One More Question...Visitors Visa

[britincanada]

Yeah I haven't been able to figure this out. There was another post that said that if we crossed the boarder together, and I spoke for him as the sponsor, he could get a TRV longer then 6 months. Just looking if anyone has ever done that. I have a friend who went through the PR app process several years ago and claims to have done it to get her husband in Canada (even brought a truck full of their stuff at the same time)... only they abandoned their app while it was still in progress because she had him charged with assault, deported, and divorced.

It is possible to obtain a 6 month or even 1 year Visitors Record at the boarder..if you are with your husband..but they still need proof he is intending to leave after his VR has expired..

 

[britincanada]

I have heard that the CANPASS and Nexus Cards are a good investment

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/admiss-eng.html

 

[djboinsk]

OK hows this for the reason.....I currently have a Perm Resident application in process and would like to stay with my wife for 1 year while it is being processed.I also would like to be able to spend Christmas with my wife and step daughter. Just waiting to hit print here lol

 

[britincanada]

OK hows this for the reason.....I currently have a Perm Resident application in process and would like to stay with my wife for 1 year while it is being processed.I also would like to be able to spend Christmas with my wife and step daughter. Just waiting to hit print here lol

As your Husband is already in Canada that should do just fine, the truth and straight to the point.. Its easier to remain in Canada than enter..

 

[Kess]

I have heard that the CANPASS and Nexus Cards are a good investment

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/admiss-eng.html

I have a nexus card. Not having to speak to a border guard at the airport is AWESOME... the scanning of the eyeballs is prettu neat too

I wanted my husband to get one but I'm not sure if he would be approved now that we are married (and the whole reason for visiting Canada might lead to him staying, etc).

 

[Kess]

OK hows this for the reason.....I currently have a Perm Resident application in process and would like to stay with my wife for 1 year while it is being processed.I also would like to be able to spend Christmas with my wife and step daughter. Just waiting to hit print here lol

Sounds like asking for 1 year isn't a bad thing. They could always give less but probably wont give you a year if you dont ask.

 

[giggles1985]

Anyone had experience entering Canada as a temporary visitor while the PR app was in process and being honest about this with the border guard?

I am very interested to hear stories about this as well. I had always understood it to be more like what britincanada says. If you tell them you are staying while your PR is in process and not planning on leaving and have no ties to the US, they will not let you in.

But I have been hearing differently from several Canadian sources. No one who works for customs, mind you, but some people who work for governmental offices (mayor, senator). They seem to think there would be no trouble crossing the border.

I don't know what to think :-\

Has anyone here actually tried and been turned down?

 

[minna]

there have been many threads on this.

You can be accepted from a visa-exempt country at the border with a PR app in progress. But it is up to the IO who you see at the border - it is up to the individual agents' discretion and you can be turned away.

Somethings that other posters have mentioned:

- it is much easier to get a VR or even just be allowed in for a visit if you are traveling by car from the US
- it seems to be easier to be allowed in for a visit if you arrive sometime late at night, whether by air or by car
-From what I have read, here and elsewhere, if you have a PR app already in progress, and the applicant wants to be admitted into Canada you need to provide 1)proof of the application - i.e. fee receipt, all correspondence received from CIC, and a copy of the application itself so that the IO can judge the likelihood of its approval. 2) proof of adequate income to support the applicant while they wait for the PR visa 3) proof of health insurance. and 4) it is much better if the sponsor is there at the border/customs with the applicant to tell their part of the story and to vouch for the validity of everything.
- you also need to have a return ticket, and/or proof of having been given leave at your job, and proof of owning or leasing a home, even if you are not planning on returning - these are ties to your home country and even if you ask to stay long-term, you may need to provide proof that you have a home and life to return to as you will only be a visitor in Canada. Also, it's probably a good idea to get health insurance to cover you while you are in Canada.

Of course, the IO may or may not ask for any of that proof. But if they do ask, and you cannot provide it, then that can be a problem. Many other posters have been totally successful crossing the border without really having to say much. The general consensus seems to be that you should be prepared with all of the evidence you might need, but should not mention it until asked by the IO. If you are waved through without a lot of questions, you will have 6 months, or whatever time the IO decides to give you. You can probably extend your visit through CPC-Vegreville after you arrive.

