Hello.
I\'m helping out a good friend of mine with his situation, as he seems a little unsure.
He lives in Canada, stable employment. Met an American girl (who lives in the US) a few months ago, they\'ve already decided they are getting married this summer. The wedding will be in the US, but they intend to live in Canada. I have a few questions:
- I assume they should submit an outland application shortly after the wedding? They would have all paperwork ready and submit immediately after having the marriage certificate in hand?
- Will CIC give them a hard time for the sponsorship considering they only knew each other for 5-6 months at the time of marriage/sponsorship?
- If they travel to Canada together and she tries to enter as a visitor (with sponsorship fee payment receipt in hand), will CBSA give her a hard time considering she is currently unemployed?
Thanks in advance for any help.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57398\' dateline=\'1303015480\ Wrote:- I assume they should submit an outland application shortly after the wedding? They would have all paperwork ready and submit immediately after having the marriage certificate in hand?
That would be the best way to do it yes.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57398\' dateline=\'1303015480\ Wrote:- Will CIC give them a hard time for the sponsorship considering they only knew each other for 5-6 months at the time of marriage/sponsorship?
If they are married and he is not disqualified as a sponsor for any reason as detailed in the sponsor questionnaire in the application, then he will qualify as a sponsor. The length of the relationship is not necessarily important so long as CIC does not detect anything fishy that may suggest that it is a marriage of convenience. A short lived relationship prior to marriage can SOMETIMES be a red flag, but as long as they send in adequate evidence of their relationship they should be fine. Pictures of them together, phone records, emails chat histories, there are a lot of ways to prove the relationship is genuine. They will also want to write out a detailed description of the evolution of the relationship and it also helps to include a statement about what the relationship means to them personally.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57398\' dateline=\'1303015480\ Wrote:- If they travel to Canada together and she tries to enter as a visitor (with sponsorship fee payment receipt in hand), will CBSA give her a hard time considering she is currently unemployed?
Crossing the border into Canada as a non resident spouse of a Canadian CAN be precarious as the border guard has reason to view the person as an overstay threat. It is a craps shoot. Most people decide to stay put if they are lucky enough to get in.(like me) Now some people seem to have no trouble going back and forth often, but as I said it is a craps shoot. Now, I will tell you that there is one way of crossing the border after marriage that gives you the BEST chance to get in. It helps to have the application already submitted. They should go to the border together, if in a car, HE should drive and do the talking unless she is DIRECTLY asked a question. They should have evidence of the marriage and evidence that a PR app has been submitted.(These should only be presented if asked for) He should tell the border guard that he is sponsoring her for permanent residence and that he would like for her to be issued a Visitor Record so that she may
VISIT <------ important word there... with him while the application processes. They should be prepared to make it clear (if these kinds of questions are asked... never do more than simply answer their questions succinctly) That they are aware that she must leave if her stay is about to expire, and that she cannot work or study. He should tell them that he will provide for her if needed. It is no guarantee that she will be allowed in, but the odds are in their favour if they go about it in this way.
We attempted having him go to the US for a day to go shopping and driving back (and we were nervous!) And the gaurd at the boarder asked to see our receipts showing PR was paid for - looked him up on the system and found him (because he saw his DOB and mentioned it), and asked for a copy of the FBI receipt that we had to show we were doing it legit. He also asked what I did for a living and how much I made . He waved us in ... which has still left us a little confused because he has a visitor visa extension request still processing and we dont know which to go by ;)
But as Rene said... no one can tell you for sure what your experience is. But, if you go with your spouse and have your paperwork with you, and the canadian does the talking saying (I sponsored him/her for permanent residence and she\'d like to visit during the process) I dont think you will have any problem.
Hello, and thanks for your replies. They\'ve had a change in their plans, and was hoping for feedback on the new plan:
- She intends on entering Canada as a regular visitor, having a \"court wedding\", then submitting the application. The reason they are having the wedding here, is because they are concerned about her being denied entry to visit Canada after being married while the sponsorship is in progress - since she is unemployed. If she enters without asking for a visitor record, is it still possible to apply for an extension of status after the sponsorship application is submitted?
- Is there a concern of CIC denying their application on the basis that they had in fact planned the wedding prior to her entering as a visitor? Would this be further prejudiced if they also had a \"cultural wedding\" along with the \"court wedding\"?
- What is more accurate for a US outland application - the 6-8 months mentioned on these forums or the 11 months mentioned on CIC\'s website for Buffalo?
Thanks in advance for any help.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57701\' dateline=\'1304458208\ Wrote:- She intends on entering Canada as a regular visitor, having a \\\"court wedding\\\", then submitting the application.
good plan.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57701\' dateline=\'1304458208\ Wrote:The reason they are having the wedding here, is because they are concerned about her being denied entry to visit Canada after being married while the sponsorship is in progress - since she is unemployed.
It is not terribly likely that she would be denied entry after being married and with the application already in process, but if it were me, knowing what I know now, then I would do it the way they are now planning (going to Canada as a visitor, marrying, and applying from within and keeping visitor status valid..)
\'bilo\' pid=\'57701\' dateline=\'1304458208\ Wrote:If she enters without asking for a visitor record, is it still possible to apply for an extension of status after the sponsorship application is submitted?
Yes. I, myself entered without a VR and without them stamping my passport and have had no trouble extending my stay, before AND after I submitted our application. Sometimes people run into problems if their passport does not get stamped (which is very often especially if traveling by car) but I did not, so I guess that is kind of a wild card there. I would still do what they are planning and if any issues pop up they can deal with them as they come.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57701\' dateline=\'1304458208\ Wrote:- Is there a concern of CIC denying their application on the basis that they had in fact planned the wedding prior to her entering as a visitor? Would this be further prejudiced if they also had a \\\"cultural wedding\\\" along with the \\\"court wedding\\\"?
No. There is no reason why she should have to mention that she is getting married at the port of entry unless she is specifically asked. She is coming to Canada to visit and if she is getting married on that visit then that is her business, so you don\'t have to worry about them coming after her with questions about why she didn\'t disclose the wedding plans upon entry or anything. Also they can have any kind of wedding they want. Cultural, big or small, civil, it doesn\'t matter as long as it is legally recognized.
\'bilo\' pid=\'57701\' dateline=\'1304458208\ Wrote:- What is more accurate for a US outland application - the 6-8 months mentioned on these forums or the 11 months mentioned on CIC\\\'s website for Buffalo?
It can fluctuate wildly. for the second part of last year it seemed like a lot of applications were going through in 2 months in some cases, and many others in around 3 to 4 months. there were still others waiting for much longer as well but there did seem to be a trend for a while. Lately it seems to hovering closer to around 6 to 8 months. ya never really know.