Living in Canada but working in the US while PR application is processed

[Bast]

Hello,

I've been dating an American for almost 6 years now and we're beginning to move towards marriage. We've already agreed that an outland application is the best way to go but I'm curious about whether she could move in with me before she would receive her PR status. There's a branch of her work that's close to the border, which makes it feasible for her to commute there and back on a daily basis if she transferred there.

My main concern though is how the respective border agencies would view this. I've read the horror stories for inland applications and getting blocked from re-entering Canada. I would presume that is a risk at any point in time until her PR application goes. Would it just be better to wait things out until she receives her PR status or am I worrying needlessly?

Best regards,

 

[scylla]

It's safe to assume that she won't be able to stay in Canada as a tourist and then commute daily to the US for her job. It might work for a few days or a few weeks, but sooner or later CBSA will tell her she needs to stop and quite possible stop her from entering Canada. If she wants to stay as a visitor in Canada while her application is being processed, she needs to keep border crossings to an absolute minimum. Crossing the border daily to go to work is the behaviour of someone who is living in Canada - not just visiting. It won't fly.

Better plan is to have her live in the US and visit you on weekends.

 

[carr1]

I know people that are in Winsdor Ontario like me that do cross daily to work or study in the states but they all have a VR (visitor record) while waiting for PR. I have a VR and thought about working in Detroit but then after I weighed the cost and hassle I decided not to, it's $10 a day crossing, $5 each way, at the Windsor/Detroit tunnel.
I have a VR and I cross into Michigan a lot but not daily and have had no issues since receiving a one year VR. Reading these forums I think the Windsor/Detroit tunnel is one of the best places for a PR applicant to cross IMHO. I would say if you're going to try it just know at any point you could get a grumpy CBSA agent and they could deny entry so keep that in mind.
It might be better to apply Outland and she stay in the states and you guys visit on weekend like the above poster said. A nexus card would be a good idea for you both. I've seen a lot of Outland US applicants get approved for PR in 4 or 5 months on here, I'm on month 7 so be prepared for more time then less as you just never know if you will be quickly approved or not.

 

[Bast]

We both have Nexus already and there's no cost to cross thankfully (Peace Arch). She presently lives about 2 hours south of the border, versus the 30 minutes approximately for this location.

Due to how her job is scheduled, her two days off per week can vary greatly and there's no guarantee that even one will land on the weekend.

 

[CDNPR2014]

We both have Nexus already and there's no cost to cross thankfully (Peace Arch). She presently lives about 2 hours south of the border, versus the 30 minutes approximately for this location.

Due to how her job is scheduled, her two days off per week can vary greatly and there's no guarantee that even one will land on the weekend.

the point is the more someone crosses the border the more likely they will get stopped for investigation at the border no matter what day of the week. border agents are much tougher on couples who have not submitted a pr application. having a nexus pass helps with this until cbsa decides the amount of travel is becoming suspiciously close to looking like the us citizen is "living" in canada. always carrying proof of ties to the us when crossing will help show there isn't an intention to "live" in canada until approved for pr.

 

[Ponga]

Maybe she can move to Point Roberts.

 

[keesio]

the point is the more someone crosses the border the more likely they will get stopped for investigation at the border no matter what day of the week. border agents are much tougher on couples who have not submitted a pr application. having a nexus pass helps with this until cbsa decides the amount of travel is becoming suspiciously close to looking like the us citizen is "living" in canada.

I thought the whole point of Nexus was to help frequent travelers. They even have it in their advertisements "Do you frequently travel to the US?". So it sounds a little silly to me that they would be suspicious of someone with Nexus who crosses the border a lot. But I guess everything has its limit.

 

[CDNPR2014]

I thought the whole point of Nexus was to help frequent travelers. They even have it in their advertisements "Do you frequently travel to the US?". So it sounds a little silly to me that they would be suspicious of someone with Nexus who crosses the border a lot. But I guess everything has its limit.

i think there IS a limit to what CBSA considers frequently. or perhaps everyone with a nexus can easily cross the border weekly without issue. if a us citizen is spending more time in canada than in the us, even with a nexus pass, i'd think that's borderlining on the suspcious side. i'm sure it's a case by case/border by border discretion.

 

[keesio]

I'd be curious what "frequently" is for CBSA. The CBSA officer who did my Nexus interview at Fort Erie told me that many people in Fort Erie have Nexus and use it to easily go over to Buffalo, almost daily, to buy dairy (especially milk) because it is much cheaper in the US. She told me many people with Nexus in the region commute to the US every day.

 

[CDNPR2014]

i think there is a difference between going to the the other country for a day or a few hours to run errands and traveling to the other country to visit a significant other on a regular basis and staying there more than your own home country. i'd think that would be the deciding factor - how long you're in the country that's not your "home". from what i understand, that's the factor used. Is the person spending more time in canada than the us? if so, why?

 

[Ponga]

I also suspect that things are different now, because of the Beyond the Border program.

The third phase, which was completed a couple of years ago I believe, was to capture and share exit data between The U.S. and Canada to include citizens and Permanent Residents. Phases I and II were only tracking exit/entry data of Foreign Nationals that were neither a citizen or PR of either country.

 

[Ponga]

Ooops...I thought Phase III had been completed:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/btb-pdf/ebsiip-asfipi-eng.html


Future phases

Phases III and IV of the Entry/Exit Initiative

For Phase III, Canada and the U.S. have committed to exchange routinely collected biographical information (such as name, date of birth, and nationality/citizenship) on the entry of all travellers at all automated common land border ports of entry, such that a record of entry into one country would be considered a record of exit from the other.

In Phase IV, Canada has committed to developing a system to establish the collection of exit records in the air mode. This will require airlines to submit passenger manifest information on all travellers on outbound international flights.




Date modified:
2016-01-26

[EDIT]:

Here's more info:
http://thebottomlinenews.ca/articles/809
(written Dec 2015)

The third phase of this initiative, which will also cover citizens of both countries, was supposed to have been in place by June 2014, but according to the Canada-United States Beyond the Border Action Plan published earlier this year, the CBSA is still “working with all partners to prepare the required regulatory and legislative authorities” before it “can be implemented.”

“I’ve heard from a few different directions that phase three is going to be implemented in the near future,” said Kingston, who cited privacy concerns as one of the issues that needs to be resolved.

A spokesperson with the CBSA declined comment, noting that it is premature to speculate on the final details.

 

[truesmile]

Once again, I concur with keesio. With a Nexus pass, the traveler will not have any difficulty crossing daily (so long as there's a Nexus lane to use).

 

[Ponga]

I respectfully disagree. How can you assure the OP that his future spouse will not have any problems...even with a NEXUS lane?

Once CBSA determines that she's spending way more time in Canada, she could very well have a problem.

 

[Bast]

Overall, it sounds like it would be best to play it safe and hold off until everything completes. While it might not be an issue right away, it gets progressively riskier each day. While she could, in theory, just try the other border crossing that's 5 minutes away if there was an issue, it would still be a huge hassle to have to deal with at the end of a work day.