When to Sponsor??

[jennyyang199394]

Hi everyone, my boyfriend and I recently got engaged, and have some questions about when to get married.

I am a Canadian citizen on a F-1 student visa in New York, and my boyfriend is a Chinese citizen also on a F-1 student visa. We want to move to Toronto after graduating in May.

Here comes the big question...

Should we (1) get married in NY first and then begin the process of sponsorship, (2) get married in NY and then enter Canada with him on a V-1 visitor's visa (which he already has), or (3) go to Toronto with him on a visitor's visa, get married in Canada, and begin the process of sponsorship?

Which one is easier? I heard inland sponsorships are not recommended, but I want have a standing job offer in Canada, so working there makes sense.

Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you all in advance!

 

[Ceimi]

I would recommended 2. Simply because you can probably get married and have your marriage certificate by May as well as any other documents necessary before heading back to Toronto and then sending off the application maybe a week or so later. If you get married in Ontario, the wait for a marriage certificate is long and it will just end up being wasted time. Inland is perfectly acceptable. It allows your soon to be husband work while you guys wait for a decision on PR. Outland typically requires that should you be required to go to an interview, the interview will likely take place in your boyfriends country of citizenship.

1 would also be recommended if you guys would be able to survive on one income for a while.

Both inland and outland have a processing time of roughly 12 months, though outland applications are usually processed faster because of the nature of most applications means that they want to reunite genuine relationships ASAP and inland applications mean the partners are already together.

 

[jordo]

Option 1: Marry in NY, stay in NY and start the sponsorship process "outland":
Things you'll want to keep in mind is:
a) when do each of your US student visas expire? As a Canadian citizen living abroad and sponsoring, you will need to show proof of your intent to move back to Canada almost immediately after your sponsorship application has been approved (Outland China currently has a 12 month target). If your studies are scheduled to take longer than this time frame, then CIC may have a concern that you won't move back to Canada.
b) If an interview is required, it will be scheduled to take place in country of citizenship (China). Note: interviews are generally done if there are any red flags in the relationship where the CIC officer doesn't think the relationship is genuine.

Option 2: Marry in NY and then both come back to Canada to being an Inland application
a) Good choice assuming he won't travel outside Canada for the duration of the application. There are no guarantees that CBSA will let him back in if he leaves, especially being from a visa country.
b) You can apply for an Open Work Permit for him simultaneously as the sponsorship and the OWP is generally granted within 4-5 months.
c) His V-1 visitor visa allows him to enter the country but the Canadian visa officer can decide how long he is allowed to stay in Canada. Generally this is 6 months but could be less. I'm unsure if being married has any impact on this. But as a visitor, it is expected he will have some sort of return ticket out of Canada or he will arouse suspicions as to his intent to enter the country. Again, if he's allowed to enter, it's best if he does not leave. He can apply to have his visitor's visa extended while he's in the country as well.

Option 3: Enter Canada single, get married, wait for certificate, then apply.
a) same as option 2
b) same as option 2
c) less scrutiny when trying to enter Canada. (I think).
There probably isn't any real difference between 2 and 3. Or if there is, I'm not aware of what that is.

If there are any circumstances where he would need to travel outside Canada, it is better to apply Outland.
You can apply outland even if you are in Canada. The only downside is that he would not have the opportunity to apply for an OWP and would not have access to free healthcare (you'd need to have a private policy).

 

[jordo]

Another thing to consider whichever option you choose:
Assuming he's been in the US longer than 6 months. So he'll eventually need an FBI fingerprint background check completed for the sponsorship. The current turnaround time for the FBI to process this is about 14 weeks. You'll need to take that calculation into account.

I'm not sure what the procedure is for doing the same in China.

 

[jennyyang199394]

Option 1: Marry in NY, stay in NY and start the sponsorship process "outland":
Things you'll want to keep in mind is:
a) when do each of your US student visas expire? As a Canadian citizen living abroad and sponsoring, you will need to show proof of your intent to move back to Canada almost immediately after your sponsorship application has been approved (Outland China currently has a 12 month target). If your studies are scheduled to take longer than this time frame, then CIC may have a concern that you won't move back to Canada.
b) If an interview is required, it will be scheduled to take place in country of citizenship (China). Note: interviews are generally done if there are any red flags in the relationship where the CIC officer doesn't think the relationship is genuine.

Option 2: Marry in NY and then both come back to Canada to being an Inland application
a) Good choice assuming he won't travel outside Canada for the duration of the application. There are no guarantees that CBSA will let him back in if he leaves, especially being from a visa country.
b) You can apply for an Open Work Permit for him simultaneously as the sponsorship and the OWP is generally granted within 4-5 months.
c) His V-1 visitor visa allows him to enter the country but the Canadian visa officer can decide how long he is allowed to stay in Canada. Generally this is 6 months but could be less. I'm unsure if being married has any impact on this. But as a visitor, it is expected he will have some sort of return ticket out of Canada or he will arouse suspicions as to his intent to enter the country. Again, if he's allowed to enter, it's best if he does not leave. He can apply to have his visitor's visa extended while he's in the country as well.

Option 3: Enter Canada single, get married, wait for certificate, then apply.
a) same as option 2
b) same as option 2
c) less scrutiny when trying to enter Canada. (I think).
There probably isn't any real difference between 2 and 3. Or if there is, I'm not aware of what that is.

