Best way to get American Boyfriend to Canada?

[davidandadrianna]

My boyfriend and I have been in a relationship for about 14 months. It is very apparent that we will end up together permanently, but what is the best way? We have looked through so many resources that we feel misled and avoided as a couple. We are unable to live together long enough to obtain a common-law status, and marriage wise we aren't financially ready for a formal ceremony. My boyfriend is anxious to be here in Canada on any type of extended status where he can work and start bringing in money for us. We had a little hope in our situation when we read that sometimes "conjugal partners" are accepted through spousal sponsorship, but the more we read the more our hope fades in that category. We keep thinking we find our way, but swiftly we are confused with criteria we aren't sure we meet.

We are looking for the quickest way to be together, we need each other.
Please if anyone has an offer of direction, any help is appreciated.

 

[blueangel371115]

Pretty much, unless he can get into Canada on his own right, the only options you have are to either get married or live together. He wouldn't be able to work unless he became a PR. You wouldn't qualify for conjugal.

 

[davidandadrianna]

Pretty much, unless he can get into Canada on his own right, the only options you have are to either get married or live together. He wouldn't be able to work unless he became a PR. You wouldn't qualify for conjugal.

Thank you for your reply!
We looked into that, but on list of pictures for evidence they want the wedding and honeymoon and so forth. With all that being said how would we go about that if we postponed our ceremony and just legally married?
What about engagement ? Does that hold any sort of weight?

 

[queenpies]

Hello,

Engagement doesn't mean anything. Spousal sponsorship is only applicable to spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners. Conjugal partners are very hard to prove.

My husband and I had a very small wedding. At the backyard of his grandparents' place and we only invited his close family members. If your relationship is genuine, nobody can say it is not. You know it in your heart. Photos of wedding and honeymoon are some ways to prove your relationship, but not all because of that.

I know how difficult it is to be separated from your loved one, my husband and I had to think about how we could work it out too. But please remember your boyfriend cannot work illegally in Canada, so maybe he can think of coming in as visitor, get married then apply inland, OR you can apply outland. If he is American, outland might be a lot faster than inland.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[CdnandTrini]

Thank you for your reply!
We looked into that, but on list of pictures for evidence they want the wedding and honeymoon and so forth. With all that being said how would we go about that if we postponed our ceremony and just legally married?
What about engagement ? Does that hold any sort of weight?

Hello d&a and do not despair!! Many couples do exactly what you suggested above, which is to legally marry with a small or civil ceremony (the courthouse basically) in order to start the process for sponsorship. Immigration is very familiar with these circumstances with international marriages as not everyone can manage financially or logistically (nor does everyone want to do) the whole big wedding and honeymoon thing.

The main thing will be documented proof of your relationship together and I am including below a link to a post that I just wrote yesterday so you can read it. In that post is some basic info. and another link regarding how to put together an immigration package but do not fret if yours is smaller or has fewer photos or is not exactly like the one shown.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/not-married-yet-planning-to-sponsor-where-to-marry-t266264.0.html;msg3938505#msg3938505

As you continue to read some of the forum member's experiences and ask more questions and get more answers you will be able to map out a plan that works for you and your boyfriend. The good thing is that being in your position, now knowing that you will be submitting a sponsorship application, you can better prepare to ensure you have photos of the engagement, maybe a party with friends and family to celebrate etc.

Keep track (copies) of all bills, receipts, money transfers, any joint financial transactions, credit card bills, boarding passes, trip itineraries, e-mail communications, facebook, Skype etc. communications. The irony of all of this is that in most relationships, the couple does not have to document or prove that they are a couple. So some of it may feel a bit odd, but in this case even though it might not be natural or feel genuine to do this, immigration needs to see people show evidence to demonstrate that they are a "genuine" couple.

For many of us on this forum, we entered into relationships that are/were long distance (not necessarily thinking of marriage right out of the gate); one of the partners has to do all of the travelling as the other is denied visitor visas (my husband and me ) and in our case we did not even have a camera during the first 3 years of our relationship! Once we decided that we were on the marriage track and we would need to do a sponsorship I had to go back and dig through a lot of things to find some evidence of the early days of our relationship. From that point forward I was like a detective...lol......always saying "gotta keep that for immigration, gotta take a photo of that for immigration" it sounded like "immigration" was my love !!

So read and research a bit more and understand you are not alone and you will be supported and encouraged by most of the members here. Blessings.

 

[davidandadrianna]

Hello,

Engagement doesn't mean anything. Spousal sponsorship is only applicable to spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners. Conjugal partners are very hard to prove.

