Sponcering my American husband

[Home_I_will_be]

I am Canadian, and moved to the USA in 2013 to marry my American husband. I am here as a resident. He sponcered me on a fiancé visa at the time.
We now want to move back to Ontario Canada, and want to know what we need to do and how to go about it.

Things about us.

...I am 51 and he is 56

....We own a home in Niagara Falls New York and will be renting it out for a few years. Which means we have to be able to drive back and forth when we have to.

... I don’t work, but my husband works from home, for an American company. He will either get permission to continue to work from home in Canada, or have to drive back and forth from Canada to the USA everyday. Or, he will have to find a job in Canada to replace that job.

...We will be renting a home in Niagara Falls Ontario until my husband retires, then we will sell our home in NY and buy one in Canada.

...I have 2 grown kids living in Hamilton Ontario, Canada.

Taking all of this into consideration.....

Are we better to apply now, wait in the USA and move to Canada when his visa comes in?

Move to Canada now and wait for the visa to come in?

And what way won’t affect the borders with us coming back and forth during the process and after??

Thank you for all of your help

 

[Rob_TO]

Are we better to apply now, wait in the USA and move to Canada when his visa comes in?

Do this.

While the OUTLAND PR app is in progress, your husband is free to come and go from Canada as he pleases as a visitor. He can't "live" or "move" to Canada, or work here, until his PR is approved. So just remember this each time he tries to enter and make sure he has luggage typical of a visitor, a permanent address in the US, etc etc.

It would be fine for him to work for his US employer via telecommuting from within Canada as a visitor with no work permit, as long as he's getting paid from the US and is not dealing with Canadian clients. Just keep in mind if he spends a certain amount of time here as a visitor (I think 183 days out of the year) he'll be considered a resident for tax purposes so would then have to file Canadian taxes in addition to his US taxes, on his US income.

Move to Canada now and wait for the visa to come in?

If he entered as a visitor then you applied INLAND for his PR along with an Open Work Permit, this would mean he can essentially live/work in Canada during the application process. BUT with an inland app it's expected he should stay in Canada and not travel back and forth from USA, since it could jeopardize the application. Since he wants freedom to travel, you should not consider the inland option.

 

[Home_I_will_be]

Thank you very much.

Now we know we will choose to live in the USA and visit family in Canada like we have been doing until he gets his visa.

I have a couple more questions if that’s ok?

Can I still sponcer him without me working and does he have to prove he makes an income when applying for a visa?

Do we need a place listed on the application, where we will be living in Canada? Or can we look for a place after he gets approved?

Do you know how long it usually takes?

Thank you once again

 

[Rob_TO]

Can I still sponcer him without me working and does he have to prove he makes an income when applying for a visa?

There is no minimum income to sponsor a spouse, so a sponsor not working is fine.

However you do need to convince a visa officer that you won't need social assistance/welfare after he becomes a PR. So you should include a financial plan of how you will support yourselves. So for this you can indicate his income and how it will continue after he becomes a PR.

Do we need a place listed on the application, where we will be living in Canada? Or can we look for a place after he gets approved?

You don't need a Canadian address. However since you'll be a Canadian living outside of Canada, you will need to show some kind of proof you intend to permanently move to Canada after he gets PR. This can be letters from family, correspondence with a real estate agent to begin looking for a place, etc etc. There are other threads on this topic to get more ideas.

Do you know how long it usually takes?

Around 1 year.

 

[Home_I_will_be]

Do this.

While the OUTLAND PR app is in progress, your husband is free to come and go from Canada as he pleases as a visitor. He can't "live" or "move" to Canada, or work here, until his PR is approved. So just remember this each time he tries to enter and make sure he has luggage typical of a visitor, a permanent address in the US, etc etc.

It would be fine for him to work for his US employer via telecommuting from within Canada as a visitor with no work permit, as long as he's getting paid from the US and is not dealing with Canadian clients. Just keep in mind if he spends a certain amount of time here as a visitor (I think 183 days out of the year) he'll be considered a resident for tax purposes so would then have to file Canadian taxes in addition to his US taxes, on his US income.



If he entered as a visitor then you applied INLAND for his PR along with an Open Work Permit, this would mean he can essentially live/work in Canada during the application process. BUT with an inland app it's expected he should stay in Canada and not travel back and forth from USA, since it could jeopardize the application. Since he wants freedom to travel, you should not consider the inland option.

 

[Home_I_will_be]

Do this.

