Canadian engaged to an American

[Worried]

Hello,

I have met an American online and we have fallen in love and wish for her to come to Canada so we can get married and start a life together.  Every moment being apart hurts and we want to know the quickest way that we can be together.

I purchased a plane ticket for her to come stay with me, and we were going to get married very soon, but she was turned away in Vancouver by a customs officer because she did not have a return ticket and because she told him that she planned on moving up here with me.

From what I am reading, the quickest way we can be together would be to:

1) purchase a return plane ticket which would allow her to stay for up to 6 months

2) get married which would allow me to be a sponsor for her to get permanent residency


My questions are - 

1) Am I correct with the two steps above?

2)Can she legally stay with me longer than 6 months if it takes longer than this for our application to be processed?

3)What are the success rates for these applications, if the couple was married in Canada?

4)How much will it cost ? (I cannot afford a lawyer)

5)Is it true that my income will not be considered for the sponsorship if we were married in Canada?


Has anyone here done this exact same thing or something similar? Thank you in advance for answering my questions...  

 

[Leon]

She can legally stay longer than 6 months if she applies to extend her visit visa before her 6 months are up.

It doesn't matter where you get married, the success rate completely depends on if they believe it's a legitimate relationship. You need to send in some proof with your application, photos, emails, letters, phone records etc.

It will cost around $1100 to 1200 total for all the immigration fees. You don't need a lawyer.

When you are sponsoring a spouse, your income doesn't matter as long as you are not on welfare. Doesn't matter where you get married.

 

[Worried]

Thank you Leon for that information, it helps a lot.

We wont have much other than the marriage certificate. We use Skype to communicate as it is much cheaper than a phone, has better quality and we can use our webcams. We have never sent paper letters or many emails, because we can simply talk on Skype, and do so about 8 hours a day or more on weekends.

We won't have photos either, because we will not be having a ceremony for a year or two afterward's. We are both young (she is 23 and I am 25) and do not have much money. There will be no joint accounts or utilities, as it will all be in my name. I was never on welfare , currently working full time doing technical support for an ISP.

I hope the marriage certificate alone is enough. I do not know what we will do if we cannot be together...

edit: Does she actually need a "Visit visa" if she is an American? The customs officer told us that she only needed a return ticket and could stay for up to 6 months

 

[Leon]

You need to do something to get proof of your relationship. Otherwise what will stop immigration from thinking that this is just a marriage of convenience for her to get PR? Do you have photos of you together on your visits to each other? Do you have proof of your visits like plane tickets, receipts? Can you print out some kind of log from Skype? You can still take pictures even if you only have a civil ceremony. If she comes to Canada on a tourist visa to live with you, it would be a good idea to at least add her to your lease. You can open a joint bank account as well. Why do all the utilities have to be in your name? You can have photos of yourselves together with your family as well.

Asking immigration to believe that it's a real relationship with only a marriage certificate is a real stretch. If it was that easy, a lot more people would be getting married for PR.

 

[RobsLuv]

OK, please email me at robsluv@us2canada.com because I'm just reading this now, after answering your PM, and there's a lot you need to know. Your fiancee took a huge risk thinking she could just fly up to Canada and tell the IO that she was moving in with you - she's really lucky that she didn't get excluded from Canada for a couple of years.

You've got to tread carefully - and although you've been given good advice here, things are a bit "unique" for US/Canada couples. There is no such thing as a visitor visa for a US citizen, for example. We've gotta talk more thoroughly and please look through the US2Canada website for more complete info for US spousal PR applicants.