I've just gotten engaged to my American boyfriend. Thing is I'm having trouble figuring out just how I can get him here and marry him without crossing any lines that would prevent him from then moving here and living here in Canada. I've read various things and the problem is that it seems I'd have to marry him in order to sponsor him as my spouse, but then I've read that if he comes on a travelers visa and we get married that might cross some red line and so I might fail at trying to sponsor him here. I really, really need someone to help me through this process so I don't mess something up. I will jump through whatever hoop is put in my way but I need to know exactly how I should start the process to get him here, get married and then do the family sponsorship program thing.
Just got engaged to an American and want to know how to...
- Thread starter guelphontlady
- Start date
lleahdoll
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There's no problem in him coming to visit Canada so you two can get married. And he doesn't need a travel visa because he's from the US. We are a visa exempt country.
So, he can come to Canada and you two can get married or you can go down to the states or wherever you want to get married. Then you can start the process. I would suggest outland because it is faster than inland for Americans. This mean he can only visit while you wait for him to be approved. Right now the average time is about 8-10 months. He can visit during the process and extend his stay but he can not work or go to school. So it's up to you two if you could handle either the distance or living on one income.
I would suggest looking at these three threads for more help:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-outland-applicants-thread-t106068.0.html
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/cppottawa-t118769.0.html
If you have any more questions, which I'm sure you will, feel free to ask.
So, he can come to Canada and you two can get married or you can go down to the states or wherever you want to get married. Then you can start the process. I would suggest outland because it is faster than inland for Americans. This mean he can only visit while you wait for him to be approved. Right now the average time is about 8-10 months. He can visit during the process and extend his stay but he can not work or go to school. So it's up to you two if you could handle either the distance or living on one income.
I would suggest looking at these three threads for more help:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-outland-applicants-thread-t106068.0.html
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/cppottawa-t118769.0.html
If you have any more questions, which I'm sure you will, feel free to ask.
Hey guelphontlady, I am in this same situation as well- Just got engaged to my amazing American boyfriend and really don't want to mess this up either as the immigration process looks very daunting! I am learning it myself, and we have called immigration and researched and researched. We are getting married when he's up for a visit. The marriage would be legal in both countries, and it wouldn't matter if we had our wedding down there or up here.
The route we are choosing to go is outland, so we can visit his family and not worry about him not being allowed to re-enter Canada until his application is through. It is quicker than inland by quite a bit, and he can live with me still via visiting, as with inland. The downside to this is that he can't work during this time, so we will be on one income.
From what I understand, if he went with an inland immigration application, he can also send in a work visa application at the same time. But applying inland takes longer, and he would possibly be unable to leave Canada until its through.
Some tips for you- definitely send those engagement and wedding pictures (loose, not in an album or anything), pictures with you two and friends, tickets, families tickets from travelling up for the wedding- because if it was a fake marriage, why would his family travel all the way to canada for it? My fiance and I go to some baseball games when we are in the states, so we keep the tickets from those. We keep brochures, little notes we have written each other and cards, and our premarriage counseling correspondence which shows our beliefs and the work we are willing to put into our marriage. We correspond with the premarriage counselor over email sometimes, so we have a record. To go the extra mile, I am writing a letter about our relationship (he is helping) and stating why I would like him to be with me in Canada. It may be excessive, but no way I'm risking anything!
The checklists that come in the application package are definitely helpful, keep one posted next to your computer and make sure you are not missing anything. And don't stress, it looks intimidating in paper form, but you're definitely not the only couple going through this! It'll be worth it in the end
Jalin
The route we are choosing to go is outland, so we can visit his family and not worry about him not being allowed to re-enter Canada until his application is through. It is quicker than inland by quite a bit, and he can live with me still via visiting, as with inland. The downside to this is that he can't work during this time, so we will be on one income.
From what I understand, if he went with an inland immigration application, he can also send in a work visa application at the same time. But applying inland takes longer, and he would possibly be unable to leave Canada until its through.
Some tips for you- definitely send those engagement and wedding pictures (loose, not in an album or anything), pictures with you two and friends, tickets, families tickets from travelling up for the wedding- because if it was a fake marriage, why would his family travel all the way to canada for it? My fiance and I go to some baseball games when we are in the states, so we keep the tickets from those. We keep brochures, little notes we have written each other and cards, and our premarriage counseling correspondence which shows our beliefs and the work we are willing to put into our marriage. We correspond with the premarriage counselor over email sometimes, so we have a record. To go the extra mile, I am writing a letter about our relationship (he is helping) and stating why I would like him to be with me in Canada. It may be excessive, but no way I'm risking anything!
