Illegal in Canada for 10 years.

[allie2012]

I have a friend who has resided in Canada for the past 10 years. She is a US citizen and crossed the border back in the day when a passport was not required to enter Canada from the US. She met a man (reason for entering Canada) and returned to the US on two occasions as she had two of his children. She and her both her children returned to Canada and have been here ever since. She does not possess a US passport nor do her children. She states she made one attempt to acquire citizenship (sponsored by her husband) but was denied due to his low income. This man is very controlling. She has no access to any money and when angered he often threatens to "ship her a** back to the US." She is literally "stuck" here with 2 small children and unable to earn any income. She does not have any access to the benefits her husband receives from the federal government as her husband states he provides her with all she needs. She doesn't require any money nor is it any of her business how much money he makes or how much benefits he receives for the family. She hasn't seen a doctor in years due to not having any health coverage and must pay cash if her children require medical care. It's absolutely ridiculous that these people put their children in this situation. How will the children ever be able to drive/work etc... with no citizenship. Fortunately they are too young to understand. I don't know what advice to give her. I don't know how she would return to the US with no passport nor acquire Canadian citizenship as she's been illegal for 10 years. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you kindly

 

[zardoz]

A valid question at this point would be "what does she want as an outcome?".
Any advice should be focused to that end, and not moralising.

 

[Leon]

Sounds like the man is very controlling and she is the one who had to say it has to stop. If he doesn't make enough money to sponsor her and this would be rare unless he is working under the table and not making any money on the papers or he is on welfare, then she can not get PR unless she qualifies to apply on her own. If she stays with him, she will have to continue to live under his control.

He could apply for citizenship certificates for the kids because that is not based on his income. IMO, she should pack up her kids and go back to the US. If he wants her back, he can get his butt off welfare, get a regular job and sponsor her for PR and apply for citizenship certificates for the kids and IMO, she should not go back to him until he does.

 

[DGT]

I have a friend who has resided in Canada for the past 10 years. She is a US citizen and crossed the border back in the day when a passport was not required to enter Canada from the US. She met a man (reason for entering Canada) and returned to the US on two occasions as she had two of his children. She and her both her children returned to Canada and have been here ever since. She does not possess a US passport nor do her children. She states she made one attempt to acquire citizenship (sponsored by her husband) but was denied due to his low income. This man is very controlling. She has no access to any money and when angered he often threatens to "ship her a** back to the US." She is literally "stuck" here with 2 small children and unable to earn any income. She does not have any access to the benefits her husband receives from the federal government as her husband states he provides her with all she needs. She doesn't require any money nor is it any of her business how much money he makes or how much benefits he receives for the family. She hasn't seen a doctor in years due to not having any health coverage and must pay cash if her children require medical care. It's absolutely ridiculous that these people put their children in this situation. How will the children ever be able to drive/work etc... with no citizenship. Fortunately they are too young to understand. I don't know what advice to give her. I don't know how she would return to the US with no passport nor acquire Canadian citizenship as she's been illegal for 10 years. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you kindly

I would recommend that she contact the US Embassy in Ottawa for advice. She requires consular assistance to get the hell out. They should be able to assist her with getting US passports for herself and the children and getting back to the States where she can be free from this lunatic.

 

[Boetie]

I know someone in exactly the same situation. The partner denies sponsorship as a way of controlling and threatening. Insufficient finances is also given as a reason for the inability to sponsor although that is not in fact true as there is no minimum required; it is only prevented if the Canadian partner is actually getting government assistance.

You imagine this kind of thing happening to women who are very vulnerable because they come from societies where women are dominated or they don`t have access to rights and legal support but it seems to happen as much to women from more empowered societies. Of course the person was stupid to have allowed it to happen and very irresponsible to put their children in that position but just telling them that is pointless since they obviously are so dominated they can`t break away. She likely is in denial that the current situation cannot continue forever; something will go wrong.

The children are really trapped. With respect to Canadian status, if the children were born in the U.S. and are not legal here, they are going to have problems accessing healthcare, etc. Their father needs to sponsor them; there is no minimum income for that. I don`t know if having a Canadian father would stop them from being removed if the father has done nothing to sponsor them. With respect to American status, normally with an American parent, the children would be entitled to American citizenship and documents wherever they are born but at this point they can`t just walk into an American consulate and ask without triggering a lot of repercussions.

Regardless of accusations of abuse, one parent cannot simply take the children across a border without the consent of the other parent. She would have to show his written consent (and if he is the controlling type, that is probably the last thing he would agree to) or sole custody. She is undoubtedly very aware of this possibility as it is held over her head and the reason she feels so trapped. I would think she could try seeking immediate help from a shelter and then making an H&C application based on that very real possibility that if she is deported, her children will be denied access to their mother if they remain or denied access to their father, school, etc., if removed.

