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Im hoping someone here can help me regarding "extending your stay"....

I was hoping we would be done well before we had to face this issue - but we have yet to hear anything from Port au Prince!!

My husband has been pretty much living here since November 08. We travel quite often to the DR and the US and have he has therefor never been here for 6 straight months....

Last time we traveled outside of Canada was April, returning to Canada on April 6. SO 6 months is just about up. We have to go to the US October 2 - 4. Will traveling to the US and then re-entering Canada be sufficient or do we need to apply to extend the stay still??

We will be traveling to the DR in November for a couple of weeks and Im worried that having applied to extend his stay will cause a problem with re-entering!!! Also his TR Visa expires December 22nd and I highly doubt from what I have read that they will grant another one with the PR in process...so Im hoping to use the extension then if we still havent gotten anywhere with the PR!

Can anyone give me any idea on how to proceeed!!!!

Thanks

OK, I'm a little confused - if I remember right, your husband has status in the States, which makes him eligible to enter Canada as a visa-exempt national. But then you're saying that he has a TRV that expires on Dec 22. So I'm not sure what temporary status document he'd be applying to extend - a Visitor Record, or the TRV?

If he can enter Canada as a visa-exempt national on his US status, then filing an extension (when you are planning to visit the US in October) is a waste of money. Although having applied to extend wouldn't cause him a problem with re-entering, it also won't help him re-enter . . . and leaving with an extension ap in process means that he loses the "implied status" he gets from applying before his current status expires. In addition, any status granted by extension would be from the effective date of the expiration of his current status - so, for example, lets say his status expired on Aug 30 and he sent his extension ap on Aug 15th. He won't have heard back before he has to leave on October 2 - and any status he's granted as a result of the extension application would only be valid for a period of time beginning Aug 30. If he left and re-entered Canada in October, his new status would be valid beginning in October - so he'd actually get more time. So it wouldn't make much sense to pay $75 for status that would end up expiring before the status given him on re-entry in October . . . assuming he is allowed to re-enter. That's the gamble - and the advantage to being able to apply from within Canada. But, basically, what I'm saying is that it doesn't make much sense to apply from within Canada if he's leaving Canada.

As far as the TRV - it is true that almost all applicants for an initial TRV are refused if they have a significant relationship in Canada, or have applied for PR. This isn't true of an extension of a TRV for someone who is applying to extend from within Canada - but for someone who leaves Canada, all bets are off. That's why inland applicants (from non-visa-exempt countries especially) are advised not to leave Canada during processing of an inland ap. I know you applied outland - so if he wasn't readmitted, at least it wouldn't affect the PR processing, but you'd run the risk of being separated until the process was completed.

So, other than telling you that the safest option is to apply to extend from within Canada and NOT leave until after PR is granted, I really can't give you an idea about how to proceed that wouldn't pose at least some risk of his not being able to re-enter Canada after your trip away.

Thanks for your quick reply Robsluv! I guess I should have explained the situation a bit better.

Firstly - my husband does not have status in the US. He has a B1/B2 (business / visitor) Visa for 10 years.

His Canadian TRV is also a Business Visa (it has a W as category) it is his third one - each one being valid for a year. The current one was issued AFTER we were married but BEFORE we sent in the app for PR. It is expiring December 22nd. (we put me down as spouse on the application and the IO who issued the visa, asked if we had thought about applying for PR - my on the spot answer to that was "we have thought about it but arent in a position to do so at this time, with all the traveling we do)

The reason for the business categories is that he applied as a professional athlete coming here to compete in the Candian National Superbike Championship...with letters of invitations and sponsorship agreements. That being said - he does not need or have a work permit - as an athlete fall's under the category of business travelers NOT needing a work permit.

SO all that being said - he has pretty much been here the whole time, with several two week trips to the Dominican Republic...which have always broke up him being here for 6 consecutive months.

The last time we went to DR was in March - we returned to Canada on April 6. Had no problem entering, no questions asked....the PR app was in process at the overseas office as of March 31st.

Now we are coming up on the 6 month mark. October 6th. We have plans to got othe US that same weekend. So what Im wondering about is, if leaving and re-entering will re-start the 6 month clock...or if going to the us doesnt count and we need to apply for an extension. He has never been issues a visitor record nor have they ever indicated a date to leave - so Im assuming that means 6 months.

Now on that note - Im getting worried about leaving and re-entering!!! We have never had a problem before - but then again we didnt have a PR in process or it was very new. We have never been asked anything or sent for secondary - with the exception of one time...and the lady asked a million questions - but we werent married and she had no grounds to refuse him I guess. Does the customs officer automatically see information on wether someone is applying for PR??? Does he stand a bigger chance of being questioned / refused entry now that there is an app in progress. Maybe we shouldnt go.

We have a very important race in the DR in November, that we really shouldnt miss. His TRV visa expires December 22nd - but apparently that only means he has to enter by then....so if we came back Dec 1st - he would have 6 months from then.

We would REALLY like to apply for a new TRV in December as we have to travel quite a bit!!! But I have doubts on that being approved now with the PR in process...an extension would only allow him to stay in Canada and not re-enter.

