Visitor record case number 10

[meak]

Hello. Obviously I'm new here. I have a situation. I moved to washington two months ago or so. My boyfriend (now my fiance) visited me from victoria every weekend or at least every other weekend. I finally got my passport and the first time I came over, the guards only let me stay over night with him. They did not put me in a jail cell and did not send me back seeing as how I came on a ferry and it was the last ferry of the day.

I came back two weeks before that, on a friday to try and do the 6 months at least but I had a receipt showing I bought my ticket to return on august the 18th so my dad could drive all the way from south carolina to seattle to pick me up. I told her I might change my mind and she said no, I am not allowed to. See, I had a job in washington but I quit because I moved. I told her this. I understand that if I came here and things went wrong I would have no job to fall back on in the states. I understand why I was denied longer than a month.

Next week, my fiance and I are planning to marry each other. We have been together for 6 months. No, we're not marrying out of convenience sake. I can't prove that to anyone, though because no one knows how we feel. I'm 27, from the states and I have had over 12 jobs since I was 15 and moving from different states over that period of time, finding different jobs.

I'm wondering; he and I have rescued each other emotionally, he has rescued me after I went through a bad patch having depression/anxiety and after I lived in a women's domestic abuse shelter after my ex strangled me. I love my fiance. Sure, we fight sometimes, get on each other's nerves but we're best friends. He is my rock and I've never been so sure about anyone. I honestly feel like I'm not even alive without him. Sorry for the personal details but I really need him with me all the time. We camp together, we finish each other's sentences a lot, we are twins almost. We've made the decision to be together for always and I need to know if getting married would be bad for me right now, not emotional etc of course but in the eyes of the government. I don't want to mess up my chances in seeing him. I don't want him barred from the states and vise versa. Thank you for any advice in advanced. I appreciate it.

 

[Tullysgirl]

First off, I'd suggest going to the CIC website to get yourself familiar a bit with what they'll require. It doesn't seem you've been preparing yourselves for that process. This would be a good thing.

I wouldn't say getting married would be "bad" per se....but If you don't get some "ducks in a row" now, when you marry, you'll have to be apart, which, from what I've read here, is very common. And for how close you two are in proximity, it's not that bad for you, but the more you go over, the more you're going to be given a hard time. You won't be "barred" and neither will he, unless you do something illegally.

Once you're married, you should send in your Applications IMMEDIATELY and I'd suggest Outland, it's way quicker. So, when you're married, and cross the border, maybe you can convince them to give you 6 months to be with your husband. That should serve weightier than a "boyfriend/fiance", I would think?

I'm assuming you're going to apply through Sponsorship, I can tell you that you WILL have to prove to them the legitimacy of your relationship, regardless of how long you've been together. So, that means copies of emails, phone bills, skype logs, pictures....how ever you keep in contact and how the relationship progressed. And when you're married they want to know you're cohabitating and it's a consumated marriage. So, you'll need to show proof of you living together with joint accts/utilities....etc....

They DO ask when your spouse met your family and vice versa. They also ask if they knew about your relationship. You can explain why on a seperate piece of paper.

You WILL have to account for every job going back 10 yrs and where you've lived since you were 18. You can explain why you don't know some stuff....I was homeless for two years in Seattle while going to school and I stayed with co-workers and class mates. So, prepare yourself.

It seems to me that they've "flagged" you, IDK what "case number 10" means, but it can't be positive?

 

[meak]

Case 10 means it's a visitor form. It's nothing bad. Just states the conditions I have visiting here. I'm not sure if I was flagged or not. They assumed I had a conviction when I don't so every time I go through, I have to present them with my court records stating that I'm not guilty of anything.

I'm wondering once we're married, when do we need to start sharing utilities and how since they won't even give me longer to visit him? There is no way to live here for me because they keep rejecting me the full 6 months.

 

[CharlieD10]

If they won't let you in for the full 6 months, you have been flagged. The more often you keep showing up at the border, the more they are going to not look kindly on your motives. Is it possible for your fiance to come visit you in Washington, so that at least for awhile you are not the one doing all the moving? My fear is that if you keep showing up in spite of being restricted each time, at some point an officer is going to turn you back and tell you not to come back for a year or two (exclusion order), which would be definitely bad for you guys.

Once you're married, combine your lives. It doesn't matter if you're not actually residing full time together, they want to see that to the extent possible you have made efforts to have a joint life. For example, I'm from Jamaica and my husband came to stay with me when he could. We moved house during the time he was there, so his name was on the lease and the utilities for the new apartment. While he was in Canada, he set up his insurance so that I would be the beneficiary, even though I was not resident in Canada at the time.

 

[OhCanadiana]

Case 10 means it's a visitor form. It's nothing bad. Just states the conditions I have visiting here. I'm not sure if I was flagged or not. They assumed I had a conviction when I don't so every time I go through, I have to present them with my court records stating that I'm not guilty of anything.

I'm wondering once we're married, when do we need to start sharing utilities and how since they won't even give me longer to visit him? There is no way to live here for me because they keep rejecting me the full 6 months.

Are you sure it's because they assume you have a conviction?

It sounds like their hesitation to admit you may be that they don't think you'll leave Canada (ie, that you are intending to *move,* not visit) and/or that they want to ensure you are aware that you don't have authorization to work or study during your stay, which is consistent with you receiving a visitor's record outlining the conditions of your stay.

