I've been posting a lot lately since a run in with a particularly mean border officer. My wife and I had all of our sponsorship application done when we found out she might be inadmissible. So, we kind of put the sponsorship application on the back burner, got my wife a TRP (for criminal inadmissibility from a shoplifting under $100 charge approximately four and a half years ago), and she has been "visiting" me in Canada almost every night.
Since we had this terrible experience the other day we are more motivated to complete the sponsorship forms right now. That way, when we are done getting her rehabilitation at the port of entry (we were told we could apply there in October) we can send the documents ASAP. So here are some general application questions.
- How long is the FBI clearance good for? We ordered one a few months ago and it came in but I'm guessing it won't be any good by October, right? Should we also order a state background check? Her FBI clearance came back clear.
- On Friday we were given an "allowed to leave" form and turned away at a port we have never crossed before. So, if asked on the form whether we have been denied entry to Canada, do we put yes and then explain? Or is "allowed to leave" not the same as "denied entry"?
- My wife currently has an address in the USA and pays rent/utilities there. However, she is here on a one-year TRP and sleeps over almost every night (with a few instances since I moved to Canada in December where she spends the weekend in the USA. So far, she has spent three weekends in the USA since December). Do I list her US address even if she spends more time with me? Or do I list my address? I don't want to be charged with misrepresentation but I don't know what to do about the address situation.
- Once I pay the fees, how long is it good for? I'd like to pay the fees in advance before submitting the application if possible. That way, if we ever run into issues at the border again I can show them the fee receipt as extra proof that the sponsorship and rehabilitation thing is in the works.
Since we had this terrible experience the other day we are more motivated to complete the sponsorship forms right now. That way, when we are done getting her rehabilitation at the port of entry (we were told we could apply there in October) we can send the documents ASAP. So here are some general application questions.
- How long is the FBI clearance good for? We ordered one a few months ago and it came in but I'm guessing it won't be any good by October, right? Should we also order a state background check? Her FBI clearance came back clear.
- On Friday we were given an "allowed to leave" form and turned away at a port we have never crossed before. So, if asked on the form whether we have been denied entry to Canada, do we put yes and then explain? Or is "allowed to leave" not the same as "denied entry"?
- My wife currently has an address in the USA and pays rent/utilities there. However, she is here on a one-year TRP and sleeps over almost every night (with a few instances since I moved to Canada in December where she spends the weekend in the USA. So far, she has spent three weekends in the USA since December). Do I list her US address even if she spends more time with me? Or do I list my address? I don't want to be charged with misrepresentation but I don't know what to do about the address situation.
- Once I pay the fees, how long is it good for? I'd like to pay the fees in advance before submitting the application if possible. That way, if we ever run into issues at the border again I can show them the fee receipt as extra proof that the sponsorship and rehabilitation thing is in the works.