Sponsoring US fiance and his children

[jazztap]

Hey Everyone

I have a couple of general questions about how this process works.
Me: Born in Canada, always lived here
Him: Born in US, always lived there
Dating for 3 years, engaged for 2 months now
Children: Two, both teenagers, he has full custody and mother only has supervised visitation rights
Wedding: June of 2013

Up until now, I was under the impression that if you had a marriage certificate, your US husband (+dependents) would be permitted to live with you until the PR paperwork goes through. The more I read however, it sounds like they would only be able to visit for 6 months, and then could extend their visitation stay online. My questions are as follows:

1- After we marry, we would like to move in together in BC. I know that he would not be able to work, but I live close enough to the border that he could keep his old job in the US and commute daily. Can they move up and bring all of their belongings/furniture? Or, does it have to look like a 'visit' ie. they could only bring clothes, toiletries, etc?

2- If the answer to question #1 is that yes, they can move entirely everything up, then the follow up is: Can the children attend school in Canada while waiting PR paperwork?

3- If the answer to question #2 is that no, they cannot move everything, then: Is there a better/faster way for us to be able to live together? Does anyone have any general suggestions? Would we be better off having him apply for a work visa while we're waiting for PR, so that we can live together?

I suppose one option would be to get married now, then have the actual wedding next summer when the PR paperwork should, in theory, be finished. We were wanting to avoid this though because for some reason it feels strange to have a wedding when you're actually married already. We may need to get over this though ;D

Thanks!

 

[canadiangirl78]

We got married in Vegas and we didn't feel married until the church ceremony. Just see it as paperwork and don't make it a big deal. Don't tell anyone. Just get your application ready with lots of support to show your relationship is legitimate. Then have the church ceremony and move! Yay!

 

[jazztap]

Yeah I should really try to get over that. Our relationship has always been so 'unconventional' due to the whole long distance/ different countries thing that I was hoping we could do the wedding the 'conventional' way. If the answer to #1 is yes, then I think that is the route we'd rather take.

 

[canadiangirl78]

They won't let your husband in with all his household things. You can't import your goods without a visa. He will get turned away.

 

[Pigey]

We had one of those relationships too. I'm from the States and the Hubby has always been here in Canada. We did the long distance thing for years... We had a church wedding and the reception in December in Canada, and I went back to the States afterwards to finish my job. That was an awful three months, and it wasn't like we weren't married until I arrived in Canada at the end of March.

I sold or gifted everything I owned in the States, we decided it would cost more to transport everything and put it in storage while we waited. I did send two boxes of belongings to Canada, with no problems, but only arrived with two suitcases.

My dependent is 19, so we didn't need permission from her father to come to Canada, you may want to check on that for his kids. You guys may need permission from the non-custodial parent.

 

[YorkFactory]

1- After we marry, we would like to move in together in BC. I know that he would not be able to work, but I live close enough to the border that he could keep his old job in the US and commute daily. Can they move up and bring all of their belongings/furniture? Or, does it have to look like a 'visit' ie. they could only bring clothes, toiletries, etc?

Seconding the recommendation that you absolutely do not do this.

They risk getting turned away if they show up looking like they're going to move to Canada without the proper paperwork. Additionally, your fiancé runs the risk of being sent back into the United States every time he tries to enter Canada if it appears that he's living there without the right status.

 

[jazztap]

Thanks everyone for the input. Now that I know that he can't bring his belongings, we're strongly leaning towards just getting married first. I definitely don't want to risk any sort of 'fake visit' and break the law or do anything suspicious like that. So many people casually talk about their spouses moving in early that I wasn't sure exactly what was acceptable. Thanks for clearing it all up!