I have a few questions in regards to sponsoring my husband. I'm a Canadian citizen, he's a US citizen. We have a place in Michigan, where he lives, and I have a place in Canada, I usually visit Michigan every few months for a few months. Now we have a baby on the way (due in 8 weeks and he will be born in Canada) and have procrastinated until now to start the immigration process, which was a really dumb thing to do. Neither of us have ever applied for immigration or sponsoring to any country in the past until now. I will be sponsoring him to come here as a permanent resident. We didn't logically think about how long immigration would take, which we really wish we had done now, but we are dealing with the situation now.
He wants to be around for when our son is born and he wants to avoid being absent from our son's life for many months at a time. We plan to maintain his permanent address in Michigan until he is approved to live in Canada as a permanent resident, at which point, we will no longer be keeping his current residence in the States. I understand that he can visit Canada for up to 6 months at a time.
The most important thing to us, is that we do not want to do anything illegal or jeopardize his immigration to Canada in any way.
We have run into problems when I have visited him in the United States, the US border doesn't seem to like it when I tell them I plan to be down visiting for 4 months when they ask how long I'll be there for. We would never lie to or deceive a border guard on either side of the border in any manner so that is not an option for us. (Someone has suggested it to us in the past and we don't see it as anything more than asking for a lot of trouble.) We've never run into problems on the Canadian side, but my husband has always maintained a job, which helps a lot. Where as the problems on the US border have been because I was unemployed and planned to stay in the United States for 3 to 4 months. They nicely explained to us that the problem is that they don't have enough reason to believe I wouldn't permanently decide to stay without the proper paperwork. I have always had the same permanent address in Canada with the paperwork to prove my address though, but the reasoning for the trouble at the border is understandable.
We have just begun filing the immigration paperwork for him to live in Canada permanently. We were hoping to have him resign from his job in a month (financially we are fine, so him not having an income would not be a problem). He will then begin visiting and staying with me for 5 months, then returning to the US for 1 month. I plan to go down to Michigan in 2 weeks (it's only a 5 hour drive), and start packing. The furniture at his residence in the US will stay there for now, as we won't need it until his immigration is finalized and we can give up his place and move into a larger place in Canada than the one we currently have in Canada. Upon the first border crossing to have him stay as a visitor with me in Canada for 5 months, we plan on bringing our cat and our dog (both are registered and have all their shots that they need). We also plan on bringing my husband's clothes and baby items and gifts that his family and our friends in the US have given us. After that, he plans to stay with me for 5 months, then return to the US for 1 month, and repeat the process of 5 months here, 1 month there until his immigration is approved. Upon future border crossings, he will only be bringing his clothing and basic travel items. If we decide to bring the baby down to visit his family (which would only be for a week at a time if we did), then we'd only be traveling with our basic travel items as a family.
My questions are;
1) Is this legal? As I said, we do not want to break any laws, but we want to be together as a family as much as possible.
2) When we are crossing the border into the United States or into Canada, is there anything specific we should know or notify them of?
3) The initial border crossing into Canada has a lot of luggage and personal items included. If we are asked and are honest with the border guards and let them know that he is visiting but has an address in the US and that I am sponsoring him to live here as a permanent resident, will we have many problems?
This is a complicated situation, or maybe my mind is just over thinking how complicated it really will be, I'd just rather be prepared at this point. So if you can answer any or all of those 3 questions and or provide us with any advice on the situation, it would be more than appreciated. Hopefully we are not the only ones who have experienced this situation and someone else might have some light to shed to make the next year or two of our lives a lot smoother.
Thanks in advance!
He wants to be around for when our son is born and he wants to avoid being absent from our son's life for many months at a time. We plan to maintain his permanent address in Michigan until he is approved to live in Canada as a permanent resident, at which point, we will no longer be keeping his current residence in the States. I understand that he can visit Canada for up to 6 months at a time.
The most important thing to us, is that we do not want to do anything illegal or jeopardize his immigration to Canada in any way.
We have run into problems when I have visited him in the United States, the US border doesn't seem to like it when I tell them I plan to be down visiting for 4 months when they ask how long I'll be there for. We would never lie to or deceive a border guard on either side of the border in any manner so that is not an option for us. (Someone has suggested it to us in the past and we don't see it as anything more than asking for a lot of trouble.) We've never run into problems on the Canadian side, but my husband has always maintained a job, which helps a lot. Where as the problems on the US border have been because I was unemployed and planned to stay in the United States for 3 to 4 months. They nicely explained to us that the problem is that they don't have enough reason to believe I wouldn't permanently decide to stay without the proper paperwork. I have always had the same permanent address in Canada with the paperwork to prove my address though, but the reasoning for the trouble at the border is understandable.
We have just begun filing the immigration paperwork for him to live in Canada permanently. We were hoping to have him resign from his job in a month (financially we are fine, so him not having an income would not be a problem). He will then begin visiting and staying with me for 5 months, then returning to the US for 1 month. I plan to go down to Michigan in 2 weeks (it's only a 5 hour drive), and start packing. The furniture at his residence in the US will stay there for now, as we won't need it until his immigration is finalized and we can give up his place and move into a larger place in Canada than the one we currently have in Canada. Upon the first border crossing to have him stay as a visitor with me in Canada for 5 months, we plan on bringing our cat and our dog (both are registered and have all their shots that they need). We also plan on bringing my husband's clothes and baby items and gifts that his family and our friends in the US have given us. After that, he plans to stay with me for 5 months, then return to the US for 1 month, and repeat the process of 5 months here, 1 month there until his immigration is approved. Upon future border crossings, he will only be bringing his clothing and basic travel items. If we decide to bring the baby down to visit his family (which would only be for a week at a time if we did), then we'd only be traveling with our basic travel items as a family.
My questions are;
1) Is this legal? As I said, we do not want to break any laws, but we want to be together as a family as much as possible.
2) When we are crossing the border into the United States or into Canada, is there anything specific we should know or notify them of?
3) The initial border crossing into Canada has a lot of luggage and personal items included. If we are asked and are honest with the border guards and let them know that he is visiting but has an address in the US and that I am sponsoring him to live here as a permanent resident, will we have many problems?
This is a complicated situation, or maybe my mind is just over thinking how complicated it really will be, I'd just rather be prepared at this point. So if you can answer any or all of those 3 questions and or provide us with any advice on the situation, it would be more than appreciated. Hopefully we are not the only ones who have experienced this situation and someone else might have some light to shed to make the next year or two of our lives a lot smoother.
Thanks in advance!