My husband and I had a very small wedding. At the backyard of his grandparents' place and we only invited his close family members. If your relationship is genuine, nobody can say it is not. You know it in your heart. Photos of wedding and honeymoon are some ways to prove your relationship, but not all because of that.

I know how difficult it is to be separated from your loved one, my husband and I had to think about how we could work it out too. But please remember your boyfriend cannot work illegally in Canada, so maybe he can think of coming in as visitor, get married then apply inland, OR you can apply outland. If he is American, outland might be a lot faster than inland.

I hope this makes sense.

Thanks for your help, and yes it all makes sense.
It sounds like it's quite clear what our options are.
Another obstacle we face is the fact his phone with majority of our photos from all of our trips, when we first met, everything, got stolen his third day here. ( he surprised me with a visit on dec. 26)
We love each other, and will find a way to make this work. Regardless of how difficult it has been and may prove to be.

 

[davidandadrianna]

Hello d&a and do not despair!! Many couples do exactly what you suggested above, which is to legally marry with a small or civil ceremony (the courthouse basically) in order to start the process for sponsorship. Immigration is very familiar with these circumstances with international marriages as not everyone can manage financially or logistically (nor does everyone want to do) the whole big wedding and honeymoon thing.

The main thing will be documented proof of your relationship together and I am including below a link to a post that I just wrote yesterday so you can read it. In that post is some basic info. and another link regarding how to put together an immigration package but do not fret if yours is smaller or has fewer photos or is not exactly like the one shown.

Link

As you continue to read some of the forum member's experiences and ask more questions and get more answers you will be able to map out a plan that works for you and your boyfriend. The good thing is that being in your position, now knowing that you will be submitting a sponsorship application, you can better prepare to ensure you have photos of the engagement, maybe a party with friends and family to celebrate etc.

Keep track (copies) of all bills, receipts, money transfers, any joint financial transactions, credit card bills, boarding passes, trip itineraries, e-mail communications, facebook, Skype etc. communications. The irony of all of this is that in most relationships, the couple does not have to document or prove that they are a couple. So some of it may feel a bit odd, but in this case even though it might not be natural or feel genuine to do this, immigration needs to see people show evidence to demonstrate that they are a "genuine" couple.

For many of us on this forum, we entered into relationships that are/were long distance (not necessarily thinking of marriage right out of the gate); one of the partners has to do all of the travelling as the other is denied visitor visas (my husband and me ) and in our case we did not even have a camera during the first 3 years of our relationship! Once we decided that we were on the marriage track and we would need to do a sponsorship I had to go back and dig through a lot of things to find some evidence of the early days of our relationship. From that point forward I was like a detective...lol......always saying "gotta keep that for immigration, gotta take a photo of that for immigration" it sounded like "immigration" was my love !!

So read and research a bit more and understand you are not alone and you will be supported and encouraged by most of the members here. Blessings.

Wow, thank you! That will really help us out. All the support is appreciated!
Luckily I keep a ton of little things,and he keeps a journal of some of our adventures. Unfortunately as I had mentioned in my previous post his phone was stolen recently along with a LOT of our photos. (He hadn't backed it up in a while)
He is currently with me, and we are wanting to apply as soon as possible.
We are thankful we have found this place to help us out!
The amount of people who have shared our pain but have had success is inspiring.
Once again, thank you!

 

[queenpies]

Thanks for your help, and yes it all makes sense.
It sounds like it's quite clear what our options are.
Another obstacle we face is the fact his phone with majority of our photos from all of our trips, when we first met, everything, got stolen his third day here. ( he surprised me with a visit on dec. 26)
We love each other, and will find a way to make this work. Regardless of how difficult it has been and may prove to be.

Take more photos then! Keep receipts to memorable places, restaurants to celebrate occasions and such. Don't just keep all these memories for CIC, but also for the memories of you guys.

My laptop and my husband's laptop when we used during the 3 years of our chat online, both crashed. Haha. So you are not the only one. Worse case scenario you will always be granted an interview for fraud or something like that as your last chance to prove your relationship. They can ask you a very simple question, but they look at your body language a lot.

Best of luck to you and stay hopeful!

 

[blueangel371115]

Thank you for your reply!
We looked into that, but on list of pictures for evidence they want the wedding and honeymoon and so forth. With all that being said how would we go about that if we postponed our ceremony and just legally married?
What about engagement ? Does that hold any sort of weight?

