Vacation to US during initial PR application?

[Patrice_e]

I am a U.S. citizen currently living in Ottawa on a student permit (expires July 2011). My Canadian bf and I are marrying in March or April 2011, and I will be applying for PR immediately after.

I have a few questions, please:

1. If my student permit expires before I receive PR status, do I need to either apply for a visitor's permit again or leave the country? Or does the fact that I've *applied* for PR allow me to legally stay?

and

2. We would like to go on vacation to the U.S. for two weeks in July/August 2011. I've heard rumor that once I send in my PR application I cannot leave Canada until PR is approved. Is this true? If we *can* leave the country, how do I get back in?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Patrice

 

[matthewc]

1. You need to apply to extend your stay as a visitor. Simply applying for PR does not allow you to stay.

Assuming you're applying through the outside-Canada route (probably best - see http://immipedia.ca/Overseas_vs_In_Canada ) what you'd do is send in the sponsorship to CPC-M as soon as you're married, then before your student permit expires, submit an application to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/visitor.asp

2. That rumour is based on the fact that if you apply inland, if you leave Canada and are then refused entry back into Canada, you would also then lose the PR application. It's not automatic, since if you're let back into Canada as a visitor again, it would be fine - but it is a risk. If you want to go on vacation next July, that's another very good reason for you to choose the outland route.

Note, if you plan to leave Canada on your vacation before your study permit expires, you don't necessarily need to apply to extend your status, you can just show proof of your application being submitted and get your husband to ask for a visitor record record for you on the way back in to Canada. See here:

http://us2canada.com/visiting.php
http://us2canada.com/visitorrecord.php

 

[Patrice_e]

Thank you for your reply, Matthew.

I read through all of the links you supplied (most appreciated), and have one question remaining.... I have been living with my fiance in Ottawa now since March of '08, starting with a Visitor's permit, then going onto my Student permit. So, in effect, this is my home.... I *am* "inland".

The application process of applying via the outside-Canada route (which, you're right, does make sense as far as protection goes) states: "After the person you are sponsoring [that would be me] has filled out all the sponsorship, immigration and region specific forms, they must send them to you [that would be my partner] with the supporting documents."

Does this mean I need to fill out all the documents, send them to my sister in the states and have her turn around and send them back to our home here in Ottawa before my partner sends the entire packet into CPC-M? In other words, does the CPC need to see that my forms came from outside Canada? (My struggle with that is, I will not have record of having crossed the border. I am attempting to do absolutely everything by the book. I don't want to give CIC any reason to say, "No" to my application.)

Thanks again,
Patrice

 

[matthewc]

No, CPC-M doesn't need to see that you mailed the forms from outside Canada. The guide is just written to reflect the most common scenario - a PR or Citizen in Canada sponsoring a spouse who is outside Canada. It's absolutely fine for you to complete everything together in Ottawa, then send it straight to CPC-M. You can be completely up front that you're living in Canada - put that as your mailing / residential address. There's nothing wrong with that.

I'm not entirely sure what you're worried about re not having a record of crossing the border, but your current study permit is proof of your current valid status in Canada, so not having an entry stamp from when you initially arrived doesn't matter.

 

[Patrice_e]

Fabulous. Thank you for that good news.

Just for clarification, when I asked about whether I'd need to mail the docs to the states and have my sister mail them back to us, I was meaning that I wouldn't have record of my having crossed the border at *that* point. Bah... moot point.