arggg! i keep getting comflicting info!

[reesie07]

ok, i have talked to the immagration people  on walker rd in windsor, they told me to file to extend my stay, when i went to the border, they told me that was all wrong and i have to do something diff, but didnt say what. i am american and my bf is canadian, my mother was born in canada but adopted into the states, i have family in canada and want to be able to cross a bit more freely, and would like to live and work there eventually, but i keep getting conflicting info about what to do, so if ne1 could give advice that would be greatly appreciated, we are at a loss and now i have to Prove that i spend more time in the states then canada, but i want to spend more time in canada, should i just get a lawyer? please any advice is great advice         or should i get a visa of some sort?

[BeShoo]

There's not really enough information there, which might be part of the reason you are getting conflicting advice.

You speak of "extending your stay." How long have you been in Canada during your current stay?
It sounds like you haven't been staying in Canada, but going back and forth constantly. Each time you cross into Canada, that's a visit, and usually you can stay up to 6 months unless you're told otherwise, but these are all separate "stays."
How long have you been seeing this bf? I assume you have never lived together for a 1-year period making you common law partners.

Now if you are actually in Canada more than you are in the U.S., you may have become a sort of illegal immigrant, who is living in Canada and constantly going on visits to the U.S. Obviously, you're not allowed to do that.

If you intend to emigrate to Canada, you would need either have a certain type of job offer in Canada or to be sponsored. I suppose your mother is a Canadian citizen and she could sponsor you if she is living in Canada or can prove that she's moving there once you're approved. I'm assuming that is not a situation that applies to you.

Probably your best option to live and work in Canada is to eventually marry your bf and then have him sponsor you. This type of application is easiest and fastest (~6 to 12 months generally). Once you are married and eligible to apply you can usually get a long-term visitor permit that will allow an extended visit for 6 months or even more, but that isn't really authorization to drive back and forth. You can still expect to be hassled every time you go back and forth. There are no visitor "visas"  for U.S. citizens. What you usually get in this case is a "visitor record" that has to be surrendered at the end of your visit.

I don't think you need a lawyer. If you can supply more information, I might be able to say more.

[reesie07]

well we tried common law but we were told that we cant legally clam that bcuz i cant legally stay here for 1 yr, weve been together for a year and a half and i do go back and forth but spend most of my time there, and thats another prob, bcuz they dont want me to do that either, we had to file to extend my stay bcuz i was givn a vistor record to leave by a certain day, and so we went to walker road and they told me to do that, but since i can not legally work there yet, and until we have the money i plan to work in the states and each of us save until we can get married, which is on the agenda. and no my mother does not live in canada, only her birth family, she lost her citizenship when she was adopted into the states, but i heard that she can re-apply for her citizenship and then pass it down one generation, were going to try for that as well. but about the common law, can we do that? or is what they say true, and that doesnt apply to me?

[BeShoo]

To qualify for common law status, you have to be living together continuously for 1 year. From what you are saying, it's actually possible that you've already done that (maybe). Otherwise, there are a couple of ways that you might be able to manage it.

One possibility is that you finish your 6-month visit and on the day that finishes, your boyfriend goes for a 6-month visit to your place. That would be a total of 1 year.

The other possibility is for you to request an extension to your visitor record. This has to be done through the office in Vegreville, Alberta, not the local border crossing. It can be done by mail or online. Lots of people have given the reason that they want to be together until they qualify as common law so that they can apply for a PR and have been successful getting an extension. They ask you to apply at least a month before your visitor record expires, but as long as they receive it before the expiry date, they will process it. It's taking them about 55 days last I looked. You have implied status to remain during that 55 days, but you wouldn't be able to travel back and forth under implied status or you will lose it.

If you applied and were denied, you could use that as a basic for a "conjugal relationship" application. This is for people living as a married couple but unable to live together continuously for a year, usually because of immigration barriers. As a Canada-U.S. couple, immigration barriers are difficult to prove, but if you were to apply and got refused, you would have hard proof. Financial barriers are a remote possibility, but such a claim is not normally accepted.

As either a common law or conjugal partner, you need evidence to show that you have been living as a married couple for at least a year.

[reesie07]

thank u so much, uve given me real advice, lol. and some good news, we thought it was going to be a lot harder, i must admit. one more question though, when we get married, we apply for sponsorship, and that's 6mths-1yr, can i live there for that time, or do i wait to hear back? we have filed to extend my visitor record because that's what the gentleman at the walker rd immigration told us to, but then something had happened that i had to leave Canada b4 i got a reply, can that effect anything? sorry for so many questions, its just nice to get answers. lol. they gave me quite the run around in the summer. but i think were going to get married and do the sponsorship. it sounds the best way to go.

[BeShoo]

one more question though, when we get married, we apply for sponsorship, and that's 6mths-1yr, can i live there for that time, or do i wait to hear back?

You can't live in Canada during that time, but you can usually get permission to visit for the entire duration of the application. You still have to show that you haven't moved in yet and intend to return to the U.S. They will usually give you 6 months at first, but if everything is going well with application the first extension might be for 12 months rather than 6 months. If necessary an additional extension can be added. If you do need to return to the U.S. during this "visit" period, you have to justify everything again when you come back and it helpful if you have your partner/spouse with you when you re-enter Canada. You can't work as a visitor.

something had happened that i had to leave Canada b4 i got a reply, can that effect anything?

I'm not sure about this. As an American, if you are back in Canada now, they probably haven't really noticed. If you are still in the States, I'm not sure what will happen. I suspect that you're probably going to have to request a whole new visitor record at the border. Actually, you don't "request" it, they decide if they want to give you one. They also decide if you're going to be allowed to visit at all. Just make sure you don't lie. If they find you being dishonest, you can be denied any entry into Canada for a year or even longer.

[reesie07]

thank you so much, youve finally cleared the air for me. i think were gonna do that, do everything the rite way. and no, never lied.