guardianofthemoon said:
Thank you for the fast reply!
The only thing I am worried about is the 6 month stay, you say its from the time you last entered, but I was always told you couldn't stay longer then 6 months out of a year, and I have stayed with my spouse off and on the last year at least 4 months all together, are you saying that doesn't count against me? Thank you!
When they let you into the country, if they don't say anything specific, then they're letting you into the country for six months.
The thing about six months in the year may be more to do with other things. The U.S. will stop letting a Canadian into the country as a visitor if it looks like he's spending more time in the U.S. than in Canada, over all. (Also, you can lose your Canadian health card or U.S. permanent residence in that sort of situation. At one time, there was a similar rule for Canadian permanent residence.)
In Canada, however, there's no set limit on how long you can visit. They just need to believe you're complying with the law. That means not working or studying illegally, and you will leave if your time runs out in future. They may look at you and your husband's financial situation (income and bank balances), as well as past compliance with immigration rules. Obviously, the longer you stay, the more closely they'll look at these questions.
Here is where you can find the forms to extend your stay: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp
Of course, you can also return to the border and cross back in. The likelihood of being refused entry seems low, and you won't have to submit bank balances, etc., unless the border officer asks to see them, also possible but unlikely.
Also, we are trying to decide if we should get a lawyer, is it very difficult to apply yourself?
It's not too difficult to apply yourself. Most people do the process without a lawyer. You might prefer to use a lawyer if your case was complex for some reason. But as DGT said, it doesn't sound like it.
You could choose to speak to a lawyer just to get a sense of whether certain things are potential difficulties or not, even if you don't use him. You'd only pay for a short consultation.
What province are you in?
Also, my father was dying during the time of our marriage, so we did not have any pictures from a wedding, we went to the justice of the peace, we did go on a short 2 day trip which I have pics of, but no marriage photos. We have considered renewing our vows here in Canada, and having another wedding, as his family was unable to attend the last time, would that be a good idea, or will we be ok with not having wedding photos. We have A LOT of correspondence I can use as evidence. We also have an age gap between us, he is 25 and I am 39. We love each other so much, I would hate to see these things cost us everything!
Thank you in advance.
It's true that age difference and lack of photos sometimes make CIC suspicious. However, there are two important things that will make your case easier.
1. You have a child together. As long as both your names are on the birth certificate, this creates a very strong presumption that the relationship is genuine. It is only in rare cases that CIC challenges such couples on the grounds of genuineness.
2. You are from a developed country. It's unusual that an American would marry just to come to Canada (or vice versa).
Does anyone know what forms we would need or where I can go to find that information?
You'd start here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp
There are two distinct processes:
1) The in-Canada ("inland") process. In this case, you apply when you are both in Canada. It takes 10 to 19 months. After about 6 months, if CIC considers your case routine, you receive "approval in principle". From this point forward, you can work or study in Canada. It's better to include an application for an open work permit with your application, so it can be approved immediately.
In the inland process, you both need to reside together in Canada until the end of the process. There's no rule that you have to stay in Canada at all times, but if for any reason you weren't allowed back into the country before a decision was made, your application would automatically be cancelled. If you're in Canada legally on the date you submit an in-Canada application, you're permitted to stay until a decision is made on it.
If an in-Canada application is considered suspicious, it can drag on for years. Also, appeal rights are poor with the in-Canada process.
2) The overseas ("outland") process. Your application is evaluated by the visa office responsible for your country of residence or citizenship. In the case of the U.S., this is the Ottawa office. For Americans, the process takes about 8 to 13 months. There are no restrictions on where you live during the process, and approval of your stay as a visitor is a separate process from the sponsorship application.
By the way, if you decide to hurry and submit a sponsorship application, you don't need to include police checks if you don't already have them. You can get in the processing queue and add them later in the application. This will save time.