Unfortunately Canada doesn't have a 'Fiance visa' so engagement doesn't have any weight UNLESS you've hit common-law. I got married with a Justice of the peace then had a reception and Religious ceremony in Canada later. I know a few people on here who've just a had a civil ceremony with small honeymoon and sometimes no honeymoon. As long as you can prove that you got married and that your family or his knew about and attended either the ceremony or honeymoon. Family involvement looks really good. Or you can explain why they didn't. You don't really need 'honeymoon pictures' but they put a feather in your cap so to speak. As long as you can prove with pictures and/or phone records, booking receipts. boarding passes that you you have spent time together over a period of time and it's not a marriage of convenience situation, like you just met and one of you just wants to get to Canada. Explain why you didn't have one. Maybe due to work or financial reasons. Just make the application as solid as you can to prove a link between you to such as joint accounts or a lease/mortgage. That's my best advice and/or understanding.

 

[keesio]

Another obstacle we face is the fact his phone with majority of our photos from all of our trips, when we first met, everything, got stolen his third day here. ( he surprised me with a visit on dec. 26)
We love each other, and will find a way to make this work. Regardless of how difficult it has been and may prove to be.

Don't worry about it. Americans get a lot of leeway from CIC. As someone has said in another thread: "the bar is set pretty low for CDN/US couples regarding relationship proof" (or something like that). Just provide whatever good pics you do have and if you get married before the sponsorship, take a lot of pics then. And submit other proof like copies of entries in your journal, etc.

 

[swestenzweig]

I know it doesn't seem like much help, but, you are not alone! It wasn't very long ago that my Canadian girlfriend and I were in the very same predicament: sure of our relationship, not quite ready to marry, but desperately trying to find some way of getting me to Canada and say goodbye to the "long distance" portion of our relationship. I wish at this point I could tell you that we found an quick and easy way, but the truth is there are none. Spousal sponsorship is a great option and the likelihood for success is very high, it just takes time. If you and your partner have the patience and the persistence to see it through, you can make it work!

Here's some things to consider while you're working towards that path...

- Can you or your boyfriend move closer to the border? One of the best things I did was move to the closest major US city to my girlfriend. Travel time for visits dropped from 5 hours down to 1 hour, and all of a sudden we're able to spend every weekend together. The stress of adding a transitional move wasn't easy and it's not an easy option for everyone, but you just can't put a price on more time together in-person.

- Can your boyfriend come across through his career path? Canada is revising the Skilled Worker Program (yet again) to make it easier for some professionals to receive work permits, so it's worth looking into. Other professions and trades have a much easier time acquiring work permits through NAFTA regulations. Depending on your boyfriend's profession, it may still be difficult to find employers willing to sponsor a work permit, but it's worth investigating as a parallel path.

- As others have advised, if you're ready to get married, don't feel you need to wait until you can have your wedding before proceeding. My girlfriend and I are planning a ceremony in March, but recently got married through a simple civil service just to allow us to submit the immigration paperwork sooner. There are lots of people who do this!

- If you haven't already, start carrying lots of paperwork with you when either of you cross the border. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the more serious your relationship becomes and the more frequently you cross the border, the more suspicion you'll get from agents on both sides. Both US and Canada may start asking you more detailed questions to make sure neither of you are planning to overstay your welcome to be with your partner, and they'll want documented proof to support your claims. So, plan ahead and make sure you have more than enough documentation with you to prove your ties to your home country (recent pay stub, lease/mortgage, utility bills), that you will be returning when your visit is over (plane ticket, etc), and that you have enough money (credit cards statements, bank statements) to fund your visit. The consequences, anywhere from being denied entry to being banned from entering, can be exceptionally painful, so please don't get caught unprepared.

- Consider getting a NEXUS pass. The NEXUS pass is a trusted traveler ID issued by both the US and Canada jointly which you can get by applying online, allowing them to perform a background check, and attending an on-site interview with agents from both sides. It's a fairly painless process, but it does take about four months to complete. Once you have your ID card, you can use the NEXUS lanes at the border and go through trusted checkpoints at most airports. The queues are typically a lot shorter at the border, and, as you are pre-screened, you're typically subject to a lot less scrutiny by the agents. The time and hassle this card can save you at the border (and even on domestic US flights) is well worth it.

Hope all this helps. I know it can be very overwhelming and frustrating to find so many obstacles to developing a relationship between countries that are so close, but be realistic with your expectations and try not to get discouraged. It will all happen, it just won't happen quickly. Two years and three months into our relationship, my wife and I (and our newborn baby) are still living apart and only seeing each other on weekends. It's not been easy, but we've done what we can to ease the transition and we've remained resolute in our desire to be together as a family. It's going to take, in total, about three years for us to reach our goal. For us, it's totally worth it.

