Canadian Citizen Marrying Illegal in USA

[rrainbowsix]

Hello, my girlfriend and I have been seeing each other for the last 5 yrs. I am a Canadian citizen. She went to the USA from Grenada for a visit but never went back after hurricane Ivan almost destroyed the island.

We've been thinking about marriage lately and want to know what would be the best course of action to get her to Canada. We are planning to get married in the US next year. After marriage, can we apply for her to come to Canada even though she is not in her home country and currently illegally living in the US? As well, after putting the paperwork through, will she need to go back to Grenada before coming to Canada or once the papers are through, can she come to Canada directly from the US? Much appreciated!

[PMM]

Hi

Hello, my girlfriend and I have been seeing each other for the last 5 yrs. I am a Canadian citizen. She went to the USA from Grenada for a visit but never went back after hurricane Ivan almost destroyed the island.

We've been thinking about marriage lately and want to know what would be the best course of action to get her to Canada. We are planning to get married in the US next year. After marriage, can we apply for her to come to Canada even though she is not in her home country and currently illegally living in the US? As well, after putting the paperwork through, will she need to go back to Grenada before coming to Canada or once the papers are through, can she come to Canada directly from the US? Much appreciated!

If her original admission to the US was less than 12 months (probably as most visitors get 3/6 months) then her application can not be send to Buffalo, but will have to be processed through Port of Spain.  It is quite probable that she will have to return to Grenada.

PMM

[rrainbowsix]

Thanks for the info! My next question is, when will she have to return to Grenada? At the beginning of the process of getting the paperwork to Immigration Canada (paid fees etc) or will it be once she has been approved for sponsorship? i.e. can she remain in the US and have the paperwork mailed from Port of Spain to the US, have the physical etc while in the US and then send them back to Port of Spain for processing? Thanks!

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks for the info! My next question is, when will she have to return to Grenada? At the beginning of the process of getting the paperwork to Immigration Canada (paid fees etc) or will it be once she has been approved for sponsorship? i.e. can she remain in the US and have the paperwork mailed from Port of Spain to the US, have the physical etc while in the US and then send them back to Port of Spain for processing? Thanks!

The problem will be that she needs a mailing address within the area covered by Port of Spain.  Note if an interview is required it would be in Grenada.  If you can arrange the mailing address, then fine.

PMM

[rrainbowsix]

Thanks again. Regarding the mailing address, she has family in Grenada that can mail any documents to her in the US so she could sign and send back to Port of Spain. Would that be acceptable? Also, what exactly do you mean "arrange the address"?

Regarding the interview, is it fair to say that it would be requested late in the process of the paperwork going through?! Thanks.

[rgvinson777]

According to CIC, her permanent residence is somewhere in Grenada.  She needs  be able to receive mail from Immigration at an address in Grenada.  Look at the timeline for immigrating from Grenada on the CIC website.  The interview could be called for at any time after her application is sent to the visa office that handles applications from Grenada.  I would imagine that once she receives an interview date from the Consulate there, she would have time to catch a flight and make her interview on time.  It is going to be very important that you send all relative documents in with your application because if they have to request documents you may be hard pressed to promptly round them up with all of the time required for sending and receiving mail that could be involved.

Best Wishes!!!

[rrainbowsix]

Thanks for the help! This site is awesome!

Correct me if I'm but so far what I taken from the above advise is – once we're married, apply for Sponsorship once I'm back in Canada – she can remain in the US but since she is not legal, she needs to apply using her permanent address in Grenada – she can get her physical done while in the US but since her permanent residence is in Grenada, her Criminal check can be done in Grenada - provided we have included all the necessary paperwork, she will not be required to leave the US until an interview is called – once all of the paperwork is through, it's just a matter of waiting for approval – the process could take anywhere from 5 to 14 months. Please correct me if I'm wrong or missed anything. Thanks.

A second option we were looking at is whether she can simply return to Grenada before we get married and apply for a visitor's Visa to Canada – once she is in Canada, apply for In-Canada Sponsorship. Now since she overstayed her Visa for the US, will that have an impact on whether the Canada Embassy will grant her a Canadian Visa?! Thanks!

