Help! please

[CanadaMex]

Just cam from talking to the lawyer and he suggested us that my fiance should stay in Canada with me and he can apply for an extension of visa even if he doesn't have money just for the fact that he would be married to a canadian. He said we would have to apply INLAND not outside since we are already here and living together. I told him that we dont have bills because we live with my mom and he pays his part of the rent to my mom, he has nothing to do with the landlord, but he knows he is here though. So he asked for a letter from my mom to clarify this. then that after 6 months, he can get a work permit. His visa expires on jan 5 and i asked if immigration would question our marriage, he said it doesn't matter as long as its real and you have an actual legit marriage certificate from canada you are fine. Also mention that it would be more suspicious if he leaves right after our wedding.

People that suggested me this lawyer told me he is really good.

 

[Rob_TO]

Just cam from talking to the lawyer and he suggested us that my fiance should stay in Canada with me and he can apply for an extension of visa even if he doesn't have money just for the fact that he would be married to a canadian. He said we would have to apply INLAND not outside since we are already here and living together. I told him that we dont have bills because we live with my mom and he pays his part of the rent to my mom, he has nothing to do with the landlord, but he knows he is here though. So he asked for a letter from my mom to clarify this. then that after 6 months, he can get a work permit. His visa expires on jan 5 and i asked if immigration would question our marriage, he said it doesn't matter as long as its real and you have an actual legit marriage certificate from canada you are fine. Also mention that it would be more suspicious if he leaves right after our wedding.

People that suggested me this lawyer told me he is really good.

First off, you can apply OUTLAND even if the applicant is residing in Canada on a visitor permit. He is completely wrong when he says you HAVE to apply inland.
And second, current processing time for stage 1 of Inland is 11 months... not 6 months. So you are looking at an 11 month wait until he can get an Open Work Permit if you decide to apply inland.

Due to the fact this lawyer has already gotten 2 items factually wrong... shows he is not very good and I would never consider using him. Who knows what else he doesn't know. In actuality you don't really need a lawyer, as you can fill out all the forms yourself, and ask questions to this forum.

Since Mexican citizens need a special TRV visa to visit Canada, he may not be able to get an extension. Especially if he has no money to show in his savings account. And for this reason you may want to consider inland application, else with outland application he may need to spend lots of the processing time in Mexico if he can't maintain visitor status here.

 

[MrD]

I didn't understand the last 2 sentences, so you suggest to apply inland? He has no money to renew his status so if he gets the extension denied he would have no status but can still be sponsored right?

 

[MrD]

I didn't understand the last 2 sentences, so you suggest to apply inland? He has no money to renew his status so if he gets the extension denied he would have no status but can still be sponsored right?

This is my fiancées account.

 

[Rob_TO]

I didn't understand the last 2 sentences, so you suggest to apply inland? He has no money to renew his status so if he gets the extension denied he would have no status but can still be sponsored right?

His current visa expires on Jan 16. So basically you have 2 options:

1. Get married and send in your INLAND PR application and app for Open Work Permit BEFORE Jan 16. Then he would be on implied visitor status, meaning he doesn't need to apply for a visitor extension. He can stay in Canada during the entire processing time, except he will not be able to work until you get stage 1 approval and OWP, which currently takes around 11 months. It may be very tough to gather all the documents and send a completed app before Jan 16, depending when your wedding is.

With an inland application he basically MUST stay in Canada during the entire time (up to 2 years) and can't leave for any reason, else the entire application could be cancelled.

2. Apply OUTLAND through the Mexico visa office. In this case on Jan 16 he could either just return to Mexico and wait there until the PR is approved, OR he could apply for a visitor visa extension and if it's approved, he can stay in Canada during processing (but not be able to work). Or he can return back to Mexico at any time. Total time for PR processing in the Mexico visa office, is most likely in the 12-14 month range.

 

[MrD]

Thank you so much now everything seems clear. I guess we are gonna adopt for inland seems his family are very financially speaking at the moment. The wedding is gonna be something simple with my family members and a couple of his friends.For reception, we are thinking about just a big dinner with all the people invited after the wedding. We are opening a bank account together tomorrow and he is gonna apply to get his certificate.

