how far does the work and travel history goes?

[terulinkarezinka]

Hi guys,
this is an odd situation we're facing here. Me and my husband applied for EE in 2015 and were granted PR status.
Now we're applying for citizenship and we're in a bit of a situation here.
1. he "overstayed" in US from 1999-2001 and 2002-2006 - never got caught or anything
2. because of or PR application and experience claimed, we had to admit work in US and therefore obtain police CR - which we did and all was clear
now my question:
in citizenship application, we have to state his previous immigration status since date of birth BUT he had no status - I am not feeling we should start raising red flags by not stating US there at all - so I am planning to list him as "worker" even though he had not have official status.
Also: how far does the work and travel history go in PR application? If it is 10 years, then we ended up giving 2005-2015 and then we didn't admit he overstayed twice. We did our PR application with consultant and she just had a baby and is not able to confirm what she stated in the application.

I am feeling so bad for this situation and I hate lying but I don't want to raise any red flags at this point.
Any opinions and input will be much appreciated.

 

[21Goose]

No. Do NOT lie on your citizenship application.

His lack of status in the US does not make a difference - he can still get citizenship/PR in Canada. Tell the truth and do not worry.

If you lie, and get caught (at any point, even years later), his citizenship can be revoked.

 

[21Goose]

You shouldn't have lied on your PR application either, but nothing you can do about it now. Don't compound it by lying again. Canada and the US share traveller data and they can quite easily check on his movements.

 

[terulinkarezinka]

No. Do NOT lie on your citizenship application.

His lack of status in the US does not make a difference - he can still get citizenship/PR in Canada. Tell the truth and do not worry.

If you lie, and get caught (at any point, even years later), his citizenship can be revoked.

Actually, I don't think we lied in the PR application - we admitted work history from US and we provided clearance certificate as we claimed more than 6months of stay. There was never a question about if he was legal or illegal.

 

[21Goose]

Actually, I don't think we lied in the PR application - we admitted work history from US and we provided clearance certificate as we claimed more than 6months of stay. There was never a question about if he was legal or illegal.

There are statutory questions, but they only ask if he was "ever refused refugee status/immigrant/PR/visitor visa, or denied entry, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country".

If you answered that truthfully, you have nothing to worry about. Let's say he was never actually denied entry to the US, or asked to leave, or he never actually applied for a work visa (and got denied).. then there's nothing wrong at all.

 

[terulinkarezinka]

There are statutory questions, but they only ask if he was "ever refused refugee status/immigrant/PR/visitor visa, or denied entry, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country".

If you answered that truthfully, you have nothing to worry about. Let's say he was never actually denied entry to the US, or asked to leave, or he never actually applied for a work visa (and got denied).. then there's nothing wrong at all.

That's correct - he has no "wrongdoing" on his record in US or Canada. All we stated was experience in US, addresses and employers answered truthfully. he was never been deported, removed or charged with anything.

So if I understand it right - are you suggesting in the "previous immigration status" field - to just leave US completely out? Because all he ever had there was tourist visa. The question stands like this "Do you currently have or have you ever held immigration or citizenship status in country or territory other than Canada?"
According to your opinion, should we then just post his birth country and that's it?

 

[21Goose]

That's correct - he has no "wrongdoing" on his record in US or Canada. All we stated was experience in US, addresses and employers answered truthfully. he was never been deported, removed or charged with anything.

So if I understand it right - are you suggesting in the "previous immigration status" field - to just leave US completely out? Because all he ever had there was tourist visa. The question stands like this "Do you currently have or have you ever held immigration or citizenship status in country or territory other than Canada?"
According to your opinion, should we then just post his birth country and that's it?

No, I'm not suggesting that. He had visitor status in the US, he should mention that and indicate "Visitor" in the field.

 

[terulinkarezinka]

• No, I'm not suggesting that. He had visitor status in the US, he should mention that and indicate "Visitor" in the field.

• The section looks like this:

Tell us if you have had immigration, permanent resident status and/or citizenship in any other country outside of Canada, including your country of birth.

• Check either yes or no.
• If you check yes, complete the chart.
• Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen).
• Provide the month and year (MM/YY) that you obtained each status.
• If your status is no longer valid, provide the month and year (MM/YY) your status ended. If you still hold this status, indicate “current”.

I don't think that visitor status needs to be actually included. Should we attach letter of explanation?

And I would like to say how much I appreciate your time clarifying these questions for me.

 

[terulinkarezinka]

Because in this case, we should list every country we ever visited and needed visitor visa for?