Living in Canada as a visitor. Marriage Sponsorship Questions

[meatcasey]

Hi, I have been living in Ontario, Canada as a visitor for approximately a year now with my girlfriend of 2 years. We are planning to get married soonish, and I'm wondering what resources we'll need for spousal sponsorship. My main concern is to what the process will be like if I've already been living in Canada past 6 months and have no option to apply outside of Canada. We live together in our own home and returning to the US is not really an option. I entered with a US passport card, and as far as I know border control services does not have a record of me entering. Is this feasible?

 

[Rob_TO]

Most likely they do have a record of you entering if you showed them your passport. You would have gotten 6-months visitor status upon entry if no stamp in your passport. Did you apply to extend your visitor status after your initial 6 months was almost up? If not, you now have no status and are here illegally now.

You can apply through the outland method even if you are here in Canada. However since you are here illegally, at any time CBSA may find out and start moves to deport you. You may want to voluntarily leave and try to re-enter again to reset your status, this time following the rules around maintaining your visitor status.

 

[meatcasey]

Thanks for replying.

I should clarify that I used a US passport card, which doesn't require stamps and only permits travel between land and sea to Canada and Mexico. At point of entry it was late at night and I do not recall the officer scanning my card. And I did try to extend my visitor status, but I was denied even after submitting proof of financial support. (I was never notified that I needed additional documents and my time limit expired.)

Anyway, if I were to exit Canada and re-enter another day, would I run into any problems at the border, entering or exiting?

 

[Amalthea]

Thanks for replying.

I should clarify that I used a US passport card, which doesn't require stamps and only permits travel between land and sea to Canada and Mexico. At point of entry it was late at night and I do not recall the officer scanning my card. And I did try to extend my visitor status, but I was denied even after submitting proof of financial support. (I was never notified that I needed additional documents and my time limit expired.)

Anyway, if I were to exit Canada and re-enter another day, would I run into any problems at the border, entering or exiting?

They do know you are here - they don't manually scan the passport card, your passport - even the card, has an RFID chip in it. (That's why at the very back it says "This contains an electronic device, do not get wet" etc etc. All they have to do is move your passport near the vicinity of the reader. Here's a screenshot where they explain this for Passport Cards, if you don't believe me http://puu.sh/hqvAQ/5ffa08c722.jpg

Wow - you told them you were applying for PR and they denied you anyway for a visa extension??? ((

 

[meatcasey]

They do know you are here - they don't manually scan the passport card, your passport - even the card, has an RFID chip in it. (That's why at the very back it says "This contains an electronic device, do not get wet" etc etc. All they have to do is move your passport near the vicinity of the reader.

Wow - you told them you were applying for PR and they denied you anyway for a visa extension??? ((

Ah, that makes sense then. Also, I wasn't applying for PR back when I was applying for a visa extension. Would it be a wise idea to apply for an extension while I apply for PR after we get married?

 

[Amalthea]

If your 6 months hadn't expired, and you went to the States for a few days and came back, you would probably have been fine if you just said you were visiting and had ties to the US. However, since you have now over-stayed, you are at a much greater risk to be denied entry into Canada if you were to leave.

 

[meatcasey]

Hmm, I see. I was told otherwise by friends that my visitor's visa wouldn't reset if I were to simply exit and re-enter. I probably should have asked a forum then, eh?

Any tips on minimizing being denied entry if I were to attempt to leave Canada and re-enter?

 

[Amalthea]

Absolutely, leaving Canada for any amount of time and re-entering will reset your 6 month visitor status ( Unless they stamp a specific end date, which seems to be rare for visa-exempt countries)

I am so sorry your friends gave you horrible advice. Granted, there is no guarantee you will ever be allowed entry into Canada, but as long as you say you are visiting, have bank accounts and things in the US, you would have probably been fine, despite spending the last 6mos in Canada. Lots of people travel back and forth over the border while waiting for an Outland app to finish while in Canada w/ their spouse. Once you have a PR app in process, they seem to be more understanding, esp after Sponsorship Approval, about border crossings.

