U.S. permanent resident visiting Canada while waiting for approval

[MNM2015]

I finally got our spousal sponsorship outland application sent!!! I would really like my husband to stay with me in Canada while it is processed like I've read about so many people on the forum doing. My husband is a permanent resident of the USA so does not need a visa to visit Canada. However he has had issues visiting Canada in the past as they were concerned he would stay so I expect him to be given a tough time at the border again. Here are my questions I am hoping someone could help me with:

1) do you think having our spousal application submitted will make it harder or easier for him to enter? In most cases it sounds like it should be easier but for him they have been concerned he would stay so this seems like a greater chance of him staying. But it also shows we are following the rules for him coming legally so might be easier?

2) how do other people handle questions about ties to your country like a job and lease when I assume you have neither as are coming to Canada for many months with the intention to stay permanently once your application is approved?

3) if he is approved for even a short visit of a couple of weeks, can we still apply for the visitor extension or is that only for people approved for the full 6 months on entry?

Thank you very much for any help you can provide!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. Generally, having the PR app submitted makes entry for visa-exempt applicants easier.

2. He needs to be honest. With the PR app submitted, CBSA is usually very lenient about the lack of ties. He needs to be very clear that he is visiting you while the app processes.

3. He can apply to CIC to extend his stay if CBSA only gives him a short time.

 

[DanOCan]

2) how do other people handle questions about ties to your country like a job and lease when I assume you have neither as are coming to Canada for many months with the intention to stay permanently once your application is approved?

My advice for crossing the border is always the same: "Always answer everything honestly but never give any more information than what is asked for."

I think a lot will depend on how he arrives in Canada. Arriving by air? A return ticket is pretty much a requirement and should provide decent enough proof that he intends to return to the US.

When my wife came to visit me, we arrived by car and it was a really simple crossing. The border guard asked us the standard questions about alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. He flipped through my wife's passport and came across her stamp from her visit a few months earlier and asked her if that was the last time she had come to Canada. He then asked how often she came to Canada for visits and when she told him "a few times per year" he said "If you visit consistently, at some point you will be expected to establish some sort of tie to Canada such as becoming a permanent resident."

At that point I spoke up and said "Oh, we already have an application in the system. In fact, my sponsorship has already been approved and we're hoping we'll get a final decision shortly." With that he handed back our passports and waved us through with a "Have a good day." It was easy peasy.

We were very careful about what we brought with us in the car, trying to limit ourselves to a couple of suitcases. As we were packing up her apartment, we would look at everything she wanted to bring with her and ask "Is this something someone would bring with them on a two month vacation to Canada?" (We were crossing at the beginning of November and we had decided if asked about her length of stay we would say she was staying "through the holidays" and we would be "looking for seat sales in January" for her return to the US.)

Perhaps our experience would have been different if we had showed up with the car stuffed with boxes of housewares.

It is perfectly legal for an American to visit Canada for six months. If you reach the border crossing and you feel like you are being sneaky or trying to deceive them they will pick up on that and put you through the wringer more. It's easier said than done. We were nervous because we knew if we ran into a border agent having a bad day we could be turned around, even if we weren't doing anything wrong. We tried to put ourselves at ease by having a bit of a fallback plan (she could leave her stuff in storage and stay in a friend's spare room and her employer would have given her her old job back) and by reminding ourselves we weren't doing anything wrong or illegal. It also helps that reading this forum has shown us plenty of success stories about spouses being together while waiting the months for a PR application to be completed.

 

[unicornpants]

I finally got our spousal sponsorship outland application sent!!! I would really like my husband to stay with me in Canada while it is processed like I've read about so many people on the forum doing. My husband is a permanent resident of the USA so does not need a visa to visit Canada. However he has had issues visiting Canada in the past as they were concerned he would stay so I expect him to be given a tough time at the border again. Here are my questions I am hoping someone could help me with:

1) do you think having our spousal application submitted will make it harder or easier for him to enter? In most cases it sounds like it should be easier but for him they have been concerned he would stay so this seems like a greater chance of him staying. But it also shows we are following the rules for him coming legally so might be easier?

2) how do other people handle questions about ties to your country like a job and lease when I assume you have neither as are coming to Canada for many months with the intention to stay permanently once your application is approved?

3) if he is approved for even a short visit of a couple of weeks, can we still apply for the visitor extension or is that only for people approved for the full 6 months on entry?

Thank you very much for any help you can provide!

As you've noted, technically he can only stay in Canada as a visitor for 6 months. My hubby comes up here for 3 months at a time periodically. So:

1) It hasn't made it harder for my hubby; however, he still has a job in the USA (they let him work remotely) and he has a return ticket. He's been up front and honest with them (they know we've applied) and I think having proof that he doesn't intend to stay here beyond the visitor limits helps. He's crossed both via plane and via an actual border crossing.
2) Again, honesty is the best policy. He needs to have ties to the USA still. How will he support himself? What if he gets hurts while he is here? If he really has no ties to the USA then that is what is going to cause problems, not your application.
3) If they issue him a limited visitor record then I believe he will have to leave when that time is up. Best to check their website but I would be very surprised if he was allowed to apply for an extension on a visitor record.

Hope that was somewhat helpful.
Good luck!

 

[MNM2015]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply. I guess I'm still not sure what to do as sounds like it depends on the agent you get how lenient they are in requiring ties. It's interesting that they may still require ties if you are honest about your intent to visit while waiting for approval as assuming you get approved you aren't leaving.

In my husband's case he has already had issues trying to enter and been turned away even with a return ticket so won't be surprised if they want ties to the USA. I just can't see how we can have very good ties as his job is not something that can be done remotely and we can't afford a lease in the USA if he is staying with me in Canada and not working. I guess that is exactly the point of ties to the USA - they are ensuring he won't stay in Canada if he has them.

A couple of follow-up questions if you don't mind. Do you think it's "easier" to cross by land or air? Do you think it would be helpful for me to cross with him or would him having our sponsor approval letter be enough? I live in the West and him on the East Coast so crossing together by land is not easy but will find a way if it would help.

I just want to find a way for us to be together during the wait. Thanks again for your help!