After you are married, you don't need to show shared utilities specifically. You just need to show your relationship is genuine (e.g., wedding photos, letters, phone records) if he chooses to sponsor you for PR status. Once you are a Permanent Resident of Canada (similar to holding a 'Green Card' for the US) you may live and work in Canada.

 

[meak]

This guard told my fiance and his dad that they have no reason to deny me visitation in canada and another guard who granted me only a month here this time, told me that if I comply this time (leaving on the 18th as my ferry ticket states) then next time, it will show that I complied and I will have better luck so I don't think they'll want to send me back, especially since they told me to have all of my paper work, job, pay stubs etc for next time.

 

[OhCanadiana]

...since they told me to have all of my paper work, job, pay stubs etc for next time.

That sounds like they just want to confirm you have ties to the US and won't overstay...

What are your plans going forward? Is there something we can help you figure out?

 

[meak]

My plans are to be with my fiance and be closer to him and also his dad. I just wanted to know if getting married might look fishy. We only have photos from april with each other. They are time stamped but we don't have any sort of other proof that we've been together except for e-mails from a forum and e-mails. I know that none of you can predict what will happen but I wanted some insight if anyone has a similar situation they've been through and when we're married, what do we tell the guards? Wouldn't they deny me if they see we've only been together for 6 months and we got married this soon?

 

[OhCanadiana]

It sounds like you have two separate situations to plan for:

1) To live in Canada you need to have some sort of immigration status (e.g., PR - permanent resident -, work visa, student visa and abide by the conditions of you visa). Your husband can sponsor you (once you are married) for PR status. Or he can sponsor you as a common-law spouse (if you've lived together for a year and intermingled your affairs) or conjugal partner (harder because you need to be able to show why you couldn't live together and that you have been in a long term relationship). Assuming you are an American citizen, it is likely best for you to apply through the US (we usually refer to this as 'outland' on the forum). The application is available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp with detailed instructions. parker24 also has written up instructions for US applicants so you can search for her posts, leon has a general intro to family sponsorship at the top of the family class forum and there's discussions about the various aspects of the application in specific threads. You'll need to collect information that includes evidence of your relationship, FBI background checks and background checks of any other country you've lived in for over 6 months since you turned 18, a medical exam, and the completed forms. Depending on how much time you can dedicate to the application and how easy it is for you to pull all your evidence together it can take a couple weeks or a few months.

This process will likely take somewhere between 6 months (if you are very lucky) and 15+ months.

There are people on this forum who have known each other for years and others who have known each other for shorter periods of time. The key is to be able to convince a stranger through some documents that you submit that you have a genuine relationship (and didn't just get married so you could move to Canada ... or so he could move to the US if you decide to do that).

2) In the meantime, you can try to enter Canada as a tourist. I suspect the reason they are asking you for proof of job is to show you have ties to the US to show you will return. As a tourist, you can stay max 6 months - unless the border officer approves a shorter stay. You can apply to extend the stay, but cannot work or study until you either get a work or study permit (which you would have to apply for separately) or until you get your PR card. You are a tourist visiting Canada temporarily - and have to behave accordingly. And, the officers at the border can turn you away - and have a duty to turn you back - if they don't believe you really are applying to enter Canada with the intent to be a tourist planning to leave Canada at the end of your stay.

My plans are to be with my fiance and be closer to him and also his dad. I just wanted to know if getting married might look fishy. We only have photos from april with each other. They are time stamped but we don't have any sort of other proof that we've been together except for e-mails from a forum and e-mails. I know that none of you can predict what will happen but I wanted some insight if anyone has a similar situation they've been through and when we're married, what do we tell the guards? Wouldn't they deny me if they see we've only been together for 6 months and we got married this soon?

 

[meak]

Ah, very informative answer. You're uber awesome, thank you! Though, exactly how do you go about getting an fbi background check and the medical check, too?

 

[meak]

I finally got a response from a lawyer about this. The lawyer states that even if I am filing for permanent residency after we're married, I have to only be a visitor. Also that it will cost us over 1995 CAD and then some for the federal fee and the Pr fee. *sigh* This is driving me crazy when did it become such a hassle to be in love with someone from another country??

 

[scylla]

I finally got a response from a lawyer about this. The lawyer states that even if I am filing for permanent residency after we're married, I have to only be a visitor. Also that it will cost us over 1995 CAD and then some for the federal fee and the Pr fee. *sigh* This is driving me crazy when did it become such a hassle to be in love with someone from another country??

Total CIC fees are $1040. The medical and FBI (and any other police checks required) will be extra.

I assume the $1995 is the fee your lawyer is charging? Most of us here have done this on our own (without legal representation or assistance). Something to consider...

 

[meak]

Do you think I will have a better chance without a lawyer?

 

[CharlieD10]

A lawyer neither helps nor hurts your chances when you have a fairly typical case. If you have immigration or criminal history (more serious than your immigration history of being given short visitor records), then a lawyer would be required.

Most of us manage just fine without one, because it comes down to being prepared and submitting a solid application.

 

[meak]

I do have a record but I was found to be not guilty yet from the guard's data base, it shows as a conviction so each time, I am going to have to bring my records.