Need Help: Sponsoring an american citizen to canada : complete newbies

[canadiangal20]

Hello,

My and my boyfriend have been together for 5 years and I wanted to sponsor him to canada from usa. I am a citizen here and he is an american citizen. We have yet to marry. We are so clueless as to where we should get married? Am I suppose to go there or should he come here to get married or if that matters at all? Also after getting a marriage license and getting married is there like a wait time bfore we apply for sponsoring? I am also pregnant so should I be mentioning that in place in the forms? Also where is the forms even accessible?? Where do I get the forms from?? also we will be applying outland so he can work in usa. does he need to apply for visitor visa? so many questions

We are so new and confused in this process ... we were thinking about getting a lawyer for this but its too expensive ($4000) and cant afford it.

Please help us and point us in the right direction!!

greatful for any info.

thank you.

 

[SamHom]

You can send the applications as soon as you're married. I don't know if mentioning an unborn is a requirement but I would anyway. Google "sponsor spouse CIC" and the government site will come up and you can do a lot of reading there. Once you done that reading, come back if you have more questions (which you most likely will).

Doesn't really matter where you marry but I think it's a little bit easier if you do it in Canada.

Now when I think about it, I'm pretty sure one of the forms will even ask if you're pregnant.

Unless he has a criminal background he won't need anything to visit Canada. Just enter like any American at the border.

 

[IrisSphere]

And definitely don't bother with a lawyer (unless you think your case is complicated somehow). The forms are straightforward, and for americans the sponsorship process is quite fast as it gets processed through the Ottawa office (though still look at Outland applications!).

Your husband doesn't need to apply for a visa, as he is visa exempt but should only say he is visiting you (not living or moving before getting PR).

Good luck wading in to this process, and come back once you have more specific questions!

 

[Snowisland]

Hello,

My and my boyfriend have been together for 5 years and I wanted to sponsor him to canada from usa. I am a citizen here and he is an american citizen. We have yet to marry. We are so clueless as to where we should get married? Am I suppose to go there or should he come here to get married or if that matters at all? Also after getting a marriage license and getting married is there like a wait time bfore we apply for sponsoring? I am also pregnant so should I be mentioning that in place in the forms? Also where is the forms even accessible?? Where do I get the forms from?? also we will be applying outland so he can work in usa. does he need to apply for visitor visa? so many questions

We are so new and confused in this process ... we were thinking about getting a lawyer for this but its too expensive ($4000) and cant afford it.

Please help us and point us in the right direction!!

greatful for any info.

thank you.

It doesn't matter where you get married.
You don't need a lawyer. Don't waste your money.
Everything you need to know is here, plenty of people with far more experience than me help answer all questions.
Go look at Canadian Immigration Spousal Sponsorship for a family member. You will also need to look at country specific requirements. The link is provided under my profile.
I am US and my Canadian spouse is sponsoring me. Trust me, you can do this.
I am sure a senior will provide more helpful information than I did, but I just wanted you to have a little info until they do. Everyone here is very kind and helpful.

 

[canadiangal20]

Thank you so much for your help!! It really helps. I do have a good idea (not solid) of what needs to be done but more help is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your help everyone!!!!!!!

 

[surleplateau]

As long as it's a straight-forward case (no deportation, criminal/DUI, etc), there probably isn't a need for a lawyer.

DO:

• Print out the TWO checklists and read each section thoroughly (the sponsor's checklist will be from the sponsor's-point-of-view, the applicant's will be country-specific and be from the applicant's-point-of-view
• If you come across a point of confusion, Google the confusing phrase + sponsorship + site:www.canadavisa.com, and narrow down the search to the past 1-2 years, and you'll most likely find some clarification
• Breath. The process is tedious, but doable.

DON'T:

• Panic.

 

[IrisSphere]

As long as it's a straight-forward case (no deportation, criminal/DUI, etc), there probably isn't a need for a lawyer.

DO:

• Print out the TWO checklists and read each section thoroughly (the sponsor's checklist will be from the sponsor's-point-of-view, the applicant's will be country-specific and be from the applicant's-point-of-view
• If you come across a point of confusion, Google the confusing phrase + sponsorship + site:www.canadavisa.com, and narrow down the search to the past 1-2 years, and you'll most likely find some clarification
• Breath. The process is tedious, but doable.

DON'T:

• Panic.

This is great advise. Save yourself the grief of calling CIC, and instead google the number of the form + the question number + site: canadavisa.com. I've literally saved myself hours of agony on hold this way.

Another piece of advice, is start gathering your documents early (i.e. I heard FIB check takes a while). Also start putting together the proof of your relationship in a folder on your computer little by little. You can worry about how to organize later, but the hardest job was definitely gathering all the photos, messages, emails, etc in one place.

 

[KelseyTVS]

You'll be okay! Canada US sponsorships are one of the easiest ones. First you need to decide if you'll be applying inland or outland. For information on those, read the first post of the pinned topic 'Spousal Sponsorship' at the top of the board. Here's a hint: you should definitely do outland. So if you do outland, here's where you start:

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

Those are all the forms and checklists you'll need, just start chipping away at them! Keep an eye on the dates of the forms though, CIC likes to update them every so often and you must use the most updated form.