How big is the change to get denied if we apply through inland? Also, can we print the pictures that we have? Like connect our phones to th computer and just print them? color or black/white? We been to many events here in vancouver but sadly we didn't take pictures.

 

[SenoritaBella]

I don't know about the chances of being denied. I think if you put in a complete application, adequate evidence, do your best to explain any 'unusual' occurrences and it's evidence to an officer that your relationship is genuine, you should be fine.

I think color photos are better just for clearer viewing. You can do it that way or transfer onto a USB stick and print in a photo store. For evidence, here are some ideas(based on what we gathered):
- photos of you guys, you guys with your families and friends(very important), with your witnesses, with the person officiating the ceremony, etc. People should be smiling and dress well for the occasion - someone in the forum was rejected and I think one of the issues was guests were dressed casual, weren't smiling, etc.
- describe briefly what's happening in photos, who's in it, date of event, who took photo.
- print screen shots of facebook photos with comments from family & friends
- after marriage, change your status with Canada Revenue Agency(can do it online). Print screen shot and write date you did it - to help show you are merging your lives.
- copies of comments from wedding guest book
- if you videotape the wedding, attach some excerpts of speeches from family, friends, etc
- benefits package at work, RRSP, TFSA, insurance - consider adding each other as beneficiary. Joint bank account is good too.
- traditional/cultural ceremonies particular to spouse's country - do them. If not possible, explain why and whether you plan to in the future. If his family can't make it, explain why.
- copies of letters, cards, gifts(I printed photos of gifts) from family & friends wishing you well, etc.
- copy of wedding invitation if available
- thank you cards - you can take a few photos of some of your thank you cards
- if you attend marriage counselling - include copies of 'certificate' or letter from Minister attesting to attendance.
- wedding dress, wedding bands, etc - keep receipts. If you go dress shopping with anyone, take photos. I read a case on the canlii database - rejected for non-genuine relationship, plus officer determined the rings were fake.
- telephone, chat logs, emails of your communication
- I think where you guys live with your mom, an affidavit from her about your relationship will be helpful

It is a lot of work, but can be done.

 

[Ponga]

Thank you so much now everything seems clear. I guess we are gonna adopt for inland seems his family are very financially speaking at the moment. The wedding is gonna be something simple with my family members and a couple of his friends.For reception, we are thinking about just a big dinner with all the people invited after the wedding. We are opening a bank account together tomorrow and he is gonna apply to get his certificate.

How big is the change to get denied if we apply through inland? Also, can we print the pictures that we have? Like connect our phones to th computer and just print them? color or black/white? We been to many events here in vancouver but sadly we didn't take pictures.

The chances of denial are probably the same (but so are the chances of approval ), but one caveat with the Inland application is that you are not able to appeal if your application is denied. This means that he would have to leave Canada and you would need to reapply. If you do file an Inland application, make sure you select the first box under question one on form IMM1344E (Application to Sponsor) `withdraw your sponsorship application. All processing fees less $75 will be refunded'. No reason to select the second box, because you would not be able to appeal and would lose ALL of the fees that you had paid.

Good luck!

 

[CanadaMex]

Thanks guys for the help! the only bad thing that i see here is that we dont have many pictures together, the ones that we have that we are actually together are the ones on the phone or in computer (photo booth) and took pictures at events of what was going on but not of us. My family are the typical pessimistic kind of people they are the ones who are trying to cancel our weeding because of their knowledge of immigration(you needs TONS of money,takes 5-6 years,marrying to soon after proposal(november 10). My fiancees brother has been living with us for the last 2 months because he came to canada to finish his high school math course but his visa expired this past october 31 so he has been living here without any status and couldn't extend his visa due to lack of money again. Since me and him dont really have much money we are planning to have a very tiny wedding maybe at my backyard or something with my family and his friends and brother. We are both catholic but we are thinking about a civil wedding. Also he bought me a ring on ebay which its pretty but it was pretty cheap ($30) but its not about how much it cost , its about the meaning that it represent to us. Since he gave it to me, i been using it on my necklace because its a littlte bit small for me. Should we take pictures of our room? we bouth a nice tv together and you can see my stuff and her stuff in the same room plus he pretty much became the father of my cat which he loves with a passion. I have pictures of them together : )

We are planning to get married at least in the next 2 weeks, we want to do submit our application before the year ends.

