jwharris08 said:
i know that my wife can sponsor me, however my question is once we apply how long until im able to work. do i have to wait until the entire process is over or can i begin work prior to the application being completed ? how do i apply for a nafta/tn visa? what are the requirements for that ?
Right now timelines are about 6-8 months, as a USA citizen you apply to the Ottawa visa office and you can travel back and forth if you apply outland. ALSO you have a right to appeal if they try to prove your relationship false, which you DO NOT have as an inland application.
As for Nafta/tn visa, it is technically a work visa, which you can find a lot of info on within the CIC website, however it is called a work permit or visa and is only for those who qualify.
I'm currently applying with my husband as an outland application, I'm a Canadian born and raised citizen while he is American. Right now applications who applied in June are seeing a lot of decisions made on their applications. Hopefully that means my husband and I will hear something within the next month or so. Applying outland really wasn't that bad. I took a lot of time putting everything together as they requested and triple checked we had everything, but honestly it was not horrendous. We had Sponsorship Approval (SA) by August 28th and we applied July 11th. That meant he could come into Canada on a visitors visa and stay for an extended amount of time. (6 months without extension) We just had to prove he had health insurance, suffieciant funds in his bank account and a flight back home for approx 5-6 months away. Since I was moving back they questioned that. If we had stayed in Canada he could have applied to extend the visa, but we are back for the holidays.
I'd strongly suggest applying outland ASAP and just staying in the USA to work and such until your approved. Just much less hassle and the wait won't drive you quite as crazy if you are working!
USA NAFTA/ TN information:
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/employment/nafta.html
Canada work permit information:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/work.asp