What visa to apply for?

[Ang3liika]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum and I have plenty of questions I would love to find answers to.
My situation is rather complicated...i live in Tampa, FL and my soon-to-be husband, who is from Colombia, was recently detained by immigration officers. He has been in jail for over 3 weeks now. I have spoken to several lawyers about this difficult situation and well his chances of being able to stay in United States are not looking good. We have been talking about moving to Canada before but never really took steps towards it. Now it seems like our only way out.

His situation is especially difficult due to his criminal record, possession of marijuana (67 grams) and fleeing from police. What can I say, he was young and stupid. He's 26 yrs old now and it has been more than 5 years from his last conviction. I am a US citizen and we were going to get married in couple of months. He has been in US for 12 yrs and tried to obtain green card through asylum. He was denied last year but he decided to file an appeal, that was obviously denied. We were honestly unaware of the his removal order. We are fighting the ICE to release him under an order of supervision so he could close up his things in US.

I think it's important to mention he has his own automotive business here (auto parts and mechanic shop) and he has been successfully running it for over 7 yrs now. All those years he paid taxes and created workplaces so yes even though he made serious mistakes in his past it seems a little unfair to just kick him out of the country without giving him a chance, he has nothing and nobody in Colombia, no family, no friends. His family received threats when they were in Colombia and supposedly there are still people over there asking for the family (his parents were very involved in liberal party). He also has a 3 year old son with his ex, who is an American citizen. One of his sisters is a citizen as well. And other is in process of receiving her residency. His mother has a green card, and his father will have it any time now.

My question is then, would it be possible for him to permanently immigrate to Canada? I can't go to Colombia. I am a year away from receiving my bachelor degree and planning and becoming Physicians Assistant. Quality of live is Colombia is low. I am just trying to see what would be the best visa for him to apply for? Provincial programs? Self-employed? I know it talks of cultural and athletic fields, but maybe it has further expansions. Also, would he have to apply for rehabilitation? Or is he completely inadmissible? Would us getting married help?

Please any insights would be helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help. I hope I provided enough detail to paint a complete picture of our situation.

 

[scylla]

If it's been five years since he completed the sentence / punishment / penalty for his last criminal conviction - then yes, permanent residency is certainly possible.

Have you reviewed the requirements to immigrate? Do either of you qualify to apply through either the skilled worker class or one of the provincial nominee classes? If you haven't, start looking into this now on the CIC web site (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index-can.asp). The criminal convictions aside, there's still no guarantee either of you qualify to immigrate to Canada. One of you needs to qualify to make your plans possible.

If you want to migrate as a couple you'll need to either be married or common law (common law = have lived together for a minimum of one full year).

Note that there's a good chance he'll face a ban as soon as he leaves the US (either three year or ten year). So even if he manages to obtain Canadian PR status or even citizenship, it may be quite some time before he's able to re-enter the US and visit his family there.

 

[scylla]

Just do add... Don't bother with the self employment class. It's difficult to qualify and processing times are very long.

Focus on the federal skilled worker class and the provincial nominee classes. There is unfortunately no short cut to doing a ton of reading and research about these programs yourself to determine if you qualify (actually - the only short cut is to hire an immigration lawyer or consultant to do this work on your behalf). So be prepared to spend lots of time familiarizing yourself with the CIC web site (or shell out the big bucks for the consultant / lawyer). Also, spend the next few weeks reading posts on this forum in the Skilled Worker and Provincial Nominee sections.

 

[Ang3liika]

Scylla,
Thank you for responding. I did the self-assessment test on CIC website to find out if he qualifies to immigrate under the skilled worker category, and he received 69 points when the pass mark it 67. I am quite sure I am able to immigrate without a problem since I will have my bachelor degree in a year and I am a US citizen. I just found recently that Canada closed their federal skilled workers visa for some time due to high volume of applicants, and that is the only issue that gets me worried.

 

[scylla]

The FSW (federal skilled worker) program is re-opening in May and will start accepting applications for people without job offers (it's currently open to those with job offers and PhDs). However some rules are changing significantly and you'll need to reassess if you still qualify. Again, I would encourage you to read through the information on the CIC site (especially the bulletins) as well as the skilled worker section of this forum - specifically this thread:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/new-fsw-points-criteria-announced-new-federal-skilled-trades-class-fstc-t115576.0.html

Unfortunately there are really no short cuts to very extensive reading if you don't want to pay for professional help.

Expect there to be a flood of applications when CIC starts accepting applicants again for FSW (without job offers) in May. You'll likely need to submit a complete application as soon as they start accepting them if you want to have any hope of being accepted.

 

[scylla]

I am quite sure I am able to immigrate without a problem since I will have my bachelor degree in a year and I am a US citizen.

Sorry - I didn't address this in my last response.

Being a US citizen and having a bachelor degree actually gives you no guarantee that you would qualify to immigrate as a skilled worker. For example, if you have no job offer in Canada and don't have at least a few years of experience - it will likely be very difficult for you to qualify.

US citizens receive no special treatment. They have to qualify through the same programs as everyone else.

 

[Ang3liika]

Scylla,

I'm sorry I should have elaborated on my qualifications...I work for a rather large medical company, that has agents in Canada so I could probably request transfer and have a job over there if I was to move. Or in the worst case at least I have some work experiment to show for so hopefully arranging employment would be just a bit easier.

Thank you so much for your help. It makes things much clearer in my head.

 

[scylla]

OK - always good to include all details up front.

An intercompany transfer will get you a temporary work visa immediately (this allows you to live in Canada temporarily). However I can guarantee your husband will not be allowed to come with you due to his US immigration history and status. Yes - spouses are typically allowed to accompany their partners on temporary work visas to Cnada. However if there are any concerns the accompanying spouse will overstay, the visa will be refused. Your husband is a failed refugee claimant and also has a deportation order - so there's absolutely no chance a temporary visa for him will be approved. For this reason an intercompany transfer + temporary work permit is not a great option for you.

On the other hand, if your company is willing to give you an arranged employment offer in Canada (this is effectively a guarantee that they will hire you if and when you are approved for permanent residency in Canada), then you can use this to apply for permanent residency and include your husband in the application (assuming you are either married or common law by the time you file the application). There will be no issues including your husband in a PR application. Read through the skilled worker section of the forum and look for threads that mention 'AEO' (arranged employment offer).