However, I can't say now that you have over-stayed. They will see that you over-stayed your 6 mos in Canada and you are very likely to be denied entry.

I'm going to let a senior step in with more information, I don't know too much about applying while out of status. AFAIK you can still apply Inland, while out of status in Canada (as you are). However, Inland wait times are extremely long, much longer than Outland (7-10 mos vs 2-3 years), however Inland is eligible for OWP.. but, my understanding is that you're not eligible for the OWP pilot if you are out of status. And if you were to apply while out of status, and were to get deported, your application would be done.

 

[Amalthea]

IF you can/are allowed to apply Outland while out of status in Canada, I would suggest that b/c it will be done sooner from start to finish, putting you at a way lesser risk of being deported, etc, and allowing you to move on with your life as a legal resident of Canada But my knowledge is very limited about this, my apologies. Best of luck to you!! Hang in there.

 

[meatcasey]

IF you can/are allowed to apply Outland while out of status in Canada, I would suggest that b/c it will be done sooner from start to finish, putting you at a way lesser risk of being deported, etc, and allowing you to move on with your life as a legal resident of Canada But my knowledge is very limited about this, my apologies. Best of luck to you!! Hang in there.

I might end up doing this since getting a work permit isn't too big of a problem right now. Thank you very much for your advice, it helps.

 

[Amalthea]

I might end up doing this since getting a work permit isn't too big of a problem right now. Thank you very much for your advice, it helps.

NP. Ottawa is speeding up atm. For some reason it took me 6 months to figure out that US applications are actually processed in Ottawa, not NY or LA. Just a heads up! Also, the sooner you start getting everything together, the better. FBI wait times for your background check are currently at about 3 months. However, once you receive your FBI check it has to be in CIC's hands within 3 months or it's considered expired.

There are tons of helpful people, and tons of great advice on these forums. I'm sure you will get the right answers to your questions sooner than later!

 

[Rob_TO]

Ah, that makes sense then. Also, I wasn't applying for PR back when I was applying for a visa extension. Would it be a wise idea to apply for an extension while I apply for PR after we get married?

You are out of status now in Canada, so there is nothing to apply to extend. You getting married or applying for PR will not change anything, you will still be out of status.

The only way for you to get back visitor status, is to leave Canada and then attempt to re-entering. Only upon re-entering would you gain legal visitor status again.

You can still try to apply for PR outland while being out of status. However in your PR app you will need to indicate in a few places you are out of status now and here illegally. When CIC starts reviewing your PR application, they could notify CBSA of this which means they could start motions to deport you. CBSA can actually do this at any time, but often people here illegally don't get on their radar until it's actually pointed out to them directly.

 

[meatcasey]

You are out of status now in Canada, so there is nothing to apply to extend. You getting married or applying for PR will not change anything, you will still be out of status.

The only way for you to get back visitor status, is to leave Canada and then attempt to re-entering. Only upon re-entering would you gain legal visitor status again.

You can still try to apply for PR outland while being out of status. However in your PR app you will need to indicate in a few places you are out of status now and here illegally. When CIC starts reviewing your PR application, they could notify CBSA of this which means they could start motions to deport you. CBSA can actually do this at any time, but often people here illegally don't get on their radar until it's actually pointed out to them directly.

Okay, thanks. So, considering my only option here is to cross back over to the US and back, what would the US border control do to see if I've been here too long, and consequently report me to CBSA? Is there any way to avoid that?

 

[Zakmalik]

Why not just applying inland? You are able to be out of status and apply inland , if they find out and issue a removal order I've read that because you have an application processing they back off

 

[meatcasey]

Why not just applying inland? You are able to be out of status and apply inland , if they find out and issue a removal order I've read that because you have an application processing they back off

That would actually be just fine for me! Problem is I don't know if they actually will back off, so if you have a source or something that would be appreciated.