Immigrating wife here from America. please help!

[Alibeth]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum, and require some help.
I've been in a same sex relationship with an American for almost three years, she came up to my home (Kitchener Ontario) last July and we got married. We've been thinking about her immigrating here for awhile because it's very hard and heartbreaking having a long distance relationship. I've been doing research and even talking to some of my friends that have immigrated here from other countries about the process and am still unable to get any clear answers to my questions. So I'm really hoping you guys can help me out.
I was wondering , is it possible for her to come up to Canada for a visit and once she's here we send off our application for permanent residency from within Canada ? If so what do we tell the customs officers at the border ? A friend of mine said that's how he came here and once he got here he applied for pr status thus allowing him to stay here until the application was approved. I want to be honest with the border officials in telling them that she intends to apply for pr status once here, as I don't want her to be detained. I just want to get her here as quickly a s possible so we can get the ball rolling as it's heartbreaking living apart. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you !

 

[truesmile]

You can do it either way. Your partner can say that they're just coming up to visit friends (and by default be allowed to stay 6 months), OR your partner can roll the dice and tell them your whole story. Personally, as far as customs goes, I answer only what is asked and in as few words as possible. Up to you. Be aware that even though your partner's plan is to stay in Canada, you are actually "allowed" to submit an 'outland' application. Handy if ever the principal applicant needs to leave the country (Canada), since with an inland application you're supposed to stay in Canada for the whole duration of the application. On the other hand, there is no option to apply for an 'open work permit' or OWP with an outland application and there is that option with an inland application.

I'm sure that will spawn more questions . . . ask away!

 

[Alibeth]

Thank you so much for replying !! I really appreciate it. Okay so if she comes over the border and tells customs she is intending to stay for six months, will she need to ask for a special visa ? And if we apply inland will she automatically get to stay in Canada until that is approved ? Also is there a risk of her getting deported back to America for submitting the application while "visiting" me ? I don't want to get in trouble by her telling customs she's visiting her friends if she's really staying with me and intending to immigrate. It's so complicated ! Lol

 

[Alibeth]

Also How do we apply for an open work permit ? Is it an expensive process ?

 

[scylla]

Open work permits aren't that expensive. However if she applies inland, she won't qualify for an open work permit until the application has first stage approval. I believe that's take around 6 months right now.

Since she's American, it's generally a better idea to apply outland. But obviously your choice.

 

[parker24]

Thank you so much for replying !! I really appreciate it. Okay so if she comes over the border and tells customs she is intending to stay for six months, will she need to ask for a special visa ? And if we apply inland will she automatically get to stay in Canada until that is approved ? Also is there a risk of her getting deported back to America for submitting the application while "visiting" me ? I don't want to get in trouble by her telling customs she's visiting her friends if she's really staying with me and intending to immigrate. It's so complicated ! Lol

Because she is American, she will automatically get 6 months unless customs says otherwise. My husband (from TN) came up and he didn't say he was staying (he didn't even know he was staying at the time haha) and he automatically got 6 months. At 5 months, we applied for him to get an extension, and it was granted as I had proof we were getting papers together for PR. It's fairly simple for Americans to come here, just as long as she doesn't use the word "LIVE" in Canada. As that will set off alarm bells at customs.

 

[Alibeth]

I heard if she doesn't have a return ticket booked home she will get questioned at customs. If she's driving up and I'm with her what exactly do we say to them. Do we tell them I'm her wife and she's visiting
Me for six months ? And if we apply for pr residence while she's here for six months will we get in trouble ? Thank you all for your help. I'm just scared if she asks to say for six months that they will not let her in. I'm so curious about what exactly to say lol the customs officers already make me nervous as it is.

 

[rhcohen2014]

I heard if she doesn't have a return ticket booked home she will get questioned at customs. If she's driving up and I'm with her what exactly do we say to them. Do we tell them I'm her wife and she's visiting
Me for six months ? And if we apply for pr residence while she's here for six months will we get in trouble ? Thank you all for your help. I'm just scared if she asks to say for six months that they will not let her in. I'm so curious about what exactly to say lol the customs officers already make me nervous as it is.

