chs2yyc said:
Hi all,
In about 3 weeks I will be driving to Canada with my wife. I am a Canadian citizen, and my wife is an American. We will be submitting our spousal sponsorship application in Canada.
What are the procedures for crossing the border in this situation, with a visiting wife for whom I am submitting an spousal application for permanent residency?
Can anyone give me any advice that will help this to go well?
Thanks.
My usual advice (get a Nexus card) won't help you here, because you won't get approval in 3 weeks time. One of the best excuses for coming to Canada is "I have a Nexus interview in Toronto" - a copy of your interview letter and generally you're covered, since Nexus requires a background check and approval of both the US and Canadian governments. But that won't help you now.
First, why are you filing an inland sponsorship application? It is almost always advisable to US applicants to apply via the Outland process. The usual confusion is that people think "Outland" relates to where the applicant is located. It does not. It just means that it is processed by an office outside Canada. Note that CIC is geographically challenged and considers Ottawa to be "outside Canada". Your wife can be
anywhere in the world with an outland application, including inside Canada. An Inland application may only be submitted if she is inside Canada and continues to reside inside Canada throughout the application process. Generally, it is faster to apply outland and doesn't have this onerous restriction about remaining in Canada.
But let's say that the work permit after six months is a vital part of your plan and you'd rather not wait the extra couple of months for PR in exchange for the much longer wait for the inland process. In that case, here's what I'd suggest: go for a visit. Maybe it's to see family or scout out places to live. Then when you are there, you can decide to just stay in Canada.
In that case, just tell them at the border you're coming for a visit. You continue to live in the US, at least for the moment. This is likely sufficient.
Don't lie to CBSA, though. Tell them the truth. Don't volunteer additional information.
If you plan on bringing a car load full of personal items and it is going to be obvious that you are relocating, I would suggest that you make sure to have a copy of your paid application receipt. A complete copy of the application would be a good thing to have, but it's not required. In that case, you need to say "I'm relocating back to Canada, I have my B4/B4A forms as a returning Canadian, and my wife is American and we are applying for her PR." They will send you to secondary, you will process your B4/B4A forms (returning Canadian) and pay any taxes that are due. She will most likely be issued a VR.
Your inland application should include a temporary status application for your wife as well - as a visitor, student or worker. This will be granted once you are approved as sponsor.
This only applies to an inland application.
Good luck!