 

[CdnandTrini]

Wow, thank you! That will really help us out. All the support is appreciated!
Luckily I keep a ton of little things,and he keeps a journal of some of our adventures. Unfortunately as I had mentioned in my previous post his phone was stolen recently along with a LOT of our photos. (He hadn't backed it up in a while)
He is currently with me, and we are wanting to apply as soon as possible.
We are thankful we have found this place to help us out!
The amount of people who have shared our pain but have had success is inspiring.
Once again, thank you!

You are most welcome and look at some of the other great and helpful responses you've already received . Plus 1+s for everyone today!! And of course blessings.

 

[CdnandTrini]

I know it doesn't seem like much help, but, you are not alone! It wasn't very long ago that my Canadian girlfriend and I were in the very same predicament: sure of our relationship, not quite ready to marry, but desperately trying to find some way of getting me to Canada and say goodbye to the "long distance" portion of our relationship. I wish at this point I could tell you that we found an quick and easy way, but the truth is there are none. Spousal sponsorship is a great option and the likelihood for success is very high, it just takes time. If you and your partner have the patience and the persistence to see it through, you can make it work!

Here's some things to consider while you're working towards that path...

- Can you or your boyfriend move closer to the border? One of the best things I did was move to the closest major US city to my girlfriend. Travel time for visits dropped from 5 hours down to 1 hour, and all of a sudden we're able to spend every weekend together. The stress of adding a transitional move wasn't easy and it's not an easy option for everyone, but you just can't put a price on more time together in-person.

- Can your boyfriend come across through his career path? Canada is revising the Skilled Worker Program (yet again) to make it easier for some professionals to receive work permits, so it's worth looking into. Other professions and trades have a much easier time acquiring work permits through NAFTA regulations. Depending on your boyfriend's profession, it may still be difficult to find employers willing to sponsor a work permit, but it's worth investigating as a parallel path.

- As others have advised, if you're ready to get married, don't feel you need to wait until you can have your wedding before proceeding. My girlfriend and I are planning a ceremony in March, but recently got married through a simple civil service just to allow us to submit the immigration paperwork sooner. There are lots of people who do this!

- If you haven't already, start carrying lots of paperwork with you when either of you cross the border. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the more serious your relationship becomes and the more frequently you cross the border, the more suspicion you'll get from agents on both sides. Both US and Canada may start asking you more detailed questions to make sure neither of you are planning to overstay your welcome to be with your partner, and they'll want documented proof to support your claims. So, plan ahead and make sure you have more than enough documentation with you to prove your ties to your home country (recent pay stub, lease/mortgage, utility bills), that you will be returning when your visit is over (plane ticket, etc), and that you have enough money (credit cards statements, bank statements) to fund your visit. The consequences, anywhere from being denied entry to being banned from entering, can be exceptionally painful, so please don't get caught unprepared.

- Consider getting a NEXUS pass. The NEXUS pass is a trusted traveler ID issued by both the US and Canada jointly which you can get by applying online, allowing them to perform a background check, and attending an on-site interview with agents from both sides. It's a fairly painless process, but it does take about four months to complete. Once you have your ID card, you can use the NEXUS lanes at the border and go through trusted checkpoints at most airports. The queues are typically a lot shorter at the border, and, as you are pre-screened, you're typically subject to a lot less scrutiny by the agents. The time and hassle this card can save you at the border (and even on domestic US flights) is well worth it.

Hope all this helps. I know it can be very overwhelming and frustrating to find so many obstacles to developing a relationship between countries that are so close, but be realistic with your expectations and try not to get discouraged. It will all happen, it just won't happen quickly. Two years and three months into our relationship, my wife and I (and our newborn baby) are still living apart and only seeing each other on weekends. It's not been easy, but we've done what we can to ease the transition and we've remained resolute in our desire to be together as a family. It's going to take, in total, about three years for us to reach our goal. For us, it's totally worth it.

Bravo swestenzweig for the helpful reply and congrats to you and your wife on the baby and staying the immigration course! It will all be worth it. Blessings.

 

[swestenzweig]

Bravo swestenzweig for the helpful reply and congrats to you and your wife on the baby and staying the immigration course! It will all be worth it. Blessings.

Thank you, CdnandTrini.

 

[CdnandTrini]

Thank you, CdnandTrini.

My pleasure