Hello!
I'm a Canadian citizen, and recently married my American wife in the U.S. Our eventual intention is to settle together in Canada, and I made an ignorant post on this subject a month ago, which you can find here. Your replies were extremely helpful, and are partially responsible for our current plans to be together.
So, our current intention is to have my wife visit with me and my family in Canada for the holidays. (We're both currently in the U.S.--I've been here since August.) Our hope is that she'll actually be able to prolong her stay, and we'll be able to file for her PR status while she's in Canada. But just in case that doesn't work, and for the overall ease of her initial crossing considering we haven't yet applied for her PR, we're treating this as a legitimate visit in every regard.
What this means is, even though we're very much hoping she'll be able to stay indefinitely, we've purchased her a round-trip ticket for return in early January, which she'll use if there's any problem extending her stay. In addition, while she is currently unemployed, she'll have a legitimate promise of employment letter for January, for a job she'll actually take if she has to return to the U.S. Should that happen, I'll likely return to the U.S. with her and we'll attempt to process her PR application from outside of Canada.
A note: All her documents are still in her maiden name, which we haven't legally changed. We're not going to bother with her name change until immigration is sorted out, which should simplify things (at least at this stage).
That said, we still have some important questions:
#1a: Should we/she have any trouble crossing into Canada, considering that she's only entering as a visitor?
She's entering in mid December with a round-trip ticket for return in early January. She'll have a letter of employment stating that she is to report for work following her return date.
#1b: How should we cross?
I know that if we'd already filed for her PR, and were definitely planning to have her stay while we waited for it to be approved, we'd have to cross together, and I'd have to speak for her. But as she's only coming across as a visitor, would it be better for us to cross separately? Aren't there in fact separate lines at airport customs for returning Canadians, and foreign nationals?
Should she be good to go if she says she's visiting friends and family for the holidays, and has my name and address for the immigration official?
2: Is there a particular format that should be used for her letter of employment?
As mentioned, the letter of employment is legitimate, and my wife will be returning to the U.S. to start that job in January if she's unable to stay in Canada. Is there a particular format the letter should be written in, or is "[name] has been hired to begin a job at [company name], and is to report for work on [date]" along with company/supervisor contact information sufficient? I presume she really only needs to have the letter in reserve in case questioned about her employment status, and shouldn't present it at customs up front.
3: Should she have some kind of bank statement on hand to prove that she's able to support herself while in Canada?
I presume this is more of a concern when the stay is to be much longer; say, the full six months allowed a visitor, rather than the four weeks her trip is scheduled for. But should she be carrying a proof of funds, nonetheless? And, is a bank statement sufficient?
4: Rather a separate issue, but do you know of any American medical insurers that will cover a U.S. citizen while in Canada?
Traveler's insurance will likely do for the scheduled period she'll be visiting. But should she be able to stay, we were trying to find something that would provide even limited coverage for six months to a year. So far, our search has been in vain. Blue Cross provides coverage, but only for a limited time (i.e. 14 days), or only to those with worker visas, etc. If not, we'll make do without. But I thought I'd ask just in case, as if anyone knew about such things, it would be you guys.
5: Presuming that we are able to file for her PR while she's in Canada, and we're able to extend her visitor's visa so that she can stay during the period before it's approved/while it's processed, is there anything we need to make sure is done while she's still in the U.S.?
I'm aware that while it's preferable to file from outside Canada, it's absolutely possible to file from within. But is there anything that absolutely must be taken care of while she's in her home country? I'm thinking of the medical and criminal background checks that are required for her PR application.
A medical I'm pretty sure can be obtained anywhere. But what about the fingerprinting that's required for the background check? I know you can have them taken at many authorized locations in the U.S., and then send them on to the FBI. But, could we have her fingerprints taken in Canada for this purpose?
Your information and guidance are more appreciated than you'll ever know. Thank you so, so much!
I'm a Canadian citizen, and recently married my American wife in the U.S. Our eventual intention is to settle together in Canada, and I made an ignorant post on this subject a month ago, which you can find here. Your replies were extremely helpful, and are partially responsible for our current plans to be together.
So, our current intention is to have my wife visit with me and my family in Canada for the holidays. (We're both currently in the U.S.--I've been here since August.) Our hope is that she'll actually be able to prolong her stay, and we'll be able to file for her PR status while she's in Canada. But just in case that doesn't work, and for the overall ease of her initial crossing considering we haven't yet applied for her PR, we're treating this as a legitimate visit in every regard.
What this means is, even though we're very much hoping she'll be able to stay indefinitely, we've purchased her a round-trip ticket for return in early January, which she'll use if there's any problem extending her stay. In addition, while she is currently unemployed, she'll have a legitimate promise of employment letter for January, for a job she'll actually take if she has to return to the U.S. Should that happen, I'll likely return to the U.S. with her and we'll attempt to process her PR application from outside of Canada.
A note: All her documents are still in her maiden name, which we haven't legally changed. We're not going to bother with her name change until immigration is sorted out, which should simplify things (at least at this stage).
That said, we still have some important questions:
#1a: Should we/she have any trouble crossing into Canada, considering that she's only entering as a visitor?
She's entering in mid December with a round-trip ticket for return in early January. She'll have a letter of employment stating that she is to report for work following her return date.
#1b: How should we cross?
I know that if we'd already filed for her PR, and were definitely planning to have her stay while we waited for it to be approved, we'd have to cross together, and I'd have to speak for her. But as she's only coming across as a visitor, would it be better for us to cross separately? Aren't there in fact separate lines at airport customs for returning Canadians, and foreign nationals?
Should she be good to go if she says she's visiting friends and family for the holidays, and has my name and address for the immigration official?
2: Is there a particular format that should be used for her letter of employment?
As mentioned, the letter of employment is legitimate, and my wife will be returning to the U.S. to start that job in January if she's unable to stay in Canada. Is there a particular format the letter should be written in, or is "[name] has been hired to begin a job at [company name], and is to report for work on [date]" along with company/supervisor contact information sufficient? I presume she really only needs to have the letter in reserve in case questioned about her employment status, and shouldn't present it at customs up front.
3: Should she have some kind of bank statement on hand to prove that she's able to support herself while in Canada?
I presume this is more of a concern when the stay is to be much longer; say, the full six months allowed a visitor, rather than the four weeks her trip is scheduled for. But should she be carrying a proof of funds, nonetheless? And, is a bank statement sufficient?
4: Rather a separate issue, but do you know of any American medical insurers that will cover a U.S. citizen while in Canada?
Traveler's insurance will likely do for the scheduled period she'll be visiting. But should she be able to stay, we were trying to find something that would provide even limited coverage for six months to a year. So far, our search has been in vain. Blue Cross provides coverage, but only for a limited time (i.e. 14 days), or only to those with worker visas, etc. If not, we'll make do without. But I thought I'd ask just in case, as if anyone knew about such things, it would be you guys.
5: Presuming that we are able to file for her PR while she's in Canada, and we're able to extend her visitor's visa so that she can stay during the period before it's approved/while it's processed, is there anything we need to make sure is done while she's still in the U.S.?
I'm aware that while it's preferable to file from outside Canada, it's absolutely possible to file from within. But is there anything that absolutely must be taken care of while she's in her home country? I'm thinking of the medical and criminal background checks that are required for her PR application.
A medical I'm pretty sure can be obtained anywhere. But what about the fingerprinting that's required for the background check? I know you can have them taken at many authorized locations in the U.S., and then send them on to the FBI. But, could we have her fingerprints taken in Canada for this purpose?
Your information and guidance are more appreciated than you'll ever know. Thank you so, so much!