Please Help Spousal Sponsorship American/Canadian

[Skywalker16]

Hello,

I'm a US citizen that got married to a Canadian citizen a year and a half ago. Long story short, I came to Canada in 2012 from the US in to visit 3/10/12 I got granted a Visitor's Record until 30/11/12 since I could not prove ties to go back to the US. Because of a misunderstanding I overstayed until 7/19/13 and got married within that time range in Ontario. In my travelings I lost the paper that they gave me at the border before I went back to the US. The wife and I moved to the states in August/2013, I was never asked to leave Canada in that time frame and had no problem at the time I moved to the US.

In Nov 2013 the wife and I moved back to Ottawa because we couldn't find jobs in the US. I have not worked since then and she has been working with the same company she was before we moved. When we came back in I wasn't with her or the moving van. I rode in the car with her 1st nations cousin and when we handed our passports at the border (she had a US passport as well being from Snye, my passport clearly states I'm originally from Puerto Rico) the lady just looked at them and asked where we were coming from, cousin answered hoagensburgh, ny since that's where we were staying at the moment, the lady handed passports right back without another word.

Now 7/4/2014 my wife and I have been trying to file for sponsorship in Quebec and I'm filled with questions.

-I was not told to leave at a certain time or asked any further questions at the border at the time of my last entrance. Will this affect my chances of approval?
-Will my lost TRV be a problem in my immigration? I was not asked to leave and left eventually.
-I have been living with my wife in Quebec since Nov/2013 and she has been my complete financial supporter since then. We want to apply for Spouse Sponsorship but don't know if my "limbo" status (never told when to leave, or how long to stay) will be a problem.
-We have decided to apply inland since I'm already here and her job is stable enough she knows she can support me in the meantime. Do you guys have a better suggestion, like Outland?
-What are the steps to Quebec Immigration? Should she apply for sponsorship first? Is it only Form IMM 1334 in the Application for Permanent Residence From Within Canada – Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class (IMM 5289)?

Any help would be welcome, if you guys need more info just ask!
Thanks in advance,
Sam

 

[QuebecOkie]

FYI, your dates are a bit confusing, as you sometimes use US format (mm/dd/yyyy) and sometimes Canadian (dd/mm/yyyy). I can't speak to any issues around you overstaying, as I just don't have any experience with that. If you were not told how long you could stay during your last entry into Canada, you are allowed 6 months. You will have to answer questions in the application about when you entered Canada, etc., so while a lost visitor record may not be a problem, knowing what dates things occurred is necessary.

Outland is pretty much ALWAYS faster for US residents, assuming you put together a complete application with good proof of your relationship. Look at timelines for Ottawa (not NY or LA, your app would only go there if the CIC agent handling your file has doubts about your relationship), and keep in mind that the timelines are how long it took for 80% of the applications to be processed (so many were processed much more quickly). I haven't been keeping up with the forum a lot lately, but I think the average timeline for an outland US application is around 8-10 months. And you can most definitely file outland while staying with your spouse in Canada. Another advantage is that, if you should need to leave Canada for any reason during the process, you would not be putting your application at risk (if you leave during an inland application process, and for some reason you are denied reentry to Canada, your application is considered abandoned and you have to start all over again). The only "advantage" to an inland application is not much of an advantage for US applicants. With an inland app, you can apply for an OWP (open work permit), but since it is not available until after stage one approval (also known as AIP/approval in principal, around 10 months currently), it's possible to completely FINISH the outland app in the time it takes to get stage one approval and your work permit with an inland app (and then, with an inland app, you get to wait another 8 months or so for your PR, not including the time it takes to get an appointment from a local office to "land").

DO NOT LET QUÉBEC CONFUSE YOU! Ignore Québec for the first part of the process. We screwed up bigtime because we got confused reading Québec's immigration stuff. We sent in only the sponsorship portion of the app, and it costs us an additional 3 months of time. You must complete your wife's sponsorship application, and your PR application, and include BOTH in the packet you send to Mississaugua. There is only one extra step in the process for Québec applicants, and you don't do anything differently until CIC sends you a letter directing you to request the CSQ (certificat de sélection du Québec) from Québec's immigration ministry. You then get to pay an extra $269 for the privilege, haha. This step does not seem to slow down the overall process at all.

 

[Skywalker16]

Thank you so much for all the information!! I definetly have the dates down somewhere.

