of yet?



This spreadsheet is a life saver. You can check and see what the average inland processing times are. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Gm315tmNKWoywb7PwZBiE67fUmznYQrNhYVWXPXXJBw/edit#gid=121381705



I can't answer that, but explaining why you can't or haven't been together may help.



I would assume so? But I think there is a lot more that goes into proving you and your partner are in a genuine relationship than a marriage certificate.

I am by no means an expert, but just sharing some insight and advice given to my wife and I. We've applied outland and are still awaiting AOR.

Hopefully some more senior members can chime in and help you out

Thank you for your input! I will check that list, that helps a lot with seeing how long it might take. We have met in person, we will see eachother about 2 - 4 more times before doing this. He is coming here and I am going there. I will probably wait until after to change my last name so it makes it easier for the both of us. We plan on putting my name on the Bill's and also opening a joint bank account.