Confirming my understanding of spouse PR sponsorship

[screenguy80]

Hello,

I've looked at this forum a ton as a lurker and now that we're filing for permanent residency for my wife I'd like to get your knowledgeable eyes on things to make sure I understand it the way I think I do.

Facts:

We have been married for 3.5 years, married in Canada. She has been living here since 2008, she came over on a student visa and then transitioned to a post-graduate work visa. We are applying from inside Canada. She has American citizenship.
The post grad work visa expires in early July.

As I understand it, we'll put in the application for permanent residency this week, and we should have everything set up. I just have the following questions:

I understand that while her PR application is under consideration she can stay in Canada, and when we file we can pay all the fees up front to ALSO file for an extension of her work visa, and since it's a spouse sponsorship it looks like she should be granted a work visa extension which covers her until the PR application is decided. There are indications that this work visa will take 4 months to process, which is fine. Once she has this work visa, is she able to leave and re-enter Canada like she can right now?

We have not gotten a medical examination yet, and I understand that if we don't submit it up front it might delay her final PR decision a bit, and that's fine. We could have one submitted in the next couple of weeks and added to the application.

The big problem that leads me to post this, is her criminal background check. She has no criminal record so I don't see any issues, except the FBI processing turnaround is around 15 weeks. Are we able to get her fingerprinted, submit the fees and the application for her background check, and include that proof in her PR application to show that we've applied and will be receiving a police certificate once the FBI sends it to us? And then we'll submit the results once we receive them? On top of that, I keep seeing some pages on the CIC website that indicate that she does NOT need a criminal background check unless CIC requests one, but that police document is specified on the document checklist for the PR application. In short, is she required to have an up-front Police Certificate from the FBI if she's an American applying for a Canadian PR, and do you think it will be acceptable to show that we've requested the relevant documents but we're waiting on the FBI to complete them?

This forum has been an indispensable resource for us, and good luck to everyone going through the application process!

Thanks.

 

[Ponga]

Submit an Outland application!

American's complete the Outland process in ~ 8-10 months, versus 2 1/2 years (+) for an Inland application.
Even though she's physically in Canada, she can submit an Outland application.

She definitely needs the FBI letter.

Include proof that she's submitted her fingerprints to the FBI (like a copy of the delivery confirmation) and a note explaining that the IHSR letter will be forwarded to CIC when she gets it.

 

[screenguy80]

Thank you for the info! I had not researched outland applications.

Regardless of outland or inland however, is my understanding that we apply for an extension to her work permit, and that allows her to leave and re-enter the country (say, for a vacation in the late summer) even though her PR has not yet been granted?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for the info! I had not researched outland applications.

Regardless of outland or inland however, is my understanding that we apply for an extension to her work permit, and that allows her to leave and re-enter the country (say, for a vacation in the late summer) even though her PR has not yet been granted?

Incorrect.

No open work permit is granted with the outland process.

Also, an open work permit does not allow a person to leave and re-enter Canada freely. That individual can still be refused entry. If you apply inland, the recommendation is that you remain in Canada for the duration of the 2-3 year process.

Apply outland. You will hate life if you apply inland.

 

[Ponga]

The PGWP cannot be extended. She can submit the Outland application and then apply to change her status from worker to visitor, citing that she has applied for spousal sponsorship.

However...nothing will absolutely guarantee re-entry until she becomes a PR. With an Outland application, if she is denied re-entry, the application continues to be processed.

 

[screenguy80]

So based on these replies:

If we apply Inland, the application will take an extremely long time and she cannot leave the country during this time or she may be refused re-entry, or have the PR application denied at that point.

If we apply Outland, when her PGWP expires in July she will receive no extension, she will have to stop working and transition to a visitor, and she still cannot leave the country until the PR is finished in 8+ months.

So there is no option to leave the country and return after mid July? Nothing can guarantee she'll be able to re-enter the country at that point?

 

[scylla]

Correct. And yes - there's nothing you can do to guarantee re-entry. She should be allowed back in without issue. But guarantee? No - absolutely not. Not until she is actually a PR.

