Marrying a Canadian/ Moving to Canada / Maintaining US Employment

[MTRagnar]

I'm looking for some guidance on my situation. I'll outline some facts in an effort to make this easier to follow, and then list my questions.

1. I am a United States citizen and my fiance is Canadian. We live in Buffalo, NY and St. Catharines, ON, respectively.
2. I have two children (different mothers) in the United States. I have joint custody of both and they reside with me a little less than 50% of the time.
3. I am employed in the United States and do not intend on leaving my employer.

Questions:

A. We would like to marry and reside together in Canada. Is there any type of visitor's visa I could obtain prior to us being married, even though I would be commuting to the US for work on a daily basis, that would allow me to live with her now?

B. I have brought my children with me to her house to visit before, but most recently was asked for a letter of consent when crossing into Canada. Prior to us being married, is it possible to obtain a letter of consent for each of my children to travel freely with me across the border for periodic, but frequent visits? I'm not sure if the letter can be drafted to be a general letter of consent, as opposed to obtaining a letter of consent for each visit outlining the specific time frame. (I do understand and appreciate the need for the letter, as explained by the customs agent.)

Thanks for your help. It feels like a sticky situation, but I doubt it's unique.

 

[scylla]

A. No - there is no such visa. Also note that getting married won't allow you to live with her. In order to live with her she will have to sponsor you for permanent residency once you are married. Once you are a PR, you'll be able to live with her in Canada and commute daily to the US. Until then, all you can do is visit.
B. I'm not sure if a general letter will do the trick or if a specific letter is needed each time. Hopefully someone else will be able to help.

 

[MTRagnar]

Thanks, Scylla.

Follow up question based on your response to A:

How could we be legally married in Canada? We are under the impression that some type of visa would need to be issued first, regardless of if I was living there. Our intention is to marry at city hall. Thoughts?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks, Scylla.

Follow up question based on your response to A:

How could we be legally married in Canada? We are under the impression that some type of visa would need to be issued first, regardless of if I was living there. Our intention is to marry at city hall. Thoughts?

You don't need a visa to get married. Anyone can get married in Canada regardless of their status here.

Also note that US citizens are visa-exempt to Canada. The "exempt" means that it's not possible to get a visa, all you can get is visitor status here. After you are married you may only "visit" Canada. Each time you cross the border to work and then back again, you will be entering Canada under the presumption you are "visiting". This may work several times, but continue to do this and I wouldn't be surprised if a CBSA officer simply decides you are actually "living" in Canada which you are not supposed to do as a visitor, and rejects your entry into Canada.

A NEXUS card may help with the constant border crossings, but you're still pushing your luck trying this every day indefinitely. You need to get PR status to actually "live" in Canada and be guaranteed entry back to Canada each time you try after work each day.

 

[MTRagnar]

Thanks Rob_TO

I saw that US citizens were visa exempt in other research leading up to this post, but I was confused based on my misunderstanding of the marriage rules. In your opinion, would my commuting be less of a concern at the border if I had applied for PR status already and we were legally married?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks Rob_TO

I saw that US citizens were visa exempt in other research leading up to this post, but I was confused based on my misunderstanding of the marriage rules. In your opinion, would my commuting be less of a concern at the border if I had applied for PR status already and we were legally married?

In general CBSA is usually more lenient on people that already have a PR app in progress.

However you are still pushing your luck by traveling across the border every single day. Having a Canadian spouse gives you no right at all to "live" in Canada, only to visit. Be prepared that on one of your attempts to re-enter Canada, you may be denied entry.

 

[scylla]

In general CBSA is usually more lenient on people that already have a PR app in progress.

However you are still pushing your luck by traveling across the border every single day. Having a Canadian spouse gives you no right at all to "live" in Canada, only to visit. Be prepared that on one of your attempts to re-enter Canada, you may be denied entry.

Agreed. Make sure you have a back up plan (i.e. where you will stay and live) in the event you are refused entry into Canada one day and told you can't immediately return. It's certainly quite possible this may happen. Also, if it looks like you're going to be refused entry - don't argue - just accept it. What you don't want to do is risk getting a one year exclusion order since this would really mess up your plans.

 

[Leon]

Thanks Rob_TO

I saw that US citizens were visa exempt in other research leading up to this post, but I was confused based on my misunderstanding of the marriage rules. In your opinion, would my commuting be less of a concern at the border if I had applied for PR status already and we were legally married?

Regardless of applying for PR, you are still only allowed to visit until you get your PR but generally speaking, it would probably be better for you if you are in the process of applying for PR. When applying for PR, you will have to include your children on your application. The children will need to pass medicals for PR regardless of getting PR in order to keep the option to sponsor them later. If the mothers allow it, it would be a good idea to get them PR so that they can visit you at will and later possibly go to college in Canada which is less expensive than the US. If you apply for CDN citizenship when you qualify, you could then apply for your kids too.