Hi folks,
After reading the application process for a new study permit, my girlfriend and I just realized that she (who is an American citizen) is noncompliant with her original study permit. Because of personal reasons, she had to take a break from school in January but she continued to work.
[Some optional background] Late last year, as she was starting school, she faced a separation with her ex-husband, divorce, and forced to live in a shelter. Seeing that she wasn't in the mindset and that she doesn't know how to pay for school, her school advisors adivsed her to take a break. Fine and she did that -- but she wasn't aware that there's a difference between a scheduled versus an unscheduled break. (A lawyer we spoke to didn't inform us of this either! Although, we recognize that it's our responsibility...)
Also, she wasn't aware that she was noncompliant because any kind of documentation or letters from CIC that would have told warned her would have been lost on the two moves she had to undertake in the last year or withheld by her exhusband. In hindsight, we're also confused about why the border guards didn't stop us last month as we re-entered Canada from the US.
She immediately stopped working once we realized this and have contacted a lawyer to understand what her obligations are, and how we can come forward to CIC.
But, I want to sponsor her permanent resident application. How poorly will this reflect on the application? Is noncompliance automatically equal to inadmissibility?
I also have some supplementary questions if you are so kind:
- She's applying for school. I read that CBSA imposes a 6 month waiting period on new work/study permits as a penalty for noncompliance. Have I interpreted this correctly?
- I read that she had 90 days after her break from school to leave Canada. As such, she has overstayed since this deadline would have been in April. But, we subsequently left and returned to Canada. Is it weird, given that DLIs must report to CIC any change in education status, that we didn't get stopped? And since we left and come back, does this solve the overstay issue? (I read in a manual that to resolve overstays, you have to leave the country and when you come back, the clock resets).
- With the PR application, does she gain implied status and allowed to stay in this country despite her overstay?
- When we came back to Canada, we didn't really have to answer any questions so my fear that she inadvertently misrepresented herself at the border has diminished a bit. But, if we were asked "why are you in Canada" only to respond "I'm on a study permit [which would not be valid at that point because she's taking a break from school]", does that mean that she misrepresented herself? Are the sanctions lower for those who inadvertently do it?
- If there is a removal order from CBSA but the letter is withheld by someone else (her ex), would her penalties be mitigated?
Sorry for this long message but we're very committed to keeping her here. Her life path would be severely diminished if she were to go back to the States, even for a short time. She's a good person -- who was in a horrible situation. I know it is our responsibility to keep up with her immigration status -- but given the divorce, living in a shelter and leaving school -- one can only manage so much at once. She now knows the law, and understands and appreciates its policy intent.
Any advice you have would be appreciated. We're also committed to posting our progress and the conclusion of our issue so that others could learn from our experience. Thank you in advance.
After reading the application process for a new study permit, my girlfriend and I just realized that she (who is an American citizen) is noncompliant with her original study permit. Because of personal reasons, she had to take a break from school in January but she continued to work.
[Some optional background] Late last year, as she was starting school, she faced a separation with her ex-husband, divorce, and forced to live in a shelter. Seeing that she wasn't in the mindset and that she doesn't know how to pay for school, her school advisors adivsed her to take a break. Fine and she did that -- but she wasn't aware that there's a difference between a scheduled versus an unscheduled break. (A lawyer we spoke to didn't inform us of this either! Although, we recognize that it's our responsibility...)
Also, she wasn't aware that she was noncompliant because any kind of documentation or letters from CIC that would have told warned her would have been lost on the two moves she had to undertake in the last year or withheld by her exhusband. In hindsight, we're also confused about why the border guards didn't stop us last month as we re-entered Canada from the US.
She immediately stopped working once we realized this and have contacted a lawyer to understand what her obligations are, and how we can come forward to CIC.
But, I want to sponsor her permanent resident application. How poorly will this reflect on the application? Is noncompliance automatically equal to inadmissibility?
I also have some supplementary questions if you are so kind:
- She's applying for school. I read that CBSA imposes a 6 month waiting period on new work/study permits as a penalty for noncompliance. Have I interpreted this correctly?
- I read that she had 90 days after her break from school to leave Canada. As such, she has overstayed since this deadline would have been in April. But, we subsequently left and returned to Canada. Is it weird, given that DLIs must report to CIC any change in education status, that we didn't get stopped? And since we left and come back, does this solve the overstay issue? (I read in a manual that to resolve overstays, you have to leave the country and when you come back, the clock resets).
- With the PR application, does she gain implied status and allowed to stay in this country despite her overstay?
- When we came back to Canada, we didn't really have to answer any questions so my fear that she inadvertently misrepresented herself at the border has diminished a bit. But, if we were asked "why are you in Canada" only to respond "I'm on a study permit [which would not be valid at that point because she's taking a break from school]", does that mean that she misrepresented herself? Are the sanctions lower for those who inadvertently do it?
- If there is a removal order from CBSA but the letter is withheld by someone else (her ex), would her penalties be mitigated?
Sorry for this long message but we're very committed to keeping her here. Her life path would be severely diminished if she were to go back to the States, even for a short time. She's a good person -- who was in a horrible situation. I know it is our responsibility to keep up with her immigration status -- but given the divorce, living in a shelter and leaving school -- one can only manage so much at once. She now knows the law, and understands and appreciates its policy intent.
Any advice you have would be appreciated. We're also committed to posting our progress and the conclusion of our issue so that others could learn from our experience. Thank you in advance.
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