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks for the help! This site is awesome!

Correct me if I'm but so far what I taken from the above advise is – once we're married, apply for Sponsorship once I'm back in Canada – she can remain in the US but since she is not legal, she needs to apply using her permanent address in Grenada – she can get her physical done while in the US but since her permanent residence is in Grenada, her Criminal check can be done in Grenada - provided we have included all the necessary paperwork, she will not be required to leave the US until an interview is called – once all of the paperwork is through, it's just a matter of waiting for approval – the process could take anywhere from 5 to 14 months. Please correct me if I'm wrong or missed anything. Thanks.

A second option we were looking at is whether she can simply return to Grenada before we get married and apply for a visitor's Visa to Canada – once she is in Canada, apply for In-Canada Sponsorship. Now since she overstayed her Visa for the US, will that have an impact on whether the Canada Embassy will grant her a Canadian Visa?! Thanks!

1.  She will also need an FBI certificate for the US.
2.  The chance of getting a TRV for Canada, are somewhere between slim and none as her intention is to remain permanently in Canada and she resided resided illegally in the US, so Canada is not going to issue a TRV.

PMM

[rrainbowsix]

Thanks PMM! It's good to finally know that the TRV is out of the question. It would seem that the only option is for me to sponsor her as my wife. Could her overstay in the US hamper our sponsorship case in Canada?

Regarding the FBI certificate, is it required since she has not been residing in her resident country for some time? Also, could this potentially expose her to the immigration authorities (deportation) in the US?!

[rrainbowsix]

Please advise. Thanks!

[PMM]

Hi

Please advise. Thanks!

1.  No the FBI check is for criminality and warrants, if there is no Immigration warrant issued, then there is nothing reported to Homeland Security.
2.  She also needs a police report from every country where she has resided for more than 6 months since turning 18, the included Grenada.

PMM

[rrainbowsix]

Thanks PMM. I can't begin to express how much your advice is appreciated!

Could her overstay in the US hamper our sponsorship case in Canada? Thanks.

[RobsLuv]

Thanks PMM. I can't begin to express how much your advice is appreciated!

Could her overstay in the US hamper our sponsorship case in Canada? Thanks.

Probably not - but keep in mind that the Canadian immigration application does ask whether the applicant has ever been asked to leave or has been refused entry to any country.  That said, there are a few other things I wanted to clarify.

First of all - the mailing address is not the issue . . . she can list her address in the States as her mailing address - or even your address in Canada - without issue.  The residential address is the address that CIC uses to determine which overseas visa office will process the applicant's file.  The residential address used in the application has to be an address either in the country of nationality/birth, a country in which the applicant has permanent residence, or a country to which the applicant was legally admitted for at least one year.  Since it sounds as though your future wife was born in Grenada, and not only doesn't she have permanent status in the States, but she wasn't legally admitted there for at least one year either, she will need to list a residential address in Grenada on her application.  That will send her application to the Port of Spain visa office once the sponsor's application (yours) is approved through the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga.

IF an interview is required, your wife will have to attend it at the Port of Spain visa office - and it will most likely take place sometime near the beginning of the assessment of her part of the application.  But interviews are not always required of spousal applicants - if you provide good evidence and documentation of your 5 yr long genuine relationship, it is possible the interview will be waived.  If it is, the only other "issue" with the application being processed at Port of Spain will be that she will need to get her passport to them when it's requested.  Some visa offices request the passport early on - others wait until the end of the process, once approval is made.  I would suggest that it's not advisable for her to remain in the US while her passport is overseas . . . so the time for her to return home would be once the visa office requests her passport.  Then, once she has her Confirmation of Permanent Residence she can come back to Canada and officially "land" as a Permanent Resident.

[rrainbowsix]

Awesome feedback RobsLuv! Again, I can't begin to express my gratitude to this site and to its contributors!

We are in the process of reviewing the CIC package and I'm sure we will have more questions. Now we know where to go to get them answered! Many Thanks!

[Admirable]

Was your wife called for an interview?

What is the outcome of your immigration case?