US outland applicants' thread :)

[sarahchester]

3 people.. 100 for me.. 100 for my son and 100 for my daughter. They are minors.

 

[nmclean]

3 people.. 100 for me.. 100 for my son and 100 for my daughter. They are minors.

Oh, when I read the first post I thought you just had one child who was not accompanying. Are they going to school? I thought they would need study permits for that. As for visiting, often Americans can extend their stay for "free" by passing through the border again, so I suggest trying that this time. You shouldn't worry about being refused entry, because entering the US doesn't invalidate your visa even if it is single-entry - see here:

If you have a single-entry visa this allows you to enter Canada once. If you leave Canada during your authorized stay, you must get a new visitor visa to re-enter Canada, unless you visit the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon. If you visit those places, you can return to Canada without a new visa, as long as you:
- return within the period that the Canadian immigration officer initially authorized when you first entered Canada (on your visa, it is either a handwritten date or 6 months from the date of the entry stamp); or
- have a valid visitor record, work permit, study permit or temporary resident permit (authorizing re-entry), and return within the period that the officer initially authorized.

So worst-case scenario would be you waste gas and your current visas will remain valid for as long as they already are. However, if you tell them your story, there is a good chance they will stamp your passport again allowing you to stay until PR is approved.

 

[sarahchester]

I do only have one child not accompanying me to Canada. I have 3 children in total. My eldest two live with me here in Canada. I would love not to spend 300 dollars. I was told my an immigration consultant that going to the border would be a mistake because Canada can refuse me entry. I was here as a visitor and went across in Jan 2015 and a boarder officer told me that I would not be able to come back to Canada unless I could show proof of my residency and work in Canada. So tbh. I have never wanted to test to see if he was right. My children do go to school. It states on our visitor visa that they are indeed allowed to go to school. I just am not allowed to.

 

[nmclean]

I do only have one child not accompanying me to Canada. I have 3 children in total. My eldest two live with me here in Canada. I would love not to spend 300 dollars. I was told my an immigration consultant that going to the border would be a mistake because Canada can refuse me entry. I was here as a visitor and went across in Jan 2015 and a boarder officer told me that I would not be able to come back to Canada unless I could show proof of my residency and work in Canada. So tbh. I have never wanted to test to see if he was right. My children do go to school. It states on our visitor visa that they are indeed allowed to go to school. I just am not allowed to.

It sounds like the border officer is not well trained, which is very frustrating. It clearly states in multiple places on the CIC website that a new visa is not required when only visiting the US. Which point of entry were you at?

 

[CDNPR2014]

I do only have one child not accompanying me to Canada. I have 3 children in total. My eldest two live with me here in Canada. I would love not to spend 300 dollars. I was told my an immigration consultant that going to the border would be a mistake because Canada can refuse me entry. I was here as a visitor and went across in Jan 2015 and a boarder officer told me that I would not be able to come back to Canada unless I could show proof of my residency and work in Canada. So tbh. I have never wanted to test to see if he was right. My children do go to school. It states on our visitor visa that they are indeed allowed to go to school. I just am not allowed to.

When there is a PR application submitted, CBSA is known to be more lenient on crossings. They are not going to just deny you entry when they see you understand the rules. my guess is you received this warning because of your continuous entries BEFORE you submitted your application. Since you have proof of your application, you have valid visitor visa's and have stayed legally the whole time, i doubt there would be much of an issue NOW.

I dont' have experience with dependants, however, i thought it was required for ALL dependents, even those who are non-accompanying to submit a medical exam? if that's the case, perhaps that's the hold up. CIC may be expecting the exam regardless of whether or not he's being sponsored in this application. Perhaps starting a new thread with this specific question will get clearer answers for you.

 

[CDNPR2014]

It sounds like the border officer is not well trained, which is very frustrating. It clearly states in multiple places on the CIC website that a new visa is not required when only visiting the US. Which point of entry were you at?

