I am an American and want to marry my canadian boyfriend.

[Lil_lulu86]

Where do I get the paperwork to start the process?

 

[Zarilenth]

Where do I get the paperwork to start the process?

From the CIC website. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/index.asp

 

[missmatalini]

I second what chessnut said - Start paperwork now!

It took me 7 months to get all the information hubby and I needed for our application - and even after that we thought we had everything and ended up finding things we missed as we were getting ready to put it in an envelope to send. Which delayed us almost 3 more months. Our application was intended to be sent out in November and we got out in February *sigh*

You can end up having trouble at the border. I didn't get in "easy" I was honest, I just didn't give out unnecessary information. I mentioned nothing about staying longer, just said I was visiting with my boyfriend and his family (didn't say he was my fiance) she still kept asking when I was leaving and I told her my parents were buying my return ticket home so I didn't have a specific date (My parents were going to buy me a plane ticket, if I ended up wanting to leave or couldn't get my extension of say) I'm not saying to LIE please don't do that, you'll end up in pretty crappy waters. Just don't go up to the border patrol and spill the beans on your plan to get married. . .ect ect.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Where do I get the paperwork to start the process?

It's a good idea to start going through all the forms and read the guides and checklists now, becoming familiar with what is required. You can start pulling together your supporting evidence and making lists of everything you need.

When it comes to actually completing the forms for submission, it's better to wait until closer to the actual submission date. Many people have completed the forms months ahead of time and then submitted them later, only to have their app returned or delayed because CIC had updated one or more of the forms in that time.

 

[Zarilenth]

Although, it is okay to say you're getting married. When I married my American fiance, he flew up here and told the immigration officers he was getting married. They just said "congrats" and let him in. He did have a return ticket but they didn't ask for it, they didn't ask for anything, just let him in.

 

[missmatalini]

Although, it is okay to say you're getting married. When I married my American fiance, he flew up here and told the immigration officers he was getting married. They just said "congrats" and let him in. He did have a return ticket but they didn't ask for it, they didn't ask for anything, just let him in.

They must've been in a good mood that day! Lucky you!
I've never encountered a polite or non-cranky border officer. But that's just my luck.

 

[Zarilenth]

They must've been in a good mood that day! Lucky you!
I've never encountered a polite or non-cranky border officer. But that's just my luck.

Haha, we've been pretty lucky actually! The first time my husband (then boyfriend) flew up to meet me, he got held up for an hour, and after a lot of questioning, the border guard told him "You'll never be a Canadian, so don't even bother". That was almost 4 years ago, and my husband REALLY wants to rub it in his face when he gets his PR haha. Although, my husband had never flown before and never left the States so he had no idea how to speak to immigration officers, and didn't have a return ticket..
Now we're experts, lol, at one point we were crossing over every single weekend for 9 months.