Would we have to start over?

[JuliaJ]

Hello All,

Applied last week, - a little background info. I am American, my common law partner of four years is Canadian, he has been staying with me as a visitor for the past year in the USA.
If he goes to visit Canada, and the USA denies him entry when he returns....we would be separated. I cannot leave the USA right now due to my job and a family situation.

We applied as common law partners, would we have to re submit the whole package as conjugal partners??

He wants to visit home but I am afraid that they might give him a hard time at the border as they have before. He has NEVER overstayed his visitors visa, but they don't seem to like him visiting so much and for such long periods of time.

If anyone knows the answer to this question I would greatly appreciate it..thanks so much, and good luck to everyone. 

[missmini]

for sure NO...u need to be common-law at the moment when u apply, if u r separated afterwards it's ok (mostly because the sponsor might first go to Canada and then start the sponsorship)

read OP-02 manual, section 5.36: How can someone in Canada sponsor a common-law partner from outside Canada when the definition says “is cohabiting”?

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/index.asp

actually the whole section 5 is full of info and guidelines

now, during the process, gather proofs like how u communicate with each other even far away, how u keep in touch, gifts for each other, the periods u did live together, trips u take together or visits, how he prepares ur arrival to Canada (the home, furniture for ur home, etc), in case he is denied entry back in US have proof of that

relax, u have nothing to worry!! the most important is that u were common-law for at least 1 year prior to sending the application...

good luck to u too

[RobsLuv]

Read through the information about common-law qualification in Sections 5.34 - 5.36 (especially 5.36) and of the OP2 Processing Manual.  It states that once the qualification period has been reached, short periods of separation are permissible - as long as the intention is to resume the cohabitation as soon as possible.  Being separated during the entire process, though, even because of him being refused re-entry to the States, might throw a monkey wrench into things for you.  The longer you are apart, the harder it is for officers to be sure you actually intend to continue the relationship once you arrive in Canada.  So I don't really agree with missmini when she says, "Don't worry".

I had an opposite problem - even though we are married, I knew that if I left Canada to visit my family at home in the States, I would be refused re-entry to Canada.  In our case it wasn't about how that would ultimately affect the processing of our application - because our marriage was what made me eligible to be sponsored - but I still made the very hard decision NOT to leave because we didn't want to risk being separated.  You have that - but you also have the added concern that a separation could affect your qualification.  My advice: he should stay put and stay under the radar.  It is very likely that he won't be allowed back into the States if he has been "visiting" frequently and for long duration - in fact, living with you - and they have already harassed him about it.  He could even end up being banned from visiting the US for a period of 10 years!  Also, conjugal partner applications do not usually "fly" between US/Canada couples.  Even if he was banned from the USA, as long as you were not prevented from entering Canada to live with him, you'd be expected to meet and maintain the co-habitation requirement, or get married, in order to qualify to immigrate.  Conjugal sponsorships are intended to waive the cohabitation requirement when a couple cannot marry or cohabitate due to fear of persecution because of their relationship, or because they are prevented from marrying (like a same-sex couple who cannot marry in the foreign national's country because it's not legal, and the FN cannot get a visa to enter Canada to get married here).  There are no immigration barriers (to speak of) between the US and Canada, and there is nothing prohibiting you from marrying - so you'd be expected to do that if you could no longer meet the cohabitation requirement.

[missmini]

for sure RobsLuv is right and far more experienced than most of the rest here...if it's possible to avoid being in this situation (risking the fact that he cannot re-enter in US) better avoid it...if not maybe if he shows proof of his application to sponsor u at the border it would b easier to cross - like this the officer would know that he stays just temporary until ur pr is granted (just an idea, i don't know how they actually see things)

i still believe that as long as the separation is temporary and you show that, it should b ok; what happens for a common-law sponsor outside Ca who is rejected for the grounds that they don't believe s/he will re-settle to Ca? s/he has to move back and start the sponsorship again and they would probably be separated for a good period, but temporary until the application is accepted; i never read of this situation but going through their manuals, it could happen; my situation is similar with what i said: if they don't believe i would re-settle and i have to move back and start all over we would b separated cuz i would loose my residency here and after i need visa to travel (which is just for a very short period) and he could not visit me there (i doubt he would get tourist visa with PR in process); but i prepare well and hope we won't b in that situation

as for conjugal, yes it is hard to prove and yes for Canadian/American couples it's even harder (no immigration restrictions overall, etc) but nothing is impossible...there's a Canadian/American couple who did succeed (search for threads from AllisonVSC) and others too...still the percentage is small, and if it's possible to avoid that route, better avoid it

good luck!

[tink23]

I know of a couple who lived together in Dominican Republic for 18 months and applied as common law once the spouse returned to Canada. They met the requirements. She went back to Canada to reestablish her life there so she would be able to support her husband when he got his PR to Canada. There were no problems in their application. They didn´t even have an interview, despite the fact that they weren´t living common law once the application was filed. As long as you prove your relationship and continued contact, and show some kind of proof that you will be living with him, etc, once getting PR in Canada there shouldn´t be a problem (particularly because you´re from the US. DR is a developing country and would therefore have more red flags than the US and there still wasnt a problem for that couple).

[rjessome]

Read through the information about common-law qualification in Sections 5.34 - 5.36 (especially 5.36) and of the OP2 Processing Manual.  It states that once the qualification period has been reached, short periods of separation are permissible - as long as the intention is to resume the cohabitation as soon as possible.  Being separated during the entire process, though, even because of him being refused re-entry to the States, might throw a monkey wrench into things for you.  The longer you are apart, the harder it is for officers to be sure you actually intend to continue the relationship once you arrive in Canada.  So I don't really agree with missmini when she says, "Don't worry".

I actually do agree with missmini.  The criteria is that the couple be in a common-law relationship as defined by the Act as of the date of the application.  If a couple must separate during processing, especially due to an immigration bar, this would not reflect negatively against them.