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gaijinsd

Newbie
Jan 20, 2015
1
0
Hi.

This is my first post and hoping to get some guidance on where to start on this big long immigration process. My fiance and I met last year on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. It was instant love/connection, and we've been inseparable since (except due to physical limitations). I am from the US and she's from Canada. She's 27 and I'm 36. She has a 6 year old daughter from a previous relationship (though never married). I spent most of my time from Sept 2014 through present to find a way to stay in Canada legally and give birth to my son here (being here for the birth). But money has been tight and I've been apply for jobs both in Canada and the US. I just got offered a job in the US (back in San Diego) and accepted. I will work for the DoD which we feel will provide the financial security needed as well as a good base when we try to get full custody of her daughter. We fully intend to setup our life in San Diego, so my goal now is to work for 6 months, visit Canada often, and figure out the immigration process.

We are not yet married, and intended to do so before our son is born, but this job offer came up and I have to leave this Monday. We still plan to do a civil wedding so that we are legally married when our son is born.

So here's the dilemma:
1) I need to go work in the US and would like to come back into Canada at least every month until I can get my fiance and her daughter some legal status in the US.
2) How do I do this w/o being denied at the border? My 6 month visitor visa end in March. I'm thinking that an job offer letter and return tickets might help grant access on each visit.
3) Should we get married in the States or in Canada? I'm trying to determine advantages / disadvantages to both as to provide citizenship for my son in both countries, as well as help my fiance get PR eventually in the States.
4) I read about Parent/Grandparent Super Visas. Not sure if this can apply to me, but is there a Visa as a parent of a Canadian citizen that would allow me to stay in Canada longer if needed.
5) If things don't go as planned in the next 6 months, I may end up looking for a job in Canada so that I can get a work permit, and hopefully a Canadian PR status. The important thing is that we can be together as a family as soon as possible.

Any advice at all in this matter is greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!
 
gaijinsd said:
Hi.

This is my first post and hoping to get some guidance on where to start on this big long immigration process. My fiance and I met last year on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. It was instant love/connection, and we've been inseparable since (except due to physical limitations). I am from the US and she's from Canada. She's 27 and I'm 36. She has a 6 year old daughter from a previous relationship (though never married). I spent most of my time from Sept 2014 through present to find a way to stay in Canada legally and give birth to my son here (being here for the birth). But money has been tight and I've been apply for jobs both in Canada and the US. I just got offered a job in the US (back in San Diego) and accepted. I will work for the DoD which we feel will provide the financial security needed as well as a good base when we try to get full custody of her daughter. We fully intend to setup our life in San Diego, so my goal now is to work for 6 months, visit Canada often, and figure out the immigration process.

We are not yet married, and intended to do so before our son is born, but this job offer came up and I have to leave this Monday. We still plan to do a civil wedding so that we are legally married when our son is born.

So here's the dilemma:
1) I need to go work in the US and would like to come back into Canada at least every month until I can get my fiance and her daughter some legal status in the US.

You can leave in an outland application but it's never guaranteed that you can reenter
2) How do I do this w/o being denied at the border? My 6 month visitor visa end in March. I'm thinking that an job offer letter and return tickets might help grant access on each visit.

That can help. Letting them know you aren't an overstay risk goes a long way. But again if you leave there's always a risk of being denied. You'll never be able to remove it completely. Unless you don't leave and maintain your visitor's status.
3) Should we get married in the States or in Canada? I'm trying to determine advantages / disadvantages to both as to provide citizenship for my son in both countries, as well as help my fiance get PR eventually in the States.
I got married in the states. As long as it's a valid marriage in Canada, you should be fine. You will have to sponsor your wife for PR in the states . Which you'll have better odds researching that on a site for US immigration. In my opinion.
4) I read about Parent/Grandparent Super Visas. Not sure if this can apply to me, but is there a Visa as a parent of a Canadian citizen that would allow me to stay in Canada longer if needed.
Parent visa wouldn't apply unless your baby was sponsoring you. Which he can't. Other than the visa you have now, you can't do more than that.
5) If things don't go as planned in the next 6 months, I may end up looking for a job in Canada so that I can get a work permit, and hopefully a Canadian PR status.
Don't bank on getting a job in Canada as many employers don't want to go through all the extra paperwork to hire people without status to work. So if your wife is out of work for the time being, you may be in a pickle. Not sure what to do there. And going to work in the states everyday and returning is a red flag as it will seem like you are living in Canada and trying to skirt the rules from what I've seen on other posts.
The important thing is that we can be together as a family as soon as possible.

Any advice at all in this matter is greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!

I'd look at your options. Maybe you two could stay in the States a while until she can work again. That way someone is making money but I'm not sure how that would work so I hesitate to truly suggest that. More senior members may have more tips on that.
 
can you work remotely for your us employer? that way you can "Visit" your wife and child in canada while your outland pr application goes through (if you intend to apply for Canadian pr). as blueangel said, CBSA does not like us citizens crossing the border daily. that certain is a reason why people are denied entry.

if you are more interested in sponsoring your canadian family to stay in the states, then you will want to find a forum specific to that immigration process. everyone here wants to get into canada, so there are very few (if any) people on here who have gone through or know about the process for us