epmarshall said:
Thanks for the advice. I want to try again tomorrow, but what if they deny me again? Where do I go from there? I guess short term means going home, which is awful considering all I spent to get here, time and money. But what about long term?
Also, I'm 21 so my age might cause more suspicion. What if I get denied again? Does that mean more wasted money on a ticket they won't refund?
if you live with your parents, you can get a standard lease agreement and ask them to sign it. showing utility bills in their name is not going to help prove YOUR residency. Take it from someone who has been issued an exclusion order. if you can't provide significant proof of ties to the us, then don't bother trying to cross the border. the last thing you want them to do is issue you an exclusion order, which means you're BANNED from canada for 1 year. Since you are already flagged in the system, you will be more suseptable to this. From this point further, expect to always be pulled into secondary and be prepared to show your ties to the us.
if you work for yourself, then showing proof of US client contracts may help, though this isn't a guarantee, because they can be suspicious you will seek out canadian clients. If you work online, and you do something where it is not likely you will chase after canadian clients, then that will work FOR you. CBSA is happy when visitors can prove employment outside of canada, and are fine with remote work AS LONG AS it's not likely you will work for canadian clients.
At this point you are only allowed to VISIT your boyfriend, and you MUST accept that as fact. You are not allowed to just go see your boyfriend and stay there for however long you like, unless you are given permission to do so. CBSA is very strict on cross-border couples when they are not married, commonlaw, and are not going through the proper channels to seek long term residence, ie: PR. You are always going to be asked how long you plan to stay in canada. Right now, your answer needs to be SHORT TERM, NOT long term. This is their concern, that you will overstay illegally. Starting to talk about commonlaw is also going to get you in trouble, because then that just proves your intent on staying long term without permission to do so. They don't want people staying long term. Generally, visitors stay short term and return to their normal life. Once you're in, THEN you can apply to extend your stay so you can accumulate commonlaw, if that's what your plan it. Remember, when you are in canada long term as a VISITOR you can NOT work or go to school. Obviously never lie if the border agent asks about something specific, just be careful about what information you offer without prompting. they can and will use it against you in the future.
your best bet right now is to go home and regroup. Do not attempt to go back so soon UNLESS you have the items they are requesting. The items that will hold the most weight is proof of housing and employment. There is no immediate need for you to get into canada today or tomorrow, and assuming there is an urgent need is only going to backfire on you. Consider this a warning from CBSA to get your ducks in a row so you can go about entering by THEIR rules, not your own.