Acctually, this is a very common thing for people who haven't submitted an application and are crossing the border regularly to hear and CBSA absolutely has the right to require someone to present proof of ties to the US when they cross. She was told this in Jan 2015 and submitted her application in Nov 2015, so it would make sense why she received this warning. This is not about an officer who is not "well trained", this is about an officer who is very well trained and knows what people try to do at the border. They do this when they suspect people don't understand the rules, are trying to live, work or study illegally, and are trying to stay longer than they are allowed to. When an application is NOT submitted and the person has been in canada long term, it's far safer to stay AWAY from the border and just deal with extending stays online or by mail.

 

[BlessedPheonix]

Hello,

I received my Passport Request last week. For the stamping, I have to be in either Canada for atleast 3 months or be in India and send it from there.

However, I'm in USA on a work visa which is expiring on June 12, 2016. I have applied for an extension which is under processing. So, I cannot travel in the meantime.

Additionally, I have to submit the passport before June 24, 2016. Is there a way out of this? Would appreciate if anyone can shed some light.

Thanks.

 

[nmclean]

Acctually, this is a very common thing for people who haven't submitted an application and are crossing the border regularly to hear and CBSA absolutely has the right to require someone to present proof of ties to the US when they cross. She was told this in Jan 2015 and submitted her application in Nov 2015, so it would make sense why she received this warning. This is not about an officer who is not "well trained", this is about an officer who is very well trained and knows what people try to do at the border. They do this when they suspect people don't understand the rules and are trying to stay longer than they are allowed to.

The officer was asking for proof of residence in Canada, not US, which makes no sense. And we're not talking about people who are just "visiting" repeatedly as visa-exempt Americans. Someone with a visa and a history of compliance officially renewing status should NOT be treated as if they don't know the rules.

 

[CDNPR2014]

The officer was asking for proof of residence in Canada, not US, which makes no sense. And we're not talking about people who are just "visiting" repeatedly as visa-exempt Americans. Someone with a visa and a history of compliance officially renewing status should NOT be treated as if they don't know the rules.

this to me is suggesting the officer wants proof she has a legitimate reason to stay, besides just visiting. if he wants to see proof of residency and work in canada, that means he thinks she shouldn't be staying in canada unless she has these things (ie: work visa, study visa, PR approval). Again, when an application is NOT submitted, this is exactly what CBSA is trained to think like. All we know is she tried to enter in Jan 2015 and submitted her app in Nov 2015, it was returned and she resubmitted in Jan 2016 - a FULL year after her last entry into canada. To me, the lack of proof of anything(PR application/other visa intentions) is the reason CBSA automatically considered her entry suspect. We do not know the history of extensions and entries before then, so we can't assume we know her "compliance" before Jan. 2015 or whether CBSA had flagged her on previous entries. CBSA can't treat everyone exactly the same way, when intentions and history of visits have to be evaluated individually. Someone who has "visited" canada for 1 year or more and has an application for PR submitted is certainly going to have a much different conversation at the border than someone who has "visited" for that amount of time with no application submitted.

 

[nmclean]

We do not know the history of extensions and entries before then, so we can't assume we know her "compliance" before Jan. 2015 or whether CBSA had flagged her on previous entries.

Yes we do... check her post history. She has been renewing every 6 months for almost 3 years now.

 

[sarahchester]

It sounds like the border officer is not well trained, which is very frustrating. It clearly states in multiple places on the CIC website that a new visa is not required when only visiting the US. Which point of entry were you at?

I went through Aldergrove, as we live in Maple Ridge. I would like to note also that my husband and I were not married at the time as well.

 

[sarahchester]

When there is a PR application submitted, CBSA is known to be more lenient on crossings. They are not going to just deny you entry when they see you understand the rules. my guess is you received this warning because of your continuous entries BEFORE you submitted your application. Since you have proof of your application, you have valid visitor visa's and have stayed legally the whole time, i doubt there would be much of an issue NOW.

