Hello all. My fiancee and I have been together for four years and want to now live together in Canada. My main question is what do I tell the border officer upon entry to have the highest chance of eventually getting PR. We have travelled to each other’s countries a few times and we no longer can tolerate being apart.
She is a Canadian citizen, and is First Nations. I am a U.S. citizen. As stated we have been dating for four years, since 12/17/2014 and got engaged on 1/22/2019. My plan right now is to enter Canada through an airport and arrive in Manitoba, and when questioned by border officers claim the same as before, saying i will only be there temporarily to visit my fiance. We want to get married, have a small ceremony (the “real” one will take place in Mexico in a year), and apply for spousal sponsorship and a work permit at the same time. I have a job offer from a construction company that takes contracts from the city of Winnipeg, and she currently makes 46k a year at a job she recently started 1 month ago (they confirmed they will be keeping her permanently).
When i enter and my passport is not stamped, am I in possession of a 6 month temporary resident visa, or do i have to ask for one and have one officially besides the stamp. And if so, would that suffice to apply for spousal sponsorship inland, as well as the work permit? I will have the FBI background check needed and my birth certificate mailed to me to not raise suspicions carrying it across the border. Or would i be better off claiming “immigration” as my reason for visiting and letting the officer know i plan on getting married and working as well as letting him know of the job offer. I would assume i need proof of my fiancee’s income, and other such things if i were to let them know.
And is there any big benefit to doing so such as when applying for the temporary visa and work permit upon entry i could receive even the work permit immediately? From what I’ve read i need an lmia exemption code to apply at the border for the work permit or, an approval; a code that i could use would be A70 which seems to be for spouse or common law partner under canada class, yet in that case i would have to already have applied for spousal sponsorship for which we would have to get married for wouldnt i?
Sorry for any confusion and I appreciate any and all help and clarification. Thank you to all. Please ask any questions necessary.
She is a Canadian citizen, and is First Nations. I am a U.S. citizen. As stated we have been dating for four years, since 12/17/2014 and got engaged on 1/22/2019. My plan right now is to enter Canada through an airport and arrive in Manitoba, and when questioned by border officers claim the same as before, saying i will only be there temporarily to visit my fiance. We want to get married, have a small ceremony (the “real” one will take place in Mexico in a year), and apply for spousal sponsorship and a work permit at the same time. I have a job offer from a construction company that takes contracts from the city of Winnipeg, and she currently makes 46k a year at a job she recently started 1 month ago (they confirmed they will be keeping her permanently).
When i enter and my passport is not stamped, am I in possession of a 6 month temporary resident visa, or do i have to ask for one and have one officially besides the stamp. And if so, would that suffice to apply for spousal sponsorship inland, as well as the work permit? I will have the FBI background check needed and my birth certificate mailed to me to not raise suspicions carrying it across the border. Or would i be better off claiming “immigration” as my reason for visiting and letting the officer know i plan on getting married and working as well as letting him know of the job offer. I would assume i need proof of my fiancee’s income, and other such things if i were to let them know.
And is there any big benefit to doing so such as when applying for the temporary visa and work permit upon entry i could receive even the work permit immediately? From what I’ve read i need an lmia exemption code to apply at the border for the work permit or, an approval; a code that i could use would be A70 which seems to be for spouse or common law partner under canada class, yet in that case i would have to already have applied for spousal sponsorship for which we would have to get married for wouldnt i?
Sorry for any confusion and I appreciate any and all help and clarification. Thank you to all. Please ask any questions necessary.
Last edited:
