NEED HELP. NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER MY QUESTION

[hess5103]

Hi, I am a registered Indian through new credit first nation in Canada which allows me to cross the border and live in Canada whenever I please according to the Jay Treaty. I plan on living in Canada for school scholarship reasons for ONLY ONE YEAR and my common law partner (2 years of dating, 1 1/2 years of living together) needs to be able to come with me. I need to start living in Canada in the month of May, which means that he wont have time to apply for permanent residency (it takes 30 months with my sponsorship). We are both US citizens and therefore do not need Visa's. Therefore my questions are:

1. Is it possible for him to leave Canada everyday to work in Buffalo and then come back to stay the nights in Canada during my stay of only one year? (on the CIC site, it does not say anything about this)
2. Is it possible for him to do this without requiring any kind of application for living in Canada?
3. If it is only a year, is it possible for him to visit for 6 months, and then get his visitation renewed?

 

[Alurra71]

Hi, I am a registered Indian through new credit first nation in Canada which allows me to cross the border and live in Canada whenever I please according to the Jay Treaty. I plan on living in Canada for school scholarship reasons for ONLY ONE YEAR and my common law partner (2 years of dating, 1 1/2 years of living together) needs to be able to come with me. I need to start living in Canada in the month of May, which means that he wont have time to apply for permanent residency (it takes 30 months with my sponsorship). We are both US citizens and therefore do not need Visa's. Therefore my questions are:

1. Is it possible for him to leave Canada everyday to work in Buffalo and then come back to stay the nights in Canada during my stay of only one year? (on the CIC site, it does not say anything about this)
2. Is it possible for him to do this without requiring any kind of application for living in Canada?
3. If it is only a year, is it possible for him to visit for 6 months, and then get his visitation renewed?

1. He is not allowed to 'live' in Canada without a PR visa. Traveling back and forth daily it will be assumed he is 'living' here and it will cause him trouble.
2. He is not allowed to live in Canada without a PR visa and you are asking if he can live in Canada without any paperwork allowing him to live in Canada.
3. Yes, he can 'visit' but if he crosses the border daily they will assume he lives here and will give him some serious trouble. Up to and including an Exclusion Order which will essentially keep him on the other side of the border for a minimum of 1 year.

Being a US citizen but a registered Indian is good for you, however, I have doubts that it would allow you to sponsor someone to come live in Canada with you before you yourself apply for and receive a PR card allowing you to do this.


****edited to note that the research I have located thus far ONLY works if you are a Canadian born native and wishing to cross into the US, not a US born native wishing to come to Canada. You might want to do some more research before you plan to move to Canada on the Jay Treaty to ensure you actually do have that right*****

Modified yet again to reflect this information:

10.3.
American Indians not registered in Canada

It is the position of both the Canadian and U.S. governments that the authorization of entry of non-citizen North American Indians is governed solely by immigration legislation and not by the Jay Treaty. The rules governing the entry of American Indians into Canada differ from those governing access to the United States by Canadian Indians.

Under the U.S.Immigration and Nationality Act, Canadian Indians who can demonstrate that they have “50% or more Indian blood,” by presentation of their band registration card, are entitled to permanent resident status in the United States. As a result, Canadian Indians who arrive at U.S. ports of entry and state that they intend to work in the United States are instructed by United States Customs and Border Protection officials to apply for permanent resident status on the spot.The applicants are immediately issued temporary residency cards and are entitled to work in the United States without work permits.

Under Canadian immigration law, however, North American Indians are only accorded the right to enter Canada if they are registered on the Canadian Band Lists. An American Indian can only obtain registered band status if they can establish that their mother or father was a member of a Canadian band. Therefore, American Indians coming to Canada to work or study require work or
study permits.

This information can be obtained on roughly page 35 of this document: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf04-eng.pdf

 

[scylla]

I'm not familiar enough with the Jay Treaty to know if your partner would qualify for an open work permit since he is accompanying you to Canada (normally only partners of foreign workers qualify for open work permits when accompanying partners to Canada - partners of Canadian citizens/PRs don't).

Assuming he does not qualify for an open work permit (I don't think he does), he would be coming in as a visitor. If he comes in as a visitor, going back and forth to Buffalo each day won't be possible. He may be able to get away with this for a while, but sooner or later he will be stopped by immigration and told this isn't visitor behviour (worst case scenario he may even stopped from re-entering Canada). To live in Canada, he would need PR (which, like you said, takes time), a work permit (which requires a full time job in Canada), or a study permit (which requires him to be in school in Canada full time).

