Border crossing for getting married...

[jlewison]

I am an American getting married to my Canadian fiance in the middle of January. I will be visiting him for 10 days while I am there and will be coming back to the US. Once we receive our marriage license, I will be applying for PR.

I am wondering if I should tell customs that I am going to Canada to get married. I have pay stubs from my job, a return flight home and a vacation request form. I am wondering if I can tell then that I am visiting friends(which is very true) or if I should tell them I am getting married? I am just a worried bride-to-be...

THANK YOU!!

 

[chandu007]

What will be the benefit of telling otherwise? I think both of your causes are valid and legitimate.

 

[jlewison]

I just worry that they may not let me in if I tell them I am there to get married...

 

[awor]

I have a one year exclusion order because I lied in October. So I really recommend telling the truth; the application to be allowed back in Canada before the year is a royal pain in the neck, not to mention not being able to visit. That vacation paper from your employer is really good. A letter from your landlord is good as well. Be honest and bring as much proof as you can that you intend to return, and go as early as you can so if guests need to be notified of a postponement, there's time.

 

[jlewison]

well tat has me a little worried. I just worry that if I tell the truth, they will not let me cross. I believe in telling the truth...

 

[awor]

Our wedding is here in the states in April, my fiancee has to deal with proving he's going back as well. The best thing you can do is gather as much evidence as possible - proof you have ties to the US (even letters from family who expect you back), a set date you're coming back, and if you have belongings like a car that you are leaving in the US, bring along proof of ownership. My fiancee is going to show up at the border with a pretty big stack of "proof"....I really understand the worry.

 

[kevp]

I can answer this for you, as I've been going back and forth to Ontario from Massachusetts for 4 years now to be with my now wife, whom I married in January 2010 in Ontario. Tell them you're visiting your boyfriend, not fiance, not husband to be, but your boyfriend. If you've got a return plane ticket and list your stay on the customs card at less than 3 weeks you'll waltz right through. If you tell them you're there to get married you're going to get sent off to the secondary room and grilled. The one time I bought a one way ticket and told them I was visiting my fiance, the red SS is what got scrawled on my card and off to the other room I went, got through, but it was a big pain in the ass. If you really are returning, don't sweat it, but if you've got a one way ticket and aren't telling us the truth in your post... then I don't know what else to say. Short stay equals no problem, but if you don't have a return ticket and aren't within driving distance from your US address, they are going to give you hard time.

 

[jlewison]

Thank you for your help. I am telling the truth in my post, I am staying for 10 days and am 100% for sure coming back to the states at the end of my visit.

 

[SaugaBoss]

honestly it really depends. i told the truth and they made me go inside and answer questions. i didnt have any proof bc i was in canada for a while after marriage. they still let me go through w/out stamping anything. i stayed longer than i told them but this is before my application was filed! but i think u'll b fine bc u have ur proof

for america though they r strict. i would recommend lying! i know someone recently who told the us customs that she was going to visit for her wedding she got denied entry and wedding postponed!

Good Luck! ;D

 

[kevp]

well tat has me a little worried. I just worry that if I tell the truth, they will not let me cross. I believe in telling the truth...

After reading through awor's posts. It seems her situation is much different than yours. 4 kids traveling with her, in a car, with perhaps her entire life's belongings packed in bags? I can't stress how much flying helps, and having a return ticket. If you decide to extend your stay, just cancel the the flight and take the airline credit, it's your right to extend your stay as an American who hasn't been told you have to leave by a certain date. And I still don't understand how they saw right through awor. Seems like she wasn't planning to leave in the first place, and yes, you should never lie about your intentions to return to your home country. You are 100% telling the truth if you tell the border you're visiting your boyfriend for ten days. Is it their right to know everything that you may or may not do while you're in Canada visiting, as long as it's not illegal? Perhaps it is and I'm not aware of this, but it seems to me you have rights to privacy and telling them as little as possible is not wrong.

You're not lying if you tell them you're visiting your boyfriend for ten days. If your intentions to return are pure, why should you have to tell them your life story? It's none of their business, is it? Enjoy your ten days in Canada, enjoy your Wedding day and have a safe trip back to the U.S. after ten days.