I dont' have experience with dependants, however, i thought it was required for ALL dependents, even those who are non-accompanying to submit a medical exam? if that's the case, perhaps that's the hold up. CIC may be expecting the exam regardless of whether or not he's being sponsored in this application. Perhaps starting a new thread with this specific question will get clearer answers for you.

I would love to just go to the border.. Unfortunately, I am now terrified of them. I even asked my immigration consultant about it and she told me that now I am flagged and it would be a bad idea to tet fate again. From browsing the threads here and on the CIC website, I have found that it is possible to not have a medical exam for one child. Although, they do put you through the ringer for it. I understand that they are doing this is the purpose of protecting the child's interest. Sometimes there is nothing you can do if an ex spouse refuses to do the exam and the child still lives with him in Ohio. Thank you so very much for the new thread idea. I will definitely do that.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Yes we do... check her post history. She has been renewing every 6 months for almost 3 years now.

great! and CBSA still has the right to question her intentions if she can't prove ties to either country, wasn't MARRIED to her husband yet or a submitted application. these are HUGE red flags at the border. just because she successfully renewed by CIC for 3 years, doesn't mean CBSA needs to honor that if they feel her intentions are not legit. They are not the same agency, nor do they have the same thresholds for entry. Think about it, why would someone spend 3 years (or i guess 2 at the time of last entry) in a country that's not their home country, where they are only "dating" someone (not married) and has no legal right to work or study there? from CBSA's point of view, that's pretty suspicious. that person is not acting like a true visitor. "Visitors" don't stay in a country for that long.. While being a US citizen affords us many privileges, it certainly doesn't allow us to live in canada for an extended time, leave and ask to enter again for long term without some proof of legit intentions... ie: a permanent resident application (which she NOW has - didn't have at that time), a work or study visa.

 

[CDNPR2014]

I would love to just go to the border.. Unfortunately, I am now terrified of them. I even asked my immigration consultant about it and she told me that now I am flagged and it would be a bad idea to tet fate again. From browsing the threads here and on the CIC website, I have found that it is possible to not have a medical exam for one child. Although, they do put you through the ringer for it. I understand that they are doing this is the purpose of protecting the child's interest. Sometimes there is nothing you can do if an ex spouse refuses to do the exam and the child still lives with him in Ohio. Thank you so very much for the new thread idea. I will definitely do that.

hey i get it. i have been red flagged, and CBSA is NOT fun when they don't like you. AGain, your situation is a bit different now considering you are now married, have an application in process and have been successfully extending your stay, so from my own experience i'd bet the border experience would be different now. knowing how scary it can be - i'd agree, it's probably best to stay away as long as you can! good luck with the medical exam sitch! dependent issues never sound like an easy road. there will be people with experience who will see it quicker in a new thread.

 

[nmclean]

just because she successfully renewed by CIC for 3 years, doesn't mean CBSA needs to honor that if they feel her intentions are not legit. They are not the same agency, nor do they have the same thresholds for entry.

Yes, but CBSA is responsible for enforcing decisions made by CIC. We are talking about someone with a valid visa that specifically allows them to re-enter Canada from the US. CBSA does not simply ignore this and make their own rules. They would need to issue a removal order to invalidate the visa, which is much more serious than simply turning someone away who requests to visit.

Think about it, why would someone spend 3 years (or i guess 2 at the time of last entry) in a country that's not their home country, where they are only "dating" someone (not married) and has no legal right to work or study there? from CBSA's point of view, that's pretty suspicious.

No it is not suspicious. At this point CIC has already approved, twice, 3 visas authorizing entry, as well as explicitly authorizing her two children to study in Canada (the children alone should be proof enough of residential ties). Once the officer saw this documentation, there shouldn't even have been further questioning. It's possible that there is something more to this story we don't know that would be legitimately suspicious, but it is also quite possible that the officer was simply jumping the gun.