Rejoining my family after an overstayed visa

[Bulliwyf]

My apologies if this isn't the correct place for this, but it seemed like the most appropriate place for this question....

I traveled to Canada on a study visa to complete my degree and also spend time with my girlfriend.
Fast forward to the end of my visa and I have competed my degree, I have also married my wife, and we have just bought a home to start our family together in.

I called the CIC office and spoke with a woman about extending my visa, and she said my account was flagged for the extension, but I would still need to fill out the paperwork, which she was going to mail to me. I basically got a little lazy and stopped thinking about the extension (kind of along the lines of "she said I was extended, so I'm good!).

Fast forward again and my job does an audit and they realize that my SIN is not valid and they put me on a temporary leave so I can get it sorted out. A few calls and emails later and I find out that the woman I spoke with earlier in the CiC office never actually did anything - never emailed me, never mailed me, never even flagged the account for an extension.

At this point, my wife and I decide that since I'm no longer eligible for a visitor visa, we would apply for PR. We apply once, find out that we goofed on a piece of paperwork or 2. We get ready to apply again, but then get advised by someone else who has gone through this process with his wife that we might have issues b/c I was currently in Canada illegally.

At this point, I have to return to the US to take care of some family issues, so I pack up me and my 1yr old daughter, return back to the US but I'm trying to find out now if I need to wait a certain amount of time before I apply for my PR.

Just to clarify:
I entered on a Student visa
I am now married to a Canadian and we have a Canadian daughter
I was never contacted by the Government about leaving and left voluntarily.


Please and thanks to anyone who can help me.

 

[Carlaganda23]

My apologies if this isn't the correct place for this, but it seemed like the most appropriate place for this question....

I traveled to Canada on a study visa to complete my degree and also spend time with my girlfriend.
Fast forward to the end of my visa and I have competed my degree, I have also married my wife, and we have just bought a home to start our family together in.

I called the CIC office and spoke with a woman about extending my visa, and she said my account was flagged for the extension, but I would still need to fill out the paperwork, which she was going to mail to me. I basically got a little lazy and stopped thinking about the extension (kind of along the lines of "she said I was extended, so I'm good!).

Fast forward again and my job does an audit and they realize that my SIN is not valid and they put me on a temporary leave so I can get it sorted out. A few calls and emails later and I find out that the woman I spoke with earlier in the CiC office never actually did anything - never emailed me, never mailed me, never even flagged the account for an extension.

At this point, my wife and I decide that since I'm no longer eligible for a visitor visa, we would apply for PR. We apply once, find out that we goofed on a piece of paperwork or 2. We get ready to apply again, but then get advised by someone else who has gone through this process with his wife that we might have issues b/c I was currently in Canada illegally.

At this point, I have to return to the US to take care of some family issues, so I pack up me and my 1yr old daughter, return back to the US but I'm trying to find out now if I need to wait a certain amount of time before I apply for my PR.

Just to clarify:
I entered on a Student visa
I am now married to a Canadian and we have a Canadian daughter
I was never contacted by the Government about leaving and left voluntarily.


Please and thanks to anyone who can help me.

You can apply Outland. You can sort out the forms and documents to be filled in and submitted. Send the application as soon as you can.

I think the process in time in the US is around 10months.

 

[Avadava]

As far as I know (but I might be wrong, so other people can comment more on this), if you haven't received a deportation order and left voluntarily, as a visa exempt national that's all it takes to reset your illegal status. So if you try to go back to Canada, based on your US passport, you can stay for 6 months as a visitor with the possibility of renewing your visitor status.
Having a spouse application filed, can further improve your chances of extending your visitor status after the first 6 months from within Canada. However, you will not be allowed to work. You might want to ask in the skilled worker part of this forum how to regain your work visa.

Just FYI, you can stay in Canada as a visitor during the processing of your PR application, regardless if the application is filed inland or outland. The difference between the two is:
Outland - shorter processing time and you can leave Canada and re-enter at any time as a visa exempt national.
Inland - longer processing times, but after the first stage approval (6-8 months) you can file for an Open Work Permit. If you leave Canada during the inland application process, there is a small chance you will be refused entry and based on that, your PR application will be considered abandoned.

Edit:

We get ready to apply again, but then get advised by someone else who has gone through this process with his wife that we might have issues b/c I was currently in Canada illegally.

Regarding what your friend said about your illegal status, this is from the CIC website:

"You can apply to sponsor your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children to immigrate to Canada. It does not matter if they live in or outside Canada. If they live in Canada, they do not need to have legal status to be sponsored." - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp

So even if you are in Canada illegally, you still qualify to be sponsored under the Family Class. The only problem would be is if CBSA somehow tracks you down and starts the formalities to deport you, you would have to leave and apply for a ARC (Authorization to Return to Canada) which will delay your application.