Living here, working there

[johns09tj]

How do I go about living with my wife in Canada and working at my current job in the United States? I will have to cross the border each day, do I need a certain visa for that? We have applied for the PR card, will the receipt be good enough for me to return to Canada every night after work?

Thanks much

 

[Sweden]

if your PR is not yet done ( which what I assume you mean by "apply for the PR card") then you probably need a little more than the receipt. I would advise applying for a NExus pass, which will make it much easier.

 

[scylla]

I agree with Sweden. The Nexus pass will make it easier - althought it won't guarantee re-entry (nothing can guarantee re-entry unfortunately).

I've had a Nexus pass for years and love it.

 

[scylla]

Just to add... If you don't already have Nexus then apply as soon as you can (you can do it all online). I know a few months ago the processing time was 3-4 months minimum (hopefully it has improved since then).

 

[keesio]

Just to add... If you don't already have Nexus then apply as soon as you can (you can do it all online). I know a few months ago the processing time was 3-4 months minimum (hopefully it has improved since then).

I recall the the bulk of the time was the wait for the interview. And you can choose where to have it. I chose Fort Erie, ON because YYZ (Toronto Pearson) had a wait of a few months while Fort Erie was pretty open and got an appointment in one week. But someone told me recently that wait times have shot up across the board.

 

[scylla]

I recall the the bulk of the time was the wait for the interview. And you can choose where to have it. I chose Fort Erie, ON because YYZ (Toronto Pearson) had a wait of a few months while Fort Erie was pretty open and got an appointment in one week. But someone told me recently that wait times have shot up across the board.

You're absolutely right. The waiting time is almost all the interivew bit. Like you said, you used to be able to get through faster by going to less popular location. I've had a few co-workers go through the process recently (last 8 months?) and they've said waiting times are up across the board as well.

I made the mistake of telling someone that it "just takes 2 weeks" because that was my experience four years ago - even with an interview at Pearson. Fortunately one of my co-workers was there to correct me. Having said that, I'm sure the wait times fluctuate...

 

[zardoz]

How do I go about living with my wife in Canada and working at my current job in the United States? I will have to cross the border each day, do I need a certain visa for that? We have applied for the PR card, will the receipt be good enough for me to return to Canada every night after work?

Thanks much

Just out of curiosity, what would you propose to do if they decided at the border that you were not a genuine visitor but were residing in Canada? This could get you barred from reentry... Having a PR application in progress gives you no extra status in Canada. I am making the assumption that you are not currently a Canadian PR.

 

[Nexus2013]

Just out of curiosity, what would you propose to do if they decided at the border that you were not a genuine visitor but were residing in Canada? This could get you barred from reentry... Having a PR application in progress gives you no extra status in Canada. I am making the assumption that you are not currently a Canadian PR.

and not to further complicate your world but I was told by a border crossing agent that applying for Nexus could be viewed as trying to get around the system. I too am living here while the PR process goes through but go back and forth a lot. The problem is when they ask "who are you coming to see" and "how do you know them" you will be in red flag mode when you answer "my wife lives here".
If you are crossing every day its going to be pretty hard to hide you are living in Canada. I've found agents to be quite forgiving of me bending my "visitor" status to the max, but your situation seems a bit trickier.
If you can't live in the US part time (even a few days a week) then Nexus is a way to avoid "the questions". Crossing until then might be problematic even if you're being legit and filed the PR.

 

[scylla]

We have applied for the PR card

Just to double check something...

In your first post today you seemed to indicate that you hadn't applied for anything yet - and now you mention that you have applied for the PR card. Just want to make sure you've submitted the right application. You can't actually apply for a PR card yet - your wife first has to sponsor you for permanent residency.

The right forms and paper work are here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

The wrong forms are here (these are for the PR card which you don't qualify to apply for right now):

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/prcard.asp

 

[frege]

How do I go about living with my wife in Canada and working at my current job in the United States? I will have to cross the border each day, do I need a certain visa for that? We have applied for the PR card, will the receipt be good enough for me to return to Canada every night after work?

Thanks much

As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with living in Canada if you never stay longer than you're allowed. Every time you go back to work in the US, you're confirming for them that you don't intend to outstay your authorization. As far as I can tell by reading CIC material, this can go on indefinitely, regardless of your PR application.

It's possible I'm wrong and someone will correct me.

Obviously it's preferable for you to apply for PR status.

 

[zardoz]

This thread covers it as well. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-citizen-live-in-canada-work-in-the-us-t110406.0.html

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf04-eng.pdf sections 7, 8 and 13 deal with the border crossing process and the "awkward" questions that they are permitted to ask.

 

[scylla]

As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with living in Canada if you never stay longer than you're allowed. Every time you go back to work in the US, you're confirming for them that you don't intend to outstay your authorization. As far as I can tell by reading CIC material, this can go on indefinitely, regardless of your PR application. It's possible I'm wrong and someone will correct me.

Immigration officials take the opposite view. As a visitor - you're only allowed to visit - not live in Canada. If you start looking like you're living here (i.e. coming into Canada with too many belongings, spending more time in Canada than outside of Canada, coming in and out of Canada frequently) - then you're significantly increasing your chances of being granted a short visit or even refused entry.

Someone who is a visitor enters Canada, stays here for a while to see stuff/visit family and then leaves. Coming in and out of Canada daily is not visitor behaviour. It's resident behaviour. Sooner or later immigration is going to have issues with this.

 

[Alurra71]

Believe me, if CBSA gets a wild hair up their ass, you will NOT cross the border as just a 'visitor' each day after work.

That being said, I used the Ambassador Bridge almost EVERY DAY. They gave me a major hassle up until my marriage and my sponsorship paperwork was filed. I too had a nexus card, but it finally got processed very shortly after my marriage and sponsorship paperwork was taken care of.

One way I have found that they won't give you nearly as much a hassle. Get a visitor record put into your passport. You won't necessarily need a nexus card any longer, and they will know you are living with your wife and working in the states and SHOULD give you relatively easy access back and forth across the border between the two. I was able to get my visitor record in CBSA immigration at the Detroit/Windsor crossing by showing my marriage certificate, then for my extension my paid/applied for Sponsorship paperwork.