Question about outbound spousal sponsorship

[GirlNorte]

Hello,

I am a Canadian Citizen and Permanent Resident of the United States. I have been married to my husband for 15 years and we have lived in Texas together all this time and have had three children together, all born here.

We are considering moving back to Canada. My husband is a United States citizen.

As I understand it, our best option at this point is for me to apply for proof of citizenship for my three children, and then apply for Canadian passports for them. This will allow them to return to Canada with me and go to school. I will likely sponsor my husband with an outbound application.

I would like for us to go together as a unit, if possible. However, there are many things that would need to be timed just right. I really want my children to start school at the beginning of the school year, for example, and we will also need to sell our house. From what I am reading, the process could take anywhere from 12-18 months or more.

Since I am a Canadian Citizen I can sponsor my husband outbound while living in the United States. My question is, can the children and I go ahead and move up to Canada without him if we are still waiting on his permanent resident visa application to be approved and received? Or do I need to stay put in Texas?

Thanks!

 

[agarand8]

The process won't take that long. For Americans I think it's more like 6-8 months. Someone else will comment to confirm.

Yes applying Outland is your best bet, and you and your children could go ahead without him no problem if you wanted to.

 

[rhcohen2014]

yes, currently us citizens are taking about 8-10 months. what you see posted on the cic website are not averages, and reflect worst case scenarios. there are also times when processing is quicker and takes more like 4-6 months for us citizens. whether we see this again soon is anyone's guess, so it's best to assume an 8-10 month processing time. A significant number of us citizens are approved and land under 1 year. the files that take over 1 year either have interviews, or some other delays because of additional requests from the visa office.

your husband can enter canada as a "visitor" when you and your family move back, and can be in canada while he waits for approval. he just won't be able to work during this time in canada. he CAN work remotely for a us employer, if he has a job that allows him to do this.

 

[GirlNorte]

Thank you! That is reassuring to hear!

 

[Hnamson1]

We are in the same position. We applied with the hopes of moving this summer but we decided to stay until my PR card comes and we tie up loose ends like selling our home and assets. We have 2 children and it took about 4 months to recieve their proof of citizenship. We will likely move at the end of the 2015-2016 school year to create a smooth transition as a family. Looking at the current processing times and the delay in our FBI police certificates I have seen the same 8-10 months. So even if I recieve my PR card by the end of the year we will wait so we do not disrupt the kids in school. Best of luck to you and your family!!

 

[chaas]

My husband and I sent in his PR application May 15th, 2014 and are still waiting. Our application just changed status from 'Application received' to 'In Progress'. So I expect a decision within the month, but who knows! But we are sitting at nearly 11 months now as it stands. He is a US citizen, I have a GC and am a Canadian citizen. However, we did have a request for additional information in September, which likely slowed down our process.