Inland or Outland Application?

[rnbacchus]

I am a Canadian citizen wanting to sponsor my new husband, who is an American citizen, but I am unsure whether we should be using the in-Canada application or the outside-Canada application.

My husband works for a US company in Seattle (and has done so for 6 six years). In February, he moved to Vancouver and resides with me but still works for this US company. He telecommutes from home 3-4 days a week, and travels down to Seattle to work in the office 1-2 days a week. He is technically a visitor, as he leaves and re-enters Canada once a week. His income is solely from his job in Seattle.

He does not have a residential address in the US, but he does have a mailing address (a UPS box). He's lived with me in Vancouver since the beginning of February this year. Based on this, I believe we should be using the inland application but since he's technically a visitor (meaning he has no status for being in Canada, such as a work visa or student visa), can they say he's living here illegally? Does anyone know whether we should be using the inland or outland application?

Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rorita_76]

Hey there, I will try to help as much as I know.
The positive of the in-land is that you can be together during the process of the application, but the bad side is it takes longer than outland, and you don't have the right to appeal if your visa was refused.
The positive of the outland: it's quicker than the inland, average is between 6 to 12 month as long you have all the proof they need, but the negative side of it is some people got to be separated until the visa is approved.
As far as I know, when you are going to file for sponsoring your spouse, in whatever country he is, he need to have a legal status in that country for at least 1 year after filling...
I hope I was able to help you in some info, but I am sure the master over this forum will help you with their info.
Good luck

 

[Leon]

You should definitely go for outland. With inland, it doesn't just take longer, he's actually not advised to travel outside of Canada while inland is in process. If for any reason he would be denied entry into Canada, for example lets say that they decide he's already moved to Canada on a visit status, and lets say they refuse to let him cross because of that, then your inland application goes out the window and all the time you have spent waiting for it. With outland, he can still be with you in Canada and if he were ever denied entry, he could stay in the US and the application will still go through. The average time to get PR with outland is 5-6 months and for inland it's 1-2 years.

 

[genio]

with the dangers of in-land, no option to leave canada, possibly 2 years,and no appeal if needed, I almost wonder why anyone would risk in-land...But then again,,,out-land waiting "forever" to see your loved one sucks. Flip a coin ?

 

[rnbacchus]

Thank you so very much for the responses! It looks like the outland application is our best option. Based on your knowledge, can you say that it is more than likely he will be asked to reside in Seattle while the application is in process? How likely it is that we will be separated?

This may seem like a silly question, but when asked for his residential address, what should he write? As I mentioned, he has a mailing address (UPS box) but not a residential address. Should he use his UPS box as his residential address, or our address in Vancouver? Alternatively, when he is in Seattle for his job, he stays with a friend. Should he use his friend's address?

Again, thank you all so much for your help. The immigration process can be rather daunting, and it's just wonderful to have somewhere to go for advice and helpful information.

 

[Leon]

He will not be asked to stay in Seattle. He is allowed to visit Canada while you do outland. The only possibility is if he ever has a problem entering Canada at the border but it's unlikely. They also know if he has an outland application, if there is an interview, it will be in the US so he will have to leave Canada for it and therefore less likely to overystay. Does he have a Nexus card already for border crossing? If not, get one, it will make it less likely for him to have problems at the border.

He can give the address in Canada but on the sponsorship form where it asks where does the spouse live, does he have legal status in that country, do you wish to process the application in his home country, you pick that he does not have status in the country where he lives (Canada) and that he would like his processing done in the US.

 

[Leon]

with the dangers of in-land, no option to leave canada, possibly 2 years,and no appeal if needed, I almost wonder why anyone would risk in-land...But then again,,,out-land waiting "forever" to see your loved one sucks. Flip a coin ?

I think you are misunderstanding outland. Outland doesn't mean you can't visit. If you are from a visa exempt country, outland is usually faster and you can come and go as you like. It is only with countries that are not visa exempt that people may not have a choice. They may have to do outland because the spouse can't get a visa to go to Canada. If the spouse has already gotten into Canada somehow, they may choose to do inland to save themselves a trip to the spouses country for interview if it's far away and expensive to go to. I think many people also do inland just because they don't know any better or they think they have to.

If an outland application goes wrong, you can appeal it, takes about a year. If an inland application goes wrong, it is sent to the local office without first stage approval. That means no work permit. In some cases, the local offices are so busy that they will not even look at it for up to 3 years. That means that the spouse would be stuck in Canada, can't leave because they would lose their application and can't work because they don't have a work permit. It has taken some people up to 4-5 years to get PR with inland. If an inland is ultimately refused, the spouse can go back to their home country and they can try to apply again outland so it's not like all is lost.

