Inland spousal sponsorship, entering Canada with dual intent - how many belongings are too many??

[Rebecca0500]

My husband is an American citizen and I'm Canadian. Our plan is to apply for inland sponsorship (I know outland is supposedly better but this works better for us!), but we're concerned about getting through customs. We're going to be driving, and we're really concerned about bringing too much of his stuff, as we don't want the officer to think that we'll disregard his obligation to leave Canada when his temporary visa demands it. He's not bringing any large furniture - mostly just electronics (desktop computer, a few game consoles, etc...), clothes, and memorabilia/decorations. We're also bringing his cat along, though I believe we can justify that even for temporary reasons, as they are very attached to each other. I'm most concerned about the decorations, as I'm wondering if bringing too many of those would hurt our chances of getting in together - I think they might imply too much intention to stay long-term.

We're planning on bringing his titleship information for his car (which he is leaving in America) as proof that he still has ties to America, and we will also be paying ahead our immigration fees to show proof of our intention to apply for inland sponsorship.

If anyone has advice/words of warning, we would greatly appreciate it! It's so hard to piece together so much information from so many different websites/sources...

 

[scylla]

My husband is an American citizen and I'm Canadian. Our plan is to apply for inland sponsorship (I know outland is supposedly better but this works better for us!), but we're concerned about getting through customs. We're going to be driving, and we're really concerned about bringing too much of his stuff, as we don't want the officer to think that we'll disregard his obligation to leave Canada when his temporary visa demands it. He's not bringing any large furniture - mostly just electronics (desktop computer, a few game consoles, etc...), clothes, and memorabilia/decorations. We're also bringing his cat along, though I believe we can justify that even for temporary reasons, as they are very attached to each other. I'm most concerned about the decorations, as I'm wondering if bringing too many of those would hurt our chances of getting in together - I think they might imply too much intention to stay long-term.

We're planning on bringing his titleship information for his car (which he is leaving in America) as proof that he still has ties to America, and we will also be paying ahead our immigration fees to show proof of our intention to apply for inland sponsorship.

If anyone has advice/words of warning, we would greatly appreciate it! It's so hard to piece together so much information from so many different websites/sources...

I think you already know the answer. Best option is to really limit what you bring into Canada. He doesn't need decorations or his memorabilia. This is not normal stuff that a visitor brings. Best course of action is to leave as much as possible in the US until he actually has PR (either in storage or with family members / friends).

I think you can make an argument for bringing the cat in.

Take a hard look at everything else and consider whether he really needs it. Cut back to what he really really needs.

Yes - trying to bring too much stuff into Canada can certainly cause problems at the border. Dual intent doesn't give you a "get out of jail free card". Limit what you bring.

 

[Rebecca0500]

I think you already know the answer. Best option is to really limit what you bring into Canada. He doesn't need decorations or his memorabilia. This is not normal stuff that a visitor brings. Best course of action is to leave as much as possible in the US until he actually has PR (either in storage or with family members / friends).

I think you can make an argument for bringing the cat in.

Take a hard look at everything else and consider whether he really needs it. Cut back to what he really really needs.

Yes - trying to bring too much stuff into Canada can certainly cause problems at the border. Dual intent doesn't give you a "get out of jail free card". Limit what you bring.

For sure, thanks for the reply. Helps having some confirmation!