Road To Canada Forums

Hello, I am new on this site, as much help is needed. I am American and my bf is canadian, we have been seriously involved 1 and half years and have known each other 1 and half years before we became involved. we want to get married , I am visiting Canada right now, for two weeks, we come and go visiting each other, from US and Canada, we are very much in love, I come here more than he does there, cause he works a full-time job. When we get married and start sponsorship papers, do we need to go ahead and start PR papers too and send with it?, and can I go ahead and start obtaining my background check from FBI?, and can I go ahead and do my medical exam here? I think I need to apply for a 6 months extension, so I can remain in the country. Right? we are going to marry soon, like within the next month? we have all kinds of pics of us from his home , my home , my family , vacations we have taken together. we have family and friends who know about us and our relationship. I just need help all together what I shoud do first. Thanks for any response.

Pam

I responded to your Private Message

Read through the information on the US2Canada site . . . it will help you with the particulars. Once you are married you are going to submit a spousal permanent residence application. This consists of the sponsors application and the immigrants application together, plus all the supporting documentation of the relationship, and proof of your medical examination and your FBI clearance. It all goes in together. CPC-Mississauga will assess your new husband as an eligible sponsor, and then they will send the application to the embassy in Buffalo where they will assess your eligibility to immigrate. The whole process takes between 6-12 months. You can stay in Canada during processing as long as you keep your temporary status valid. You do this by applying to extend the status you were given on your last entry, before it expires, by submitting the extension application to the CIC processing centre in Vegreville. Include proof of your legal marriage and your PR ap in process, and proof that your new husband has a job and can support you so they dont worry that you will work illegally. You can still apply outland, through Buffalo, even if you are staying in Canada during processing. (See this thread.) It is not advisable to apply inland when you are from the States, for various reasons. Basically - it isnt necessary, it takes longer, and you lose your right to appeal a refusal when you apply inland.

Anyway, US2Canada provides a lot of details. Then feel free to come back here with any specific questions.

My advice, if you haven\'t done so yet is to take a look at all the applications for permanent residence asap. Depending on how complicated your life history is and how knowledgeable you are about your family history it may take a long time to complete all the applications. Some people can do them in a couple weeks but it took me well over a year to research my own past as well as family info so be aware that you will be put through the ringer. FBI background checks and medicals expire, so make sure to time out when you think you will have your apps complete and ready to go and plan to have your FBI and Medicals fairly fresh around that time. FBI should be ordered about 3 months before you want them and they technically expire 6 months after you get them and medicals can be obtained fairly easily and quickly (depending where you are) and they are good for a year.

You have to apply for an extension of visitor status before you have been here for 6 months from your time of entry. Send in the app when you have been here for 5 months. you can ask for up to 1 year extension.

like robsluv said, sponsorship and PR are sent together along with all the supporting documents.

Hello Again.. thanks so much for the input that has been received here, its helping alot. I have several questions and hope someone can give me the answers. I am just starting to print out all the paper work needed from CIC. but somethings are very confusing, any help would be appreciated.

1. Upon filling out on my behalf as the sponsored, where it says family Name: since my fiance and I are not getting married til Feb or March , we have not decided yet on which month, and I will not be sending the paperwork til we are married, but it says Print the name as it appears on your passport. So do I print my name now as on my passport, or the name my fiance is giving me after we are married. and can I change my last name after we are married on my passport on a later Date.

2. on the addtional \\\"Addtional Family Information form\\\" , are they just talking about me since he is sponsoring me, this is what it reads: Schedule 1, Background / Declaration
(IMM 0008 Schedule 1) You and each of your family members 18 years of age or over, whether accompanying you to Canada or not, must complete their own copy of this form. so doesn that mean all my children and brothers and mom and dad have to fill out this form as well, even tho they are americans and not being sponsored. this also says this on the Addtional Family Information Form.

3. If My Fiance and I were friends from Jan. 2008 in which we talked on the internet and thats how we came to know each as friends, and we talked and talked for 1 and half years, before we became in a relationship. We became gf/bf in Aug.2009. On the paper Sponsored spouse questionaire form , where it saids did you have any contact with your sponsor before you met and when did you meet your sponsor, cause I met him in 2008 talking first on internet and then he came to visit me in Feb.2008 but we were only friends, so are they asking this question as in general when did you first talk and meet, or when we began our relationship as Bf/GF which was in Aug.2009.

4.I am applying outland, so my question is on the app for PR.. on one of the lines, it says \\\" Visa Office Requested \\\"For the Process of your Application\\\" and there is a box there, what do I put there? even tho I am going to be visiting for 6 months here in Canada with him , staying in his home , and hoping I won\\\'t need an ext. and I can stay here for 6 months when I enter right? but if I don\\\'t receive all the paper work back in time while I am here for 6 months I need to apply for an extension right?

4.and the last question for Now... lol ... I had to list my children as my family members even tho they are grown and live in the USA, I am not sure whether I was surpose to list them or not, just read the directions as It stated on page 2 of the app for PR. but it states to add a picture of them, so I have to get them to have a picture done so I can attach it with that app? I don\\\'t understand why I have to list them and they have to have a picture , am I doing that right? as I stated my fiance is only sponsoring me. Please help. I am just beginning to work on this and have a headache , trying to make sure I don\\\'t miss nothing ... please Help........

I asked this same question that you did about the photographs. I have a grown and married son but because of family issues I have not seen or heard from him in years. I read the same thing you did and the answer I got when I asked was that he\'s grown, married, too old, etc and the only photos they (CIC) want are dependent children. I tell ya, I\'ve read so much lately that all this information is swimming in my head! Anywho, all we have to do is list them on the IMM5406 form.

