Moving to Canada while outland application is in process

[closer]

Hi guys,

Perhaps someone can help me with this question. Our application(spousal sporsorship) has been with the Buffalo Visa office since Oct 28 2009 for permanent residence approval. My wife(US green card holder) and I (Canadian Citizen) was wondering if it is ok to wait in Canada for the application to be approved since the application is already on its 5 months or so. . .

We are thinking of doing this with the hopes that her PR will be approved within 6 months.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks guys!

 

[Leon]

She can not officially move to Canada until she gets her PR but you can and she can "visit" you in Canada for up to 6 months. Even longer if she applies for an extension but your application should be approved before then.

 

[closer]

Thanks for your reply Leon,

Im thinking for her to "visit" Canada and wait for the papers here as well. I am not sure if we can ask the Buffalo Office to send it directly to my Canadian address (probably not). If the approval doesnt arrive in 6 months then she has to go back to the States temporarily. I am hoping that there wouldnt be any problems if we were to proceed this way.

But , we are hoping we can send the passport request from Canada so she does not have to go back to the states for that. Then again, Buffalo is not that far from Toronto so might as well drive her there and submit the passport directly.

She can not officially move to Canada until she gets her PR but you can and she can "visit" you in Canada for up to 6 months. Even longer if she applies for an extension but your application should be approved before then.

 

[BeShoo]

If the approval doesn't arrive in 5 months, she can apply for an extension to her stay in Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/visitor.asp She doesn't have to go back temporarily unless this is denied. I say "5 months" because they like you to apply one month in advance and they absolutely must receive the application before her 6 months expires. Quickly driving back and forth to extend the six months might work, but it would be seen as dishonest since she'd only really be "visiting" the U.S. and de facto living in Canada.

You can certainly have a Canadian mailing address for a Buffalo application. Lots of people have done that. The mailing address doesn't have to be the same as the address of her permanent residence.

One small problem is that if an interview is required, that will be in the U.S. and she'd have to cross into Canada again after the interview and potentially could be refused entry at the border.