Questions about crossing the boarder with American husband

[Sunshine87]

I'm wondering about alternative documents that could help support having ties to the US besides a lease agreement or employment letter? My husband will be "moving" to Canada in September to wait out the rest of the process together. But he'll be quitting his job in Arizona and packing up his belongings to put in storage in Montana (so no lease agreement or employment letter).

We'll be crossing the Canadian boarder together in his car, with just a suitcase or two and by then I expect to be approved as a sponsor, so I'll have that document as well. But I'm worried about CBSA letting him in without document support that he'll be returning to the US. What else could help prove his ties?

Perhaps I'm stressing about this too much, but I also don't know what to tell the CBSA when they ask how long he's staying for? I don't want to have to lie, but I also don't want him to be denied entry after quitting his job with the hopes that he can stay with me through the process. In theory, he should be approved for PR by March or April of 2013 which would put him at 6 months in Canada.

Ok, one more question. The next planned trip back to the USA would be when/if he gets an interview request in Buffalo or LA. Will he have problems getting back into Canada after the interview?

Any suggestions/insight would be immensely helpful in calming down this worrywart

 

[Belinasha]

We were in this exact situation last September. We drove across the 1000 islands bridge and didn't have a problem. We told the guard that we were friends and that my "friend" would be visiting for a month. Are you guys married or will you be married after you cross? If you are married, you'll have to declare that. You could always pay your PR fees and get a receipt before you cross and tell them that you have sent a PR application but it's not in process yet as you just sent it. They may issue your husband a 6 month visitor's visa, you may get more, you may get less, you may just get waived through like we did. What happens is at the discretion of the guard you speak to so it's hard to say what they'll do. We never got asked for any documentation and I'm glad we didn't because we didn't have any.

Out of all the stress this process brings, crossing over the border is the most stressful. Don't fret, lots of us have been there and there aren't too many horror stories, in fact, it's usually a smooth sailing process.

We are also thinking about if we'll have to go for an interview, and from what I've heard, as long as there's a PR application in process (which it will be if you're at the interview stage) they'll allow them back into Canada. You'll both be present and you'll be there as the sponsor to answer any questions. I figure if we're going to an interview, we'll probably have a copy of our PR file with us to take to the interview so that's some documentation to show to get back in. I'm sure they're understanding and have seen this 1000 times.

For other documentation, we considered having one of my hubby's friends write up a letter of co-tenancy stating that he's responsible for half of the rent. We also had one of our friends who was my hubby's co-worker and boss stand by on his cell phone just in case they wanted to call to confirm he had a job (he didn't), but his boss was willing to do that for him. I know we all hate to lie, but this system seems to be geared on making people do just that. It's really unfortunate because in reality, we just really want to love and be with our spouses!