I hear you about the headache. My husband and I have been through U.S. Immigration when he moved here from NS so we know a little bit of what to expect. Still, there\'s so much to read! Best wishes to you and your fiancé.

Karen, I know exactly what you are saying for sure, in the last couple of days things are so confusing,, and all I want to do is get everything right and in order, I did find out I could get my finger prints done here in Canada for $10.00 and then send them off to FBI, (Sigh Of relief) I called the physician office here in the town I am in ,waiting for them to call me back to set up a medical exam, hopefully I can get one real soon, I have never been this anxious or nervous in my whole life starting this process . My fiance and I were going to marry in Feb. But I think we have decided to marry with in the next week, due to I am working on all paperwork now , so that we can go ahead and send it off. and if you or anybody else who reads this post, one question I want to ask , I need clarification! OK when I came into Canada about 4 days ago, to visit bf, now here is the question, I did not ask for a 6 month stay , I just said I was coming into visit a couple of weeks, so .. if my fiance and I marry within the next week, do I need to apply for an extension to stay , since we will be married then , or do I automatically have the right to stay 6 months and then if needed at the end of the 6 months , request for a extension then. because we will be sending off paper work probably sometime around the first of Feb. Hopefully if all things go well. Now in the case I am wrong about this, can someone tell me what I need to do to stay and where do I need to go if I have to get legal status to stay here, and what do I need to show, and what do I say, do I say we just got married , working on Sponsor and PR papers and show them those papers. or what? My Fiance does he have to write that he will be supporting me fiancially or husband since we may go ahead and marry while I am here. As I am wooried , and don\'t want to be have to be sent home.. some well needed advice is needed.. Please help!

If you had some special plans to marry in Feb, just keep them. The FBI background check will take at around 12 to 15 weeks to get back anyway and you must send that in with the application for Permanent residence. My advice is to take it slow doing the apps. I know all about the desire to just get them out! Don\'t slack, but don\'t rush through them. You have to be meticulous! One mistake can cost you lots of time, money, and sanity. You have plenty of time so just slow down and take the applications one day at a time.

Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help answer some of your questions.

-FBI must me mailed away for, and will take around 12 weeks to get back so that gives you 12 weeks to marry and work on your apps. Make 12 weeks your current goal for those things and DONT RUSH through the paperwork! Also once you have it it is good for 6 months

-Medicals are usually pretty easy to get whenever you need them and they are good for a year.

-you automatically have 6 month to stay in Canada when you enter unless they stamped your passport with a time limit. look in your passport. if they did not indicate a date you must leave then as of now you are golden for 6 months whether you get married or not. Also, it does not matter that you told the border guard that you were only staying for a couple of weeks.

- getting married has no bearing on your visitor status. When you get married this, or next month, you dont have to take any measures for changing your visiting status simply because you are married

- 6 months to the day from when you entered Canada is when your visit expires. you must have applied for an extension before then. The rule of thumb and what CIC stresses is for you to send in you application for extension 30 days before the day your stay expires. So do that. therefor, 5 months from now is when you will by applying for an extension.

- when it comes time to apply for an extension, depending on your situation, the reason you will specify that you want to extend your stay will vary. I imagine these would be the most likely situations you will be in at that time:
- You are married and have already submitted your application for PR: In this scenario you will state that you are extending you visitor status because you have submitted an application for permanent residence and would like to remain with your husband while awaiting a decision.
- You are married and have not yet submitted your application for PR: Tell them that you are preparing your application for permanent residence and that you wish to remain with your husband while preparing the application and while awaiting a decision once the application is submitted. (also in the scenario it is a good idea to pay all the immigration application fees ahead of time and send in COPIES of the receipts to prove that you truly intend to file for permanent residency. I stress that you do NOT send in original receipts even if you just pay online and print them out at home because i made that mistake and it has cost me tons of time and some money)

- when specifying how long you want your extension for, ask for one year. That is the limit to how long you can ask for.

-People in this kind of situation are usually approved without a problem. BUT even if on the slight chance the extension is denied, keep in mind that you can then apply for a restoration. Extensions and restorations each take months and months to come back and while awaiting a decision on them you have \"implied status\". So even if you have been here for more than 6 months, as long as they are working on your extension or restoration application you can still legally be here until they make a decision. I am on implied status right now. My last extension expired Dec 1. I mailed in my extension mid November. I haven\'t heard anything yet. So I sit here on implied status and its completely legit and legal.

- you do not need to go anywhere in order to apply for an extension. Simply print the application, pay the fees, gather your supporting documents, and mail it in. all the information you need is right here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information...isitor.asp .

-the application will ask how you are supporting yourself. It will ask how much money you have available to you and you may specify that your husband is supporting you. including proof of his income and a letter from his swearing to support you helps. This is what I have always done. I have been approved even what I stated that I have 0 dollars to my name. As long as he is supporting you its ok.

So for now, please try TRY to relax a little. Understand that you have a lot of paperwork ahead of you and that you have time to work on it. Take your time, go through it slowly with a fine tooth comb. Ask any questions you must ask here and search previous posts as well. I can guarantee just about any question you have has been asked a bunch of times already. For now try to enjoy your time with your love. You are about to get married and you have plenty of time ahead of you when you know youll be together. ENJOY IT!

At the same time don\'t feel bad about being scared or anxious. We all are. lol we know how you feel! This has been the most trying time of my life. I simply can not WAIT until its over!!

I just rated this thread 5 stars. I am a Canadian citizen marrying a US citizen in September, 2011. She is going to come live with me (right now she is teaching English overseas). We have not taken any steps so far.

ALL this is new to me... medical records, FBI background checks and extensions.
Please keep this thread alive. I will come back to revisit it after I look for answers in other threads.