Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby?

[OntarioBound]

I am a US citizen living in Northern California and my husband lives near Toronto (West coast to East coast distance - very far apart). I am resigning from my current position at the beginning of April (I have already given notice to my boss) and am planning to move close to him or just stay with him until PR is granted. (I just received our AOR and SA (Outland app), so I am hoping I will get my PR by this fall.)

I was initially thinking of moving all my furniture in a storage in Buffalo, NY (2 hours away from where he lives) and rent an apartment there, and drive in to Canada (with my car after I apply for the new NY DL and license plate) to stay with my hubby for one month at a time (come back once a month to get mail, go to Dr's etc), but the rental for the apartment will be around $800 a month, which is not too high (compared to the California standard), but it's still $800 a month that I'd rather save than spend (since it's not like I will be there but a couple of days a month at most.) Now, I am toying with the idea that maybe I can just say the immigration officer at the airport that I am renting a room from a friend (who lives 7 hours away from me, but a very good friend who would let me stay with her) and just fly into Canada, saying I have a room at my friend's apartment I can go back to if I need to?

I know people have used relatives addresses saying they stay there? I have no relatives in the US, so I cannot think of any better way to do this, really? I realize CIC wants to make sure I have a return ticket and have employment and have utility bills or rental agreement with an US address etc, but I won't have any of these things, except for a return ticket that I could get 4 months or 5 months in advance although I am not sure what that would help for anything. (I am in my 50's and I have a lot of money in my retirement account and also in my bank accounts, to last me for decades, however.) Can't I just stay with my hubby for a few months under these conditions?

Any comments, ideas, feedback, sharing of your own experience, etc, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Re: Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby without an apartment?

You wouldn't be able to move your belongings in, but you don't have to do one month at a time. Read this - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent - the article generally is aimed at Brits but the logic is identical for Americans as well. So I'd suggest instead just shoving yourself in a storage locker, cheapest you can find, and then going to Canada as a visitor. If you do everything as outlined in that link you will be fine. Read the section on extending your stay as well. You should be pretty well sorted.

Hope that helps!

 

[bigredmoose]

Re: Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby without an apartment?

Bummer - I was thinking it'd be fun to rent your apartment for a few nights here and there while visiting Buffalo over the summer!

 

[OntarioBound]

Re: Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby without an apartment?

Bummer - I was thinking it'd be fun to rent your apartment for a few nights here and there while visiting Buffalo over the summer!

Too funny!!

 

[OntarioBound]

Re: Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby without an apartment?

You wouldn't be able to move your belongings in, but you don't have to do one month at a time. Read this - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent - the article generally is aimed at Brits but the logic is identical for Americans as well. So I'd suggest instead just shoving yourself in a storage locker, cheapest you can find, and then going to Canada as a visitor. If you do everything as outlined in that link you will be fine. Read the section on extending your stay as well. You should be pretty well sorted.

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much for the link! Very good information!

So let's say I bring all the paperwork the link mentions to the immigration officer at the airport... (I am picturing myself there..) Am I supposed to say something like "I would like to enter Canada as a visitor while my application for PR is in progress"?? If I say that, they might give me some kind of note saying I can stay in Canada up to 6 months? How does that work?

Anybody know?

Would I get a return ticket that is like 5 months away?

Also, I may need to drive over the border to go see doctors (I will have US health coverage during my stay in Canada). I am thinking of renting a car to get out and to get back in (since I won't have a vehicle while in Canada). Would that be OK? (I will have my California driver's license.0

So many questions floating in my head :-o

I would appreciate any comments.

 

[OntarioBound]

Re: Help needed - Should I move to Buffalo or stay with hubby without an apartment?

Also, I think I read somewhere that some US citizens got a thing called Visitor Record? Should I ask for that if I were intending to stay in Canada with my hubby for a few months?

 

[Evadyrrehs]

Putting your household goods in storage other than if you have sentimental stuff or expensive antiques could be very costly for a move from Cali to Buff NY. I'd sell and liquidate if it was me and buy stuff again once settled in Canada, plus your husband's place must already be furnished and okay for now?

Also you can purchase health insurance for Canada before you enter here that covers you as soon as you arrive. That way you need not have to keep travelling back to the US. My wife is here from the US and we have had her covered while she is here and it's quite reasonable. I could give you my agents number if you'd like? I think it was $340 or so for six months and we just extended it another two months for about $140 I think.

I'd fly with a return ticket for a few weeks later and just not use it, that's what we did the last time. Say you're visiting and once in you should be good for a six month stay which you can apply to extend later on at least 30 days before your six months are up. This way you need not waste money on a rental in the states or take your chances crossing back and forth from Canada with the border agents who may decide not to let you in at some point etc.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Thank you very much for the link! Very good information!

So let's say I bring all the paperwork the link mentions to the immigration officer at the airport... (I am picturing myself there..) Am I supposed to say something like "I would like to enter Canada as a visitor while my application for PR is in progress"?? If I say that, they might give me some kind of note saying I can stay in Canada up to 6 months? How does that work?

Anybody know?

Would I get a return ticket that is like 5 months away?

The guy will ask why you are visiting Canada, you say you are visiting your partner. He'll ask the duration of your stay. You say you have a PR application filed, you have proof of that, but you know you can't move yet so you have a return ticket booked for 5 months from now (or whenever - no more than 6 months!). You might get one or two more questions and he'll probably ask to see your proof that you've applied for PR, in which case you show him the stuff outlined in the above link.

When you enter Canada, CBSA will decide how long of a visitor visa to issue you. If there's no explicit date written in, then it's usually 6 months as 'default'. You can ask for a year, no guarantees you'll get it. Alternatively, the officer might say "I'll let you in but only for 3 months" in which case you have to deal with that.