And yes - he should be able to visit for six months and get his visitation renewed - but again, going back and forth to Buffalo won't be doable.

 

[hess5103]

Under Canadian immigration law, however, North American Indians are only accorded the right to enter Canada if they are registered on the Canadian Band Lists. An American Indian can only obtain registered band status if they can establish that their mother or father was a member of a Canadian band. Therefore, American Indians coming to Canada to work or study require work or
study permits.

I am not a North American Indian, I am a Canadian Native American born in the United States. I am registered on a Canadian band list. I was also planning on taking classes at University of Buffalo, so I would also cross the border everyday while maintaining an apartment in Canada. Would that still be possible?

 

[scylla]

I am not a North American Indian, I am a Canadian Native American born in the United States. I am registered on a Canadian band list. I was also planning on taking classes at University of Buffalo, so I would also cross the border everyday while maintaining an apartment in Canada. Would that still be possible?

No - this doesn't change anything. It's not your status that's the issue - it's your common law partner's.

 

[keesio]

which means that he wont have time to apply for permanent residency (it takes 30 months with my sponsorship). We are both US citizens and therefore do not need Visa's. T

Where are you getting the 30 months? For US citizens with no red flags, the timelines are much quicker (~6 months). If you are getting the 30 months because of the times listed for the LA visa office, note that the LA office is usually applicants from the US (usually non-US citizen) who have a lot of red-flags (problems with the application).

 

[rhcohen2014]

Where are you getting the 30 months? For US citizens with no red flags, the timelines are much quicker (~6 months). If you are getting the 30 months because of the times listed for the LA visa office, note that the LA office is usually applicants from the US (usually non-US citizen) who have a lot of red-flags (problems with the application).

and the timeline for applications that get sent to LA for interviews is more like 12-16 months, it is NOT the 30 months that is listed online. a majority of us applicants are waived the interview, and are processed in Ottawa.

 

[hess5103]

I had gotten the 30 months from the processing times listed for the New York, New York Visa office, but now that I know it goes much quicker, that helps. Thank you so much!!!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Are you actually a Canadian citizen or PR?

 

[PMM]

Hi

Are you actually a Canadian citizen or PR?

Neither, she is a native registered to a Canadian band. Which allows her to remain in Canada.

 

[chakrab]

i am not sure if the OP is even applying for PR, which may be lengthy. have you thought of getting a NEXUS card? it's easier to get one if you stay in canada/usa and have to work/study in other.

i live in a border town and people cross the border for work/studies every day.

 

[blueangel371115]

I had gotten the 30 months from the processing times listed for the New York, New York Visa office, but now that I know it goes much quicker, that helps. Thank you so much!!!

They aren't sent to NY either. Applicants from the US are processed in Ottawa. They are only sent to NY or LA if an interview is required. The usual time it seems is 6-8 months, maybe longer now. Check the timelines.

 

[Ponga]

Hi, I am a registered Indian through new credit first nation in Canada which allows me to cross the border and live in Canada whenever I please according to the Jay Treaty.

I was told that Canada didn't sign the Jay Treaty.

My grandfather was full-blood Cherokee, so I thought that I would have some benefit as well when entering Canada, but...I was wrong.

Personally, I don't think that it's fair how a Native American that just happens to be born, or registered to a band, in Canada can travel/live/work in the U.S., when the American equivalent can only `visit' Canada. North America is more than just Canada.


Under the U.S.Immigration and Nationality Act, Canadian Indians who can demonstrate that they have “50% or more Indian blood,” by presentation of their band registration card, are entitled to permanent resident status in the United States. As a result, Canadian Indians who arrive at U.S. ports of entry and state that they intend to work in the United States are instructed by United States Customs and Border Protection officials to apply for permanent resident status on the spot.The applicants are immediately issued temporary residency cards and are entitled to work in the United States without work permits.

Under Canadian immigration law, however, North American Indians are only accorded the right to enter Canada if they are registered on the Canadian Band Lists. An American Indian can only obtain registered band status if they can establish that their mother or father was a member of a Canadian band. Therefore, American Indians coming to Canada to work or study require work or
study permits.