Need advice about PR process

[christinamh]

I will make this as short as possible.

My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 years now. I am American, he is Canadian (citizen). I moved to Canada (unofficially) in October 2011. I went home for a few weeks in December 2011-January 2012. I came back in January 2012, stayed until March 2012, then went home a couple weeks and returned in late April 2012. I have been here since. I've never been told I had to leave at a certain date, the immigration officers always just take my word for when I am leaving. Given that, I always assume I have six months until I have to return home for at least some time. I always travel by land, so they never stamp my passport with a date of arrival or departure.

However, I know that I cannot keep (unofficially) living here. Marriage is something that we both want. My first question is, can we apply for a marriage license and get married in the same day in Canada? (I read on the Niagara Falls [Canada] website that this IS possible.) Also, would it be easier to get married in Canada or the US?

My second question is, where do we go from there? Do I then apply for visitation extension and then start filling out PR application? Or what should we do after we get married? Is there anything else that we need to do so I can stay in Canada?

 

[computergeek]

If you are not told otherwise, you DO have six months before you must leave again, so you are fine thus far. The US and Canada are now sharing exit information, so Canada will know if you overstay - don't do it, because that will make your life more difficult.

I know here in BC one can be married any time after obtaining a marriage licence, so indeed it can all be done on the same day in at least one Province. A quick glance at the Ontario website for this (http://www.ontario.ca/en/life_events/married/004444.html) it looks like it is the same as BC. Get your licence, get married.

Once you are married, you may submit a PR application and you may request a visitor record allowing you to stay while the PR application is in process. That's not guaranteed but most couples seem to have success in obtaining a VR for the American in such a relationship (clearly part of the special relationship between the US and Canada).

You want to apply via the OUTLAND process (even if you are in Canada) because it is faster and provides you with the ability to leave Canada while everything is in process. Start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp#immigrate. You will also find the US2Canada website useful for describing the process: http://us2canada.com

Good luck!

 

[christinamh]

Wow, thank you so much. That was really helpful.
So first thing's first, get married. Then apply for visitation extension and PR.
How do I get a visitor record? Do I have to ask for it at the border? I am not planning on crossing back over the border until December (given that I am granted a visitation extension). Or can I apply for a visitor record through my PR application?

Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[computergeek]

How do I get a visitor record? Do I have to ask for it at the border? I am not planning on crossing back over the border until December (given that I am granted a visitation extension). Or can I apply for a visitor record through my PR application?

Start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/visitor.asp

You don't have a visitor record as they aren't generally given out at the border unless your stay is for something other than the "normal" amount of time. The extension application doesn't require that you have a VR (it does say to enter the number if you have one) and you won't have a UCI yet. But once you apply to extend, they will either grant your request (very likely if you have a PR application in process) OR they will deny your request and give you a departure order (30 days to leave or it becomes a deportation order. DON'T get a deportation order. That's a lifetime ban on entry to Canada and involves another layer of nasty paperwork.)

If they grant your request, you will receive a visitor record in the mail.

Do NOT apply for an extension at the same time as the PR - you need to maintain legal status. As long as you send in your application so it is received at least one DAY before your current status expires, you can remain under "implied status". Ideally, you should send it along with evidence you have filed a PR application. If your sponsor has been approved, include a copy of that letter with your application. At a minimum you need to demonstrate you have paid the application fee ($550) by sending in a copy of the receipt - even if you haven't sent in the actual application. If you have sent in the application show something - like a courier receipt that it was received by Mississauga - to show you have submitted the application.

Good luck!

 

[Creampop]

I know this is a strange question but, will this be your first marriage? only ask cus if you are divorced you have to get written permission from the ministry of government to get married as a non-Canadian. My husband and I got married in Niagara Falls NY do to this reason... it was beautiful and you can't go wrong with having a romantic setting... anyways you can ask for a visitor's record when you enter, when we crossed after getting married soon as we pulled up we to the IO we said we had just gotten married and we would like to request a visitor's record. He asked us nothing else just wrote VR on the yellow paper and we went into immigration 10 min, 2 questions, copy of marriage certificate and the receipt from CIBC saying the PR fee's had been paid and they printed it out stamped it and got 8 months. was the easiest I had crossed the border in years as my passport had been red-flagged was starting to know the IO's by first name basis LOL anyways GL!

 

[christinamh]

This will be my first marriage. I am currently in Canada now. My boyfriend's job doesn't really permit him to take off much time from work especially since his job requires him to be on call. If we got married in Niagara Falls NY it would have to be on a week day, therefore my boyfriend would have to take one day right there off of work. Then I would have to apply for PR, not sure if we could do that in the same day or even have time to; therefore another day off work. I'm not sure if that will really work. How would we go about this getting married in Canada? How would I obtain a VR then? Would I have to cross over to the US, then cross back over to Canada and show my marriage certificate and PR application and receipt?
In your experience, did you get a marriage certificate the same day you were married, and did apply for PR the same day you were married? How long were you in the states after getting married?

 

[computergeek]

Then I would have to apply for PR, not sure if we could do that in the same day or even have time to; therefore another day off work. I'm not sure if that will really work. How would we go about this getting married in Canada? How would I obtain a VR then? Would I have to cross over to the US, then cross back over to Canada and show my marriage certificate and PR application and receipt?
In your experience, did you get a marriage certificate the same day you were married, and did apply for PR the same day you were married? How long were you in the states after getting married?

First, filing a PR application is a time-consuming process. It will require that you obtain a medical examination, a police clearance certificate from the US (FBI letter) that requires up to 16 weeks to obtain, a copy of your birth certificate, a copy of your marriage certificate (which took three weeks for us here in BC, although we could have copied the original executed licence), evidence that your relationship is genuine, a variety of forms, etc. The good news is your bf won't need to take time off - you send the completed applications (sponsor + applicant) to Mississauga.

You can apply to extend your stay in Canada and if they grant your request, you will get a VR in the mail. You may also get one at the border.

The actual PR application process takes quite a bit of time - 3 months for sponsor approval + up to a year for applicant approval. The Buffalo visa office was closed at the end of May which means nobody really knows how long it will take to complete the process.

I would suggest checking out the us2canada.com website for information and an oversight of the process.

Then go to the CIC website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp and start reading.

Expect that it will take several months to gather all the paperwork required. I suspect it takes 20-30 hours of time to assemble the entire application, review it, make sure everything is right, check it once again, bundle it up and send it off to CIC. It's a project. But none of it requires taking time off - not unless you get called for an interview, which is very unlikely.

Good luck!

 

[Creampop]

no sweetheart it won't happen in a Day like computergeek stated. we started collecting papers October of last year, I got my FBI request in Jan. (which i sent for in Oct.) we waited till April cus I wanted to get married between our sons birthdays. as computergeek said before info on getting married is here... http://www.ontario.ca/en/life_events/married/004444.html
If you want a visitor's record you will have to leave Canada and return the way I explained above, you are going to have to leave at some point during the process in order to get things done right plus it shows CBSA that you have come and gone without issue, and are less likely to over-stay your stay.

 

[scylla]

If you haven't started the process of gathering information and supporting documentation for the PR application - I would allocate a minimum of three months to getting everything together and the application filled out. It took my husband and I six months - but we ran into some complications with one of the police certificates that was very difficult to obtain. You can certainly start gathering information before you get married - and I would start now if I were you. It's going to take more work than you probably think. Good luck!