Express Entry for Work v. Spouse Sponsorship?

[julia143]

Hello!

I am a US citizen with a Canadian Fiance.

I am just days away from an employer completing an LMIA to sponsor me for the Temporary Foreign Worker work permit (cross fingers!) - This is clearly the best option to obtain employment the soonest. I know that we could get married ASAP and apply inland and get that work permit in a month or so, but I do not want to risk re-entry into canada if I need to head home to the US at any point. For example, to do our religious wedding ceremonies. Kind of important

My question, though, is how I should go forward after getting the work permit. I want to obtain permanent residence, as my fiance and I will be here for some years and want to raise kids, etc. Should I:

1. Apply for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, going through Express Entry
2. Have my spouse sponsor me, outland, not inland (so that I can travel home to the US)

I am getting the impression that obtaining the PR through FSW and Express Entry, should I be invited, could be way way faster than spouse sponsorship. Does anyone know if there would be a major difference in fees/expenses/efforts involved for either of these options?

Thanks for ANY thoughts/advice!

 

[scylla]

Go for spousal sponsorship and apply outland (definitely do not apply inland). You can apply outland while you are in Canada. Many people from the US seem to be getting through the entire outland process in 4-6 months these days. Sure - there's no open work permit. But imagine being completely done in as little as 4 months. Plus you don't have to take IELTS and have your education assessed (as you would with EE).

 

[julia143]

Thanks. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. But a lawyer checked processing times for outland applications and told me for L.A. it takes 28 months (for 80% of the cases) and in NYC it takes 33 months. I said that I'd been told that most still end up getting them much quicker and she said that's not true. :/

Also, if I get the temporary work permit, which would only allow me to work for a temporary amount of time with this employer, what will happen once that amount of time is up and I am now a permanent resident? Will I have to reapply for the job? Will there be any complications?

Thanks for your response, scylla!

 

[scylla]

Thanks. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. But a lawyer checked processing times for outland applications and told me for L.A. it takes 28 months (for 80% of the cases) and in NYC it takes 33 months. I said that I'd been told that most still end up getting them much quicker and she said that's not true. :/

Your lawyer is an imbecile and incompetent. Fire him immediately and ask him for your money back (if there's anything you have paid). The vast majority of American sponsorship application are NOT processed through those offices - they are processed through Ottawa. Only applications where an interview is required because CIC believes the relationship isn't genuine go through one of the US offices. This is immigration 101. Any lawyer who doesn't know that should not be handling your application because he has absolutely no idea what he's doing. It is also very wrong to say that the processing times on the CIC web site represents how long it takes for 80% of applications to be processed. It represents how long it took CIC to complete processing for 80% of applications. This means the vast majority of applications are processed in less than that time - and a significant number are processed much faster than the posted time. Ditch the lawyer. He's a moron - or maybe she's a moron. Anyway - get rid of your lawyer immediately.

 

[scylla]

Oh - and for the record, my husband is American and I sponsored him using the outland process. At the time his application was processed, the posted processing time was 10 months. He completed the entire process in 4 months. And my example isn't rare. Check out the family sponsorship section of this forum and look for the US-based thread. You'll see plenty of other people who got through faster. In fact, the majority of us have gotten through faster than the posted processing time.

Again, please please please ditch your completely useless and clueless lawyer. If your lawyer doesn't know these extremely simple basics of the application process, it frightens me to think how badly he/she could screw up your file and screw up your life.

 

[julia143]

Scylla,

Thanks for the info, the advice AND the passion to help me not get screwed over ... I have not paid this lawyer anything, actually. She gave me some free advice on the phone. I have a feeling she deals mostly with appeals from people from third world countries, based on her resume. Anywho, reeeeally good to know it is false information that she gave me, AND that I didn't spend any money to get that info.

I will now move forward. Just to clarify, we will be applying Outland, but through Ottawa, correct? I do not yet see how that is done, but I will read through all of the paperwork to try to understand.

Again, thanks for your help. It's MUCH appreciated

 

[scylla]

Move over to the Family Sponsorship section of the forum. This is where you'll find everyone who is discussing the process you will be using.

Yes - you should apply using the outland / outside of Canada process. All applications are first sent to Mississauga.

 

[julia143]

will do, thanks!