im living in the USA for almost seven years now. I entered the country legally on a visitor’s visa and over stayed my time for over six years. I recently got married to a Canadian citizen and she is getting ready to file for me. However, I had a recent court issue with an estranged girl friend which is currently over and I was guaranteed it will not show up in my record. It was a menacing charge. I was not arrested. After that case was over , I was told that a warrant was pending for some issue two years back with my former wife. I’m currently at the end of this issue and I was told again it was another menace in which my ex wife claimed I roughed her up but refused to press charges. My lawyer said both cases were seen out of jealousy for my current wife in that my exes were trying to interrupt the sponsorship. My question is, is their any blockage that I would face when my wife files for me? I was not convicted of either charges . Would I have to return to my homeland when it’s time for an interview? Do I need to travel to my homeland for the the sponsorship to process? Please help.
Urgent help needed
- Thread starter Henry6cube
- Start date
Although I have no knowledge about your court case, but I am pretty sure that there will be an interview ahead for you, due to your immigration history. And once the CIC calls upon your interview, you have to go back to the VO in your country of origin, or a designated VO, if your country of origin doesn't have VOs do the immigration interview.
If you have proofs to show CIC that you were legally resided in US for over a year, before you were out of status, the CIC might process your case with others from US, which means you can remain in US or even be interviewed in US, but it is CIC's discretion, and again upon your immigration history, the chance is very, very slim.
Thanks for your timely response. Does proof include the stamp in my passport that shows I have legally entered the US?
Sure, that is part of it. But you have to have other proofs to show CIC that you were legally resided in US for over 12 months, which typically is not for the B1/B2 visa. 180 days is the max. for visitors (B1/B2 Visa Holders) that can legally stay in US, unless you filed extension or adjust your status to other Visa, such as F1, H1-b and etc.
But as I said, even you can prove that you were legally remained in US for over 12 months, before you were out of status, there isn't any guarantee that your case will be processed as other US applicants, and to be honest, most likely, CIC will transfer your case to the VOs of your country of origin.
Several important notes:
- If there are any outstanding or pending warrants or criminal charges that haven't been addressed, you'll likely be deemed inadmissible and won't be able to immigrate to Canada at this time. Even if nothing is outstanding or pending, depending on how the charges were dealt with, you may still be inadmissible to Canada. Based on the information you've provided, it's not possible to say if this will be an issue or not.
- Even though you entered the US legally, your sponsorship application will most likely be processed through the visa office in your home country (CIC decides where processing happens, not you). If the application is processed through your home country and an interview is required, the interview will be held in your home country and you will be required to attend in person.
- You should be expecting longer processing times and an interview based on your status in the US. Since you've been out of status for so long, CIC will most likely want to look into your application in more detail to ensure the relationship is genuine.
- As soon as you leave the US you will be automatically banned from re-entering for 10 years. Getting Canadian PR or even citizenship won't change this. You still won't be able to re-enter for a full 10 years after leaving. Make sure you're OK with that before moving forward.
- Make sure you are 100% honest about your immigration history and status in the US in your sponsorship application.
- If there are any outstanding or pending warrants or criminal charges that haven't been addressed, you'll likely be deemed inadmissible and won't be able to immigrate to Canada at this time. Even if nothing is outstanding or pending, depending on how the charges were dealt with, you may still be inadmissible to Canada. Based on the information you've provided, it's not possible to say if this will be an issue or not.
- Even though you entered the US legally, your sponsorship application will most likely be processed through the visa office in your home country (CIC decides where processing happens, not you). If the application is processed through your home country and an interview is required, the interview will be held in your home country and you will be required to attend in person.
- You should be expecting longer processing times and an interview based on your status in the US. Since you've been out of status for so long, CIC will most likely want to look into your application in more detail to ensure the relationship is genuine.
- As soon as you leave the US you will be automatically banned from re-entering for 10 years. Getting Canadian PR or even citizenship won't change this. You still won't be able to re-enter for a full 10 years after leaving. Make sure you're OK with that before moving forward.
- Make sure you are 100% honest about your immigration history and status in the US in your sponsorship application.
Similar threads