If you want to stay longer than whatever length of time you are given, you can either leave the country and re-enter, or you can apply online for an extension, which is the much more recommended option. Info is in the wiki link I posted as well. You can either just not use the return leg of your flight, or book a flexible ticket so that you can change the date later.

Also, I may need to drive over the border to go see doctors (I will have US health coverage during my stay in Canada). I am thinking of renting a car to get out and to get back in (since I won't have a vehicle while in Canada). Would that be OK? (I will have my California driver's license.0

So many questions floating in my head :-o

I would appreciate any comments.

Each time you exit Canada, your visitor visa is then considered void. You only get one entry per visa. So every time you leave Canada, you have to go through the whole schtick I outlined above. You're better off doing what the above poster recommended and that's to get some kind of travel insurance that covers you while in Canada.

 

[rugrat907]

I am a US citizen living in Northern California...

I'm in Northern California as well and probably not moving until September - can I have your water? ;D

 

[OntarioBound]

Thank you very much for all your responses!

Putting your household goods in storage other than if you have sentimental stuff or expensive antiques could be very costly for a move from Cali to Buff NY. I'd sell and liquidate if it was me and buy stuff again once settled in Canada, plus your husband's place must already be furnished and okay for now?

Yes, I am trying to minimize what I am moving - I've been told the moving cost is based on weight and distance, and since I cannot change the distance, I am trying to get rid of as much heavy stuff as possible (All my books have already been donated and I am getting the Salvation Army to pick up some of my furniture (bookcases, night stands, a buffet table, dining room table, etc). I will probably need to do more though - One thing is, I am planning to import my car to Canada so I will have to ship that to Buffalo, too, and the storage for that must cost a bundle as well as transporting it. Maybe I should think of selling it but just in case Canada kicks me out for any length of time, I feel like keeping the car may be a good thing? (although it will be costing me to keep it for the moving fee, storage fee, and for insurance while it sits in storage.... It is an old car 2004, but I only have less than 60,000 miles on it...)

:

Also you can purchase health insurance for Canada before you enter here that covers you as soon as you arrive. That way you need not have to keep travelling back to the US. My wife is here from the US and we have had her covered while she is here and it's quite reasonable. I could give you my agents number if you'd like? I think it was $340 or so for six months and we just extended it another two months for about $140 I think.

Yes, I would LOVE to know. You can PM me if you like or share it here for others. I wonder if it's an emergency only coverage or you can go for small things like for Dr's visits for a flu, etc with your insurance? I was thinking of getting Cobra after I quit my job, but it is very, VERY expensive. I shouldn't need to visit any Dr's unless something new is wrong with me (I take high BP meds), but I am not that young anymore, so I need to make sure I have coverage.

 

[OntarioBound]

Each time you exit Canada, your visitor visa is then considered void. You only get one entry per visa. So every time you leave Canada, you have to go through the whole schtick I outlined above. You're better off doing what the above poster recommended and that's to get some kind of travel insurance that covers you while in Canada.

Yikes... It is starting to sound like if I go there to visit my hubby until PR is completed, I will be sort of like an Inland applicant if I want to make sure I can come back in! Thank you very much for this warning!

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Yikes... It is starting to sound like if I go there to visit my hubby until PR is completed, I will be sort of like an Inland applicant if I want to make sure I can come back in! Thank you very much for this warning!

Yes - that's exactly how it is. Each time you leave Canada you have to get approved for re-entry, so it's best if you try to minimize the number of times you leave, hence getting insurance in Canada so you don't have to leave all the time!

It's worth noting that if you have a PR application in process it's HIGHLY unlikely you'd be denied entry, particularly as an American... but best not to take the chance if you don't have to.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Yikes... It is starting to sound like if I go there to visit my hubby until PR is completed, I will be sort of like an Inland applicant if I want to make sure I can come back in! Thank you very much for this warning!

well not exactly. yes, it's best to limit the amount of times you cross, and the more you cross, it certainly looks better if you spend more time in your home country than in canada (ie: not crossing every week). the way i did it, i would spend 1-2 months in the us, then 1-2 months in canada. i always carried a copy of my pr app, my marriage license, paystubs and rental agreement in the us. they want to see you have something to go back to and you consider your home country your "home". if you have/do all of this, use the right language (ie: "visiting" NOT "moving" or "living"), and only answer what is asked (keeping answers as short as possible), then it's usually not that difficult to cross.

 

[OntarioBound]

well not exactly. yes, it's best to limit the amount of times you cross, and the more you cross, it certainly looks better if you spend more time in your home country than in canada (ie: not crossing every week). the way i did it, i would spend 1-2 months in the us, then 1-2 months in canada. i always carried a copy of my pr app, my marriage license, paystubs and rental agreement in the us. they want to see you have something to go back to and you consider your home country your "home". if you have/do all of this, use the right language (ie: "visiting" NOT "moving" or "living"), and only answer what is asked (keeping answers as short as possible), then it's usually not that difficult to cross.

Thank you very much for your response. The problem I see in doing this at least for me is that I won't have a rental agreement, or paystubs (that's how I am planning to save money - by not renting any place at all...) My initial plan was to rent a place in Buffalo so I have a rental agreement to show at the border (I won't have a job - I already gave my notice at work..), but the rental will cost me $800/month and I hate to spend that money just so I can prove to the border people that I intend to return to the US... I wonder if I have any other options on this .....?

 

[SchnookoLoly]

If you are going to go back and forth, then you have to show ties to the US.

Otherwise, just go and then stay put, do what is posted in the Dual Intent link I sent above.