Spouse Sponsorship

[Bella85]

My boyfriend and I met two years ago online and the last year we have decided to truly make our situation work seeing as how he lives in vancouver (a canadian) and I am here in NJ (an american). We are looking to apply for a PR card for myself so that I can come finally live with him in Canada. We love each other very much and plan to marry at some point, we have yet to live with each other so we are not sure what class to file under for the PR status. Is there any advice on what class we would file under in our situation? Or should we wait to file until we are actually married and then file under married? We want to do things the proper way and make sure we do what we have to but the process seems very difficult and we have many questions. Any information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[aeastmond]

Thats funny I am in NJ and my wife in BC about 8-10 hours north of Vancouver

 

[aeastmond]

Whats even more funny is I call my wife Bella and it was used in our wedding vows

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We are looking to apply for a PR card for myself so that I can come finally live with him in Canada. We love each other very much and plan to marry at some point, we have yet to live with each other so we are not sure what class to file under for the PR status. Is there any advice on what class we would file under in our situation? Or should we wait to file until we are actually married and then file under married?

Your boyfriend must sponsor you as either his wife or his common-law spouse; as you are neither right now, you do not qualify to be sponsored.

So your options are to live together for at least a year to become common-law or get married.

If you choose the marriage route, know that it is better to have several months of living together before you actually apply. Applying right after you get married when you've never even lived together is a red flag.

Have you looked at other ways to come to Canada, like a work permit, study permit, NAFTA etc?

 

[Bella85]

Your boyfriend must sponsor you as either his wife or his common-law spouse; as you are neither right now, you do not qualify to be sponsored.

So your options are to live together for at least a year to become common-law or get married.

If you choose the marriage route, know that it is better to have several months of living together before you actually apply. Applying right after you get married when you've never even lived together is a red flag.

Have you looked at other ways to come to Canada, like a work permit, study permit, NAFTA etc?

So it would be a better idea to go live with him after our wedding for some time and THEN apply? I certainly do not want a single red flag on our case!! I wanted a work-permit but my work does not seem to fall under the categories listed on the government site for the working visas! I would be looking to do receptionist work or something in Ophthalmology as I am currently an Ophthalmic Tech (I do eye exams). I also have experience doing medical receptionist work. The list of work eligible for the working permit seemed very limited and I did not see any type of office work listed. I am no longer in school so I do not know why or what I would do schooling for. NAFTA I have no idea what that is! Thanks for your help, keep the advice coming!

 

[Betina]

So it would be a better idea to go live with him after our wedding for some time and THEN apply? I certainly do not want a single red flag on our case!! I wanted a work-permit but my work does not seem to fall under the categories listed on the government site for the working visas! I would be looking to do receptionist work or something in Ophthalmology as I am currently an Ophthalmic Tech (I do eye exams). I also have experience doing medical receptionist work. The list of work eligible for the working permit seemed very limited and I did not see any type of office work listed. I am no longer in school so I do not know why or what I would do schooling for. NAFTA I have no idea what that is! Thanks for your help, keep the advice coming!

If you get married, you don't need to live together for 1 year before applying, but you will have to convince the IO that your relationship is genuine (photos with family and friends, trips that you took together, e-mails, skype logs etc). If you don't want to get married, you have to have proof of 1 year of living together.

 

[Sweden]

So it would be a better idea to go live with him after our wedding for some time and THEN apply? I certainly do not want a single red flag on our case!! I wanted a work-permit but my work does not seem to fall under the categories listed on the government site for the working visas! I would be looking to do receptionist work or something in Ophthalmology as I am currently an Ophthalmic Tech (I do eye exams). I also have experience doing medical receptionist work. The list of work eligible for the working permit seemed very limited and I did not see any type of office work listed. I am no longer in school so I do not know why or what I would do schooling for. NAFTA I have no idea what that is! Thanks for your help, keep the advice coming!

Because you're visa-exempt, you could get married, go and live in Canada on a visitor visa ( technically you would only be visiting Canada for a while!), and then apply. It takes a while to get the application prepared anyway... FBI record, organising the proofs of relationship etc. The more proofs you have as a couple, the better it is, because it will show that your relationship is genuine. At present, you have not lived together from what I understand. it's not a red flag as such, but if you have a short relationship history, a quick wedding, and applying just after, it might seem suspicious. However - because you're from a visa-exempt country, you're not suspected of trying to gain entry to Canada, so you don't need to be living together for very long before you apply. It also depends on how much your relationship is "known" to your family and friends... if your bf has met your parents, you have met his, all your friends are aware that you two are a couple etc, it won't be an issue.

