Yesterday I received an "Allowed to Leave Canada" form when I tried to enter by car through the Peace Bridge border. I received this form because I misinterpreted what it meant to be a Visitor. In June of 2013 I went to Canada to be with my fiancee in attempt to become common law so that he may sponsor me for permanent residence. We returned to the United States in December at Christmas time, and back into Canada no problem. I was under the impression that I had to leave the country every 6 months in order to maintain my status in the country as a visitor. I did not work or study illegally. On March 13 2014, I left Canada and entered the United States and when I attempted to enter Canada again yesterday, the 17th, I received the Allowed to Leave Canada form. I was given a sheet of paper by the officer outlining things that I should provide should I attempt to enter Canada again. Proof of residence, proof of employment / studying, sufficient funds for my trip, proof of intention to leave Canada (return tickets). Admittedly, I am very young, only 21 years old. My permanent residence in the United States is with my parents, and I terminated my part time employment and put my education on hold to try to become common-law with my fiancee in Canada. I would like to enter Canada again, with a return ticket and sufficient funds for my trip (I do NOT want to break the law, I wasn't aware I was breaking the law). How long should I wait? What are things I can bring to prove my ties to the United States?
HELP! Allowed to Leave Canada form
- Thread starter longobongo
- Start date
You have been basically refused admission to Canada. This has been noted in your record and will be viewable to any IO anytime you show up at the border. The officer has caught on that you are trying to become common-law with your BF and has put a stop to that. In order for you to come back, you will need to prove strong ties to the US. All the proofs required. This means getting a job in the states and coming to visit on your vacation. with return tickets and proof of enough funds to support yourself. Even after proving all of this there is no gurantee that the IO will let you in.longobongo said:
Unfortunately, you trying to be common-law is dead for now. You get to start back from square 1 on that count. Since immigration has it on record that they denied you entry on X date, any time before that date will not be counted towards your common-law time.
Thank you for your swift response. We were holding out on getting married until it was better for us financially, so that our families could be present and we would be able to plan the wedding that we wanted. We didn't realize that the cost to this was us being together at all. It would be possible for me to establish a job here and I could receive a letter from my employer that I was permitted to take unpaid vacation from x time until x time (I'm in the process of being rehired by my past employer). Would it be possible for me to enter the country (with a return ticket!) and for us to marry, and for me to leave when my ticket is booked for (say 2 weeks). Would I have an easier time visiting back and forth as his wife?
Thank you again!
Thank you again!
This is not true. If OP's fiancee were to come to the US in the next week or 2 and live with her until June, they would hit the one year mark and be common-law. If they are apart for more than 3 weeks or so, then it would be seen as a break in the continuity and the previous common-law time would no longer count.txboyscout said:
The officer at the border did tell me that trying to obtain common-law status while I do not have any legal status in Canada is not possible. Since I was a "visitor" who was not technically visiting, we would not be granted common-law status, unfortunately.canuck_in_uk said:
Thank you for your response
Anyone have any idea how long I should wait before I attempt to re-enter Canada? I intend to have a letter from my employer, proof that I can support myself (cash?), and hopefully a lease. If I could complete these things come mid-April would it be okay to attempt to re-enter then? Should I wait longer?
IMO, a few months. If you are on unpaid leave, to me it is the same as not having a job. It is entirely up to the IO that you encounter if they will let you in. Can't your boyfriend come to the states and marry you and then file for sponsorship?longobongo said:The officer at the border did tell me that trying to obtain common-law status while I do not have any legal status in Canada is not possible. Since I was a "visitor" who was not technically visiting, we would not be granted common-law status, unfortunately.
Thank you for your response
Anyone have any idea how long I should wait before I attempt to re-enter Canada? I intend to have a letter from my employer, proof that I can support myself (cash?), and hopefully a lease. If I could complete these things come mid-April would it be okay to attempt to re-enter then? Should I wait longer?
COMPLETELY WRONG!! I really hate it when officials are so stupid. Visitor status is a legal status in Canada. There are many, many, MANY people on this forum who have become common-law while staying in Canada as a visitor. In fact, quite a few people apply to extend their visitor status by specifically saying that they want to become common-law with their Canadian partner. CIC has no issue with this and the time as a visitor is definitely counted towards becoming common-law.longobongo said:
The IO is correct. CIC has usually overlooked people trying to become common-law while staying on a visitor's status but that does not meet that you have a legal right to an extension of visitor's visa for this purpose. In this case, the IO denied her entry because he was trying to prevent an application for PR based on common-law down the road. The IO had the right to make that decision and so they did not do anything wrongcanuck_in_uk said:
Did you even read the posts? I never said that the Border Officer was wrong in refusing her entry. OP made some mistakes that led to her refusal.txboyscout said:
The Border Officer told her that visitor status is not a legal status in Canada. WRONG.
The Border Officer told her that time in Canada as a visitor does not count towards common-law status. WRONG.
The OP was refused entry by the CBSA, not by CIC. She was refused because the CBSA officer believed she was trying to move to Canada as a visitor. It had nothing to do with preventing her from being common-law in order to submit an immigration application.
As for CIC, they grant visitor extensions based solely on the fact that people want to become common-law with their partners in Canada, so it is pretty obvious that they aren't trying to prevent it from happening. The above poster did exactly that without issue.
No one ever has "the legal right to an extension" but CIC accepts becoming common-law as a valid reason to extend visitor status.
I was considered a resident without status. I was told that to be a visitor, your intention in the country has to be to visit. My question is, will they let me back into the country? A resident without status is just an illegal immigrant, right? Is my only option for him to come here, marry me, and sponsor me out of country? Thanks for your posts.
Yes, the CBSA officer decided that you had essentially moved to Canada without having the right; this wasn't a wrong decision, as it's a very fine line between "visiting long-term to eventually apply for PR" and "moving". You aren't the first to face this, it has happened to many others. However, you were not without status or illegal.longobongo said:
Give it a few months, get a job, a lease, enroll in school etc. With sufficient proof of strong ties to the US, there is a fair chance they will let you in again. Make sure you have a return ticket back to the US.
For PR, getting married and applying for sponsorship outland seems to be your best option. If your partner is unable to come to the US immediately and live with you until at least June, you would need to re-start the one year count to become common-law. This puts any potential common-law sponsorship app around 1.5 years away, at least, plus around another year for the app to process. If you get married soon and submit the sponsorship app right after, you would be a PR much sooner.
CBSA is fairly lenient about allowing entry as a visitor to people being sponsored by their Canadian spouse. With ties to the US and proof of the submitted sponsorship app, you have a good chance of entry. Once inside, if you are wanting to extend your stay as a visitor, apply online instead of going to the border.
I was actually invited to a wedding in Sudbury over the weekend of May 3rd. Do you think that's enough time to establish myself, warranting a 4-5 day trip. If I have proof of employment, the wedding invitation, a copy of a lease, a return ticket and enough money for the weekend?
Thank you all so much for your responses.
Thank you all so much for your responses.
mAY 3RD is about 6 weeks from the time you were denied entry into Canada. In my personal opnion, that is not enough time to show you have established yourself in the States. However, it depends on the officer you encounter. They may decide to let you in or they may deny you entry again. It is up to you to decide if that is a risk you want to takelongobongo said: