Question about leaving Canada for travel, whilst in the midst of PR application.

[beeelythe]

My American boyfriend has been living in Canada since March of 2012 on a NAFTA work permit. It was issued for three years and expires in March of 2015. We are applying for permanent residence under the Family Class sponsorship as we've been common-law in both the US (where we met) and Canada (where we live now) since 2011. We're sending in our application this month for processing. I believe we are a fairly straight-forward case as we have been in a relationship for almost five years now, neither of us have been married before or have children, and there is no big age difference or criminal history.

Once we send in the application, however, is my boyfriend allowed to leave Canada while it is processing? We have two weddings to attend in the US for old friends. His NAFTA visa was contingent upon his intent to leave at the time it expires (which he will do if we the permanent residence doesn't go through), but if we cross back into Canada after those weddings and it shows that he has a PR application in process, could he be denied re-entry into Canada?

We don't want to book flights and hotels and other such things if this is going to be an issue. If he has to stay in Canada and wait it out, so be it. But we care about these people and would really like to be a part of their special days, if we can.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Thank you!

 

[Rob_TO]

Just apply outland, and then it doesn't matter where in the world you are, could be Canada or anywhere else.

It's only with an inland app that you are supposed to stay in Canada during entire processing time.

 

[ortom]

Hi,

I am on a post graduate work permit and I left canada for a week vacation to florida in January, and I was able to re-enter no problem. The immigration officer didn't even ask any questions about the PR application. I entered through the buffalo land border however, not sure if it would be the same if it was through an airport.
However the processing time is shorter outland for US applicants I believe, so you might want to consider outland.

My American boyfriend has been living in Canada since March of 2012 on a NAFTA work permit. It was issued for three years and expires in March of 2015. We are applying for permanent residence under the Family Class sponsorship as we've been common-law in both the US (where we met) and Canada (where we live now) since 2011. We're sending in our application this month for processing. I believe we are a fairly straight-forward case as we have been in a relationship for almost five years now, neither of us have been married before or have children, and there is no big age difference or criminal history.

Once we send in the application, however, is my boyfriend allowed to leave Canada while it is processing? We have two weddings to attend in the US for old friends. His NAFTA visa was contingent upon his intent to leave at the time it expires (which he will do if we the permanent residence doesn't go through), but if we cross back into Canada after those weddings and it shows that he has a PR application in process, could he be denied re-entry into Canada?

We don't want to book flights and hotels and other such things if this is going to be an issue. If he has to stay in Canada and wait it out, so be it. But we care about these people and would really like to be a part of their special days, if we can.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Thank you!

 

[beeelythe]

We live inland and I thought about submitting our application outland, but the current processing times for both US offices are 22+ months, which is way longer than Canada (unless those numbers are inaccurate). His current work permit would expire before then and we could be separated for months at a time.

So it looks as though we would want to avoid traveling.

 

[marlasinger]

We live inland and I thought about submitting our application outland, but the current processing times for both US offices are 22+ months, which is way longer than Canada (unless those numbers are inaccurate). His current work permit would expire before then and we could be separated for months at a time.

So it looks as though we would want to avoid traveling.

If you apply outland, his visa office would still be Ottawa. LA and NY are reserved for special cases, from my understanding, and that's why the wait times are longer.

 

[Rob_TO]

We live inland and I thought about submitting our application outland, but the current processing times for both US offices are 22+ months, which is way longer than Canada (unless those numbers are inaccurate). His current work permit would expire before then and we could be separated for months at a time.

So it looks as though we would want to avoid traveling.

All US citizen applications are sent to CPP-Ottawa for processing. The average time here based on others experiences, is around 8-10 months to get full PR status.

Quoted US office times are only used in case there are problems with application and interview is required in a local USA office.

Most US citizens have no problem extending status as a visitor to remain in Canada during the process, or they could travel back to US during the process. An outland app gives you flexibility to do either.

 

[beeelythe]

Thank you for all of your help!

We're working under such a relatively tight timeline, and with his TN visa expiriing in a year, I think we want to keep things easy and apply inland.

We're trying to see if we can find an immigration lawyer in Vancouver who could review our application and answer some of our questions. It seems to be a challenge finding one that is willing to do a review instead of preparing the whole application, though.

 

[Rob_TO]

We're working under such a relatively tight timeline, and with his TN visa expiriing in a year, I think we want to keep things easy and apply inland.

Just note that if he leaves Canada at any time during the inland process (so up to around 1.5 years), such as to attend a wedding in the US, the entire application is put at risk. If for any reason he's denied back to Canada then the app is cancelled and you'll have to start again from scratch.

Its always advisable for people intending to leave Canada even for short trips, to apply outland solely for the ability to come and go as you please.

We're trying to see if we can find an immigration lawyer in Vancouver who could review our application and answer some of our questions. It seems to be a challenge finding one that is willing to do a review instead of preparing the whole application, though.

Be careful with lawyers, as you really get what you pay for. I've read countless stories on this forum of people getting flat out wrong info resulting in delayed processing, from their so-called "professional immigration" lawyers or consultants.

 

[beeelythe]

Hi Rob,

Thank you for the advice! The reason we want to apply inland is that the timeline is apparently shorter, which is quite important with his visa expiring. Hopefully he will be able to renew, but if that doesn't work out we have enough savings and I make a decent enough wage that, if push comes to shove, I can support both of us on that money alone for half a year. He also works in a field where having unemployed time on your resume can be a detriment, so the less of that there is, the better.

Do you happen to know of a resource that would compile a list of good and bad immigration lawyers? I tried searching on Yelp and Google, but very few have reviews at all, which is disappointing. I would love to hear from someone else who has dealt with that specific lawyer directly.