Download the application and have a look through it. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but soon it will become more familiar and it will give you a better idea of type of proofs you need etc. Depending on your story (if you've met regularly, and kept plane tickets, if families are aware, etc.), you will get a better idea of what needs to be done.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Bella85]

Thank you to everyone who has been replying, its great to see every bit of advice!! Our relationship is known to literally all of our family and friends and we have saved every bit of information we could. Before this process started I saved everything for sentimental reasons not realizing I would some day need these things to prove our relationship so thank God I did and so did he!! We have our proof and we have our family and friends to speak for us as well. We are 100% going to marry each other and very excited to do so but this process is exactly as you said, overwhelming! We just want to be together! Ah! I am a bit nervous about living there and not being allowed to legally work but it seems I may have no choice but to do so. I wasn't sure how all these things worked being that I am an American and as you said we are a visa-exempt country. I wonder if I could live in Vancouver and work across the boarder in Washington state, or would that cause issues at the boarder for me?

 

[Alurra71]

Thank you to everyone who has been replying, its great to see every bit of advice!! Our relationship is known to literally all of our family and friends and we have saved every bit of information we could. Before this process started I saved everything for sentimental reasons not realizing I would some day need these things to prove our relationship so thank God I did and so did he!! We have our proof and we have our family and friends to speak for us as well. We are 100% going to marry each other and very excited to do so but this process is exactly as you said, overwhelming! We just want to be together! Ah! I am a bit nervous about living there and not being allowed to legally work but it seems I may have no choice but to do so. I wasn't sure how all these things worked being that I am an American and as you said we are a visa-exempt country.<b> I wonder if I could live in Vancouver and work across the boarder in Washington state, or would that cause issues at the boarder for me</b>?

If you were going to do it this way, here are my suggestions:

Apply for a NEXUS card immediately. That will help you cross the border without as much 'scrutiny'
After you are married, get a visitor record, which will be attached to your passport, so if you DO get scrutinized it won't be as hard.
Apply OUTLAND rather than Inland, in case they DO decide to give you a hard time and refuse you entry back into Canada. You won't loose your application then, as opposed to Inland if you are refused entry, your application becomes "null and void" and all your money is lost and you must then start over applying OUTLAND anyhow.

Just my thoughts on it. I am also US married to Canadian. We also live in a border town, however we chose inland ... I think I might've gone outland knowing what I know NOW lol

 

[Bella85]

Thank you, nice to know my options. Anyone know about how long obtaining a PR card is for an American? I am preparing myself for a 15 month process, does that sound about right? And does anyone know the shortest amount of time it could be processed in? I'm just curious to know what others have gone through as far as a wait time..

 

[cat_in_craddle]

the best thing that you can do is to get married, and apply under spousal sponsorship. For Common-law relationship, you must have lived at least a year together despite of location.

 

[Sweden]

Thank you, nice to know my options. Anyone know about how long obtaining a PR card is for an American? I am preparing myself for a 15 month process, does that sound about right? And does anyone know the shortest amount of time it could be processed in? I'm just curious to know what others have gone through as far as a wait time..

there is a thread for applicants going through Ottawa ( that's the Outland Visa Office for US residents, it's weird, I know), which will give you a better idea. I would say: plan for 3 months to get the application together. Could be done earlier if you start looking at the forms now, plan your wedding, and get everything ready. However, as mentioned before, you might want to wait a bit before applying(maybe not just after your wedding as you never lived together).

Then from when you've sent the application in: stage 1 is usually one month, for now, or less. Stage 2 is listed as 13 months, but a lot of US/Can couples are done before that. Probably shortest stage 2 is around 6 months these days, average 8 months? see here http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-outland-applicants-thread-t106068.2355.html the thread for Outland US applicants, and they have a spreadsheet with actual dates.

A few things if you start preparing the application: timing is key. FBI report takes about 2 to 3 months to get, but must reach CIC (together with the rest of your application) less than 3 months after being issued ( as well as any other Police Report for countries where you lived more than 6 months since you were 18, if applicable). Do the medicals last, as they are only valid for 1 year. They don't take long usually, so you want to do them the week before sending your application. They can be done anywhere as long as it's with a panel physician that is on CIC list (on the website). Doing them in Canada is cheaper than in the US, from what most applicants report.

THere are plenty of US/Can couples, so once you start looking at the paperwork and you have questions, just come and post here. Unless you have a very complicated case, you won't need an immigration consultant, and people here will be able to assist.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[aeastmond]

I am here in NJ if you have questions please ask as I am going through what you will be!

 

[Bella85]

Thanks guys, I'll check out those links. I was pretty sure canadians and americans are common couples since it is our neighbor country but this all seems so impossible. We will continue to gather our information and push forward. Are there any happy stories anyone wants to share about going through this crazy process and getting to the finish line? I would love to hear some encouraging stories if anyone has them!!