Hi there,
My boyfriend and I would like to double-check that we are following the correct process for his immigration to Canada.
I am a Canadian Citizen, he is a US Citizen. We have lived in a common-law relationship for just over one year in the US, as I was attending graduate school in the US for the past 2 years. We actually met and began our relationship in June 2006, traveling back and forth between the US and Canada to visit each other. In October 2006 we made a big mistake in having him come to Canada with the intention to move there permanently, but we were not as aware about immigration procedures at the time - he told the border officials that he was planning to stay in Canada and apply for PR, and they gave him a 1 month visa, which we decided not to extend on the advice of an immigration lawyer. So, he returned to the US to work there for the next year while we figured out what to do. I began to attend graduate school in the US and we spent time in Canada together on vacation on two occasions (and encountered absolutely no problems with border officials as we traveled back and forth). We were re-united in 2008 in the US, as we were finally able to arrange to live together in the US while I finished my last year of graduate school there. We do intend to get married in the future, but we are not yet engaged and have no wedding plans underway at this time. If necessary, we could get married (we even have the means to have a rather large ceremony) before we leave the US, but we would prefer to wait a year or so for various reasons. From my reading on these forums and the CIC website, we should have more than sufficient information to prove our common-law relationship.
My US visa will expire next month and we are planning to return to Canada together at that time. I have an excellent job that I will be starting almost immediately upon my return, and after reviewing all the sponsorship and applicant forms, I do not see any reason for me to be declined as a sponsor or for him not qualify as an applicant. From what I understand, he should attend the border crossing with minimal personal belongings and I must speak on his behalf and show the proof of our common-law relationship and that I intend to sponsor him and file for Permanent Residence. (And I would provide all the documents for the PR application ready-to-submit, just not actually submit it yet.) By this time I would have already paid all the PR application fees and there would be no need for him to have a return ticket to the US. If all goes well, he could be granted extended status and receive a Visitor Record. We would then file the PR application once in Canada, and apply for further extended status if necessary.
Under this procedure, he could return to the US while the PR application processes if necessary (although we do not see any need for him to do so, barring any family tragedies), but he would not be able to get permission to work or attend university in Canada until the PR application has processed. This method (Outland application) would be faster than Inland, and less risky, as I understand it.
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could verify that my understanding and outline of the procedure is correct, or if there are any suggestions as to what we should change in our approach. I just want to make sure we don't make any big mistakes and that we can continue to live together
Thank you so much for your time in reading this!
Edited (added): I was previously advised that it would be best for me simply to return to Canada and have my boyfriend join me there as a visitor, and then to apply to sponsor him on an Inland application. That way, he could either apply to extend his visitor status or he would be able to apply for a student permit after the initial approval and potentially return to school within 6 months. However, it seems from what I have read so far, that this would be a greater risk for us to take? I should clarify that at this point, money is not really a concern, even if he has to be without work for a year, I make plenty to cover us both, and we just want to make sure that we can stay together.
My boyfriend and I would like to double-check that we are following the correct process for his immigration to Canada.
I am a Canadian Citizen, he is a US Citizen. We have lived in a common-law relationship for just over one year in the US, as I was attending graduate school in the US for the past 2 years. We actually met and began our relationship in June 2006, traveling back and forth between the US and Canada to visit each other. In October 2006 we made a big mistake in having him come to Canada with the intention to move there permanently, but we were not as aware about immigration procedures at the time - he told the border officials that he was planning to stay in Canada and apply for PR, and they gave him a 1 month visa, which we decided not to extend on the advice of an immigration lawyer. So, he returned to the US to work there for the next year while we figured out what to do. I began to attend graduate school in the US and we spent time in Canada together on vacation on two occasions (and encountered absolutely no problems with border officials as we traveled back and forth). We were re-united in 2008 in the US, as we were finally able to arrange to live together in the US while I finished my last year of graduate school there. We do intend to get married in the future, but we are not yet engaged and have no wedding plans underway at this time. If necessary, we could get married (we even have the means to have a rather large ceremony) before we leave the US, but we would prefer to wait a year or so for various reasons. From my reading on these forums and the CIC website, we should have more than sufficient information to prove our common-law relationship.
My US visa will expire next month and we are planning to return to Canada together at that time. I have an excellent job that I will be starting almost immediately upon my return, and after reviewing all the sponsorship and applicant forms, I do not see any reason for me to be declined as a sponsor or for him not qualify as an applicant. From what I understand, he should attend the border crossing with minimal personal belongings and I must speak on his behalf and show the proof of our common-law relationship and that I intend to sponsor him and file for Permanent Residence. (And I would provide all the documents for the PR application ready-to-submit, just not actually submit it yet.) By this time I would have already paid all the PR application fees and there would be no need for him to have a return ticket to the US. If all goes well, he could be granted extended status and receive a Visitor Record. We would then file the PR application once in Canada, and apply for further extended status if necessary.
Under this procedure, he could return to the US while the PR application processes if necessary (although we do not see any need for him to do so, barring any family tragedies), but he would not be able to get permission to work or attend university in Canada until the PR application has processed. This method (Outland application) would be faster than Inland, and less risky, as I understand it.
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could verify that my understanding and outline of the procedure is correct, or if there are any suggestions as to what we should change in our approach. I just want to make sure we don't make any big mistakes and that we can continue to live together
Thank you so much for your time in reading this!Edited (added): I was previously advised that it would be best for me simply to return to Canada and have my boyfriend join me there as a visitor, and then to apply to sponsor him on an Inland application. That way, he could either apply to extend his visitor status or he would be able to apply for a student permit after the initial approval and potentially return to school within 6 months. However, it seems from what I have read so far, that this would be a greater risk for us to take? I should clarify that at this point, money is not really a concern, even if he has to be without work for a year, I make plenty to cover us both, and we just want to make sure that we can stay together.