Just found out we can't extend my common-law partner's work permit. HELP!

[gatherroses]

Hi everyone,
I am sorry if these questions have been answered already. I JUST found out that my partner's work visa cannot be extended.

I am in desperate need of help!!

I am a Canadian citizen, and my partner is from France (here on a young professional visa). We've been living together for a year.

So, thank-you, Government of Canada for your incredibly clear website. It says this:

"You may extend the validity of your temporary work permit to a maximum of 18 months by following the instructions on this page."
-> My partner's work permit is for 18 months (finishing in mid-October). We assumed, and were told, this meant she could extend her work permit by 18 months. The immigration advisor we went to thought the exact same thing. Except, we found out today that 18 months is the MAXIMUM length of the work permit. Since we thought we had a year and a half to get our paperwork in, we didn't rush. Nothing is in the mail for our sponsorship!


So, we're in a bad place, and in need of advice.

I have a few questions:
1. Has anybody else here had experience with the young professional visa? Did the woman on the phone know what she was talking about (it not being extendable)?

2. What are her options to work while we wait for her PR to come through?

3. Is it better to apply through Canada, or through another visa office? If we apply through another visa office, can it be any office? The lawyer we spoke to said we could go through Buffalo. However, the wait times in China are shorter. Can we apply through China (like we can do for the US)?

4. Any tips you could give us? She's freaking out!!

Thank-you all so much! I think you'll all be seeing me around here a little bit more often... Good luck to everybody who is in the process of applying!

 

[patate]

Hey Gatherroses,

I'm in the same situation as your partner. Common-law, and on the same type of work permit; 18 months is the maximum. The reason why they say you can extend it is that very often people get six month or one year work permits.

You say she's on the young professional permit - has she been on the Working Holiday permit yet? If not she could get that one for 2012, that will leave you another year.

Why doesn't she apply through the Paris office, if she is from France?

 

[CharlieD10]

I can only comment on 3) by saying you may only apply Inland (don't recommend it) or Outland via Buffalo (11 months average timeline) because she has been admitted to Canada for more than a year originally or via Paris, France which is responsible for persons of her nationality (8 months average timeline). You cannot "embassy shop" on the basis of how quickly they process an application.

 

[scylla]

To add...

If she picks Buffalo as a processing office, make sure she's visa exempt (i.e. can get into the US without a visa and on a passport alone). If an interview is required, it will be held in Buffalo. A few non-visa exempt people on this board applied through Buffalo and then weren't approved for visas to the US to attend their interviews. Their applications were deemed abandoned (because they didn't attend the interview) and they had to start from scratch.

But again, this won't be a problelm if she's visa exempt.

 

[gatherroses]

Thank-you everyone for your helpful replies. We're being sent in circles by everyone... including lawyers and immigration advisors.
Thanks for your prompt replies!

As for the visas, that is really helpful information... She needs a $14 green card to get into the States. Does that count as a visa? It's standard for all people from Europe. What if she gets a green card on a different entry?

Again, we really appreciate it!!

 

[scylla]

I just re-read your first message. She's a French citizen with an EU passport - yes? If so, she's visa exempt when traveling to the US.

 

[gatherroses]

Oh, she has also done the Working Holiday visa already. I don't think she can do anything else with the Canada-France agreement, right?
And, she's a French citizen with an EU passport. =) The green card she needs doesn't count as a visa?

 

[patate]

She doesn't need a green card; she needs to apply through ETSA to get a travel authorization. Once she has it it is good for two years.

 

[patate]

and no, there's nothing left in the France-Canada agreement

If she already has an employer they could try applying for a LMO...

 

[gatherroses]

Thank-you so much, everyone.. Any more tips would be appreciated. Looks like we'll have a long road ahead of us. You'll be seeing a lot more of me on these forms!

Do any of you have experience getting LMOs? She works at a recording studio. They previously failed to get an LMO for an America, but she's currently working with a database that only four people alive know how to use.... however, they could probably train a Canadian in two months. Does this sound like something that could work for a LMO?

 

[scylla]

The requirements for LMOs are posted here (in case you haven't seen this page yet):

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/employers/lmo-basics.asp

The trick is that the employer MUST advertise the job on Canadian job board and prove they could not find a Canadian to fill the role. If they can train someone in two months, I don't think that's in your favour (two months is a very short period of time).

However that doesn't mean her employer can't try. Have they started advertising her role yet to meet this first requirement? Are they willing to attempt to get an approved LMO?

 

[patate]

I've had bad experiences with LMO's... To me it looks like the smaller the company, the harder it is to get an approval. Good luck though! My old employer got refused last year, but she's trying again for next year (It's a seasonal job). Fingers crossed...

 

[gatherroses]

Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for your support. We're having a little freak-out right now. It feels like our lives have been turned up side down due to the failure of the site to provide clarity, and our inability to find resources on this particular visa.

Her employers are probably willing to try to get an LMO, but we haven't asked them yet (since we found out today at 3 pm that her visa was not extendable ).

Right now, we're thinking she might be best off to get support from her father for a bit. Does anybody know if you need a visa to do an internship? Also, can she remain in Canada while she waits for the paperwork to go through? I know I've seen various things like this on the website, but apparently my ability to extract useful information from that website is lacking..... or, we wouldn't be in this place right now...

 

[patate]

She can do an internship under the Canada France agreement (International experience program)... But one of the eligibility criteria is that she has to be enrolled in an educational institution or training centre at the moment (which I'm guessing isn't the case?).

 

[gatherroses]

Thank-you so much for the reply! Unfortunately, all of the spots on the Canada-France agreement are full... And, she has done the working holiday visa and the young professionals visa now. So, she's not allowed to do the internship... or, at least, that was my understanding.

She could be considered as "training" - she's still an amateur in her field, and the internship would help her to become a professional. But, I am not sure if she's allowed to do it. if you have any tips or pointers, they would be much appreciated.
As a visitor, is an unpaid internship allowed?
Thanks again, everyone. You have all helped us make our night a lot more tolerable. We're just starting out, and we have no idea where to go from here..