Hi
My husband's passport was not stamped on entry to Canada from U.S. he was just waved through.
We have sent our application into Mississauga but haven't heard anything as yet because it's only been 3 weeks or so.
How would we get an extension on his visit and when should he worry about getting one. If they don't stamp your passport when arriving in Canada do they even know your here.
Thanks
Bunny
A status extension application has to be received by CIC
prior to the expiration of the status the person received on entry - but, if your husband's passport wasn't stamped on entry, he probably doesn't have sufficient proof of his entry date. He might be able to get away with "proving" when he entered with an airline ticket stub/itinerary or something, but personally I think they routinely avoid stamping passports for US citizens on purpose - to make it harder for them/us to apply to extend status without having to leave. Right now they don't know he's still in Canada - because they don't track departures - but if you wait and file an extension application when he's been here almost 6 months, and then they
don't accept his "proof of entry", they'll send him a letter telling him he has to go to the border to extend. That puts him at a huge disadvantage because then he'll be "in the system" as having been in Canada all this time - and they'd likely refuse his re-entry.
The alternative is for you to get him extended status before it comes to that. What you need to do is read through the information on the
US2Canada website about how YOU get your husband a Visitor Record. Then the two of you take a trip to the States for a week or so, and then re-enter Canada together. You talk to Immigration on his behalf, asking for permission for him to stay with you while you wait for his PR ap to be finalized. Because you'll be coming in from the States, they'll assume he's been there - and they won't care how long you've been there - so there won't be questions about how much time he's spent in Canada already, and you won't bring that up. Just keep it simple - requesting to get him documented status so he can wait with you. You'll need proof of your legal marriage, proof that you have a PR application in process (either a copy of the fees receipt or your letter from CPC-Mississauga showing you've been approved to sponsor), and proof that you have funds available for his support so that he won't work illegally. A Visitor Record will give him legal status to stay for a specific period of time, and it's the documentation he needs to apply from within Canada to extend if his PR isn't granted by the time it's due to expire.
Simply writing down the date and port of entry is generally sufficient.
I had no issues extending my stay without a entry stamp, these stamps are less and less common these days and immigration knows this.
I would not sweat not having the entry stamp and apply around the 4 month mark to ensure sufficient time.
Just because you dont have a stamp in the passport does not mean they didn't record the entry, and if you arrived by commercial carrier its unlikely they did not record the entry.
Thought I landed before then, generally if you have your original ticket from entry, or if you remember your entry date, that will suffice. I had my original ferry ticket with date and time of departure, and from what I understand, that would have been all right. This is true if you went through a traditional point-of-entry, when they enter your information onto a computer, which is what happened the first time I entered Canada.
Concurring with AWA1979 -- For example, in an application to extend my stay last year I simply entered the date I last entered Canada, and I did not submit any documentation to corroborate it.
I had been referred to secondary (as usual) but was given no documentation, no stamp, no VR. And I did get the extension.
While I assume the last entry into the country was recorded in their system, I am not sure that is critical.
I guess this is one of those things that if they are looking for an excuse to refuse the extension, or if they have some reason to suspect the applicant has been in the country longer than they say and is not eligible for an "extension" of status, they might cite the lack of corroborating documentation as a reason to refuse. It is my impression that CIC seems fairly lenient toward most Americans, particularly those staying with their Canadian partner and who have a PR app in process, recognizing, however, there are exceptions.
RobsLuv Wrote:A status extension application has to be received by CIC prior to the expiration of the status the person received on entry - but, if your husband's passport wasn't stamped on entry, he probably doesn't have sufficient proof of his entry date. He might be able to get away with "proving" when he entered with an airline ticket stub/itinerary or something, but personally I think they routinely avoid stamping passports for US citizens on purpose - to make it harder for them/us to apply to extend status without having to leave. Right now they don't know he's still in Canada - because they don't track departures - but if you wait and file an extension application when he's been here almost 6 months, and then they don't accept his "proof of entry", they'll send him a letter telling him he has to go to the border to extend. That puts him at a huge disadvantage because then he'll be "in the system" as having been in Canada all this time - and they'd likely refuse his re-entry.
