Fiancee and I not knowing what to do next

[Harpuia]

Hi. This is sort of a Canadian/U.S. immigration question combined that my fiancee and I are trying to figure out together.

I'm a 28-year old computer engineer here in the United States engaged to a 22-year old girl who currently lives in the Quebec province. The two of us are planning on living together and I had thought, especially after issues with my work over the last couple weeks, that me emigrating to Canada would be a better option than her getting a K-1 visa to emigrate to the U.S. because I am a skilled worker.

Here's the problem. I might have a medical inadmissibility because of Crohn's Disease. I'm not entirely sure, and if the government wants any paperwork involved with it, I would not mind handing them all the information that they need regarding Remicade, the only drug that I take. (The rest, supplements, Zinc/B12/D3/Iron/Folate are done out of pocket.) But in case it is a medical inadmissibility, I do not want to waste my time going through the skilled worker visa only to get rejected due to it.

I heard another option is my fiancee can sponsor me coming to Canada. I do not know how the process of how this will work, and she is willing to move with me to a province outside of Quebec as she is tired of being there. At the same time, I'm tired of living in the city of Las Vegas, where job opportunity for my line of work is scarce at best.

So basically we have three options:
1. I try for the skilled workers visa and see if my Crohn's doesn't make me inadmissible. If I succeed, this is the best option of the three because then my fiancee can just join me in Ontario.

2. Try to find out how I can emigrate to Canada via family sponsorship by my fiancee. Likely this means we will have to go through the supposedly strict Quebec hurdles initially, but then find a way to Ontario together immediately after.

3. Start the K-1 fiancee visa to get her to come to the United States instead. This is the fastest of the three options I hear because K-1 visas take only 6-9 months to complete (compared to a couple years from what I understand for Canada) but again, I don't know my chances of finding a line of work in the U.S. From what my Canadian friends have told me, opportunity is far better in Canada right now for computer engineers/programmers/software engineers than they are in the U.S.

Which of these three is the easiest option?

 

[scylla]

The answer is very straight forward if you want to immigrate to Canada. Crohn's Disease may make you inadmissible if you apply as a skilled worker. However you can't be refused if you are sponsored by your spouse. So being sponsored by your financee (once you qualify) is definitely the way to go.

Your fiancee won't be able to sponsor you until you are either married or common law (common law means you have physically lived together at the same address for a minimum of one full year). Canada has no fiance sponsorship category.

 

[Harpuia]

From what I understand, the family sponsorship could take a long time. Can I seek work in Canada while the sponsorship is pending or do I have to wait the years until I get it in order to find a job?

 

[scylla]

From what I understand, the family sponsorship could take a long time. Can I seek work in Canada while the sponsorship is pending or do I have to wait the years until I get it in order to find a job?

Your understanding is incorrect. Provided you apply using the outland (outside of Canada) process. You could be done in as little as 4-6 months. Join the Family Sponsorship section of the forum if you have further questions.

 

[Rob_TO]

I will also concur with Scylla, that an outland family class app through CPC-Ottawa office (where US citizens are processed) would be your quickest and safest option to avoid excessive demand criteria. US apps are going through super quick these days. Of course as was mentioned, you must be married or common-law. There is no "fiancee" class of visa anymore for Canada.

As to if Crohn's Disease would make you inadmissible in a skilled worker app, it's not easy to say. You could research what some "typical" costs are that Canadians' with Crohn's incur on the Canadian health system. The criteria CIC then uses to determine if you fall under excessive demand, is if those costs exceed a certain threshold which last I saw was around $6,300 per year for a period of 5-10 years. CIC could calculate this by assuming you will use all medical/social services available to you to treat the condition once you have free access to them.

You would get the chance to defend your position if required as part of the procedure, and show what your actual projected costs to Canadian healthcare would be based on your actual history of treatments and doctor/hospital visits. CIC may or may not rule in your favour though. So ultimately to be safe, the best choice is definitely with a family class app after you get married or become common-law.