Spousal Sponsorship Canada-Permanent Resident of the US

[onlynowexists]

Hello, I am looking for some information regarding spousal sponsorship. My boyfriend and I are planning on getting married in the next couple of months. I am Canadian and he is a permanent resident of the US (has lived here for 16 years), with a Paraguayan Passport. We plan to live in PEI (where I'm from) together but are just wondering about the logistics of Spousal Sponsorship. I'm finding all the info I'm researching to be a bit confusing so it would be great if someone could help us out in understanding everything. We have a number of questions, some being:

What kind of financial stability information do I have to provide in order for my application to sponsor him to be approved?

What is the fee for me to apply as a sponsor and what is the fee for his application?

What is the wait time involved in all of this?

How does he obtain a work permit and how long does that usually take to be approved?

Can he live in Canada with me while this application process is going on? (after marriage)

Thank you so much for your help, we appreciate it.

 

[rhcohen2014]

my suggestion is to start with the first thread on this board by Leon. it will give the breakdown of the process. Note that the processing times quoted are outdated, and don't reflect today's processing. everything else is spot on.

if your soon to be husband is on a work visa in the us, with the legal right to be there for more than 12 months at the time you send in your application, then he can ASK to have the application processed where us applications are processed, which is Ottawa. Keep in mind, becasuse he is not a US citizen, it's not guaranteed his application will be approved as quickly as a straight forward US citizen application. Also, there is a chance he will be called in for an interview, which is held in LA. IF an interview is called, the processing time seems to be closer to 15-16 months.

CIC may still decided to process his application per his citizenship, even if he requested Ottawa, so you will need to find out which visa office would process a peruvian application, and see if there is a thread dedicated to it. generally, this forum has threads that track the progress of applications at specific visa offices. Do not go by posted processing times on the CIC site for visa offices. Those times are misleading, don't reflect TODAY's processing, and are more like "worst case" scenarios.

Since he will be applying OUTSIDE Canada, he is not eligible for a work permit. Only Inland applicants are eligible, and it's certainly NOT a reason to apply inland. Generally, it's never really recommended to apply inland right now, except for certain circumstances, which don't seem to apply to what you've shared.

AGain, start with leon's tread and go from there.

 

[Ponga]

Start here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

1. While there are no minimum income requirements to sponsor your spouse, you do have to show how you will be supporting yourself (and him, since you will be financially responsible for him for 3 years, after he becomes a PR).

2. $75 (you) + $475 (him) + $495 (for his RPRF [Right of Permanent Resident Fee]) + (optional Open Work Permit [OWP]) $155

3. Depends on how you apply (Inland versus Outland).

4. If you apply with an Inland application, you can include the OWP, which would allow him to work AFTER the first stage approval (which is currently ~ 14 months). OWP is NOT available to him if he submits an Outland application.

5. Technically, no he cannot `live' with you in Canada until he becomes a PR of Canada. However, he can `visit' you (as long as he is successfully admitted into Canada) and continue extending his Visitor Visa throughout the process.

Good luck!

 

[Ponga]

Arggh...beaten out by the latest VIP member (congrats) again!

Hey...since you're now a PR...shouldn't you be at work...somewhere? ;D

 

[rhcohen2014]

Hey...since you're now a PR...shouldn't you be at work...somewhere? ;D

thanks... i didn't even notice my status changed! whoop whoop!
haha.. day off... finalllllly! still in training, so my schedule is still TBD.