Sponsering my girl friend

[Boxerz]

Hi there, I'm new to the forums and had a few questions. My girl friend and I have been together for quite a while (mostly through on an online relationship). She lives in the United States and I live in Alberta. She attempted to cross to come stay with me for a couple of months, immigration didn't like this and denied her access. She revised her plans for only 3 weeks and was able to make it through on a probationary pass which she has to return to Canadian customs before she leaves the country.

Hypothetically, if we were to marry each other in Canada before she left and start the spouse application

A. How hostile would Canadian customs become if she were to try to cross again for another 3 week period knowing that the last time she came she married me?

and B. What are some of the difficulties that we would face with getting her landed immigrant status even though we are married? Also how long would the process take?

Thank you in advance for any advice. Cheers!

 

[CharlieD10]

1. They can be hostile enough to ban her from entering the country for a year (an exclusion order). Marriage is not a ticket in, permanent residence is what she needs. Make some efforts to begin the process for applying for PR, such as paying the fees, and maybe they will look more kindly on her. Also, try to make the crossing with her, make sure she only has enough clothing etc for a VISIT and some proof she has ties to the US still.

2. The same difficulties everyone faces: you need to gather enough evidence to document your relationship from inception to marriage and your current living arrangements, gather all the necessary legal documents including her FBI report and make the application.

She has one refusal so far, so tread very carefully with this.

 

[Boxerz]

So how should we go about this, what application should we start?

 

[Canstralian/Oznadian]

I would suggest an outland application, the timeline seems to be faster. There are also some other benefits applying outland.....

1. If they deny your application, you can appeal. (With an inland application you can't appeal their decision)
2. There is no residency requirement, meaning she can leave the country without any concerns. If you apply inland, she has "implied status" which can then be revoked should she leave the country while the application is in process.

It's quite an arduous process getting an application together, you need to gather proof of your relationship, especially if as you say, a lot of it was online. I would suggest not getting the medical done until right before you send your application as it is only valid for a year. Also, I'm not sure how long the FBI check takes or is valid for, so make sure you look into that as well.
Take a look at the applications and make an informed choice.
Best of luck.

 

[Steph C]

Hi there, I'm new to the forums and had a few questions. My girl friend and I have been together for quite a while (mostly through on an online relationship). She lives in the United States and I live in Alberta. She attempted to cross to come stay with me for a couple of months, immigration didn't like this and denied her access. She revised her plans for only 3 weeks and was able to make it through on a probationary pass which she has to return to Canadian customs before she leaves the country.

Hypothetically, if we were to marry each other in Canada before she left and start the spouse application

A. How hostile would Canadian customs become if she were to try to cross again for another 3 week period knowing that the last time she came she married me?

and B. What are some of the difficulties that we would face with getting her landed immigrant status even though we are married? Also how long would the process take?

Thank you in advance for any advice. Cheers!

I think you're allowed to get married.. they shouldn't deny you that. You should get married and then submit your application. You can prepare the application before you get married to save time. Start collecting all your chat logs, phone bills, photos together, and any other proof you have of your relationship. Make a timeline of your relationship. Read all the forms and print them out, start a rough draft and start collecting all the documents you will need. The forms are here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/index.asp?q=sponsorFam#sponsorFam