Need Help Please (pretty desperate)

[StarEirena]

Hi there,
This is my first time posting on this forum and I'm feeling a bit over whelmed, and am in search of some advice. I just got off the phone with an criminal defense/ immigration lawyer in Texas and they Told me there is nothing I can do. I'm really hoping that someone here could provide me with some hope or information to change that. My name is Star and I'll try to provide you with a little back ground information as we go that might be useful to you in helping me.

To start with I'm a 29 year old trans person, living in Texas in the United States. About two years ago I met someone from Canada and together we changed each others' lives and each became an important part of the other's daily life. I guess the easiest way to describe our relationship is that in a lot of ways we're like very close sisters. For a while now, we've been planning on and talking about me moving to Canada to be with her. Our problem is how?

I myself have a GED, I went to a small vocational cooking school after I tried college. Since then, I've been in and out of the food service industry but I am highly skilled in and my expertise is in many various forms of customer service. I've done anything from valet, concierge, made to order chef, over the phone tech support, and some lesser glamorous jobs that were still relevant to some form of customer service. However, I don't feel any of this is good enough to put on a visa application.

My sister is supposed to have a series of surgeries with in the next 6 to 8 months (possibly a bit later) and I'm supposed to be there as a care taker during them and her time in recovery. She will be hospitalized in Montreal for two weeks during which she will need me for emotional support and to take notes of the information the doctors give to us. After that, we will be back in Ontario near Toronto while she continues to recover. This could be a couple months or possibly six. But I'll be there to cook and clean for her, change her bandages, help her with medications, help her with stretches or other prescribed activities and to ensure she makes it to any future check up appointments on time.

From some of the information we have found is that I can only be there six months, but her recovery might take longer. So given the situation we're trying to look at more long term solutions. Our other thought is that for as close as we are, as much time that we spend together, and how much we rely on the other that we'd like to share our lives and live together. So essentially it'd be pretty heart breaking for both of us if I had to leave half way through her recovery and if we were separated.

One plan we had was that once a month or once every other month we would go to Niagara for a couple days before heading back to Toronto. I'm not clear on the details, but she has a friend whose family and he just recently got their citizenship after some years of working towards it. From what she said is that every other month or so they would cross over the boarder then cross back with a receipt from a hotel or something to prove that they'd gone back to the United States. However, another friend of mine told me this wouldn't work because by law I had to stay with in the United States for half a year. So, I'm not certain this plan would work and if anyone could provide further information on this I'd like to hear it.

Another friend of mine from my home town moved to and became a citizen in Nova Scotia with his partner. When I spoke to both of them after he moved they said that after he'd been there 9 months his partner was able to claim him as family and there was just some paper work to fill out. Though his partner is in the Canadian Navy so this might've effected it. I remember reading some where that you had to make a minimum income each year before you can sponsor someone as your family member and I'm not sure my Sister falls with in that income bracket.

I'm definitely not opposed to the idea of a work visa or a student visa and possibly going back to school for some kind of tech program like radiology. But, the lady I just spoke to on the phone said there's no possible way I could get either one of these. And even if I did get a Student Visa I don't know how I'd pay for the schooling. How would loans work? Or are there any kinda of scholarships or programs offered to international students?

Another idea I had, and why I mentioned being trans in my introduction, is that the quality of life for trans people in Canada and the US is very different. Where I currently live and where I was in Florida there's a lot of discrimination that can get pretty scary and then there's the whole bathroom wars thing going on. So I thought as a long shot I might be able to claim refugee status as being trans and facing discrimination. It's just an idea. But it might be a possibility and in certain circumstances isn't far from the truth.

The other concern My sister and I have is that a few months back I was attacked by a roommate after which I walked to a hospital with blood gushing out of my face because I was too worried it would have antagonized the person more if I called 911 with them in the same house as me. What ended up happening is the hospital called the Police who didn't do much except write us both tickets and charged us with a class C misdemeanor. Which isn't anything serious. It's the equivalent of a parking ticket. My sister and I started doing research about how this would effect both of us hopefully being together some day. We found that the information said that if it's illegal in the US and it's illegal in Canada that this could be a valid reason for Canadian border officials to deny me entry. If they saw on my record "Class C misdemeanor disturbance of the peace: Fighting with Others, I might be seen as a threat. So, rather than pleading guilty I arranged with the judge to do a deferral which means I pay the fine and avoid any further trouble for the next three months and they drop the charges against me. After which I have to have it expunged from my record. However, something else we'd found was something called a Non Conviction Record, that is pulled up when ever I try to cross the border that still retains this information and I would need to have that cleared as well. I've asked around town and spoken to various defense lawyers about this trying to find more information, but no body in this small town can tell me anything for certain or knows what I'm talking about. So, if anyone one reading this whose knows anything about this could shed some light on this as well. Please do.