Wow this is long winded!!! Sorry...Im hitting the stage of paranoia now!!!

Robsluv....he is the new scenario. Maybe you or someone can answer this for me.

So we have decided against going to the states this weekend.

My husband LAST entered Canada on April 6, 2009 - therefor his status as a business visitor will expire October 6, 2009.

I have the application for extension ready to be mailed but Im concerned about one thing...

We HAVE to go to DR in November. His TRV will still be valid for him to re-enter. BUT in the application for the extension it says if you have not received the extended status and you leave Canada you will have to reapply again at the port of entry.

I dont understand that. I want to apply for them to extend to his status for a month or so until we leave in November. Then when we return in November he should automatically get another 6 months....right?

So what do they mean about having to re-apply at the port of entry or from outside Canada?? Will he not be able to re-enter using his TRV only??

Sorry to be a pain in the @ss, Im just soooo confused!!! Im afraid of doing something illegal at this point that could affect the PR app and / or his ability to re-enter Canada in November!!!

Thanks!

Racergurl55 Wrote:Robsluv....he is the new scenario. Maybe you or someone can answer this for me.

So we have decided against going to the states this weekend.

My husband LAST entered Canada on April 6, 2009 - therefor his status as a business visitor will expire October 6, 2009.

OK, wait - something about this is still "off" and it's confusing me. First, you're saying that your husband last entered Canada on April 6, 2009, "so his status as a business visitor will expire on Oct 6, 2009" - but at the same time you say that your husband is documented on a TRV that is valid until Dec 22, 2009 - so, unless I'm missing something, THAT is his temporary status document. He's not under a 6 month rule if he has documented status that allows him to stay longer. That TRV is what you would be applying to extend - not an "implied" 6 months status because he last entered Canada in April. I hope that makes sense. The "6 month rule" applies to visa-exempt nationals who are admitted to Canada without being "officially" documented by CIC. Many visa-exempt nationals are allowed to enter Canada at a port of entry and as soon as they're allowed in, they're authorized to stay for up to six months. Sometimes CIC will document someone who is visa-exempt on a Visitor Record - to limit the stay to less than 6 months, to officially establish the 6 months rule, or to extend a stay for longer than six months. Whatever the term of the VR (or the TRV for a non-visa-exempt national), that's the document that you're applying to extend - not a status that's implied by having entered Canada without being given any documentation.

So, if your husband has a valid TRV that allows him to remain in Canada through December 22, that is the document that he needs to apply to extend. Basically it sounds like they've been allowing him to travel, and then re-enter Canada based on having that document - maybe it's a "multiple-entry" TRV? If so, I don't see any reason (unless his admissibility has changed) for them to refuse to honour that TRV between now and December, when it expires. Simply having a PR ap in process should not preclude him from re-entering Canada this time if all the other times he's left and come back while this TRV has been in force have been okay. In addition, having a PR application in process is actually an advantage when someone is applying to extend a TRV - even though it's a huge disadvantage for someone applying for an original TRV.

Racergurl55 Wrote:I have the application for extension ready to be mailed but Im concerned about one thing...

We HAVE to go to DR in November. His TRV will still be valid for him to re-enter. BUT in the application for the extension it says if you have not received the extended status and you leave Canada you will have to reapply again at the port of entry.

I dont understand that. I want to apply for them to extend to his status for a month or so until we leave in November. Then when we return in November he should automatically get another 6 months....right?

So what do they mean about having to re-apply at the port of entry or from outside Canada?? Will he not be able to re-enter using his TRV only??

Sorry to be a pain in the @ss, Im just soooo confused!!! Im afraid of doing something illegal at this point that could affect the PR app and / or his ability to re-enter Canada in November!!!

Thanks!

I think the reason this is confusing for you is 1) you're thinking he is under the implied 6 months rule as well as under the TRV, and that's not true. He won't automatically get another six months if he's readmitted after a trip to the DR in November. His TRV will still be valid at that point, and you'll have applied for an extension. If the TRV is not extended, he'll have to leave Canada - regardless of the fact that he entered Canada again in November. That will not authorize him to stay until May 2010. However, it's highly unlikely that his TRV will not be extended - and so, that said, the "implied status" they're talking about when they say that if someone has not received their extended status and they leave Canada, they must re-apply at the port of entry MEANS that, once you apply to extend, you have preserved his temporary status until they make a decision - even if it that decision doesn't come until after his TRV expires. In other words, you apply in November to extend the status he has that will expire on Dec 22. Let's say that Dec 22 comes and goes and you still haven't received word on whether his extension has expired. As long as he doesn't leave Canada, he is under "implied status" that authorizes him to remain in Canada from Dec 22 until whenever they notify you of the decision on the extension . . . but if he leaves Canada after Dec 22, but before he gets his extension decision, he loses that "implied status" and he'd have to apply to re-enter Canada at the p.o.e. He would not be able to say, "Well, I had a TRV and I applied to extend it, but I haven't heard yet about the decision . . . so I should be able to go back to Canada to wait for their decision." Unless he was otherwise eligible to enter at a p.o.e., they'd turn him back and make him go home to apply for a new TRV.

So I hope that clears things up.