Merry Christmas!!!

 

[awor]

After reading through awor's posts. It seems her situation is much different than yours. 4 kids traveling with her, in a car, with perhaps her entire life's belongings packed in bags? I can't stress how much flying helps, and having a return ticket. If you decide to extend your stay, just cancel the the flight and take the airline credit, it's your right to extend your stay as an American who hasn't been told you have to leave by a certain date. And I still don't understand how they saw right through awor. Seems like she wasn't planning to leave in the first place, and yes, you should never lie about your intentions to return to your home country. You are 100% telling the truth if you tell the border you're visiting your boyfriend for ten days. Is it their right to know everything that you may or may not do while you're in Canada visiting, as long as it's not illegal? Perhaps it is and I'm not aware of this, but it seems to me you have rights to privacy and telling them as little as possible is not wrong.

You're not lying if you tell them you're visiting your boyfriend for ten days. If your intentions to return are pure, why should you have to tell them your life story? It's none of their business, is it? Enjoy your ten days in Canada, enjoy your Wedding day and have a safe trip back to the U.S. after ten days.

Merry Christmas!!!

You do have a point there. I'm not sure why they saw through me either, I took the exact same amount of stuff with me on the trip to move as I did the month prior just to visit with the exception of the luggage in a cargo carrier on the roof rack to give us more room inside the minivan. I gave them the same answers too. So maybe the OP here has a much better chance of "just visiting her boyfriend" than I did.

 

[jlewison]

I have a few questions as far as border crossing goes. I had posted my concerns a few days ago about what to say. I am flying in Van BC in the middle of January to marry my fiancee. We have our PR applications already and have started to fill a few things out...I was planning on bringing my forms with me to Canada so my fiancee and I could go through them together...I am wondering if that is a bad idea or a good idea.

I am not planning on lying at the border but I am wondering how much of the truth I should give right off the bat. Should I say I am visiting my fiancee and friends, or just friends? It seems like if I say "fiancee," they will not let me in(I have read forum and forum and am freaked out!) I don;t want to lie(I am not the type to lie about anything.) but I am afraid to tell the truth.

Just an FYI...I am spending 10 days in Canada and have every intention to return home after our wedding and then apply for PR. I have a return ticket home, a letter from my boss stating when she expects me back to work, my last years W2 form, my work schedule for the week that I will be returning to work, paystubs from my last 4 paychecks, a business card with my name and piosition on it, my vacation request off form from work, bank statements showing a few grand in my savings, my 401K statement with my home address, a letter from my fiancee stating that I will be returning home, a letter from my parents saying I am returning home, the title to my car(showing that ,y car is in the states) medical insurance cards...all to prove that I have ties to the states and WILL be coming back after my 10 day visit. I moved back with my parents to save money after we got engaged so I do not have proof that I have rent or a house payment to come back to.

Do you feel as though this might be enough information? Can you think of anything else that would be handy to include? THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH for your help!!

 

[Baloo]

Looks like you have plenty of proof.

Typically, I only answer questions that I am asked - I tell the truth.
I do not offer a big story because the IO doesn't have the time; If the IO needs more information you will be sent to secondary screening, that is where you will need your proof.

 

[Asta]

i was afraid to tell the truth too that im going to get married to my canadian fiance. because they think u might stay with hubby illegally, and they might not let u in. u have to prove that u are planning to apply for PR by sponsorship. to have receipts, application forms filled up or at least printed etc.
i told them that im visiting my boyfriend/friend. and thats it. it was my second time going to Canada visiting my boyfriend. ofcourse second time i was worried but the officer obviously didnt know what to ask me, was pretty quiet. anyways i didnt have any trouble.

 

[kourts]

I too am worried about the same thing. I intend to go at the end of January to marry my Fiancee, I'm only going for a week, I have a job to return too, but that's about it. I live with my parents, don't have a car. So I'm pretty worried. I do have every intention of returning, I wouldn't wanna do anything to screw this up. The last time I went I did tell them I was going to see my Fiancee and they let me right through.