USA Citizen - Getting 6 Month Pass for Canada

[krome]

Hello all, I posted the other day about options to bring my long term girlfriend into Canada and was told that a 6 month pass followed by a 6 month extension is the ideal route to go and then a common law PR application. We want to do this at the end of the month and so I would like to list off my questions so I can organize everything. Any assistance is appreciated. If there is a better route, please advise as we are wanting to live continuously for a one year period so that the sponsorship application can be submitted. The intention is to make that one year time frame so we can submit the appropriate paperwork.

She was a student and obtained a bachelors degree but has not worked for a couple of years since that point. She has no real work experience and is currently renting a place.

1.) If air travel is a viable way into the country with a 6 month stay allowance, should she have a return flight booked for 5-6 months down the road? Or a one way ticket would be fine saying she doesn't know when she intends to travel back.

2.) What should she state is her reasoning for entering the country. Should she state that she wants to tour the country, experience the culture? Or should she mention she is visiting her boyfriend here. The reason I ask is because on the extension I was told and read that it is best to mention something about the common law relationship because when we do finally submit our application, it may backfire if we try to lie about it. I also don't want her saying anything that could have her entry refused because they don't feel she will be leaving in 6 months.

3.) What type of documentation should she be prepared with. All of her family lives in the USA and she could have a letter from her parents stating that she has a place to stay when she goes back. Aside from that, she doesn't have any employment that she is away from or anything. Does she need to have a bank statement? If so, how much money should be in the account. Does it look fine if I wire her a decent sum of money that she deposits into the account so that she can show she has enough money in the account to provide for herself? Should I be writing a letter of invitation myself stating that she has a place to stay here as well as somebody to financially support her? When she enters, does she need to provide an address of where she is staying?

Any detailed advice on the specific documents she should have is greatly appreciated.

4.) Will it be ok for her to bring 3 or 4 bags or will she need to leave those and have them delivered at a different date and just travel with a single bag

5.) Does she ask for a 6 month stay or does she just cross and say that she will be returning within 6 months but is not sure as to when?

6.) How likely is it that this plan of action will work for us? The initial 6 months, followed by the extension application, followed by the common law sponsorship?



If I am missing anything, please let me know. We are taking the chance that we will be able to get the 6 month extension and then apply for a common law sponsorship.

Thank you for all the help and advice. This forum has provided a wealth of information and I wanted to list off my specific questions so we are fully prepared for the end of the month. Thought I should post in here instead of visitor forum after I made the initial thread because there are quite a few general questions. Thanks

 

[richc3]

Honestly, I'm almost going through the exact same procedure as you guys. The exception is that we chose to marry in Las Vegas.
Right now, we're in the sponsorship phase where the government will evaluate me first (takes a month), then she ends in her full application after (takes forever). However, I intend to bring her over in early October.

First I'll say, don't take my word as gospel when it comes to thoughts or advice. These are my interpretations of the things I've read here and there.

I'm curious myself about this whole visitation situation as we'll be doing the same, but from my understanding she will NOT need a return flight booked at the present time -- I imagine a letter of invitation from you and a place to stay from her parents would be great. Ideally, it would be best if you could an employer letter saying she'll have a job if she returns to the US, although I understand that component may be a bit more complicated. In addition, it may help to have a doctor's note regarding her health (this may not be necessary until the sponsorship part comes into play). Could also be wise to have some money in the bank for both of you and proof of that -- as they'll likely ask how she intends to support herself (or be supported). For the most part, I'd be honest about your intentions and demonstrate that if something goes wrong in your relationship (or what have you) that she will not be a burden to the Canadian tax payer and can safely go back to home to the US.

In terms of possessions, they can be quite stingy. Their logic is that if she were to say drive up to the border in a car that's filled from top to bottom then she essentially is moving to Canada... not "visiting." We both know the overall intention is a move and so will the border officer, but remember that she'll be claimed as under visitor status. If I had to guess, 1 carry on, 2 large bags would be safe. 3-4 may be a bit more questionable. In my scenario, since we will live close to the border, we intend to have her family ship boxes (at our discretion) to one of those border mailing services that will hold it for us and we can pick it up periodically over the course of the next year. Her coming across the border multiple times may also help to renew the 6 month visitation each time. Speaking of which, I think it's possible to get more than 6 months, but you may need immigration/sponsorship receipts.

As for: How likely is it that this plan of action will work for us? The initial 6 months, followed by the extension application, followed by the common law sponsorship?

To be honest with you, I'm a little shaky on it. Family sponsorship / marriage is obviously your best bet overall, but I can understand that's not the ideal route for everyone. Common law may have some unforeseeable problems and complications in terms of proving that things are legitimate. You may have an easier claim if you lived together in the past, but I'm presuming you are long distance like in my scenario...?

OVERALL, I think your claims towards visitation will work great, including the extension component -- this is all the important stuff, you'll be together. However, I'm really unsure of the common law sponsorship situation. It may help if she came here with a work permit or as a student, but I'm guessing she's done with school (plus it would cost a lot to put her in) and the work permit usually requires some special skills. If I were you, I'd really lean towards the marriage route (you can get married in Canada of course).

 

[Leon]

I think it would be best for her to arrive with a return ticket for 3 weeks later and say that she is coming to visit her boyfriend. She should only bring enough stuff for 3 weeks. Her parents can mail her some boxes later. If she brings an invitation letter from you showing funds and saying you will be supporting her for 3 weeks while she visits, that may help.

The risk if she only has a one way ticket and says that she doesn't know how long she is staying or if she brings a suspicious amount of stuff that immigration will not believe that she is only coming for a short visit or thinks she will overstay in which case, she may be turned back and told not to try to visit again until she has a steady job in the US to go back to.

When she enters, she should also ask for a stamp in her passport. The immigration officers often don't stamp the passports of US citizens but if she wants to apply for an extension later, it will be helpful to have that passport stamp to prove when she arrived.

By the time you apply for the extension, at some point before her 6 months are up, you can say that her original plan was to visit you for 3 weeks but and the end of 3 weeks, neither of you could bear for her to leave and so she stayed on. You would write as a reason for the extension that you are living together to qualify to sponsor her as a common law partner. She should show that she has the funds to stay in Canada without working illegally or you write a letter stating that you are supporting her and show that you have funds for her to stay. She should also show that she has some kind of medical emergency insurance to take care of her if she is injured or has a medical emergency.