Help with moving US Fiancee to Canada

[InLoveWithAnAmerican]

I am engaged to my girlfriend of 4 years. She is American and I am Canadian(male). we've lived back and forth in both Canada and America for extended periods, never longer then 6 months. We have decided to try and make Canada our new permanent home, but we are having trouble planning everything out with our current knowledge.

Currently we plan to wed in October, but are thinking of doing a shotgun wedding in June, in Canada, to expedite us living together full time.

1. My girlfriend is currently taking community college courses to get her into a sciences field for university, so it is very important she is able to get enrolled asap (student visa not an option due to tuition fees) How long would we be looking at before this is possible

2. She would also want to find employment asap.

3. Does it matter where we get married? for example if we decide to do a destination wedding will it complicate things?

Furthermore, if anyone has a deeper understanding of American Visas and Immigration I am considering the possibility of myself holding Dual Citizenship with America and Canada to enable me to work over the winter season In America and work the Summer season in Canada. Is something like this even possible if we were married? I am a chef.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Ponga]

You can apply immediately after your wedding...shotgun style, or otherwise.

1. She will not be able to continue her studies until she completes the PR process.

2. She will not be able to work until she completes the PR process (if filing an Outland application)
or until she has AIP (if filing an Inland application). Either way, she'll be `on vacation' until early 2015 at best.

3. No

Perhaps she can sponsor you for the US Green Card, which would allow you to work in the US, but you would need to reside there for 6 months out of every year. Since you are a Canadian citizen, this would allow your wife's days spent with you in the US to count toward her Canadian PR residency requirement of 730 days out of every 5 years.

Getting US citizenship will be a lengthy process.

Good luck!

 

[InLoveWithAnAmerican]

Thank you for this information! perhaps a little more understanding for me?

So, I can marry her, file the Outland application, and in the first quarter of 2015 she should possibly have her PR Visa?

At which point, If i am spending 6 months of the year working in the states with a greencard then all this time together will contribute towards her keeping the PR Visa. Which is renewed every 5 years based off the number of days lived in Canada or with a Canadian citizen requirement?

This would allow her to live in state and finish her education in state while still maintaining her PR Visa in Canada, also she could visit for one month of summer that i am working in Canada? also contributing towards her PR Visa?

Sounds like quite the juggling act =P

She gets great prices for going to university in state so this would be ideal, also not disrupting her education process by an entire year is also more desirable. What are the odds of something this complicated all coming together for me?

 

[Ponga]

Keep in mind that the processing times vary and be negatively impacted if there are any issues with the PR application.

If you submit a complete, error-free application immediately after you are married in June...it is possible that she could complete the process and `Land' by the end of Q1, 2015. Possible, not a guarantee by any means!

As a Canadian citizen, you can live abroad with your spouse and each day that you are together (on foreign soil) will still count towards her PR requirements for maintaining her PR. Pretty generous, dontcha think?!

This only works if you are with her in the US. If you come back to Canada without her, her PR `clock' stops ticking while she remains [there] without you.

Perhaps the best plan, is for her to return to the US after you file an Outland application. She can always come to visit while the process plays out (but never a guarantee how long she can stay, although it's typically up to 6 months for those from a visa-exempt country). Once she has her PR, you can explore the Green Card issue, if you're so inclined.

The chances of something this complicated coming together for you are...the same as the myriad of other applicants going through the same thing. Quite good, actually!

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you for this information! perhaps a little more understanding for me?

So, I can marry her, file the Outland application, and in the first quarter of 2015 she should possibly have her PR Visa?

At which point, If i am spending 6 months of the year working in the states with a greencard then all this time together will contribute towards her keeping the PR Visa. Which is renewed every 5 years based off the number of days lived in Canada or with a Canadian citizen requirement?

This would allow her to live in state and finish her education in state while still maintaining her PR Visa in Canada, also she could visit for one month of summer that i am working in Canada? also contributing towards her PR Visa?