While the OUTLAND PR app is in progress, your husband is free to come and go from Canada as he pleases as a visitor. He can't "live" or "move" to Canada, or work here, until his PR is approved. So just remember this each time he tries to enter and make sure he has luggage typical of a visitor, a permanent address in the US, etc etc.

It would be fine for him to work for his US employer via telecommuting from within Canada as a visitor with no work permit, as long as he's getting paid from the US and is not dealing with Canadian clients. Just keep in mind if he spends a certain amount of time here as a visitor (I think 183 days out of the year) he'll be considered a resident for tax purposes so would then have to file Canadian taxes in addition to his US taxes, on his US income.



If he entered as a visitor then you applied INLAND for his PR along with an Open Work Permit, this would mean he can essentially live/work in Canada during the application process. BUT with an inland app it's expected he should stay in Canada and not travel back and forth from USA, since it could jeopardize the application. Since he wants freedom to travel, you should not consider the inland option.

You mentioned that we are better off applying for Outland, because my husband has to be able to go back and forth from Canada to the USA because of his job. So I have another two part question.......

When I first started this whole visa process, I came to the USA on a fiance visa. I had to get married to my american husband in a certain time period and I could not leave the USA until I received my residency card in the mail a few months later.

So, once my husband gets the approval by Imigation to come to Canada to live, will there be any waiting time he will not be able to leave Canada like I couldn't leave the USA? And, will he get a residence card for Canada? so he is able to go back and forth across the border?

Is there a limit of time between him getting his approval, and the time we have to move to Canada? We might need to go back and forth looking for a place to rent in Ontario, Canada.

Thank you

 

[KBH]

You mentioned that we are better off applying for Outland, because my husband has to be able to go back and forth from Canada to the USA because of his job. So I have another two part question.......

When I first started this whole visa process, I came to the USA on a fiance visa. I had to get married to my american husband in a certain time period and I could not leave the USA until I received my residency card in the mail a few months later.

So, once my husband gets the approval by Imigation to come to Canada to live, will there be any waiting time he will not be able to leave Canada like I couldn't leave the USA? And, will he get a residence card for Canada? so he is able to go back and forth across the border?

Is there a limit of time between him getting his approval, and the time we have to move to Canada? We might need to go back and forth looking for a place to rent in Ontario, Canada.

Thank you

There is no period of time that your husband can't leave Canada like there is for the fiance visa/green card process in the US. This is how the process works: once your husband receives his approval, they will issue him a COPR (confirmation of permanent residency) this is the document he will need to take to the border to land. The COPR will be printed with an expiry date. This is the date that he must enter Canada and land by. It will either be 12 months after his medical exam was completed, or his passport expiry date (whichever comes sooner).

After he lands, he will receive his PR card in the mail about 2-3 months later. He will need this card to travel to and from Canada by air. However, you can travel to and from the US by land using the stamped COPR as proof of his permanent residency with no issues whatsoever. He just will not be able to fly until he gets his PR card.

 

[Home_I_will_be]

There is no period of time that your husband can't leave Canada like there is for the fiance visa/green card process in the US. This is how the process works: once your husband receives his approval, they will issue him a COPR (confirmation of permanent residency) this is the document he will need to take to the border to land. The COPR will be printed with an expiry date. This is the date that he must enter Canada and land by. It will either be 12 months after his medical exam was completed, or his passport expiry date (whichever comes sooner).

After he lands, he will receive his PR card in the mail about 2-3 months later. He will need this card to travel to and from Canada by air. However, you can travel to and from the US by land using the stamped COPR as proof of his permanent residency with no issues whatsoever. He just will not be able to fly until he gets his PR card.

Once we find a place and bring our belongings into canada, will I need to notify the american immigration about my move back to canada? Im not sure what information the border has on me, through my passport, since I will be changing from a resident to a visitor. When I first came to the USA 5 years ago, I was denied entry and had no where to go. So, after that scary process, of being denied, Im very cautious to make sure Im doing everything right.

Thank you

 

[KBH]

Once we find a place and bring our belongings into canada, will I need to notify the american immigration about my move back to canada? Im not sure what information the border has on me, through my passport, since I will be changing from a resident to a visitor. When I first came to the USA 5 years ago, I was denied entry and had no where to go. So, after that scary process, of being denied, Im very cautious to make sure Im doing everything right.

Thank you

Unfortunately you are not likely to find information about that here on this forum. You may want to try a US immigration forum. I am assuming that by moving to Canada you will no longer meet the residency requirements of the US to maintain your green card. You should try searching online for the implications of this.