US Citizen married to Canadian

[chriswilliam]

Not sure if something similar has been posted (didn't really look too well) but I need some advice:

My wife and I married in Ontario in October, 2012. Prior to arriving in Canada end of July, we lived in the US together for 6 months. My wife is a Canadian citizen, I am an American.

In November, we applied for an extension for my status as a visitor. We are currently awaiting the results of the application, and we are wondering if it is denied, would it be best for her to return to the US with me and try to apply from there (is it easier for her to immigrate to US vs me to Canada?)

Also, she has only been able to find part time work, she gets like 16 hours a week, however we live with her parents so don't have many bills. Will this impact the decision when/if I apply for PR?

Also, is there any other way besides applying for PR that I could get myself to work? I understand from our lawyer that CIC currently isn't accepting work permits, and even if they were, I am a butcher, and do not qualify under skilled trades.

Any advice?

 

[Dizzy2013]

Hi Chris I am a British Citizen married to a Canadian and I can tell you that they extended my visitor visa 3 times, twice for an extra 6 months and once our paperwork for PR was in they extended it for 2 years (good job as it turns out) so I would not be at all worried about your visa being extended. Good luck

 

[parker24]

Not sure if something similar has been posted (didn't really look too well) but I need some advice:

My wife and I married in Ontario in October, 2012. Prior to arriving in Canada end of July, we lived in the US together for 6 months. My wife is a Canadian citizen, I am an American.

In November, we applied for an extension for my status as a visitor. We are currently awaiting the results of the application, and we are wondering if it is denied, would it be best for her to return to the US with me and try to apply from there (is it easier for her to immigrate to US vs me to Canada?)

Chances of being denied is slim as you are American, don't worry too much about it My husband is American and got two extensions and of course they were approved.

Also, she has only been able to find part time work, she gets like 16 hours a week, however we live with her parents so don't have many bills. Will this impact the decision when/if I apply for PR?

Nope, not a problem. I work on-call for 4 different employers, I work 0-10 hours a week and we got approved. So no worries, Just include a letter from her parents stating you can stay with them and they will help you out.

Also, is there any other way besides applying for PR that I could get myself to work? I understand from our lawyer that CIC currently isn't accepting work permits, and even if they were, I am a butcher, and do not qualify under skilled trades.

Sadly no. If you apply inland, after first stage you can get an open work permit. But it's pointless to apply inland since you're American

Any advice?

 

[amikety]

Not sure if something similar has been posted (didn't really look too well) but I need some advice:

My wife and I married in Ontario in October, 2012. Prior to arriving in Canada end of July, we lived in the US together for 6 months. My wife is a Canadian citizen, I am an American.

In November, we applied for an extension for my status as a visitor. We are currently awaiting the results of the application, and we are wondering if it is denied, would it be best for her to return to the US with me and try to apply from there (is it easier for her to immigrate to US vs me to Canada?)

Also, she has only been able to find part time work, she gets like 16 hours a week, however we live with her parents so don't have many bills. Will this impact the decision when/if I apply for PR?

Also, is there any other way besides applying for PR that I could get myself to work? I understand from our lawyer that CIC currently isn't accepting work permits, and even if they were, I am a butcher, and do not qualify under skilled trades.

Any advice?

Hi Chris,

I'm American with my Canadian husband in Calgary. I applied for my visitor extension in Oct - the 14th to be exact. I got my results on Feb 9th, so yours should be coming soon.

It was my THIRD extension!

It's easier to immigrate to Canada versus the US. I was at the chiro today and we were actually discussing it as he also has experience with US immigration.

Your lawyer needs to be slapped. (Don't really do it.) You can look for work, but you'll need to find a job that gives a LMO. A LMO is basically permission from the government to hire a foreigner. On top of that, I'm pretty sure butcher is actually semi-skilled and in some semi-skilled trades are in demand in different regions. That being said, it's hard to find and get a job with a LMO or one that would agree to apply for one. One of the best things to do is look at the Immigration page for your province and Kijiji for your area. (Search for LMO or TFW) That will give you an idea of what types of jobs are available. It will also allow you to gauge the competition because there's usually tons of people begging for LMOs.