 

[genio]

WOW! Leon,now I really wonder why anyone would try inland. My wife living in Colombia doesn't stand a chance visiting Canada on a visitor visa. I have not seen her in nearly a year. It will probably still be a few months,and I hate the wait...but in-land...? Poor person in Canada, cannot leave for any reason while waiting for visa, perhaps not allowed to work, and no possibility of appeal? Talk about stress! I guess it may be fine for someone who is already here and has a work visa, and can get an extension for it, other wise, in-land just seems like walking through a mine field and a very long process.

 

[Leon]

Yes, there have been some people on this board whose inland was sent to CIC office without first stage approval. One couple was told by their local office that it would be 3 years before they would even look at their file. They were considering moving to another city and hoping to get their file transferred there. I think they would have the option of withdrawing and applying again outland so that may be a better option in a situation like that.

 

[rnbacchus]

We definitely decided to apply using the outland application, but now I need more advice on a different situation.

The worse happened, and my husband was denied entry into Vancouver when he was returning from his job in Seattle. The IO asked him how many days he spent in Canada, and my husband said 4-5 day per week. The IO then said since you're spending more time in Canada than you are in the US, you're living here illegally. He attached a piece of paper in my husband's passport that says he is only allowed to enter Canada on the weekends, from Friday night to Sunday night. He's planning on going down to the Canadian embassy in Seattle tomorrow, to see if anything can be done but I'm just wondering if anyone on this forum has experienced this or if anyone has any advice for us. We haven't even started the permanent residency application, as we are in the process of getting all our documents together, and it's so disheartening to be separated from my husband. I know it could be a lot worse, as we could be on different continents and not see each other for months, but is there any hope to have this reversed or do we have to live apart until he is approved for residency?

 

[Boncuk]

This is why Leon asked about the Nexus card. It seems they arent sure of his return and the possibility of living illegally in Canada. The good news is .. it isn't too long a wait for the sponsorship process. Also they allowed weekend visits.. See what the embassy says and get your application together so that you can be together finally.. It is unfortunate and I'm sure heartbreaking, there are other members here that are going through the US as well and perhaps can give you some advice.. Best of luck to you rnbacchus

 

[rnbacchus]

Thank you for your kind words, Boncuk. We are trying to put our application package together as quickly as we can.

He did put in his application for the NEXUS card after Leon suggested it, but was denied based on inaccurate information. The short story is his driver's license was suspended because he did not pay a ticket. He was required to appear in court in December 2008 but forgot (I know, I was plenty mad when I found out). A warrant was issued after he failed to appear, and he was arrested in April 2009 after an officer scanned his license plate. I posted his bail, and the charge has since been reduced to a NVOL (no valid operator's license) infraction. The reason he was denied the NEXUS card is because they believed he was arrested for having a suspended license, when he was actually arrested for not appearing in court. He met with a supervisor at the NEXUS office who halfheartedly admitted that the denial was based on inaccurate information, but he still has to go through the regular appeal process.

The embassy told him while the IO could have made the decision not to deny him entry, it is up to their discretion who they let in the country. His options are to either plead with a guard every time he crosses on the weekend to change his visitor status (meaning to remove the weekend only restriction) or visit only on the weekends until October when his visitor status can be reviewed. However, I am wondering whether another IO can take away the weekend only restriction and deny him entry to Canada altogether, which would mean we would be barred from applying for permanent residency for two years. Is that a possibility?

Also, in the Schedule 1 Background/Declaration form, does he now have to answer yes to have you ever "been refused admission to, or ordered to leave, Canada or any other country?" under Question 9?

 

[Leon]

If he gets an IO in a bad mood, they could change the weekend only to nothing. I think I would say yes to "refused admission to" but include an explanation.

 

[rnbacchus]

Just an update: we crossed the border into Canada on Friday afternoon, and went into the customs office to speak to an IO about the restriction. After reviewing the paperwork we brought in (my husband's employment letter, bank statement's showing that he regularly spends money in Seattle, etc.), the IO told us that the weekend-only restriction should never have been attached to his passport. He removed it and attached a new visitor record that is valid for 6 months and states that my husband is a frequent traveller to Canada and that he is married to a Canadian citizen.

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice and your kind words!

 

[SadGirl:(]

Hey there, I will try to help as much as I know.
The positive of the in-land is that you can be together during the process of the application, but the bad side is it takes longer than outland, and you don't have the right to appeal if your visa was refused.
The positive of the outland: it's quicker than the inland, average is between 6 to 12 month as long you have all the proof they need, but the negative side of it is some people got to be separated until the visa is approved.
As far as I know, when you are going to file for sponsoring your spouse, in whatever country he is, he need to have a legal status in that country for at least 1 year after filling...
I hope I was able to help you in some info, but I am sure the master over this forum will help you with their info.
Good luck

What do you mean that he would need to have a legal status in that country for at least 1 year after filing. What if he already has legal status in the country that he is living in before applying would there still be a one year wait?