Really need help for Immigration

[rinkhet]

I'm 18 and my long distance girlfriend of 10 months are ready to move in together. She lives in Ontario and I in Texas. We'd stay at her place also with her mother. I don't have any experience with a job but I'm a self employed artist and that's our way of money as of now. I'm working on getting my passport which I have all the money for. We've also saved almost $3,000 for immigration.
I've also never had experience out of state or ever on a plane.
I'm a queer person living in a place not so queer friendly, I have severe anxiety/depression which my family refuses to get me the medication I need. I also have not finished High School due to my mental health.
So you can probably guess immigrating is turning out to be pretty stressful.
I've talked to an immigration person over the phone before but I really want to know what I need to do to be sure to immigrate. Will I be accepted? Is wanting to move in with a significant other and getting married a good enough reason to immigrate? She could sponsor me but how do we go about doing that?
I'm very scared seeing as this is the first thing I as a young adult have to do alone without my parents help. she means the world to me and we want to be together as soon as we can.
Please point a girl in the right direction to help unite lovers?

 

[scylla]

In order for your girlfriend to sponsor you for permanent residency, you must either be married or common law (common law means that you have lived together at the same physical address for a minimum of one full year). So the short answer to your question is that wanting to get married and move in with your significant other won't allow you to immigrate. You must already be married or already be common law in order to submit the sponsorship application.

As long as you are either married or common law and can provide that your relationship is genuine, you should have no issues being approved for PR.

Until you become a permanent resident, you are not allowed to "live" in Canada - however you can certainly visit. If you plan on visiting your girlfriend in Canada before you become a PR for an extended period of time, make sure you don't look like you're trying to move to Canada when you arrive or you could be sent home. This means that you shouldn't take too many bags with you (pack like a normal tourist would pack), you should have a return flight to show a date when you will be leaving Canada, and you will also need to show that you have sufficient money to pay for your visit to Canada. In case you run into any issues at immigration, it's also a good idea to carry proof that shows you have strong ties to the US and aren't planning on living in Canada. This proof can be evidence of employment, evidence of property ownership or rental, evidence of school attendance, etc.

While you are in Canada as a visitor, keep in mind that you won't be covered by the provincial health program (you will have to pay for any medical treatment out of your own pocket or buy insurance to cover these costs yourself) - you also won't be allowed to work.

 

[scylla]

Just to add... Once you are in Canada as a visitor, you can apply to extend your visit and stay longer (as a US citizen, you will probably be allowed into Canada for a visit of six months).

 

[rinkhet]

In order for your girlfriend to sponsor you for permanent residency, you must either be married or common law (common law means that you have lived together at the same physical address for a minimum of one full year). So the short answer to your question is that wanting to get married and move in with your significant other won't allow you to immigrate. You must already be married or already be common law in order to submit the sponsorship application.

As long as you are either married or common law and can provide that your relationship is genuine, you should have no issues being approved for PR.

Until you become a permanent resident, you are not allowed to "live" in Canada - however you can certainly visit. If you plan on visiting your girlfriend in Canada before you become a PR for an extended period of time, make sure you don't look like you're trying to move to Canada when you arrive or you could be sent home. This means that you shouldn't take too many bags with you (pack like a normal tourist would pack), you should have a return flight to show a date when you will be leaving Canada, and you will also need to show that you have sufficient money to pay for your visit to Canada. In case you run into any issues at immigration, it's also a good idea to carry proof that shows you have strong ties to the US and aren't planning on living in Canada. This proof can be evidence of employment, evidence of property ownership or rental, evidence of school attendance, etc.

While you are in Canada as a visitor, keep in mind that you won't be covered by the provincial health program (you will have to pay for any medical treatment out of your own pocket or buy insurance to cover these costs yourself) - you also won't be allowed to work.

Once I go to Canada I might not have a place to stay if/when I need to go back to the US, Not sure how nice my parents will be about it. I have a friend in NY who might be generous though.
How would we go about getting married or doing common law if I'm not in Canada yet or would I have to be there to do it? Would I need to apply for a visa before leaving or could I get one upon arrival? Are there any other ways to show ties in the US? Since I don't own a car, property, or have school records that aren't old.

 

[scylla]

School records are only useful as ties if you are attending school now and can prove that you are a registered student who has paid tuition. If you're no longer attending school, then you can't show this as a tie. Overall it doesn't sound like you have much (if anything) to show as ties to the US. So you just have to hope you're not asked for this information.

You can get married either in the US or Canada - or in a different country completely if you wish. It's really up to you.

Same goes for common law. It's really up to you where you live together. You could live for 12 months in Canada, or 12 months in the US, or split your time between several countries (as long as you end up with a minimum of 12 months total).

As an American, you don't need a visa to visit Canada - you can visit on your passport alone. However as mentioned before, whether you are allowed into Canada and for how long will be up to the immigration officer you meet at the border.

Hope this helps.

 

[rinkhet]

School records are only useful as ties if you are attending school now and can prove that you are a registered student who has paid tuition. If you're no longer attending school, then you can't show this as a tie. Overall it doesn't sound like you have much (if anything) to show as ties to the US. So you just have to hope you're not asked for this information.

You can get married either in the US or Canada - or in a different country completely if you wish. It's really up to you.

Same goes for common law. It's really up to you where you live together. You could live for 12 months in Canada, or 12 months in the US, or split your time between several countries (as long as you end up with a minimum of 12 months total).

As an American, you don't need a visa to visit Canada - you can visit on your passport alone. However as mentioned before, whether you are allowed into Canada and for how long will be up to the immigration officer you meet at the border.

Hope this helps.

Thank you it's really helping a lot. It's easier to talk with someone than look all over the internet for answers.
So we're able to marry while I'm in the US and her in Canada is what I'm understanding? How much money would I have to bring with me to prove that I can pay for the visit?
Also I've wondered if I need a passport book+card or would the card alone be good?

 

[scylla]

Again, you can marry wherever you want to.

I would make sure you have a minimum of $1K for each month you plan to visit (more would be good).

You need an actual passport. You can't apply for PR or apply for an extension to your visit in Canada with a passport card.

 

[scylla]

So we're able to marry while I'm in the US and her in Canada is what I'm understanding?

Just to be clear - you have to be together in the same location when you marry. But whether you get married in Canada (together) or in the US (together) doesn't matter.

 

[rinkhet]

Just to be clear - you have to be together in the same location when you marry. But whether you get married in Canada (together) or in the US (together) doesn't matter.

oh ok, thank you.
So if I were to stay for 6 months I would need $6,000? That's quiet a lot. If I were to apply to extend my stay would I need more money to prove I can apply to extend my visit? What if I were to say I'm staying with her and her family, would I still need a lot of money to bring? I'm guessing it's just to prove I can buy food and stuff?

Also I mentioned this before but I don't have a high school degree, will that affect this in any way? I assume it would make it harder.

 

[scylla]

A six month visit is a very long visit for someone who has no real ties to their home country. I think if you say you are coming for six months, the immigration official will suspect you are going to try to live in Canada. Normal tourists don't visit Canada for six months.

I would say you are coming for a shorter visit (say - 1 month). There's a good chance you will still be allowed into Canada for up to six months. Once in Canada, you can then apply for an extension.