 

[amikety]

Ha ha! I knew it. They are in demand.... at least in Alberta! And they are semi-skilled.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canadian-provinces-offer-permanent-residency-to-semi-skilled-workers.html

I don't know if this actually helps you, but you can try to get a job and a work permit. You just have to find someone willing to ask for permission to hire a foreigner.

 

[IslandAnnie]

It's easier to immigrate to Canada versus the US. I was at the chiro today and we were actually discussing it as he also has experience with US immigration.

I'm wondering when the immigration discussed took place and why it is thought to be easier? I immigrated to the US five years ago and I have a cousin going through it now (both spousal immigrations) and it was far easier than this current journey sponsoring my husband to come to Canada. The US spousal immigration is shorter and much easier (a "one stage" process, far fewer forms, an online applicant information system that works and half the price...to name a few)

 

[parker24]

I'm wondering when the immigration discussed took place and why it is thought to be easier? I immigrated to the US five years ago and I have a cousin going through it now (both spousal immigrations) and it was far easier than this current journey sponsoring my husband to come to Canada. The US spousal immigration is shorter and much easier (a "one stage" process, far fewer forms, an online applicant information system that works and half the price...to name a few)

That was 5 years ago. Now they "aim" to get people to have PR status within 7 YEARS. Lovely. Never immigrating to the USA. Ever.

 

[IslandAnnie]

That was 5 years ago. Now they "aim" to get people to have PR status within 7 YEARS. Lovely. Never immigrating to the USA. Ever.

No, for spousal PR the wait times are still the same (for most countries a few months less than Cananda). As I said, my cousin is currently just going through it and the USCIS website confirms it. Spousal PR for the US is quicker and easier..but for other classes of immigration Canada is much easier.

 

[uskyoot]

Although the US sposorship times can be quicker, (Iwork for an immigration lawyer in the US) it can be much more difficult as there is an income requirement even for spouses. Many do not meet the requirement and have to try and find a joint sponsor who has to meet income requirements for not only the applicant but include their family as well. It is not unusual to need an income over 50,000

 

[IslandAnnie]

Although the US sposorship times can be quicker, (Iwork for an immigration lawyer in the US) it can be much more difficult as there is an income requirement even for spouses. Many do not meet the requirement and have to try and find a joint sponsor who has to meet income requirements for not only the applicant but include their family as well. It is not unusual to need an income over 50,000

Yes, that's true. Although the requirement is based on the US Poverty Lines which currently is $13,200 for a couple or $20,000 for a family of 4. The higher income levels would be for large families.

For us...average size family, with an average income, the US system was much faster and cheaper. But, Canada is where we really want to be, so here we are with everyone else... testing our patience with CIC

 

[uskyoot]

Poverty guidlines are almost 19,000 now. That may not seem like much to some, but if you are in the south it can be alot and they dont consider the fact that your spouse will work when they get their green card. We have several clients right now that cant meet the income requirement and cant find a joint sponsor so they cant sponsot their spouse. When I got married two years ago my husband got laid off and it was almost 2 years befor he found another job. He couldnt sponsor me until then as we couldnt find a joint sponsor

 

[parker24]

No, for spousal PR the wait times are still the same (for most countries a few months less than Cananda). As I said, my cousin is currently just going through it and the USCIS website confirms it. Spousal PR for the US is quicker and easier..but for other classes of immigration Canada is much easier.

Well my husband had a friend in TN from Quebec who was still waiting after 5 years to get her PR status. She was just sitting around doing nothing, waiting. It's not "the same" as Canada, by far, in my opinion.

 

[amikety]

We also looked into US immigration versus Canadian immigration. Canada seemed more straightforward (to me). It had nothing to do with our choice of Canada/USA at all, though. He wanted to stay in Canada and I was interested in moving to Canada. I thought it would be cool to live in a different country. Yeah, I know... it's not that different!

 

[uskyoot]

I used to think that there wasnt much difference in the two countrieds I lived across from Detroit and went shopping there all the time and my daughter used to live there. In fact, some of the border guards new me by name and just waved me through. However, living in the south as an interracial couple is a whole other story.