The checklists that come in the application package are definitely helpful, keep one posted next to your computer and make sure you are not missing anything. And don't stress, it looks intimidating in paper form, but you're definitely not the only couple going through this! It'll be worth it in the end
Jalin
LittleDermo
Full Member
- Mar 21, 2014
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- Visa Office......
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with him coming up to Canada to visit and to get married to you. I would highly suggest making sure that there is some kind of family from both sides here though. I'm American and my husband is Canadian and when we got married in Canada I made sure my parents and his parents were both in attendance for our marriage. We also took a bunch of pictures that day to keep and use for the proof of relationship part of the application.
Jalinr93 has given you good advice as well. He can be up here living with you on a visitor's visa for up to 6 months and he doesn't need anything extra since he is American and the US is a visa exempt country. If that is your plan for him to come up and stay with you while the application is being processed I would suggest that you tell him to be completely honest with the CBSA officer when he is entering the country. As long as he is honest there should be no problem. If he is coming in through an airport having a return ticket to the US after a certain point of time is a good indication that he will be returning to the US at some point which is pretty much all they want to make sure happens. Without him having official status in Canada they just want to make sure he'll be going back to the US at some point. If you are crossing at a land border you don't necessarily need to have a return ticket however it will be a good idea that you are with him when he crosses and you have either your marriage certificate or signed marriage license (if you haven't received the certificate yet). My husband and I made that mistake the first time we crossed and they almost didn't allow me to cross. Also if he plans on living with you while the application is processing and you cross over on a land border make sure he doesn't bring too much of his stuff with him. I brought my clothes, my cat, my cat's things, and a couple of appliances my husband didn't have with me and they didn't question me about it. Just make sure it's not like a U-haul or anything like that and it's just stuff that can come in a car. If it looks like he is trying to "move" here before having official status it will look very suspicious to the CBSA officer.
I know this all seems like a huge scary task to get through but just breathe and make sure you document everything you guys do together or go together somehow. Keep records of chatting online or using skype or however you communicate when you aren't together. Just to give you an idea My husband and I had about a years worth of proof of relationship plus being married and we submitted our application this past December and I just received my approved permanent residence paperwork 2 days ago. Took about 6 months! So hang in there and if you have any questions feel free to message me or search this forum. I wouldn't have been able to get through this process without this forum it has been so helpful and most everyone is nice and will understand your situation! Good Luck!
Jalinr93 has given you good advice as well. He can be up here living with you on a visitor's visa for up to 6 months and he doesn't need anything extra since he is American and the US is a visa exempt country. If that is your plan for him to come up and stay with you while the application is being processed I would suggest that you tell him to be completely honest with the CBSA officer when he is entering the country. As long as he is honest there should be no problem. If he is coming in through an airport having a return ticket to the US after a certain point of time is a good indication that he will be returning to the US at some point which is pretty much all they want to make sure happens. Without him having official status in Canada they just want to make sure he'll be going back to the US at some point. If you are crossing at a land border you don't necessarily need to have a return ticket however it will be a good idea that you are with him when he crosses and you have either your marriage certificate or signed marriage license (if you haven't received the certificate yet). My husband and I made that mistake the first time we crossed and they almost didn't allow me to cross. Also if he plans on living with you while the application is processing and you cross over on a land border make sure he doesn't bring too much of his stuff with him. I brought my clothes, my cat, my cat's things, and a couple of appliances my husband didn't have with me and they didn't question me about it. Just make sure it's not like a U-haul or anything like that and it's just stuff that can come in a car. If it looks like he is trying to "move" here before having official status it will look very suspicious to the CBSA officer.
I know this all seems like a huge scary task to get through but just breathe and make sure you document everything you guys do together or go together somehow. Keep records of chatting online or using skype or however you communicate when you aren't together. Just to give you an idea My husband and I had about a years worth of proof of relationship plus being married and we submitted our application this past December and I just received my approved permanent residence paperwork 2 days ago. Took about 6 months! So hang in there and if you have any questions feel free to message me or search this forum. I wouldn't have been able to get through this process without this forum it has been so helpful and most everyone is nice and will understand your situation! Good Luck!