My current situation:
I applied for PR through inland family sponsorship (spouse is Canadian). My work permit expired shortly after I sent off the PR application, and the PR application was returned as incomplete, resulting in me losing implied status and having no status in Canada. I applied for restoration of status as a visitor, which was restored at the end of January, but that visitor visa expires on March 23rd. I alerted CIC when I was granted the restored visitor visa to please resume processing the BOWP I had submitted with my PR application initially, but was undoubtedly paused when I lost status. So now, I am now hoping to wait for a decision on the BOWP on visitor visas.
Two days ago, I crossed the American border (I am American) to get fingerprinted for my online job. I returned back to Canada and the border official noted the restored visitor visa in my passport and simply said "come see us before this visa expires." I was a bit surprised because I had thought that that visa would be invalidated when I crossed the border and I would need to be evaluated again to possibly get the normal 6 months Americans enjoy when crossing the border. I knew it was a risk to cross the border since I have an inland PR application pending, but I wanted to maintain my online foreign job and I had hoped that I might be issued a new longer visitor visa. I have heard that border officials have been known to accidentally cancel other pending applications. Checking the CIC website shows my PR and BOWP applications still processing, but it is a holiday weekend and I think that I will need to wait several business days to make sure that they have not been canceled.
I need to apply for an extension of the visitor visa, but I am not sure what information I need to definitely include to make a strong application. To the best of my knowledge, here is what I think I would need to submit (and quickly, as I've heard that you have to submit these applications at least 30 days before the original visa expires):
1. A letter including dates of when I submitted my BOWP and PR applications along with the application numbers and estimated processing times (I've heard that BOWP take about 4-5 months to process). My BOWP and PR application are linked online with my CIC account.
2. Proof of funds (bank statements)
Anything else I'm missing? I'm also curious to hear if anyone has anything else to add about possible application cancellations and if I truly am still tied to this visitor visa despite crossing the border?
I applied for PR through inland family sponsorship (spouse is Canadian). My work permit expired shortly after I sent off the PR application, and the PR application was returned as incomplete, resulting in me losing implied status and having no status in Canada. I applied for restoration of status as a visitor, which was restored at the end of January, but that visitor visa expires on March 23rd. I alerted CIC when I was granted the restored visitor visa to please resume processing the BOWP I had submitted with my PR application initially, but was undoubtedly paused when I lost status. So now, I am now hoping to wait for a decision on the BOWP on visitor visas.
Two days ago, I crossed the American border (I am American) to get fingerprinted for my online job. I returned back to Canada and the border official noted the restored visitor visa in my passport and simply said "come see us before this visa expires." I was a bit surprised because I had thought that that visa would be invalidated when I crossed the border and I would need to be evaluated again to possibly get the normal 6 months Americans enjoy when crossing the border. I knew it was a risk to cross the border since I have an inland PR application pending, but I wanted to maintain my online foreign job and I had hoped that I might be issued a new longer visitor visa. I have heard that border officials have been known to accidentally cancel other pending applications. Checking the CIC website shows my PR and BOWP applications still processing, but it is a holiday weekend and I think that I will need to wait several business days to make sure that they have not been canceled.
I need to apply for an extension of the visitor visa, but I am not sure what information I need to definitely include to make a strong application. To the best of my knowledge, here is what I think I would need to submit (and quickly, as I've heard that you have to submit these applications at least 30 days before the original visa expires):
1. A letter including dates of when I submitted my BOWP and PR applications along with the application numbers and estimated processing times (I've heard that BOWP take about 4-5 months to process). My BOWP and PR application are linked online with my CIC account.
2. Proof of funds (bank statements)
Anything else I'm missing? I'm also curious to hear if anyone has anything else to add about possible application cancellations and if I truly am still tied to this visitor visa despite crossing the border?