 

[CanadaMex]

The chances of denial are probably the same (but so are the chances of approval ), but one caveat with the Inland application is that you are not able to appeal if your application is denied. This means that he would have to leave Canada and you would need to reapply. If you do file an Inland application, make sure you select the first box under question one on form IMM1344E (Application to Sponsor) `withdraw your sponsorship application. All processing fees less $75 will be refunded'. No reason to select the second box, because you would not be able to appeal and would lose ALL of the fees that you had paid.

Good luck!

so if it gets denied, do we have to reapply as an outland application?

 

[Ponga]

His current visa expires on Jan 16. So basically you have 2 options:

1. Get married and send in your INLAND PR application and app for Open Work Permit BEFORE Jan 16. Then he would be on implied visitor status, meaning he doesn't need to apply for a visitor extension. He can stay in Canada during the entire processing time, except he will not be able to work until you get stage 1 approval and OWP, which currently takes around 11 months. It may be very tough to gather all the documents and send a completed app before Jan 16, depending when your wedding is.

Since an Inland applicant can remain in Canada regardless of status, why can't they give themselves a bit more time to get everything together? I agree that it would be best for someone to not lose their status, but with the administrative policy that CIC has, that allows someone to remain (even though they may be out of status) in Canada with their partner until AIP... couldn't they take the added pressure of the Jan deadline off the table (while still working very hard to finish the application ASAP)?

 

[canadianwoman]

A small wedding is fine, but just make sure it looks special. Make it look romantic, and take lots of photos. Have as many people there from both sides as you can. A reception at a restaurant is fine as well.

 

[Rob_TO]

Since an Inland applicant can remain in Canada regardless of status, why can't they give themselves a bit more time to get everything together? I agree that it would be best for someone to not lose their status, but with the administrative policy that CIC has, that allows someone to remain (even though they may be out of status) in Canada with their partner until AIP... couldn't they take the added pressure of the Jan deadline off the table (while still working very hard to finish the application ASAP)?

Yes i believe others have let their visitor status expire so are technically here in Canada illegally, and then submitted an inland application with OWP app included to get back implied status. However i'm really not sure if any potential risks to this, others will need to advise.

As far as I know, it's ok to do this if you submit the inland app within 90 days of the status expiring, since that could still be considered trying to restore your status. Again though i'm not 100% sure here.

 

[Ponga]

Yes i believe others have let their visitor status expire so are technically here in Canada illegally, and then submitted an inland application with OWP app included to get back implied status. However i'm really not sure if any potential risks to this, others will need to advise.

As far as I know, it's ok to do this if you submit the inland app within 90 days of the status expiring, since that could still be considered trying to restore your status. Again though i'm not 100% sure here.

According to this article from 18 Feb 2005, it sounds like the new policy is for anyone out of status, even those beyond (and perhaps well beyond) 90 days:

In a previous article, we mentioned that the new federal minister of immigration was likely to change immigration rules. It appears that the Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has not wasted much time in his new position.

Effectively immediately, spouses and common-law partners in a genuine relationship with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, regardless of status, are able to apply for permanent residence. Under the previous laws, those who were married to Canadians were only able to apply if they had valid immigration status in Canada. As of today, that has changed and those who are in hiding and married to Canadians or residents can come out and formally apply for permanent residence. This is really good news and a step in the right direction.

 

[MrD]

Yes i believe others have let their visitor status expire so are technically here in Canada illegally, and then submitted an inland application with OWP app included to get back implied status. However i'm really not sure if any potential risks to this, others will need to advise.

As far as I know, it's ok to do this if you submit the inland app within 90 days of the status expiring, since that could still be considered trying to restore your status. Again though i'm not 100% sure here.

So that means i have 90 extra days to submit the application after my visa and student permit expire? (they both expire on the same date)