Jonoscc said:
I was born in Canada, my wife and kids are american and we need to move to Canada at the end of the month. For some reason I was under the impression I could move my family to Canada and then begin to apply for PR. We already have a house and need to be out of our house in the states. The moving truck will come separate with a company. Can I take my chances and claim to be visiting my parents? Or do I need to stay in the states for 15 to 24 months and wait for some kind of status?
YOU are a canadian citizen. so assuming you have a canadian passport, YOU can move to canada and settle there. You are not going to be seen as a visitor. As mentioned in your other post, your kids are technically canadian citizens and you need to apply for their certificate of citizenship, because i think they will be seen as visitors until that is processed. It's your wife that can only go in as a visitor at this point. She can not go as a visitor for 15-24 months. First of all, US outland applications are taking an average of 8-10 months to process. Do not go by the CIC website. All us applicants go to OTtawa visa office unless there is a siginifant problem with the application. If there is a question of the validity of the relationship or criminal issues with the applicant, then it will be transferred back to LA.
If you apply inland, the processing takes twice as long. I am not sure how it works with applying inland when the applicant's status is a visitor. Once her status as a visitor expires, and she stays, she is there illegally. During an inland application, your wife will not be able to leave canada at all, and even if you guys leave to go on vacation together, she can be denied re-entry and her applicaiton will be cancelled. There will be senior members to give advice as to whether it's a good idea to apply this way and what the risks are.
Your wife can technically be a visitor for 6 mo., and it is completly dependant on the border officer she deals with. They will want to see significant ties to the us as well as plans to apply for PR. Once in Canada as a visitor, she can apply to extend her stay for up to a year. Again, the length of extension is in the hands of CIC who processes the extension request. Some people have applied for a year, and get 6 mo. There are many people who have received extensions for the entirety of the application process. At this point, you and your wife need to start the leg work for getting her application submitted. The sooner the better.
