Need some help figuring out the right path forward

[Jack.1988]

I’ve got a bit of an odd situation, or so I think. I met my fiancé online in December of 2017. She is currently married, has two young boys, is living in Ontario, has been separated for almost a year and her divorce is close to being finalized. I am an American citizen looking to immigrate to Ontario. We are 31 and 30 years old respectively.

I want to get up there and be with her as soon as possible, but I also don’t want to be up there and unable to work. It isn’t a matter of needing the money or anything, it’s that I know I would feel like I wouldn’t be contributing if I was there and not working. I feel like me going there and doing nothing wouldn’t really be us starting a life together, because that isn’t what a life is to me.

I don’t have anything that would be concerning, aside from an arrest 12ish years ago for marijuana possession that didn’t even make it to court. We’ve flown to see each other about half a dozen times in the last 10 months, extensive text history, not many pictures together(I’m not a big picture guy, but I have some).

She and I are both overwhelmed trying to figure out if I should head up there and apply inland, if I would be able to get a work permit relatively quickly, stay down here and apply Outland, go up there and still apply Outland, etc. Any advice on choosing the right path here would be greatly appreciated, thank you all so much.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I’ve got a bit of an odd situation, or so I think. I met my fiancé online in December of 2017. She is currently married, has two young boys, is living in Ontario, has been separated for almost a year and her divorce is close to being finalized. I am an American citizen looking to immigrate to Ontario. We are 31 and 30 years old respectively.

I want to get up there and be with her as soon as possible, but I also don’t want to be up there and unable to work. It isn’t a matter of needing the money or anything, it’s that I know I would feel like I wouldn’t be contributing if I was there and not working. I feel like me going there and doing nothing wouldn’t really be us starting a life together, because that isn’t what a life is to me.

I don’t have anything that would be concerning, aside from an arrest 12ish years ago for marijuana possession that didn’t even make it to court. We’ve flown to see each other about half a dozen times in the last 10 months, extensive text history, not many pictures together(I’m not a big picture guy, but I have some).

She and I are both overwhelmed trying to figure out if I should head up there and apply inland, if I would be able to get a work permit relatively quickly, stay down here and apply Outland, go up there and still apply Outland, etc. Any advice on choosing the right path here would be greatly appreciated, thank you all so much.

You need to be either married or common-law to apply for sponsorship.

If you don't want to be sat at home for months, your best option is to marry and apply outland while staying in the US to keep working.

 

[Jack.1988]

You need to be either married or common-law to apply for sponsorship.

Yes, this was understood, it’s why we haven’t started yet and are gathering information now. We aren’t going to be able to get married until her divorce is finalized which is looking like next month.

If I apply inland, what am I looking at for work permit wait times? If I apply Outland what am I looking at in terms of PR wait times? I see numbers all over the place for both, this adds to my confusion.

 

[k.h.p.]

The OWP inland comes after about 3-4 months. A lot of American outland applications are seeing 6-8 months processing..

 

[Jack.1988]

Can I use my pending Outland application as justification to apply for a work permit, because I do not otherwise qualify for one.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Can I use my pending Outland application as justification to apply for a work permit, because I do not otherwise qualify for one.

No.

 

[Jack.1988]

I’m assuming that inversely, if I apply inland, I would either not qualify for a work permit or I would be looking at a 6+ month wait time?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I’m assuming that inversely, if I apply inland, I would either not qualify for a work permit or I would be looking at a 6+ month wait time?

If you apply inland, it is 3-4 months for the OWP.

 

[Samantha F]

I’m assuming that inversely, if I apply inland, I would either not qualify for a work permit or I would be looking at a 6+ month wait time?

If you apply inland you can attach an OWP application with your Spousal Sponsorship application. But it would take some time before it gets looked at, roughly 5 months if I recall correctly.

 

[Jack.1988]

Thank you all so much for the information and help