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Situation Confusing, Spousal Sponsorship

Jun 6, 2013
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My husband is Canadian, I am American. We have been married for 3 years and have a 2 year old daughter. My situation is a bit confusing, in the last year, he has lived in Canada for 8 months, working and helping take care of us, and I have come to visit him a month or so at a time, we are about to apply for my sponsorship and I am unsure if I need to file for an extension of my stay, as I am now living with my husband. How do I go about even knowing when my stay would end? We have always come over via car, and never had a single problem with coming and going.

Also, we are trying to decide if we should get a lawyer, is it very difficult to apply yourself? Does anyone know what forms we would need or where I can go to find that information?

Thank you in advance for any kindly advice :)
 

DGT

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Dec 5, 2012
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guardianofthemoon said:
My husband is Canadian, I am American. We have been married for 3 years and have a 2 year old daughter. My situation is a bit confusing, in the last year, he has lived in Canada for 8 months, working and helping take care of us, and I have come to visit him a month or so at a time, we are about to apply for my sponsorship and I am unsure if I need to file for an extension of my stay, as I am now living with my husband. How do I go about even knowing when my stay would end? We have always come over via car, and never had a single problem with coming and going.

Also, we are trying to decide if we should get a lawyer, is it very difficult to apply yourself? Does anyone know what forms we would need or where I can go to find that information?

Thank you in advance for any kindly advice :)
Hey! Unless told otherwise at the border (I.E given a "visitors record"), then you can stay in Canada as a visitor for 6 months from your last date of entry. You can apply for an extension of your stay as a visitor at any time, though CIC advises that you do it within 1 month of your status expiring.

As for needing a lawyer, I wouldn't recommend it for Family Class unless your situation is very complex (and it doesn't sound like it is!).

As for forms, here is the link with everything you need for Sponsorship.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

For an extension of stay, here is the link. Remember to put your country of residence as Canada when filling out the questionnaire.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/my_application/apply_online.asp?s=1
 
Jun 6, 2013
6
0
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!
 
Jun 6, 2013
6
0
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.
 

frege

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Jun 13, 2012
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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.
 
Jun 6, 2013
6
0
Wow, thank you so much for all that information, I had no idea. I am currently residing in Quebec which I know may have some different rules. I will check the information that was given. I also have 3 children from a previous marriage of 18 years. None of my children plan to leave America to come live here sadly, but I would like to be able to go and visit them during this process, will that be allowed? And if I am allowed, what do I say when I try to cross the border, will I be able to say that I am returning to my husband or will I have to keep saying that my daughter and I are coming for a visit?
 

frege

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Jun 13, 2012
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guardianofthemoon said:
Wow, thank you so much for all that information, I had no idea. I am currently residing in Quebec which I know may have some different rules. I will check the information that was given. I also have 3 children from a previous marriage of 18 years. None of my children plan to leave America to come live here sadly, but I would like to be able to go and visit them during this process, will that be allowed? And if I am allowed, what do I say when I try to cross the border, will I be able to say that I am returning to my husband or will I have to keep saying that my daughter and I are coming for a visit?
The process for Quebec isn't very different for spouses, except that you don't need to fill out some federal forms, and you have an extra step with the Quebec government, which is usually a formality.

If you do want to speak to an immigration lawyer for any reason, you can look one up here:

http://www.aqaadi.com/

If you want to travel a lot between the U.S. and Canada, it's probably safer to use the outland application. If you applied inland, one problem at the border could ruin the whole application.

Until you're a resident, you should tell the people at the border that you and your daughter are visiting your husband. If they ask, of course tell them that you're applying for permanent residence. Generally, just tell them the truth - there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. If you're concerned, then carry proof of you and your husband's income/assets with you.

Even if your kids aren't immigrating with you now, they may choose to come to Canada later. In order to preserve that right for them, you need to have them examined by a physician along with you when you apply. They can come to Canada as long as you apply for them before they turn 19. (At the moment it's 22, but this will likely be changing to 19 next year.)
 

frege

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Jun 13, 2012
953
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Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
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01-08-2012
Med's Done....
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28-11-2012 (copy only)
VISA ISSUED...
05-12-2012
LANDED..........
15-12-2012
Just a correction. I said you submit your application to the Ottawa office. What I meant is the Ottawa office processes your application. The place you actually send the application is Mississauga.
 
Jun 6, 2013
6
0
Thank you so much for your information, it has been a godsend! Now, I don't feel nearly as scared as I was about the whole process, and believe we can do it without an attorney. Thank you!
 

frege

Hero Member
Jun 13, 2012
953
29
Category........
Visa Office......
Paris
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-05-2012
AOR Received.
none
File Transfer...
01-08-2012
Med's Done....
02-12-2011
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
28-11-2012 (copy only)
VISA ISSUED...
05-12-2012
LANDED..........
15-12-2012
guardianofthemoon said:
Thank you so much for your information, it has been a godsend! Now, I don't feel nearly as scared as I was about the whole process, and believe we can do it without an attorney. Thank you!
You're welcome.

One last thing. In cases where a couple has a child together, the main angle CIC might take to oppose an application would be to argue that the relationship was somehow over. You can evaluate whether anything would make it look this way. I think in your case, this is unlikely to be a problem.

To be on the safe side, include proof of visits if possible. If this has been by car, and you don't have passport stamps, one way would be to get border crossing records from the CBSA and CBP, for all three of you, as well as for the car license plate numbers. Records for this aren't always complete, unfortunately. From now on, you can ask for stamps in your passport when you enter Canada. (And your husband when he enters the U.S.)

Don't let this delay your application too much, though. You can get the information after you've applied and only use it if you're asked for additional evidence.