If there are any circumstances where he would need to travel outside Canada, it is better to apply Outland.
You can apply outland even if you are in Canada. The only downside is that he would not have the opportunity to apply for an OWP and would not have access to free healthcare (you'd need to have a private policy).

Thank you very much for that detailed reply! It really helped!

 

[jennyyang199394]

I would recommended 2. Simply because you can probably get married and have your marriage certificate by May as well as any other documents necessary before heading back to Toronto and then sending off the application maybe a week or so later. If you get married in Ontario, the wait for a marriage certificate is long and it will just end up being wasted time. Inland is perfectly acceptable. It allows your soon to be husband work while you guys wait for a decision on PR. Outland typically requires that should you be required to go to an interview, the interview will likely take place in your boyfriends country of citizenship.

1 would also be recommended if you guys would be able to survive on one income for a while.

Both inland and outland have a processing time of roughly 12 months, though outland applications are usually processed faster because of the nature of most applications means that they want to reunite genuine relationships ASAP and inland applications mean the partners are already together.

Thank you for that detailed reply! We will probably get married first and apply for inland sponsorship once we arrive in Toronto. Will he have to prove that he's just visiting to the customs officer if he's entering on a V-1 visa?

 

[jennyyang199394]

Another thing to consider whichever option you choose:
Assuming he's been in the US longer than 6 months. So he'll eventually need an FBI fingerprint background check completed for the sponsorship. The current turnaround time for the FBI to process this is about 14 weeks. You'll need to take that calculation into account.

I'm not sure what the procedure is for doing the same in China.

Hi, he is currently getting is master's degree in the US, but we actually never came across anything about FBI background checks on F-1 student visas who intend to leave the country after graduation, can you please elaborate on that? Thank you!

 

[Ceimi]

Hi, he is currently getting is master's degree in the US, but we actually never came across anything about FBI background checks on F-1 student visas who intend to leave the country after graduation, can you please elaborate on that? Thank you!

You need to submit a background check from any Country that you've lived in for 6 months or more. Doesn't matter if he intends to leave or not. He will need to get a police check from China, the U.S. and if he has lived anywhere else in the world he has lived for 6+ months.

 

[jennyyang199394]

You need to submit a background check from any Country that you've lived in for 6 months or more. Doesn't matter if he intends to leave or not. He will need to get a police check from China, the U.S. and if he has lived anywhere else in the world he has lived for 6+ months.

Ah, I see. So the processing time won't be a problem if he intends to stay in Canada for the foreseeable future to either work or study?

 

[Ceimi]

Thank you for that detailed reply! We will probably get married first and apply for inland sponsorship once we arrive in Toronto. Will he have to prove that he's just visiting to the customs officer if he's entering on a V-1 visa?

Yes, its best to just say that he is visiting for several months after just having completed his Masters in the U.S. You can purchase a refundable plane ticket to show the immigration officer if you'd like, and then refund the ticket after entering Canada. Its not completely necessary since he has a Visa already, but it would be a nice little extra security blanket if I was in your shoes.

 

[Ceimi]

Ah, I see. So the processing time won't be a problem if he intends to stay in Canada for the foreseeable future to either work or study?

If he is still in the U.S. when you order a background check, it has an expiry date of 6 months after the date it was processed (it tells you the date on the certificate you get from the FBI), so if you guys don't have plans to return to the U.S. after submitting the application, I would wait until he arrives in Canada to order one. If he orders one after leaving the U.S. and does not return, the certificate is valid and does not expire unless he returns (which will cause the certificate to become null immediately if it has been 6 months since the date the certificate was made). I don't know much about the Chinese police certificate, but I think the same rules apply. From what I've been hearing though, getting a Chinese police certificate is rather complex. He should look into this ASAP to be prepared so he knows the timelines and can plan properly. The US FBI check is simple and straightforward.

 

[jordo]

Ah, I see. So the processing time won't be a problem if he intends to stay in Canada for the foreseeable future to either work or study?

Can you clarify this? As a visitor to Canada, he won't be allowed to work or study.

However, when you submit an inland spousal application you can also apply for an open work permit but the OWP takes about 5 months to process after it is sent in with your spousal application. (Both applications need to be sent in together for the OWP to be approved.)

 

[jennyyang199394]

Can you clarify this? As a visitor to Canada, he won't be allowed to work or study.

However, when you submit an inland spousal application you can also apply for an open work permit but the OWP takes about 5 months to process after it is sent in with your spousal application. (Both applications need to be sent in together for the OWP to be approved.)

Hi, what I meant was would he be allowed to work/study after sending in the inland spousal application? Work I understand now, but what about school? He is thinking of applying for at a PhD program at U of T or UBC.

 

[Ceimi]

Hi, what I meant was would he be allowed to work/study after sending in the inland spousal application? Work I understand now, but what about school? He is thinking of applying for at a PhD program at U of T or UBC.

He will be able to work only AFTER he receives the work permit in the mail, which can take around 4-5 months to receive. As for schooling, no, he must apply for a study visa if he wants to study at a university before receiving his PR.

 

[jennyyang199394]

He will be able to work only AFTER he receives the work permit in the mail, which can take around 4-5 months to receive. As for schooling, no, he must apply for a study visa if he wants to study at a university before receiving his PR.

So if he applied to and got accepted to a university, he would be able to apply for a study visa while waiting for his PR? Thank you very much!