I'm not terribly familiar with this but I think restricted work permits (i.e. you got a job offer to work for one specific employer in one specific position for which the employer received a positive LMO) can't be extended apart from going through the whole application process again - with one exception. If you absolutely have to continue working, you can apply for PR inland and include an
extension application for your existing work permit
with the PR ap. The entire package HAS to be received by CPC-Vegreville BEFORE your WP expires - and you'll want to track the mailing and get confirmation of delivery so you can prove it was, in fact, received on time. By doing this you effectively extend the existing work permit so you can continue to work for that employer in that position (R186, see below) - until your PR ap is assessed for first stage approval (this currently takes 9-10 months). If you're positively assessed for first stage, CPC-V will then issue a new Open Work Permit - which would allow you to either continue in your current job, or move on to a new employer/job of your choice. The OWP would be your new temporary status for as long as it took to finalize your inland PR ap.
The drawback to the inland process is that inland aps take longer to finalize than outland applications processed through Buffalo, and there is no right of appeal for an inland ap. If they don't believe your relationship is genuine, or you do not demonstrate that you meet the "common-law" qualification, the ap could be refused and then you'd have to leave when your OWP expired and reapply outland. And you might not be able to get back into Canada again as a temporary resident.
If you apply outland, you can extend your temporary status by
changing your conditions to "visitor" - that would allow you to remain in Canada legally while the outland PR ap was processing . . . but you wouldn't be able to work. Buffalo is currently finalizing spousal/common-law aps within 11 months of receipt - but it could go faster if you submit a completed application with sufficient proof of both your common-law qualification and your genuine relationship. Normally I advise US applicants not to apply inland - there is no advantage when a US applicant is in Canada as a visitor only because an outland PR ap will likely be finalized in the same amount of time it would take for the inland ap to get to first stage and an OWP to be issued. But being that you already have a work permit, it might be to your advantage to be able to keep working under that permit while waiting for PR - but the only way to do that is to go through the inland process and submit your extension in conjunction with the PR ap.
One other note: be SURE that your PR ap - whether inland or outland - is not submitted before you can substantiate your common-law qualification of one year's cohabitation. So that gives you a very small window, if you apply inland, in which to meet the qualification and then all the paperwork submitted BEFORE your WP expires. You should probably allow at least 6 months to get the application forms filled out, your "evidences" collected and organized, your medical accomplished and your FBI clearance ordered and received - so set up a timetable going in that structures when you should do what so that it all falls into place right within that window for getting things sent in. Keep in mind that the FBI clearance can take up to 4 months to receive, and the date on the clearance letter must be no more than 3 months old when you submit the ap. Your medicals are valid for a year - so the timing is not as important there - but call a DMP in your area ahead of time and book early to have your medical done about a month prior to your planned date to submit the ap. Your sponsor will also need to order an Option C printout from Canada Revenue. These can sometimes take awhile - or they don't show up - so be sure he gets his taxes submitted early in 2012 so that they have his most recent assessment available by the time he needs it.
Just a few thoughts - hopefully they help. And check out the
US2Canada website for more info on applying from the US.
R186(u):
A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit:
(u) until a decision is made on an application made by them under subsection 201(1), if they have remained in Canada after the expiry of their work permit and they have continued to comply with the conditions set out on the expired work permit, other than the expiry date.