That's pretty much it. At this point I'm kinda desperate and feel like I'm grasping at straws. It just seems like there's got to be some way. Something that my sister and I can do that would let us be together. Maybe a well known lawyer or someone we can talk to? Just anything. It feels like that if two people want to be together and they put forth the effort of doing it honestly there's got to be a way they can. So please. Anyone, if you could help us. Please comment on this and give us any information you know. We would very much like to stay together in person once I'm there.

Thank you,
Star

 

[scylla]

It's not entirely clear what class c misdemeanor you're charged with. This answer will determine whether you're admissible to Canada or not. Also, in many cases you're inadmissible to Canada while the charges are still pending. But again, while you've written a great deal, the basic facts aren't that clear.

Let's say that your charge isn't an issue - this still won't guarantee entry into Canada. You need to be very careful since what you're planning to do in Canada to support your friend will very likely sound like working without authorization to a CBSA officer (even though you're not going to be paid). When entering Canada, you need to ensure you look like a genuine visitor (someone who only has plans to remain for a short period of time) and not someone who is looking to remain in Canada long term. Yes - most Americans are given a six month visit by default. However if the CBSA officer has concerns about your intentions in Canada, it's possible to be given a shorter visit or even refused entry completely. To increase the chances of a smooth entry into Canada, you want to make sure you look like a visitor. Don't pack like you're moving and don't bring things with you that a visitor normally wouldn't take. Make sure you can demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself while visiting Canada - and you'll also want to bring proof of ties to the US with you in case you end up in secondary and are asked to demonstrate that you aren't attempting to move to Canada. The kind of proof you would want to bring is evidence of property ownership/rental, proof of employment, utility bills, etc. Assuming you're able to enter Canada and get a six month visit, avoid crossing the border if you want to stay the full six months (border crossings are risky). If you want to stay longer, you should pay to extend your visit from within Canada (don't do a border run - much lower chance of success). Keep in mind that you won't qualify for any health care system coverage while in Canada as a visitor - so you'll want to purchase travel insurance to cover any emergencies before you come to Canada. You will have to pay for any non-emergency care out of your own pocket.

If you wanted to come to Canada on a work permit, you would need to first secure a full time job offer from an employer in Canada and that employer would need to obtain an approved LMIA (permission to hire a foreign workers). Unfortunately it tends to be extremely difficult to find employers willing to go through the LMIA process (since it's long and expensive - and they also have to prove that no Canadian could be found for the role). To come on a study permit, you'd need to be accepted by a school in Canada first and then apply for a study permit. You'll need to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to cover tuition and living expenses to be approved - practically this mean you would need to show a bank balance with at least $25K in funds available. You should assume there will be no scholarship available. The earliest a study permit would be possible is for the January term (September term has already started).

In order to sponsor you for permanent residency, you and your partner will either need to get married - or you will need to live together continuously for at least one full year to become common law.

You do not qualify for refugee status. Don't even try it. A failed refugee claim will complicate any future plans you have for Canada.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I agree with scylla.

I will say further that in order to become common-law, you must be cohabiting in a marriage-like relationship, i.e. you must actually be a couple. The sister-like relationship you have described does not qualify.

 

[Leon]

Some people have gotten away with "extending" their visitor status by crossing over to the US and back. However, immigration officers aren't stupid and they can stop you from entering for any reason, including that they feel that you are spending too much time in Canada. The rule of thumb is that you should not spend more time in Canada than you spend at home in the US so approximately 6 months in / 6 months out. Otherwise, you are not really just visiting anymore.

However, you can without going to the border, apply for a visitor extension. You have to apply for this before your visitor status expires. If you do not get a stamp in your passport and if you are from the US, you often don't, keep proof of when you entered Canada like your boarding card if you flew in. Looking at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/ you can see that the processing time of a visitor extension is 114 days right now if you apply on paper. Having applied to extend gives you implied status which means you can stay while you wait for an answer so if you apply say 5.5 months in, you buy yourself another almost 4 months in Canada even if they say no. If they say no, you have to leave when they tell you. In order for them to say yes, you have to show that you have the means to support yourself without working illegally and it's not a bad idea to show that you have travel insurance too in order to take care of emergencies that come up without relying on help from the Canadian tax payer.

As for entering, do not show up with luggage for 6 months. Show up with stuff for 3 weeks and say you are visiting a friend who just had surgery for moral support. Do not say you are there to play nurse. They consider that working illegally. If you need more stuff, box it up and mail it to your friend.

As for sponsorship, you can not be sponsored by your (adopted) sister, not even if it were a biological sister. If your relationship turns into a love interest or should you happen to find a love interest while in Canada, you can get sponsored by a partner, as others have said, if you have gotten married or if you have lived as common law for at least 12 months.

If you end up not being able to stay in Canada for some reason, nothing is stopping your sister from coming to you and staying with you in the US. If she can travel from Montreal to Ontario after her surgery, she can also fly to the US.