Sponsoring American Husband

[emilie777]

Good afternoon! I'm looking to sponsor my fiance after we get married in October. I'm hoping he is able to stay here while we apply for his permanent residence but I do have a question. If he's going to be staying with me in Canada during the process of getting his PR, which form do I get? If you see www . cic . gc . ca /english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp (take spaces out of the link) under "1. Get the Application Package" it says:

"If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives with you in Canada, use the Application for Permanent Residence in Canada—Spouse or Common-Law Partner;
OR,
If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives outside Canada, use the Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class."

So my question is, where he's staying with me in Canada, but he's technically still a visitor since he's not a PR yet, would I go for the form that says he lives inside Canada or outside Canada? I don't want to make any mistakes.

 

[Seronic]

I would do an outland application (even if he lives in canada). It just goes so much faster.

 

[Ponga]

Apply with the OUTLAND application, as it is SUBSTANTIALLY faster for an American.

He can remain in Canada, as long as he maintains his visitor status (which is easy to do). He's `visiting' you while he awaits his PR, but he can certainly show your address as being his, on the application.

An American application is processed in Canada (Ottawa) and has an average processing time of ~ 6-8 months (+/-) which is a lot faster than the 12 months just to reach stage 1 approval for an Inland application! Only those applications that have `issues' (like inadmissibility concerns, or questions regarding the relationship) are typically sent to LA or NY, which IS longer than an Inland application.

I have heard of at least one person who had their `straightforward' application sent to LA, just because it was randomly selected, but the vast majority of Americans that have applied Outland have no regrets.

Good luck!

 

[emilie777]

Thanks so much for the info! That's a big help!