she can apply for sponsorship while visiting you. It's much cheaper to mail it from CAnada than from the US! The only way she can get in trouble is if she overstays her visit or if they feel she is misrepresenting herself to them. In regards to getting a 6 mo. stay, that is in the hands of the border agent you talk to. Most likely she will get pulled into secondary and ask a bunch of questions. If your application is not in yet, then they may not give the full 6 mo. pass. Since I'm not a border agent, i can't tell you exactly! Every border agent is different, and every situationis different. The main point is that she needs to convince them she is only going to be visiting canada. They want to make sure she does not intend to look for work and try to take a job away from a canadian. It's important for her to ALWAYS carry proof of her ties to the US, and any documentation showing you have started gathering documents for your application, and especially your marriage certificate. It also helps to pay for some or all the fees for the application and the medical exam and bring those with you. Proof of ties can include recent paystubs, a lease agreement/mortgage papers. I also carry proof of my health insurance payments, just in case!

Standard questions i am always asked at primary:
Where are you from?
Where are you going?
How did you meet?
What do you do for work? ( I work remotely, and i always tell them this - when they question how i do that, i tell them i work on my computer and have apps on my phone to make calls.)
How long do you want to stay?
They also ask about our intentions of who's sponsoring who

If they like my answers, they will stamp my passport and let me through. Apparently, since i've complied to all of their rules for a while now, they have "upped my status" and i didn't have to go into secondary the last 2 times i crossed.

In secondary, they will also more about the relationship, again asking the same or similar questions as before. Then they'll ask for plans for sponsoring, and that's when you can show them all the paperwork you've compiled so far. They never actually have gone through my papers, just saw that i had a stack of stuff and legit receipts for the fees/medical. If they have notes in their system about her (because she's crossed before), they will be asking questions they already know the answer to, so make sure all answers are consistent. Depending on the agent or your situation, they may create a visitor's pass and staple it to her passport. This will give the date she has to leave by, and may instruct her to check out on her way back home. Otherwise, they will just stamp the passport and write the return date there.

I am hoping to get back in to CAnada this summer and get a long term pass. The longest i've asked to stay i believe is 2 months, so i'm also nervous about asking about a 6 mo. stay. My plan is to of course have everything with me, and say that now our application is in, i'm hoping to get a 6 mo. pass. I am 99% sure i will be pulled into secondary again, so they can chat about it!

 

[Alibeth]

Thank you so much for the reply and so sorry about all of the questions lol. Does My wife tell them the truth when she crosses ? That she's visiting her wife ? Or does she said she's visiting friends. And when I cross do I tell them I'm visiting my wife ? And that I intend of bringing her back with me?

 

[Alibeth]

I appreciate all of the help. This is such a confusing journey for us both.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you so much for the reply and so sorry about all of the questions lol. Does My wife tell them the truth when she crosses ? That she's visiting her wife ? Or does she said she's visiting friends. And when I cross do I tell them I'm visiting my wife ? And that I intend of bringing her back with me?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS tell the truth. If you are caught in a lie, that can result in bigger problems, and they can/will refuse her entry. I have found them to be much friendlier to me since getting married and shown intentions of applying for PR sponsorship. Basically, they want see you are following the rules, and are not trying to make up your own They will be more likely to issue longer term stays if she shows them the marriage certificate and proof of ties to the US. In my experience they tend to like married couples over boyfriend/girlfriend relationships because it shows stability. Only answer the questions they ask. When you enter the US, they will ask similar questions, and ask who's sponsoring who... they usually give me a strange look when i tell them I plan to go up there. They share entry information, not question answers, so they really don't care what each side asks. My husband brings the same paperwork with him (except the application). He brings his most recent paystub and lease agreement. The US wants to know he doesn't plan to stay longer than expected.

 

[Alibeth]

Thank you so much ! Do you recommend applying for PR status Outland ? Or doing that inland when she's here

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you so much ! Do you recommend applying for PR status Outland ? Or doing that inland when she's here

From what I have read on this forum, for US citizens its best to apply outland. Apparently inland takes twice as long. The only benefit to inland is that you can apply for an open work permit and can work while the application is in process. With an inland app, the applicant can't leave canada at all while the app is in process, so if she needed to come back to the states, she can be refused entry back and the application would be considered abandoned. With an outland app, the average wait time for US citizens seems to be 8-10 months (according to the information/tracking spreadsheets on this forum). We can go back and forth without the risk to the application. Of course, the one drawback is we can't legally work in the country, so either finding a job at a border town or remotely would need to happen if working is essential. I've read posts about people working in the us, and traveling back to canada daily on visitor passes.