***EDIT: Sorry - one correction. She doesn't have to leave the country in July. As Ponga explained - she just needs to apply to change her status to visitor.

 

[screenguy80]

All of that sounds reasonable and I understand.

The only part that I don't really comprehend is the circumstances by which she might not be allowed entry.

I understand that it's not a guarantee, it's up to the customs official, but is it a significant risk? Are border agents in the habit of just denying people entry if they're, say, returning from a vacation?

Another way to put it, right now she holds a US Passport with her PGWP stapled inside, is she at risk of being denied re-entry in the exact same way, right now?

 

[Ponga]

This may help:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp

Temporary residence status might be refused for several reasons, including:

history of having contravened the conditions of admission on a previous stay in Canada;
lack of or insufficient proof of adequate funds to support oneself while in Canada, and to affect one’s departure from Canada;
medical inadmissibility;
not satisfying the visa officer that the individual will leave Canada at the end of their period of authorized stay.


That last part is where the real danger lies (IMHO), because if the CBSA officer suspects/doubts that she would/wouldn't leave, if her PR is denied, she could have a problem.
Some people (myself included) feel that a person that has submitted a PR application may have a bit more trouble, simply because the CBSA officer now knows that the person truly has dual intentions for entering Canada, unlike a person simply entering as a visitor.


Now...here's what they say about an Inland applicant that chooses to leave Canada temporarily:


Temporary residence applicants with in-Canada applications for permanent residence in progress
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by CIC staff. It is posted on the CIC website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its regulations permit certain foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence from within Canada. Given that processing times for in-Canada applications can be lengthy, in some instances, an applicant may voluntarily and temporarily leave Canada during the processing of their application.

Has an approval in principle been granted?

When processing applications for temporary resident visas for foreign nationals with an application for permanent residence in Canada in progress, take into consideration whether approval in principle (first-stage approval) has been granted. It is consistent with IRPA, and in the best interests of both CIC and the applicant, to facilitate the re-entry of these applicants as temporary residents in order to continue processing their application for permanent residence from within Canada.

Note: Officers should note that issuing a temporary resident visa to facilitate return will permit these applicants to be granted permanent residence from within Canada. A temporary resident permit will not.


So, it sounds like they are encouraging CBSA to allow re-entry, right? However, there's no way of knowing if this really does have any weight, because it simply comes down to the individual CBSA officer and (sometimes) their mood.




Having said that, being married with an active sponsorship application in process...and being an American citizen, are all positive things, for the most part.

Bottom line- There is NO guarantee.

 

[Gemmie]

Outland for an american is taking about 8 to 10 months from submission currently.

If you apply inland, which you should never do as a US citizen unless you have very extraordinary circumstances,
and she does leave and is not allowed back in.. your entire application is abandoned.

She can stay while she waits but she just cannot work. It takes about 4 to 5 months to get the open work permit anyways when
you go Inland.. at that point, if you are applying outland, your already halfway though the process.. maybe more.. ours took 7 1/2 months total, start
to finish.

Good luck

 

[Rob_TO]

If we apply Outland, when her PGWP expires in July she will receive no extension, she will have to stop working and transition to a visitor, and she still cannot leave the country until the PR is finished in 8+ months.

So there is no option to leave the country and return after mid July? Nothing can guarantee she'll be able to re-enter the country at that point?

With an outland app she can leave the country and re-enter as often as she wants, with no impact to the PR app. There is no difference between and inland and outland app, in likelihood of being refused re-entry. The only difference is with an inland app, a refusal means an automatic cancellation of the PR app and starting again from scratch. With outland a refusal has no impact to the PR app. So if traveling, there is much less stress to deal with and less risk if you have an outland app in progress.

Either way, the chances of being refused re-entry for a US citizen is usually pretty low. With a PR app in progress and showing proof of this to CBSA, they are usually pretty lenient on travelers that are waiting out the process in Canada on visitor status.