 

[Leon]

If the children are born in the US, their US birth certificates give them US citizenship and children under 16 may travel across the land border with only a birth certificate as opposed to a passport. The mother would have to renew her passport though. As for the permission from the father, are you sure that people are always asked for that? There must be a million cases a year where a parent is travelling with children alone.

At https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/268/~/children---child-traveling-with-one-parent-or-someone-who-is-not-a-parent-or they say that such a letter is recommended but the US does not require it in all cases and may not ask to see it.

As for the children's right to stay in Canada, if immigration caught up on this family, they would deport the mother for overstaying but the children might not be deported if the father arranges to finally apply for their proof of citizenship. The children are also Canadian citizens through their father but because he has not applied for them, they lack the proof of that.

 

[Boetie]

Yes, a parent has to be able to show written consent from the other parent to take their child into the U.S. That does not mean they will always be asked. They are looking for abductions and children being forced into various bad situations. If you appear to be crossing over for a day of shopping or a sports event, you might not be asked. If you have all your worldly possessions and appear nervous or in this case, are returning after living illegally, I think you could count on being asked and if you don`t have it, you are in big trouble.

 

[allie2012]

Thank you kindly for all your replies. No, the mother nor the children have a US passport. Her husband is employed & his income is about 30k/year. All I know is that she said he was denied due to low income. I don't know what the income threshold is or was at that time. I don't know what his income was 10 years ago but this was the first and only time he applied for sponsorship.

 

[allie2012]

Thank you very much for all your replies. To answer a question - no - the mother nor the children have a US passport. Like I said - they entered Canada when you didn't need anything but a birth certificate & they haven't left since. Her husband does work and makes about 30k/year. I don't know what the income requirement was 10 years ago to sponsor your spouse nor what it is now - but I'm sure she could have acquired citizenship another way. It's just ridiculous because the children are small now but they are not thinking what will happen once the children want to learn to drive, go to college, work etc... Not too mention if something happens to him - they are all doomed. There seems to be only one way she can do this and that is to re-enter the USA, get a passport and cross back into Canada & apply for citizenship. To cross back to the USA - she will need some sort of identification. I cannot believe she would allow herself and her children to live like this. It's maddening to me!

 

[scylla]

Assuming the father is a Canadian citizen, the children are as well. Someone just needs to apply for their citizenship certificates and they can have access to health care and everything else just like a normal Canadian. This part is very straight forward and easy.

As for the mother, she really has two options:

1. Have her husband sponsor her. She shouldn't be refused if the husband is making $30K since there is no income minimum to sponsor a spouse. Having said that, you mentioned in your first post that she has no access to the benefits her husband receives from the federal government. If by any chance the husband is on social assistance / welfare, then this makes him ineligible to sponsor.

2. She could apply for PR through the Humanitarian and Compassionate stream. Not sure what her chances of success would be and she should really get the assistance of a lawyer if she wants to go this route.

 

[Leon]

Thank you very much for all your replies. To answer a question - no - the mother nor the children have a US passport. Like I said - they entered Canada when you didn't need anything but a birth certificate & they haven't left since. Her husband does work and makes about 30k/year. I don't know what the income requirement was 10 years ago to sponsor your spouse nor what it is now - but I'm sure she could have acquired citizenship another way. It's just ridiculous because the children are small now but they are not thinking what will happen once the children want to learn to drive, go to college, work etc... Not too mention if something happens to him - they are all doomed. There seems to be only one way she can do this and that is to re-enter the USA, get a passport and cross back into Canada & apply for citizenship. To cross back to the USA - she will need some sort of identification. I cannot believe she would allow herself and her children to live like this. It's maddening to me!

If she needs a US passport, she can try asking the US embassy for help. As said before, the children can travel their birth certificates but there would be a problem if she is travelling with them alone and the border asks about the fathers permission and she doesn't have one.

As for crossing back into Canada and applying for citizenship, that is a bit more complicated than that. She can not apply for citizenship unless she is a permanent resident first. In order to apply for PR, she either has to be sponsored by her husband or she needs to be eligible to apply for it as a skilled worker. Coming back with an American passport, as long as they are not aware of her former overstay and getting in trouble over that, she could only stay as a visitor for up to 6 months or she would become illegal again.

The children will certainly need their proof of citizenship at some point or they may have problems enrolling them in school and certainly later as they will not be given social insurance numbers and will not be able to work without that proof.

Are they currently getting child tax benefits for the children? If the children were living in Canada legally, they could apply for it.