letter from employer to show ties to US?

[BeShoo]

I would like to visit my boyfriend for 6 months(he is there on a work visa), then apply for an extension for 2 months while I'm looking for a work visa in Canada.

I don't know. Sometimes they're a little suspicious when you ask for 6 months, because if you never intended to return, that's what you'd ask for. Might be better to come for 2 months (a more normal visit-type visit), then ask for a 6-month extension. What do you mean by "looking for a work visa"? Hmmm. You'll need a good reason for an extension if you expect to get one.

 

[minna]

yeah, I don't know that you'll be granted a visit extension once you are in Canada. When posters say 'you'll be able to extend your visit' they are usually talking about cases when someone is married to or in a common-law relationship with a Canadian citizen or PR. That's not the case for you. It might be ok, but it might not.

You might want to talk to an immigration consultant or lawyer who has experience with all kinds of immigration classes and cases - the people on this forum are not all overly familiar with work, study or visit visas outside the context of family class immigration.

For example, I'm not familiar with the process, but I don't think that you can 'get a work permit' by just applying for jobs. You may be able to get a study permit to attend a canadian college or university, but you would have to actually attend the college in order to maintain its validity. You can't get accepted to a canadian school for the purposes of the study visa, and then not actually attend (as far as I know, anyways).

 

[BeShoo]

For example, I'm not familiar with the process, but I don't think that you can 'get a work permit' by just applying for jobs.

If you can find a job where there are not enough qualified Canadian applicants, you might be able to do it. The employer will have to ask the government for a "labour market opinion" (LMO) and if there really is a shortage of workers for that kind of job you might be approved, but the employer would have to hold open the job for you while the government reviews the job. Unless you are in one of a few porfessional categories, that is the process.

Ask in the foreign workers section of this forum for more information.