A few questions

[emmisocks]

Hi! I've got a few questions on outland sponsorship and what to expect. Before I ask any, here's our situation. My fiance and I have been together for almost 2 years now. We're getting married next month just before our 2 year anniversary. He's Canadian and I'm from the US. We're getting married in the states. We both really want to start the sponsorship paperwork process as soon as possible, but we're worried about various things. I desperately want to return to Canada with him after we're married, but I'm worried about being rejected at the border. Therefore, we settled on him going back without me and starting the process of an outland application. We want to make sure we get everything right.

1. What's the earliest we should send out all our forms after getting married?

2. I'm slightly confused on the medical stuff. Am I the only one who needs the exam? How much can I expect to pay for the exam here in the US?

3. What is adequate proof of our relationship? We've got very extensive call logs from Skype for the whole two years we've been together. I've got plane tickets from my visit, receipts for gifts we've bought each other, pictures together, paintings he's done of me, poems I've written for him, letters to one another, extra wedding invitations. Will we need more?

4. Will it seem odd to not include our chat logs? We both feel they're very private.

I'm sure there are more questions, but I can't think of them at the moment. Both of us just really want to do this right. We'd be devastated if we couldn't live together. I thought asking some questions from people with experience with the process might help us get through this.

 

[amikety]

1) As soon as its ready.

2) Your husband won't need an exam. You do and your kids, if you have any. I'm not sure but it's cheaper in Canada.

3) Send what you are comfortable with. You need to paint the picture of a genuine relationship not givd them your life story

4) You can send a sample of chats or chat logs. For example I sent 1 conversation per month and a screenshot of the chat logs showing dates.

We also included some emails. Anything too personal/private was edited out. Copies of cards from Christmas/Valentines. 11 pictures. Copies of tickets from trips including flights and museums. Copy of hotel bills registered in his name but paid with my credit card.

Only send things you're comfortable with and make a positive impression. (Although my husband jokes the fights are ironclad proof.)

 

[emmisocks]

Thanks so much! I do have a couple more while we're at it here. Should my medical exam be done before we send the application so we can include it with everything or does it have to be done later? And even though we settled on an outland application, we've still been trying to figure out how an inland application would work for us. We don't want to have to part again after the wedding, but for an inland app, don't you have the stay in Canada the entire time? And doesn't it take longer than the outland app?

 

[amikety]

You can do an Outland app and stay in Canada as a visitor. Just make sure you maintain legal status, either by filing extensions online or visiting the USA occasionally to reset your status (new passport stamp). Generally, Americans are allowed to stay in Canada during the process as visitors.

The medical should be done before the application is sent in. If not, it can delay your process by 2-3 months. Basically, if your visa office does most applications in a year or less (Ottawa is 13 months, most are done in 7-8 month) you do the medical before mailing the application. Some offices, like Islamabad are 26 months or more. Those offices you wait until you're summoned for the medical.

Inland app it is recommended you stay in Canada. The reason - if you're denied re-entry into Canada, your application is considered abandoned and there's hoops to jump through to fix it OR you re-apply completely. It's usually better for Americans to apply Outland, but completely up to you once you weight the pros and cons.

 

[emmisocks]

You can do an Outland app and stay in Canada as a visitor. Just make sure you maintain legal status, either by filing extensions online or visiting the USA occasionally to reset your status (new passport stamp). Generally, Americans are allowed to stay in Canada during the process as visitors.

You can do that?! I had no idea! The only reason we chose an outland app was because I have no significant ties to the US (thus why I'm moving there and he's not moving here) and I was worried they'd reject me at the border! I had no idea I could actually stay with him and get the shorter processing time as well. That sounds like the best of both worlds!

 

[amikety]

You can do that?! I had no idea! The only reason we chose an outland app was because I have no significant ties to the US (thus why I'm moving there and he's not moving here) and I was worried they'd reject me at the border! I had no idea I could actually stay with him and get the shorter processing time as well. That sounds like the best of both worlds!

It is pretty awesome - but here are the downsides - you can't work or study unless you get lucky.

Also, you must be a 'visitor.' You can't move there (pack up a moving truck) or tell immigration or border services you've moving or you live in Canada. You will be 'visiting' until you get your PR visa. You can say "we live together" in your PR application because that focuses on you and him. Anything about you and Canada has to be a temporary status until you land.

There's various recommendations to getting into Canada. You need to know how often you'll cross the border. For an idea, you can take a peek at the US Outland thread. There's a bunch of discussions about crossing the border (among other things) in that thread.

 

[emmisocks]

That would frustrate me so much, not being able to work or study. But I take it that it is possible to do one or the other somehow? Either way, it's nice to know I can at least visit him and we won't have to be apart for the entire process.

Both of us are so worried about screwing this up that we'd never dream of trying to move me there until I got a PR visa.

 

[frankinto]

My American partner visited me regularly before we applied, and he has continued to visit since we filed our application, sometimes for a couple of months at a time. If you intend to visit him periodically, make sure you carry with you documents showing that you actually live in the U.S. In our case, they used to ask for a proof that he bought travel health insurance for the trip and that he had financial resources, and would tell him how long he was allowed to stay. But that depends on the immigration officer.

The medical is more expensive in the U.S. My partner had it done for about $400, but we had been quoted about $250 in Canada. You can have it done in either country, provided you use an approved physician.

 

[amikety]

Well, you can look for work. If you need a work permit with a LMO, it will be very hard to get. There aren't a lot of LMO jobs available and there can be thousands of applicants for one job. An employer for a LMO would probably be reluctant to hire you because in less than a year, you would have the PR visa and be free to find better work.

On the other hand, you could try to convince an employer you want to work for to get a LMO or if you fall under NAFTA, you may be allowed a work permit without a LMO, making hiring you much easier.

http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/nafta-alena/index.aspx?view=d
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-business.asp

The job market, of course, depends on where you live and your talents/experience/education. Just as a brief example, in Calgary where I live, waitress/waiter/server isn't hired by a LMO pretty much ever. However, up further north in small towns, some places will give a LMO to a foreign worker with experience at waiting tables.

You can also check out Kijiji (www.kijiji.com). Go into your nearest city and jobs. Then type in "LMO" or "TFW." You'll probably see a lot more people begging for a job than people hiring. Do it several times over a month to get an idea of how the job market is.

That being said, don't get your hopes up. I don't qualify for NAFTA and I cannot find a job anywhere. I've resorted to applying at fast food and even they aren't interested. I decided to go back to school instead and take online courses with a school in the US.

 

[emmisocks]

The medical is more expensive in the U.S. My partner had it done for about $400, but we had been quoted about $250 in Canada. You can have it done in either country, provided you use an approved physician.

This is very nice to know, thanks for this. We've been trying to figure out about how much we need to budget. If I can manage to get my exam done in Canada, I will.

The job stuff seems complicated enough that I'm almost inclined to not even worry about it and just work here in the states. It would probably be easier and we could still manage short visits every so often.

Thanks so much for your help, guys! This stuff has been driving me insane the past few weeks and I can't imagine it getting any better anytime soon, haha. It's great to have some answers, though!