Sounds like quite the juggling act =P

She gets great prices for going to university in state so this would be ideal, also not disrupting her education process by an entire year is also more desirable. What are the odds of something this complicated all coming together for me?

current processing times for US applicants is roughly 8-10 months. this does not take into consideration any delays that can happen, or the processing time getting longer because of circumstances out of CIC control.

in order to maintain PR status, and the new condition 51, pr and sponsor have to live together for 2 years. Technically, this does not need to be IN Canada, just together. Also, in order to maintain PR, the applicant must live in Canada for 2 out of 5 years, i believe. So, if your wife needs to finish up schooling in the US, i believe you both can live there without risk to her status, as long as at some point you move back to Canada, and she lives there for the required time to maintain status. Definitely either check the threads or google "condition 51" and "PR obligations" to get the exact timing.

 

[Ponga]

current processing times for US applicants is roughly 8-10 months. this does not take into consideration any delays that can happen, or the processing time getting longer because of circumstances out of CIC control.

in order to maintain PR status, and the new condition 51, pr and sponsor have to live together for 2 years. Technically, this does not need to be IN Canada, just together. Also, in order to maintain PR, the applicant must live in Canada for 2 out of 5 years, i believe. So, if your wife needs to finish up schooling in the US, i believe you both can live there without risk to her status, as long as at some point you move back to Canada, and she lives there for the required time to maintain status. Definitely either check the threads or google "condition 51" and "PR obligations" to get the exact timing.

Nope. As long as the Canadian citizen (sponsor) is living there too, the PR's days still count towards the required 730.

 

[InLoveWithAnAmerican]

Appendix A: Residency obligation
Minimum residency obligations

You must meet the residency obligation to obtain a Permanent Resident Card.

If you have been a permanent resident for five (5) years or more

you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five (5) years.
If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years

you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident.
Time spent outside of Canada

You may also count days outside of Canada as days for which you satisfy the residency obligation in the following circumstances:

OPTION 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day that you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada provided that the person you accompanied is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 22 years of age).

Evidence required

You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

The person you are accompanying is a Canadian citizen; and
You are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person.


So, this means that my wife can live and school in America and i can live there 5-6 months of the year during Winter to maintain her obligations as a PR of Canada.

 

[Ponga]

Appendix A: Residency obligation
Minimum residency obligations

You must meet the residency obligation to obtain a Permanent Resident Card.

If you have been a permanent resident for five (5) years or more

you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five (5) years.
If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years

you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident.
Time spent outside of Canada

You may also count days outside of Canada as days for which you satisfy the residency obligation in the following circumstances:

OPTION 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day that you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada provided that the person you accompanied is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 22 years of age).

Evidence required

You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

The person you are accompanying is a Canadian citizen; and
You are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person.


So, this means that my wife can live and school in America and i can live there 5-6 months of the year during Winter to maintain her obligations as a PR of Canada.

If you spend at least 730 days in the US (or anywhere) LIVING with her, those days count towards her PR obligations.

 

[Ponga]

You would also need to have a legal status in the US (I would think), so until you do have your Green Card (which will be another long process) you'd have to either have valid visitor status, or similar for those 5-6 months.

The math can be tricky, so if you plan to explore this option be extremely accurate in your record keeping!!!!

 

[InLoveWithAnAmerican]

“Priority for green card cases is granted to spouses of U.S. citizens. The average processing time for outside marriage green card applications is around 8-10 months.” visa now dot com

“As there are no annual quotes in the Immediate Relative category, the processing time for getting the immigrant visa after marrying the US citizen is the shortest. It typically takes around 8 to 12 months” immi help dot com

Looks like i can get an American green-card PR status at the same time as she would get the Canadian one. So some time in first quarter of 2015.

It seems like theres not much issue with maintaining an American green-card either. Not being absent from the country for much longer then 6 months - 1 year limit. My work season in Canada is only 5 Months solid.

"Abandoning Permanent Resident Status

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:
Move to another country intending to live there permanently
Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year” uscis dot gov

Im starting to formulate a plan that might just be crazy enough to work

 

[InLoveWithAnAmerican]

Wait, can i sponsor someone to become a PR in Canada if i myself am being sponsored to become a PR in America?

Can we double sponsor each other?