Our plan before and after our wedding (US + Canada)

[eternalrock]

Hey everyone,

I'm a Canadian who is marrying an American on August 31st in the United States. After our honeymoon, we plan to come to Canada and apply for her Permanent Residency for Canada (we are choosing to do an Outland application). I've received some great help on this forum and only have a few questions remaining. We're so thankful for this great community to help us with our questions during this crazy time of wedding planning and immigration!

I thought the best thing to do is lay out our plan.. and allow you to speak into it. If there's any issues you see, please let us know!

June/July
- Pay for Sponsorship fee online
- Get FBI check done
- Get medical done

August/September
- Get married in Virginia ;D
- Honeymoon in Caribbean
- Fly back to Vancouver with documents (if requested -- US Marriage certificate, Proof of ties to US, FBI check, Medical, Receipt of Sponsorship)
- Pray they have no issues with her staying for 6 months (and for extension while we wait for PR)!

September/October
- Submit outland application for PR

My fiancee is currently in Vancouver with me for another three weeks. Then she is going back to Virginia for 2 months to prepare for our wedding. Is there anything she should get done before she leaves Canada? Is there anything else I need to do except pay for the sponsorship fee?? I've been going over these forums and reading the CIC website and I'm just hoping that I'm not missing anything..!

We're about 75 days off from the big day.. and I would really like to start our life together.. together.. So if there's anything missing from our plan.. or anything you think might bring complications, please let us know!

We're also thinking of getting us both Nexus cards for smooth re-entry in Canada? Any potential downsides to that?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Rob_TO]

June/July
- Pay for Sponsorship fee online
- Get FBI check done
- Get medical done

The FBI check is only valid for 3 months from when you receive it, so your app must be received by CIC within those 3 months. You should time it so FBI check comes towards the end, before you mail the app.

Same with medical, it's only valid for 1 year. So to ensure you don't have to do a 2nd one later during processing, it's best to do medical as close as possible to submitting the application.

And again with fees. No need to pay them now. Just do it the day before you mail the application.

Also remember all your relationship proofs. Ensure you have the marriage certificate, lots of photos with friends/family of wedding/honeymoon, showing any joint finances etc etc.

 

[eternalrock]

Thanks Rob! Good to know about the time limits on FBI and medical, super helpful! Is it to our benefit to have any of these when crossing back into Canada after our wedding?

I feel pretty good about the application, but am mostly concerned about smooth transition when we get back from our honeymoon. I've heard stories of people getting married and then having to spend the first year apart because they got denied entry after coming back from the honeymoon! Granted, those were usually more complex immigration situations, but I'm still trying to do my due diligence and ensure we don't run into any issues at the border. I thought it might be better to have more documents than less.. but I wonder if proof of ties to US and receipt from application is sufficient?

We will likely submit our application immediately upon returning to Canada (granted, we have no problems at border)

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks Rob! Good to know about the time limits on FBI and medical, super helpful! Is it to our benefit to have any of these when crossing back into Canada after our wedding?

The medical and FBI check are NOT required to show CBSA when you cross the border. These are items you just need for your PR application to CIC.

Medical I would recommend to do AFTER getting back to Canada. As I said you should do as close as possible to submitting the app, and from what i've heard it's much cheaper with a Canadian panel physician.

but I wonder if proof of ties to US and receipt from application is sufficient?

Definitely show any proof of ties to US, funds in bank account to show won't work illegally, etc.

Although I don't see how you will have receipt from application, if you aren't submitting the app until you get back to Canada.

For US citizens, it's usually not a big deal and most are allowed into Canada with 6 months status no problem. Just make sure not to use words like "moving to" or "living" in Canada. US citizens can only visit, so stress that you understand the rules and will leave after 6 months or apply for an extension.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Although I don't see how you will have receipt from application, if you aren't submitting the app until you get back to Canada.

Yes, it is definitely recommended to pay at least a portion of the PR fees before returning to Canada after your honeymoon. If they ask for proof of your intent to apply, this will be the best way to show them. When we got married, and crossed after our honeymoon, I had our marriage certificate, receipt for the Sponsor fee (that was the only fee we had paid at that time), all my paperwork for PR, my medical exam, etc. The most important documents are certainly going to be your marriage certificate and at least 1 receipt for PR fees. These were the papers they were asking for and actually looked at.

Definitely get the medical exam done in canada, as it is significantly cheaper than the US.

Overall, your plan seems pretty solid (except for the when to get the FBI and Medical done). Apparently the FBI will mail results outside the US, so you can request to have them sent to your Canadian address.

As Rob suggests, your wife is coming to VISIT, and needs to show she is willing to/ has plans to return to the US. Keep in mind, they may or may not allow her the full 6 mo upon entering. The may also issue her a visitor's pass that may/may not require her to check out by a specific date. Either way, she can still apply for an extension.

 

[Rob_TO]

Yes, it is definitely recommended to pay at least a portion of the PR fees before returning to Canada after your honeymoon. If they ask for proof of your intent to apply, this will be the best way to show them.

I've heard that intent to apply for PR, is basically admitting you have no intention to leave and could cause problems. So it was kind of a general rule that you shouldn't state to any CBSA officer, you intend to apply for PR as soon as you enter Canada.

Perhaps others can advise more on this.

 

[rhcohen2014]

I've heard that intent to apply for PR, is basically admitting you have no intention to leave and could cause problems. So it was kind of a general rule that you shouldn't state to any CBSA officer, you intend to apply for PR as soon as you enter Canada.

Perhaps others can advise more on this.

for US cititzens it's actually the opposite. They are more likely to let us in when we show them we have all our ducks in a row and plan to follow the rules. When we got married, they asked for the marriage certificate. They ask about intentions of getting PR when they know you are married, so having a receipt for partial fee payment helps prove you know the rules and are taking them seriously. If you are still preparing everything, you don't have to tell them a date you are planning on sending in the app, just that you are still getting everything together. Now when I cross, they ask for my application status and won't let me in until it's verified it's been received.

Telling CBSA you have intent to apply outland from a visa except country, especially one that shares its borders/has open trade with Canada, doesn't show intention to over stay in my experience. Not being able to show proof of something we can go back to easily (job/housing) does.

 

[eternalrock]

This has been incredibly helpful, thanks so much! We will focus on proof of ties to US and getting receipt for sponsor fee before we cross back into the US. The FBI and Medical can wait until after. Thanks again!