Living in Canada while still working in the USA?

[lindsanator]

Hi everyone. New to this forum, and I can't seem to find information that relates to my situation, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.
My boyfriend and I are trying to make some informed decisions about where we may want to live & start our applications (USA vs Canada), as we both live close to the border and aren't entirely decided upon where we'd prefer to live. Would he (an American citizen) be able to continue working in the USA even if we chose to live in Canada once we've married? It's my understanding that if I sponsor him in Canada, he can't work for a certain period of time within Canada, but does that prevent him from working in the USA at his current job, commuting across the border every morning and evening? Neither of us wants to leave our current jobs, so the plan would be the same if we chose to live in the USA with me making the commute over the border for work each day.

Thanks so much for any help!

 

[canuck78]

He wouldn't be able to live in Canada and commute across the border until he gets his PR.

 

[KBH]

There are many people who have done this, with varying amounts of success. Having a Nexus card helps A LOT, as he would be subject to far less questioning each time he crossed. Having a visitor record showing a six month stay helps as well, as it shows he knows how long he can stay (he can request that the first time he enters Canada). However, all it takes is one grumpy or strict CBSA officer to ruin this routine and throw a potentially disastrous monkey wrench in your plans. You should have a plan as to what you would do if he were to be denied entry to Canada in that situation.

 

[lindsanator]

He wouldn't be able to live in Canada and commute across the border until he gets his PR.

Thanks for the response
If we both lived in our respective countries while applying, would we be able to travel back and forth to visit each other? We're literally a 20 minute drive across the border to each other, so for the past 3 years we've been crossing back and forth without much thought - neither of us wants to have to take time off at our jobs if we can avoid it, but we also don't want to go weeks or months without seeing each other and/or our families in each country. I'm still really new to this entire process so its possible I'm misunderstanding the actual steps that are involved.

 

[lindsanator]

There are many people who have done this, with varying amounts of success. Having a Nexus card helps A LOT, as he would be subject to far less questioning each time he crossed. Having a visitor record showing a six month stay helps as well, as it shows he knows how long he can stay (he can request that the first time he enters Canada). However, all it takes is one grumpy or strict CBSA officer to ruin this routine and throw a potentially disastrous monkey wrench in your plans. You should have a plan as to what you would do if he were to be denied entry to Canada in that situation.

yikes, I'm guessing this is all going to be a lot more complicated than either of us thought! After 3 years I've finally applied for my Nexus - it was never really a concern before as we've always had pretty good luck with wait times at the border, just figured it made sense to do it for days when the border gets a little backed up like on holidays etc... In a perfect world, I guess I was hoping we could apply and go about our normal routines until we were able to land in one country or the other together.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for the response
If we both lived in our respective countries while applying, would we be able to travel back and forth to visit each other? We're literally a 20 minute drive across the border to each other, so for the past 3 years we've been crossing back and forth without much thought - neither of us wants to have to take time off at our jobs if we can avoid it, but we also don't want to go weeks or months without seeing each other and/or our families in each country. I'm still really new to this entire process so its possible I'm misunderstanding the actual steps that are involved.

Yes you can continue to do what you are doing. It becomes an issue if you are crossing daily to go to work and CBSA discovers your bf/husband is living in Canada without permission. He can visit but can't live until he gets a PR. If he didn't want to work in the US he could lived with you in Canada for 6 months and try to renew the visa. The issue is the constant contact with border patrol will trigger a problem.

 

[KBH]

yikes, I'm guessing this is all going to be a lot more complicated than either of us thought! After 3 years I've finally applied for my Nexus - it was never really a concern before as we've always had pretty good luck with wait times at the border, just figured it made sense to do it for days when the border gets a little backed up like on holidays etc... In a perfect world, I guess I was hoping we could apply and go about our normal routines until we were able to land in one country or the other together.

I totally get it, and have been in your shoes. Outland applications for Americans, as long as it's a straightforward app, are processed very quickly (4-6 months). If you guys can save some money, the simplest solution that would allow you to live together immediately after you got married would be for him to quit his job and come stay with you in Canada after you get married (and apply outland, which can be done within Canada). He would have to quit his job and find a new job in Canada after landing anyway, so there would just be a bit more of a gap there than perhaps you had hoped for. You could also apply inland so that he could get a work permit, but it takes 4 months for that to be issued, so it doesn't really make sense for Americans to go that route when outland apps are processed so fast.

 

[lindsanator]

Yes you can continue to do what you are doing. It becomes an issue if you are crossing daily to go to work and CBSA discovers your bf/husband is living in Canada without permission. He can visit but can't live until he gets a PR. If he didn't want to work in the US he could lived with you in Canada for 6 months and try to renew the visa. The issue is the constant contact with border patrol will trigger a problem.

That makes a lot of sense - although we'd love to live with each other first, I'm thinking our situation is probably better suited to apply while living apart and continuing to work and visit each other. Am I understanding correctly that at some point in the application process one or both of our passports will need to be sent away?

 

[lindsanator]

I totally get it, and have been in your shoes. Outland applications for Americans, as long as it's a straightforward app, are processed very quickly (4-6 months). If you guys can save some money, the simplest solution that would allow you to live together immediately after you got married would be for him to quit his job and come stay with you in Canada after you get married (and apply outland, which can be done within Canada). He would have to quit his job and find a new job in Canada after landing anyway, so there would just be a bit more of a gap there than perhaps you had hoped for. You could also apply inland so that he could get a work permit, but it takes 4 months for that to be issued, so it doesn't really make sense for Americans to go that route when outland apps are processed so fast.

Is it not possible for him to continue working in the USA even after landing in Canada as a permanent resident? That was always our plan. I've got some family friends who did that, but that was many many many years ago, so I know things have changed, we'd just hoped we'd be able to do the same.

 

[KBH]

Is it not possible for him to continue working in the USA even after landing in Canada as a permanent resident? That was always our plan. I've got some family friends who did that, but that was many many many years ago, so I know things have changed, we'd just hoped we'd be able to do the same.

Ah, I see. In that case, if he wants to keep his job permanently, you're right that continuing to live apart and visit frequently might be the best thing to do until he lands as a PR. However, outland applications are processed so quickly that hopefully you wouldn't have to do that for very long!

That makes a lot of sense - although we'd love to live with each other first, I'm thinking our situation is probably better suited to apply while living apart and continuing to work and visit each other. Am I understanding correctly that at some point in the application process one or both of our passports will need to be sent away?

No, they will only require photocopies.

 

[lindsanator]

Ah, I see. In that case, if he wants to keep his job permanently, you're right that continuing to live apart and visit frequently might be the best thing to do until he lands as a PR. However, outland applications are processed so quickly that hopefully you wouldn't have to do that for very long!

No, they will only require photocopies.

Thank you so much for all the information! That puts my mind at ease a bit You've been very helpful - much appreciated!