Hey everyone,
New member here. I've been reading through the forums and am starting to understand the various options available to us, but have a few, quick orienting questions.
I'm American and my spouse is a Canadian citizen. We've been together for +4 years and are currently living together in the US. We'll be getting married in Toronto in January.
1. I know that the inland route allows an OWP. Does the outland allow any sort of concurrent work permits while the application is being processed--or would I be limited to the standard (180 days, no working) of Americans in Canada?
2. Does it look bad to apply the day after getting married or do immigration officers understand that this is a logical (and legal) watershed event for most couples?
3. Is marriage seen as stronger--and faster to process--than common-law? For religious and political reasons, we normally wouldn't go for a state-sanctioned marriage certificate from a civil agency. But we don't want our application to look "weaker" and so are willing to do this if it's seen as a stronger option by immigration. We'd meet the common-law requirements otherwise. (And plan to spend our lives together, have kids, etc.)
Many thanks in advance for your replies,
Lafayette