Visitor visa is about to expire and still haven´t heard from Immigration.

[PaoladeCano]

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen and I am sponsoring my husband to be a PR. He moved to Canada to be with me on September of 2012 with a visitor visa. He has a multiple-entry visa but we are too afraid to "cross the border" and having him denied access back in again. Anyway, we submitted our application for the sponsorship on January 2013, and most recently submitted the application to Extend his Visitor Visa on January 24, 2013. He will have been in Canada for 6 months by March 17, 2013, which means his visitor time "allowance" is over, correct?

My question is... what should we do if we haven´t heard from them in say, a couple of weeks (which would be end of February and just a couple of weeks before his 6 months are over). I am planning to email CIC and inquire about it, but I wonder if anyone here have some feedback as to what happens in a situation like this, and what would be the best way to go about it. Our application for PR is "Inbound" (from within Canada) so I am afraid if he gets denied the visa, that he would have to go back to Mexico, and if we would have to start the sponsorship application all over again because it was originally inbound and that would no longer apply

Thank you!
Paola

 

[rjessome]

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen and I am sponsoring my husband to be a PR. He moved to Canada to be with me on September of 2012 with a visitor visa. He has a multiple-entry visa but we are too afraid to "cross the border" and having him denied access back in again. Anyway, we submitted our application for the sponsorship on January 2013, and most recently submitted the application to Extend his Visitor Visa on January 24, 2013. He will have been in Canada for 6 months by March 17, 2013, which means his visitor time "allowance" is over, correct?

My question is... what should we do if we haven´t heard from them in say, a couple of weeks (which would be end of February and just a couple of weeks before his 6 months are over). I am planning to email CIC and inquire about it, but I wonder if anyone here have some feedback as to what happens in a situation like this, and what would be the best way to go about it. Our application for PR is "Inbound" (from within Canada) so I am afraid if he gets denied the visa, that he would have to go back to Mexico, and if we would have to start the sponsorship application all over again because it was originally inbound and that would no longer apply

Thank you!
Paola

If he applied for a visitor extension and you do not receive the decision before his current visitor status expires, he will be on "implied status" and can legally stay in Canada until a positive or negative decision is made on that application. There is nothing for you to do until you receive a decision on his extension application.

 

[PaoladeCano]

Oh, really? that is good news (for now anyways). At least he doesn´t have to rush and go back before we get a response.

Thank you for your feedback.

Paola

 

[sounion]

Also, if you mentioned that you're working on or awaiting the PR application decision, they will most likely approve an extension.

My wife and I had the same issue and we got a successful extension to cover me for the time inbetween the expiration of my visitor's visa, and receiving the PR AOR which grants you implied status.

6 months is the max for a visitor's visa, but you can extend that time for 6 months at a time if I remember correctly. I extended twice, one for 3 months (for various reasons), the 2nd for a full 6 months.

But now we got an AOR and I'm covered by that once my current visitor's visa expires..

 

[PaoladeCano]

Yeah, we did mention that we are waiting on the PR decision, and sent a copy of the receipt to prove it.

So, did I understand correctly, that once you receive AOR (which I am assuming is the letter/email that immigration sends acknowledging that they have received your application and give you your file number), you automatically get "implied status"? my husband´s visa expires in mid March, 2013, and we have already received the AOR a couple of weeks ago, though we also submitted the visa extension application a few weeks ago, as we didn´t know about the "implied status"... sorry, I am a little bit confused about that status.

Thanks!

 

[sounion]

Yes, an AOR grants the applicant implied status.

You may want to call CIC or email them and see if they will refund you the $75. They may not catch the overlap there.

 

[PaoladeCano]

Oh, thank you. I am definitely going to give them a call tomorrow and ask. This is the first time I hear about this, and that would be great if we don´t have to worry about having his visa extension approved, etc and if my husband could have the implied status till we have a response from immigration.

 

[sounion]

Good to hear!

Also, be sure to print off the AOR as evidence of your husband's legal status in Canada.

 

[PaoladeCano]

Okay... just to tripple check, the AOR is the same as the email or letter that you get from CIC confirming that they have received your application for sponsorship, and provide you with a file number that you can track your status on line, right? For a second here, I stopped and wondered if we are talking about the same things, lol. I´ve become a bit paranoid since we submitted our PR application, haha... thanks!

 

[sounion]

Yes, you are correctly talking about the AOR

I know what you mean

And be sure to double check and verify everything when you speak with CIC, that will help decrease worry

 

[PaoladeCano]

Will do, thanks so much for the advise!

 

[parker24]

Also, if you mentioned that you're working on or awaiting the PR application decision, they will most likely approve an extension.

My wife and I had the same issue and we got a successful extension to cover me for the time inbetween the expiration of my visitor's visa, and receiving the PR AOR which grants you implied status.

6 months is the max for a visitor's visa, but you can extend that time for 6 months at a time if I remember correctly. I extended twice, one for 3 months (for various reasons), the 2nd for a full 6 months.

But now we got an AOR and I'm covered by that once my current visitor's visa expires..

Are you applying outland? If so, you are not under implied status at all unless you have applied for an extension. The only time you have implied status is a) when you apply for the extension and haven't heard anything or B ) applying inland and received first stage approval.

 

[sounion]

When I spoke with CIC they said you gain Implied Status once you get an AOR for Inland PR.

 

[Kiwi12]

I extended my husband's visitor visa and asked for an extra six months but they gave him a year.

 

[darwinwap]

You will be on implied status since you sent a visitor visa extension until they give you an approval or denial, You will most likely be approved since you have a sponsorship application submitted. If you have submitted an open work permit application together with the sponsorship, then you would have implied status even without the tourist visa extension.