Permanent resident application through common-law sponsorship

[kylie1616]

Hi everyone,

I (American citizen) moved to Canada with my fiance(he is a Canadian citizen) in February, applied for a visitor visa & was granted stay till October 10th,2022. Before this date came, we applied together for my fiance to sponsor me through our common-law relationship for permanent residency. We applied through the outland family class option because we were suppose to be traveling this winter to the states. However that wound up not happening, so we are both still here in Canada. I recently realized that I am not granted implied status while my PR application is processing and should have applied for the inland one instead along with the OWP... Does anyone know what I can do to reclaim my legal status ????? In need of some quick answers! Thank you so much)

 

[scylla]

Hi everyone,

I (American citizen) moved to Canada with my fiance(he is a Canadian citizen) in February, applied for a visitor visa & was granted stay till October 10th,2022. Before this date came, we applied together for my fiance to sponsor me through our common-law relationship for permanent residency. We applied through the outland family class option because we were suppose to be traveling this winter to the states. However that wound up not happening, so we are both still here in Canada. I recently realized that I am not granted implied status while my PR application is processing and should have applied for the inland one instead along with the OWP... Does anyone know what I can do to reclaim my legal status ????? In need of some quick answers! Thank you so much)

You need to apply to restore your status. Do that as soon as you can. You only have 90 days to do this from October 10th and have already burned through six weeks of this time. You should have applied for an extension to your stay when you decided you were going to stay beyond October 10th.

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1250

It's important to keep your status in Canada legal and to be aware of immigration rules / laws.

Note that approval of restoration is never guaranteed however it's likely to be approved in your case.

 

[kylie1616]

Thank you so much for the reply. What do I apply to restore my status as ??

 

[scylla]

Thank you so much for the reply. What do I apply to restore my status as ??

Visitor. You are only allowed to be here as a visitor at this time.

 

[kylie1616]

Okay thanks! I’ve been here for 9 months as a visitor already..Will they potentially allow me to stay longer as a visitor ?

 

[kylie1616]

And also would I then be able to leave for a week or two to visit family in the us for Christmas ? Or would I have to stay here

 

[scylla]

Okay thanks! I’ve been here for 9 months as a visitor already..Will they potentially allow me to stay longer as a visitor ?

I can't answer that question. It's really up to them.

 

[scylla]

And also would I then be able to leave for a week or two to visit family in the us for Christmas ? Or would I have to stay here

Once you leave Canada, this effectively cancels the restoration or any extension you've been granted. When you re-enter Canada, you are assessed by CBSA as a visitor again and CBSA determines if and how long you are allowed to enter Canada. The fact you've overstayed could create complexities or it might not. Really hard to say. If you want to play it super safe and make sure you have issues returning to Canada, then don't leave. If you leave, there's always some chance you may have issues re-entering.

 

[Ponga]

Agree with @scylla that had you not lost your status, you could have likely crossed the border and returned, showing that you have an Outland application submitted, but...that may not be your best option now. It would, in essence, `reset the clock', but could also end with being refused entry.

Just curious though about your Common-Law status. You said that you `moved to Canada' in Feb 2022 (you haven't legally moved here yet, just visiting), but did you provide solid evidence that you had lived together (anywhere) for at least 365 consecutive days before applying?

Please say YES.

 

[kylie1616]

Hi thanks for the reply. Yes I provided solid evidence . We have been living together since September of 2021.

 

[Ponga]

Hi thanks for the reply. Yes I provided solid evidence . We have been living together since September of 2021.

*whew*

 

[kylie1616]

I just realized something I forgot to add. When I first got to the border in Canada, I was only granted 2 months to stay here. So then I applied to extend my stay and was granted till October 10th. Will I be able to apply for an extended visitor stay again?..

 

[scylla]

I just realized something I forgot to add. When I first got to the border in Canada, I was only granted 2 months to stay here. So then I applied to extend my stay and was granted till October 10th. Will I be able to apply for an extended visitor stay again?..

Yes, you can request a further extension as part of the restoration. Whether IRCC grants this extension is of course entirely up to them.

 

[Ponga]

What about this:

Contact CBSA (1-800-461-9999) and explain the situation (anonymously) and share that you submitted the Outland spousal sponsorship application and need to restore your status. Ask them what the typical protocol would be if you were to leave (to visit family during Christmas for a couple of weeks) and seek re-entry afterwards. Since you are a U.S. citizen, you may `sort of' fall through the cracks in terms of CBSA knowing when you may not have left Canada. Up until 2019, U.S. citizen's exit records were not captured (apparently) at a land crossing and 2020 by air. This could mean that when you return to Canada, the officer may not actually know that you overstayed. Obviously if asked, you would have no choice but to answer truthfully.

I have seen more than one U.S. citizen in your situation here have no problem returning, but...who am I.

 

[kylie1616]

Thank you for all the reply’s! I have another question.
So since my visitor visa already expired on October 10th, after I apply for another extension this week, will that give me implied status while I am currently still here in Canada and waiting for them to respond?
It took 7 months to hear back from them the first time about my visitor extension.