So lost...

[shelleydalyce]

Hello...
Please help (inbox responses accepted)...
I am a Canadian citizen whose boyfriend is American. He came to the East Coast to look for work but was unable to find anything and ended up staying illegally since he could not find work. He is currently back in the States and border officers have told him that he can re-enter with a work permit (or sponsorship I assume).
I have been on the CIC website and find the information hard to comprehend.

What is the best route to take?
With the US economy in the crapper and all he has very little savings so I am unsure if there is a financial requirement...
Also have question regarding criminal convictions... if he had been convicted of a drug paraphenalia charge will this work against?

[Zhu]

If your relationship is serious, you may sponsor him. That said, if he can't cross the border in the first place, he will have to apply from the USA.

For sponsorship, there is no financial requirement on his part (other than paying the fees). As a sponsor, you must sign an agreement that you will support him for 3 years following his landing. This means that if he applies for social assistance in Canada, you will have to eventually repay it.

Now, the criminal conviction is another story. I'm not a lawyer but you should definitely check with one before starting the process. There is a criminal background check done when immigrating.

But I'm going to be honest: that plus staying illegally doesn't help his case...

[ImmEnforce]

Criminal Convictions in the US will have to be equated to Canadian Law to determine if he is Inadmissible. There are a lot of factors to consider when equating US convictions. Generally speaking possession of drug paraphernalia would not be illegal in Canada.

[Leon]

The simplest way would be to sponsor him but to qualify to sponsor him, you need to marry him or live with him for 12 months.  If you are not willing or able to do that, he could try to get in on his own.  He would need a job offer and the employer needs to apply for a labour market opinion and then he can use that to apply for a work permit.  Info about labour market opinions here: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/supperimm.shtml