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Hi
How do you get a temporary Res. Status.

My boyfriend is coming here and we are going to get married and apply with a inland app. There is no hurry to get him employed because we are both well into our 60's so he likely would have a hard time finding employment anyway.

My concern is how does he apply for Temp. Res. Status while our application is in process without being asked to leave.

We would have a hard time applying with a outland App. because he has no relatives in the U.S. to use their address and of course he wouldn't have a u.s. address after he moves here.

Thanks
OK, listen - you're going about this backwards. Alot of people misunderstand the difference between inland v outland, and a lot of people misunderstand about how to "get" temporary resident status.

First, inland v outland is more about where the application is processed than it is about where the applicant is - although inland applicants are required to be in Canada while outland applicants can be in their home country, or visiting anywhere else in the world (including Canada) and it will not affect processing. So don't convince yourself just yet that outland is not an option for you guys. Some other issues first though . . .

Are you getting married in Canada for any special reason, as opposed to the States? Because if your fiance tries to enter Canada to "get married and file for permanent status" he's likely to be turned back so fast he won't know what hit him. There is a "game" that has to be played at the border, and he doesn't know the rules yet.

First rule: even after you're married (but especially before you're married) he can only be in Canada as a visitor. So, in order to enter prior to your marriage he needs to be able to convince them that he is a genuine visitor - and he's not going to be able to do that if he mentions anything about having a fiancee in Canada, or marrying or filing for permanent residence. That also goes for asking for a "longer than normal" stay - like anything beyond a few weeks.

Secondly, US citizens are very seldom ever "documented" when they enter Canada, which makes it nearly impossible to apply from within Canada to extend their stay. So chances are he will need to leave Canada after the wedding anyway - and then try to re-enter to stay with you while the PR ap is in process. This is possible - there are detailed instructions on this page of the US2Canada website. Pay special attention to the part about Visitor Records . . . and remember, this is for AFTER the wedding.

Thirdly, filing an inland application if he doesn't have documented temporary status (i.e. a Visitor Record) will cause the application to be transferred, before first stage approval, to a local CIC office for processing. This means the application becomes subject to the local office's timeline, and some local offices are backlogged for up to 2 years in processing. So I don't recommend filing inland - there's really no point for US applicants and it can take 2-3 times as long to be finalized, even if your case stays in Vegreville. I know you say he can't file outland because he has no family in the States, and no address once he "moves" to Canada. But you have to remember - he is not authorized to "move" to Canada until after he has PR . . . even if he files an inland PR ap. So what needs to happen is this -

1) if he is given a VR after your marriage that authorizes him to stay in Canada for at least one year, he can use your Canadian address as both his residential address and his mailing address. The file will still be processed in Buffalo - in 3-9 months. The outland application process is faster and has the right of appeal - plus it allows him to travel outside Canada without risking forfeiting the application.

2) If he is not authorized to stay in Canada for at least one year on his VR, he can still apply via the outland process. He is able to use your Canadian address as his mailing address, so that all correspondence comes to him in Canada. He can use his "old" US address as his residential address. Nobody will try to contact him at the old address - it is used only to determine which overseas visa office will process the application, and US applicants are always processed through Buffalo. Now, one thing that might happen: IF an interview is required (and they're frequently waived on spousal aps if you provide quality evidence of your genuine relationship), the US residential address is used to determine which of the four other visa offices (Seattle, Los Angeles, Detroit or NYC) will handle the interview. But, in the Region Specific forms for the US, there is a form in Appendix A that allows an applicant to designate a preferred interview location. So all he'd have to do is choose the one of the four offices that is closest to your Province, and the interview would be handled there as opposed to the office that is closest to his "old" residential address. Now, one other thing - sometimes Buffalo sends applications out to the other US visa offices just to expedite processing . . . if they do that (with no interview required) the file would still go to the visa office closest to his old address - but that's a non-issue.

So, my advice: either get married in Canada and then leave together - re-entering with you "vouching" for him (per the US2Canada information) to get him extended temporary status in Canada to stay while the PR ap is processed or, get married in the States and then enter Canada together the same way. Only after he has documented temporary status can he can apply to extend it from within Canada. As long as he gets the extension ap to CIC before his original status expires he'll be authorized to stay while they make a decision on the extension ap, or until he gets PR if that happens first. Sponsorship approval through CPC-Mississauga for outland spousal aps is currently taking only 24 days . . . then the file is transferred to Buffalo and they're finalizing in 3-9 months. If your case is straight forward and you include everything (medical exam proof, criminal clearances from FBI and every State he's residing in for more than 6 months since turning 18) with your initial package, you can expect to be finalized at the shorter end of that timeline.

Inland aps aren't even getting to first stage approval for 6-7 months, and finalization takes another 6-12 months. Plus there's no right of appeal, and he's stuck in Canada for the duration because, if he leaves and isn't allowed to re-enter, the inland ap is forfeited because it requires him to be residing with you, in Canada, in order to be approved.
Robsluv:

Thank you so much you are such a help.

Bun
RobsLuv Wrote:in order to enter prior to your marriage he needs to be able to convince them that he is a genuine visitor - and he's not going to be able to do that if he mentions anything about having a fiancee in Canada, or marrying or filing for permanent residence. That also goes for asking for a "longer than normal" stay - like anything beyond a few weeks.

RobsLuv, thanks so much for this thorough information, it has been so helpful and such a relief to read how one might get from point A to point B. This board has also been an amazing resource for me over the past few days (as a lurker :D)

I was wondering if bringing two small- to medium-sized suitcases would be red flags while driving through the border, or if I am overreacting, as my Canadian boyfriend thinks. I just don't want to be turned away because I chose to bring two suitcases instead of one... Do you know the likelihood of this being an issue? :(

Thanks so much for your advice!
Honestly, a LOT of it depends on the mood of the CBSA agent, your demeanor - your answers to questions, etc
Some people (like me) have gotten in with a whole carful of stuff, others - not so much

Sorry - there is no definitive answer on this one

toshiro Wrote:RobsLuv, thanks so much for this thorough information, it has been so helpful and such a relief to read how one might get from point A to point B. This board has also been an amazing resource for me over the past few days (as a lurker :D)

I was wondering if bringing two small- to medium-sized suitcases would be red flags while driving through the border, or if I am overreacting, as my Canadian boyfriend thinks. I just don't want to be turned away because I chose to bring two suitcases instead of one... Do you know the likelihood of this being an issue? :(

Thanks so much for your advice!
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