If the dates are so important, are they going to notice I overstayed and will that affect my application? I mean, if honesty is of any value, we left Canada as soon as I realized I had misinterpreted the instructions. I also went into the US in May and again since I was with my wife' family my passport wasn't given a second look, does that mean I have another 6 months?

Also, just to be sure. From the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class (IMM 5289) package, should I just fill it out completely and send it in with the fee? As what I can tell from your information, Quebec will eventually contact us when needed.

Last one I promise... When you say good proof or the relationship, what should I include? We were Long Distance before I moved to Canada and my computer from then has since died but I have scrapbooks and pictures of the times when I came to visit her before moving here and have the marriage certificate and wedding pictures. I haven't really kept much of the plane tickets or bus vouchers ince we've moved a lot. Would that be enough?

Sorry for all the questions, it's been a hard confusing road and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for your help!

 

[QuebecOkie]

IMM 5289 is for an inland application. Again, from my own experiences (stupidly filed inland before I found the forum) and everything I've read here on the forum in the past year and a half/almost two years, I would recommend outland for US applicants. The outland guide for US applicants can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3910e.pdf.

Any time you enter Canada (as a visa-exempt US citizen), unless they tell you differently, you are given a 6-month visitor status. You can leave Canada and reenter to "reset the clock," or you can also apply online to extend your visitor status while your PR application is in progress. You're supposed to apply for an extension at least 30 days before your current status is set to expire. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp

Again, for the most part, it's best if you IGNORE Québec for now. There are a few small differences (for instance, you do not need to include an Option C form to show income; Québec will check that on its own), but the processes are nearly identical except for the one extra step, the CSQ, which CIC will definitely instruct you to request (you can't request it without the letter from CIC, anyhow).

Proof of relationship: Many people write up a sort of essay to show the timeline of their relationship. When you met, how the relationship progressed, when you met each other's families, etc., with photos, communication records (phone, messenger services/apps, etc), travel itineraries together or to visit one another, etc. Generally, Americans are probably scrutinized a bit less than some from other countries where the risk of immigration fraud is higher. I only sent 4 pages, containing 8 photos, describing our relationship and what each photo was of ("Getting ready to parasail together, first vacation, November 2010, Cancun Mexico"), along with three travel itineraries (two showing us traveling together, one showing me visiting him where he was deployed at the time). I would recommend including more than I did, but I don't believe it's necessary for an American with a "normal" relationship (not "met online, married the first time we saw each other in person 3 months later, never lived together") to include 200 pages of proof. Just keep in mind that a stranger has to decide if you're in a genuine and ongoing relationship with your spouse, and try to leave that stranger no doubt.

Again, I can't speak to any issues around overstaying. I don't think it's a huge problem, by any means, but I just don't have enough information to give you any sort of advice.

 

[Skywalker16]

Thank you so much again QuebecOkie!

I will actually start filling the outland now since it seems more beneficial.

I'll see if I can find more information on overstaying but overall I feel pretty confident about the process now.

Have a good night!

 

[QuebecOkie]

Happy to help! Others may be able to give more insight on the overstaying issue. (You might want to start a thread with a very specific title like, "US citizen, overstayed, no communication from CBSA/CIC," or something like that. Might get better feedback on that part.)

I wish you the best! It's a long and stressful process, but there's no feeling in the world like KNOWING you have the right to be with your spouse in their country.

Also, since you're in Québec, I thought I'd ask...do you speak French, or if not, do you have any interest in learning? Québec has some AMAZING (and FREE) French classes for immigrants (once you get PR). I arrived with ZERO French about two years ago. After I got PR, I took 6 months of those classes, and I just accepted my first Québec/Canada job as a *bilingual* receptionist at a nearby hotel. Happy to provide some links if you want to bookmark them for later on.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'll see if I can find more information on overstaying but overall I feel pretty confident about the process now.

The overstay will have no effect on the PR app. A person can be living illegally in Canada and still be sponsored by their spouse.

 

[Skywalker16]

Wow thank you so much Canuck_in_UK you have taken a huge weight off our shoulders!

Have a good night!

 

[Skywalker16]

QuebecOakie I would love those links! I don't speak French, but the wife and I want to learn

 

[QuebecOkie]

You can learn more here: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/french-language/learning-quebec/index.html. I took the intensive full-time courses, and they were invaluable! They are free for permanent residents who have been PRs for less than five years. At least up here, where I took them, we had a Canadian citizen in class, but I know she had to pay, and they are NOT cheap. (I took about 6 months of classes, two sessions, and it was costing the citizen over $2K per session).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll help if I can.