 

[journeyman]

I don't know what to think :-\

Has anyone here actually tried and been turned down?

Most people on this site don't seem to have any difficulty, however, my husband was one of the unlucky ones and was denied entry. At the time we did not have the app in process and he was taken into the Immigration area at the border crossing and questioned for about 2 hours. I was not permitted to speak on his behalf in any way to show that I could support him or confirm our intentions.............etc.

Why was he turned away? Anybody's guess. They didn't tell him. Just to go home and submit the app and wait for approval. The officer was having a bad day??

Anyways, he can't cross the border from the US until the approval is finished, so I have been going back and forth.

I think that we are in the minority of people denied access. But it can happen.

 

[giggles1985]

Great info, both of you. Thanks so much

 

[minna]

yup - it makes me nervous to try this, because I know my partner would be just devastated if he were denied entry, but we are hoping that if we go to the trouble of buying him a ticket back home, even if we wind up having to eat that cost, we will be able to get him into Canada at least for a month or so, and can then apply to extend his stay.

I will be visibly pregnant at the border, so hopefully the IO is kind and decides to let him stay until after the birth of the baby (about 4 months from when we will be crossing the border), and by then, fingers crossed, our PR app will be approved (we just submitted last week).

 

[plumosa]

So here is my experience:

Before we were married, I crossed the border with and without my husband probably 4 times and had absolutely no problems (though I never mentioned I was going to be there more than a month)

We got married in Vermont and on our return, informed the IO that we were married and planning on filing for PR. We didn't have proof of funds/insurance. Just the marriage certificate and proof of medical tests as well as some of the paperwork for the PR we had filled out so far. They spoke very strongly at us about how it could take 7 years (!) and we were asked separately how we paid for things, etc. It took over an hour, but we ended up getting a visitor's record for about 40 days, in which I was supposed to come back to the border and show proof of funds and insurance and then they would give me a longer one.

They did and it was good for about 7 months. After that time I have crossed the border nearly once a month and always by myself. I have had absolutely no problem crossing. I tell them where I live in Canada and that I have a PR application in process. The first few times it wasn't actually in their system yet (only once the application is started is it in the system, not when it arrived there) but they still let me through. I was told however, that if my visitor's record expired, I would have to show proof that I had submitted my PR application before they would give me a new one.



I think one of the reasons I haven't had any issues is that I always go through a fairly small border at stanstead, QC/derby line, VT (though once it was on the train) Its still on the highway so they get traffic, but its nothing like the huge headache of crossing at plattsburgh, ny just south of Montreal.


I think if you show proof of funds and insurance to get your VR then all the trips after that should be pretty easy to cross. Its just getting that nice long VR in the first place that's the issue. I never gave any intent of going back to the states whatsoever...just proof that I wouldn't be a drain to the system before I got my PR.

 

[journeyman]

Minna,

Taking a lesson from our experience, I do suggest you have all possible documentation ready as others have posted. Also, don't have too much in the car. Try to keep it to mainly clothes and documents for example. And from Plumosa's experience, have proof of support for your partner, as well as, something that will show his intent to return to US "if" PR is denied.

I can relate to how your partner would feel. When my husband is approved and "lands", he WILL NOT cross at the same crossing. The experience was really bad. One other thing, if they do start a thorough questioning, try to be prepared not to "freeze". Easier said than done, I know, but if you are both prepared to be questioned, then if it happens, it will not come as a shock and with any luck it won't happen.

Having said that, if you take the precautions that people have posted, your partner should be able to cross and get a VR. I wish you all the best.

Keep us updated. Take care.

 

[minna]

thanks - yeah, we will only have a few suitcases in the car when he arrives. The purpose of that trip is to bring my car, my partner and my dog.

I will have already "officially returned" to Canada and dealt with the list of stuff arriving later. I'm flying up to get some things established, and organized, then flying back to the US, and we will all drive up together. A shipping company will bringing the rest of our stuff. I am not nervous at the border, but my partner is. I will have to coach him on the drive up. I think it will be fine, his employer has agreed to write him a letter saying he's been granted a leave of absence but has a job to return to. And I think we are going to buy him a ticket - I have just enough points on aircanada, and, generally speaking, points tickets can be refunded and exchanged for a fee. So - we might buy him a ticket for a month or two away from our arrival time and hope he is admitted at least that long.