The alternative is for you to get him extended status before it comes to that. What you need to do is read through the information on the US2Canada website about how YOU get your husband a Visitor Record. Then the two of you take a trip to the States for a week or so, and then re-enter Canada together. You talk to Immigration on his behalf, asking for permission for him to stay with you while you wait for his PR ap to be finalized. Because you'll be coming in from the States, they'll assume he's been there - and they won't care how long you've been there - so there won't be questions about how much time he's spent in Canada already, and you won't bring that up. Just keep it simple - requesting to get him documented status so he can wait with you. You'll need proof of your legal marriage, proof that you have a PR application in process (either a copy of the fees receipt or your letter from CPC-Mississauga showing you've been approved to sponsor), and proof that you have funds available for his support so that he won't work illegally. A Visitor Record will give him legal status to stay for a specific period of time, and it's the documentation he needs to apply from within Canada to extend if his PR isn't granted by the time it's due to expire.
Hey RobsLuv, great response. I am in the same exact situation as the poster of this topic-
I am currently visiting my wife here in Montreal (we just got married here in Canada about a month ago). We are just starting the paperwork for immigration- and are both leaving soon for a 2 weeks visit to my hometown in California. (Just before my current 6 months visit is up here in Canada- I have a stamp in my passport since my last entry in March from Cancun).
My plan is for us to pick up my car that is in storage and drive it across country back into Montreal so we can be together waiting out the rest of our Outland visa process.
Upon arriving back into the Canadian border, I will bring: proof of car insurance, registration, passport, driver's license, proof of immigration application, wedding certificate, bank account statement/proof of funds.
Is there anything I am missing?
I'm hoping everything will be smooth- I'm a bit worried as I will have my car and I'm thinking they will give me more pressure as it seems I am already "moving" into Canada.
I was also hoping to bring back my computer screen from my storage... you think that will complicate things further?
Thanks!
Americans married to Canadians are routinely allowed into Canada pending their PR app so long as they approach the POE prepared (sounds like you will be) and with the appropriate intent (or "attitude" one might say), and so long as they are otherwise problem free (meaning no admissibility issues, no prior immigration problems, no hints of deceptiveness or evasiveness, for the present as well as in past dealings with immigration). This is not to say everyone finds it easy. Some do encounter problems. My impression, though, is that most (meeting the appropriate criteria) do not run into problems, though they are often referred to secondary and examined fairly closely and fairly often given a visitor's record.
You should be okay if your partner is with you, and you know you will still just be "visiting" and you are not packed as if to be making a major move, and you project your understanding that you are just visiting even though you will "move" to Canada to stay if and when you are granted PR.
As for particular items (like computer stuff, perhaps work 'tools" or such) causing more scrutiny or skepticism leading to problems, that is very difficult to predict. Different CBSA officers will approach your situation differently. Some can be tougher than others. Some more accommodating.
And it always depends on the totality of circumstances, the officers' impressions. I really believe that the more you seem to be on the "up and up" the better things go . . . not always, especially if you have issues, but usually.
As for things triggering negative reactions: I was in secondary once when one of the CBSA officers who was searching my car came running in to inform the officer handling me that they found cheque book showing that I had a Canadian chequeing account with a Canadian address, but the woman I was dealing with shrugged that off, perhaps because she could see in my file notes that more than five years previous while in secondary I had actually referred to that account and the funds I had in it as proof of sufficient funds to support myself while in Canada, and had on many occasions acknowledged that I maintained a secondary residence in Canada. I am sure that the CBSA officer who found the cheque book (which was foolish of me to leave in a conspicuous place, since I knew things like that might trigger a negative reaction -- but I had been rushing) thought he had found the smoking gun proving that I was really "living" in Canada (even though he found it right next to my American checkbook which by that logic should prove I was really living in the States). Again, how they will react to particular things is very difficult to predict.