Important Please Help - Options -> Marriage / Border ReEntry or just Extension?

[krome]

My US citizen girlfriend came into Canada with a two week return flight and the border guards gave her a very difficult time with an interrogation in another room and making multiple notes in a computer and stamped her passport with a three week exit date because they said she didn't have enough money for a two week vacation here.

I was going to have her stay 6 months and then apply for an extended visit on the basis that we were going to go for common law.

Now she must leave in two more weeks but we want to be together long term and she wants to move here so I would appreciate some expert tips on our options. These are the options we are exploring:

1.) Driving down into the USA through the border and then traveling back up the same day or the next day. She will still have a return flight booked for one week away when we re-enter but is there a good chance they will just deny her entry and force her to stay in the USA? How risky is this option due to the fact that they made computer notes etc...?

2.) Applying for an extended visit on the basis that we want to remain together longer as the two weeks / one month is too short... Of course we will be applying for the extension with less than the 30 day requirement

3.) Getting a private marriage done, witnessed by no relatives but instead by the appropriate authorites and then applying for an extended visit on the basis that she came up here planning to stay two weeks but I, the boyfriend assumed she would be able to stay six months and I was going to propose to her and we were going to use that six month period to arrange and hold our wedding but due to the restriction, we had to get the marriage done immediately and we will hold a proper ceremony down the road. The reason for the extension would be to get our PR application organized and submitted with her staying in the country throughout the process.


Time is definitely ticking for us so we would really appreciate some help. Thank you so much.

 

[Leon]

1. Don't take that risk. Having had trouble recently and trying to enter again is not good news.

2. Good idea. Apply for an extension based on your plans to get married in the very near future. Give a date if you can. Tell them that you are going to sponsor her for PR as soon as you marry.

3. Or that but I think 2. would do the trick.

 

[krome]

Thank you Leon. Your assistance is greatly appreciated as always.

Would it be safer to do the quick marriage process and extend based on the reason of preparing to submit our PR application?

I don't want to take any chance of her being sent home.

If we just apply for an extension saying that I proposed and we will have a wedding in the near future I assume there is more risk of the extension being declined than if we say its to prepare our PR application?

We will be doing either or very soon so appreciate the help.

Also, is it possible to extend an already extends visit. So if they give six months and then we need to extend while the PR application is in process, can it be done.

Kind regards

 

[Leon]

Thank you Leon. Your assistance is greatly appreciated as always.

Would it be safer to do the quick marriage process and extend based on the reason of preparing to submit our PR application?

I don't want to take any chance of her being sent home.

If we just apply for an extension saying that I proposed and we will have a wedding in the near future I assume there is more risk of the extension being declined than if we say its to prepare our PR application?

We will be doing either or very soon so appreciate the help.

Also, is it possible to extend an already extends visit. So if they give six months and then we need to extend while the PR application is in process, can it be done.

Kind regards

Somehow I do not think that a quick wedding would improve the odds of getting approved for an extension. Immigration is allowed to deny marriages that are done mainly for the purpose of immigration regardless of the relationship otherwise being genuine so even though I do not know how common that is, I do not think that it would be in your best interest getting married quickly just for the purpose of hopefully getting her visit visa extended.

You also have to ask her what she said when she entered Canada and get your story straight so that it doesn't look like she lied when she entered. Applying 30 days beforehand is not a set in stone requirement as long as you apply early enough for them to have received your application before her status expires.

You are allowed to apply for an extension after an extension but you should show some progress. Say you get a 6 month extension now, you should be married and applying for sponsorship when you apply for the next one.

When you apply for an extension, it's also a good idea to show that you have funds/income to support your girlfriend and that she has travel/emergency insurance.

Keep in mind that even if you are denied the extension, you gain time by having applied because she is under implied status due to having applied as long as she doesn't leave the country. Seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/temp.asp it's currently 94 days to process a paper application or 55 for online.

If you get married and apply for sponsorship and open work permit inland, she would have implied status again as long as she doesn't leave so no need to extend after that. If you apply outland, you would have to continue applying for extensions to keep her in status.