Is this acceptable?

[sardan86]

My fiancé and I will be getting court married in the US (my fiancé is a Canadian PR holder and I am on a US student visa F1 - grace period, originally from Pakistan). Fiancé would be visiting the US for a few days on a visitor visa. We want to have a big wedding event later on, ideally in Canada.

1) Can we start the immigration process right after we are legally married, even though there won't be an event with pictures at the moment?

2) What does the immigration process consist of and how long will it take till I can move to him?

3) I have also applied for a Canadian visitor visa but have not heard back yet. Could this process result in my visa being declined?

 

[canuck78]

1. Yes. You need to take pictures even of a court wedding. If you have a small celebration with friends and/or family you should document that as well with pictures. Would recommend a small celebration even if it very simple after the ceremony.
2. All depends if you can get a visa to enter Canada. Either way it will take around 12 months.
3. TRV will not affect sponsorship but will decide whether you can apply while in Canada or have to return to Pakistan and apply from there. It will be difficult to get a visa in your situation.

 

[sardan86]

1. Yes. You need to take pictures even of a court wedding. If you have a small celebration with friends and/or family you should document that as well with pictures. Would recommend a small celebration even if it very simple after the ceremony.
2. All depends if you can get a visa to enter Canada. Either way it will take around 12 months.
3. TRV will not affect sponsorship but will decide whether you can apply while in Canada or have to return to Pakistan and apply from there. It will be difficult to get a visa in your situation.

Thanks!
Regarding what you said in (3), do you mean if I can be in Canada after getting married outside the country, and apply from there, that changes the process?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1) Can we start the immigration process right after we are legally married, even though there won't be an event with pictures at the moment?

Is your fiancee also from Pakistan? A court marriage can be an issue when the cultural norm is the traditional wedding with all of the ceremonies, nikkah, rukhsati etc.

 

[canuck78]

Have you done any research? There is an inland and an outland application route.

 

[sardan86]

Is your fiancee also from Pakistan? A court marriage can be an issue when the cultural norm is the traditional wedding with all of the ceremonies, nikkah, rukhsati etc.

Yes, he is - but he is also a PR holder. Neither of us are very cultural, having been away from Pakistan for a while. How much of an issue could that create? We will hold a partially cultural ceremony once I can actually move to him.

 

[sardan86]

Have you done any research? There is an inland and an outland application route.

I've read about that, but I thought inland meant actually getting legally married in Canada, which wouldn't be the case here. Unless I got the meaning of inland wrong

 

[canuck78]

I've read about that, but I thought inland meant actually getting legally married in Canada, which wouldn't be the case here. Unless I got the meaning of inland wrong

3 options for spousal sponsorship:
1. Inland: spouse is being sponsored while both are in Canada and you can apply for a work permit at the same time which you can get in around 4 months. You have to stay in Canada during the process. You have to be able to be able to get into Canada to apply. Getting a visa to enter Canada is often a challenge.
2. Outland while in Canada. You can leave the country while applying for sponsorship. No work permit possible. You still need a visa to get in and out of Canada.
3. Outland. If Spouse is a PR, spouse must remain in Canada while other spouse lives abroad (usually in their home country).

All take on average 12 months.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Yes, he is - but he is also a PR holder. Neither of us are very cultural, having been away from Pakistan for a while. How much of an issue could that create? We will hold a partially cultural ceremony once I can actually move to him.

Generally, anything out of the cultural norm is a red flag and red flags can lead to refusal.

What is the relationship history? Is it arranged?