Spousal Sponsorship - cancel Inland and go Outland?

[peygo]

Hi All,

I am sponsoring my Irish common-law partner, we sent our Inland application in June 2013. We now realize that we made a massive error in judgment applying Inland for many reasons, not the least of which is the long wait time.

My question is, do you think we should cancel the original application and send a new Outland application? Some details:

My partner's ICE visa expired in Sept. He applied for an extension and was told he is on implied status as he has an application under review. If we canceled the Inland application, would that mean he has no status here? Him switching over to visitor status is not ideal, as we need his income - he has a full-time job but nothing that would qualify him as a skilled tradesman and he's doubtful he could get an LMO.

As of today the inland processing times are 11 months for Step 1 and 11 months for Step 2, and they are working on applications received on January 14, 2013. Outland is showing 28 Days for Step 1 and 10 months for the London office.

Despite being five months into the process, I'm debating whether it would be worth it to start over.

Appreciate any suggestions or comments - thanks in advance!

 

[Ponga]

Sounds tricky to me.

If you cancel the Inland application, that might negate the implied status under his IEC extension, since the terms have been changed (by you withdrawing the application that in essence helped with his implied status). This would seem to also require him to stop working immediately.

Stand-by for someone that will undoubtedly be able to help you with this.

Good luck!
*edit*

When you say that he was told that he is on implied status...who told him that?

There have been a few people here that were told the same thing, which turned out to NOT be the case for them. If you have something in writing from CIC that confirms this, it would be good to keep close at hand.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi All,

I am sponsoring my Irish common-law partner, we sent our Inland application in June 2013. We now realize that we made a massive error in judgment applying Inland for many reasons, not the least of which is the long wait time.

My question is, do you think we should cancel the original application and send a new Outland application? Some details:

My partner's ICE visa expired in Sept. He applied for an extension and was told he is on implied status as he has an application under review. If we canceled the Inland application, would that mean he has no status here? Him switching over to visitor status is not ideal, as we need his income - he has a full-time job but nothing that would qualify him as a skilled tradesman and he's doubtful he could get an LMO.

As of today the inland processing times are 11 months for Step 1 and 11 months for Step 2, and they are working on applications received on January 14, 2013. Outland is showing 28 Days for Step 1 and 10 months for the London office.

Despite being five months into the process, I'm debating whether it would be worth it to start over.

Appreciate any suggestions or comments - thanks in advance!

1. Your C/law partner doesn't have implied status IMHO. The following letter was received by another poster from CIC.

The following is letter received from CIC regarding implied status. The highlighted portion will be of interest of those on IEC work permits, who continue to think that they can benefit from Implied status to continue working.

Sir, Madam,

Thank you for contacting Citizenship and Immigration Canada. I am pleased to follow up on your request:

Implied Status - Temporary Residents

As a temporary resident (TR), if you send your application for an extension of your authorization to remain in Canada at the latest on the expiry date of your status, you will be considered in status as a TR until a decision is made on the application. This is known as an Implied Status*.

If you hold a work permit or a study permit, you can continue working or studying under the conditions of your previous permit if you have applied to extend your stay in Canada under the same category. However, if you have applied to extend your stay under another category, you must stop working or studying.

If you leave Canada while under implied status, you may be authorized to:

Re-enter Canada as a TR, if the Case Processing Centre (CPC) has not yet made a decision on your application to extend your work permit. Please note that you will not be permitted to work/study until you receive your new permit. You must satisfy the officer at the port of entry (POE) that you have sufficient means of support. This applies if you:
are temporary resident visa (TRV) exempt;
held a valid multiple-entry visa before leaving Canada; or
travelled only to the United States** and/or St.Pierre and Miquelon by the end of the period initially authorized for their stay or any extension to it;
Re-enter Canada as a worker/student, if the officer at the POE determines that your application to extend your work/study permit was approved by the CPC while you were outside Canada;
or
Apply for a new work/study permit at the POE provided you have the right to do so under the Regulations.
For more information on implied status, please consult the Operational Manual - Overseas Processing (OP 11) - Section 24.

* Participants in international youth exchange programs (e.g., Student Work Abroad Program (SWAP), International Experience Canada (IEC) or Working Holiday Program (WHP)) do not benefit from implied status, unless extending a work permit not initially issued for the time limit authorized by the program.

**Including its Territories and Possessions.

You cannot have implied status to continue working on an IEC working holiday visa.

1) Subsection 201(1) is the provision that allows you to extend a work permit.
2) Section 186(u) provides implied status to those work permit holders who have made an application under subsection 201(1).
3) IEC permits cannot be extended therefore 201(1) is not applicable.
4) An IEC permit holder cannot have implied status as provided by 186(u) because they cannot make a valid application under 201(1).

I suggest that you partner stop working.

 

[peygo]

Yes, I've read similar posts and went over these provisions. Thankfully we do have written confirmation from CIC regarding implied status, but as this is predicated on the Inland application I worry the option to cancel and re-apply Outland is not even available to us.

Suppose the issue of status validity was no concern, would you recommend canceling and re-applying Outland?

 

[Ponga]

Yes, I've read similar posts and went over these provisions. Thankfully we do have written confirmation from CIC regarding implied status, but as this is predicated on the Inland application I worry the option to cancel and re-apply Outland is not even available to us.

Suppose the issue of status validity was no concern, would you recommend canceling and re-applying Outland?

The Inland application, while not permitting someone to work (or continue working), does allow them to remain in Canada. It's not that he would have `implied status', but rather an administrative decision, of sorts, by CIC to allow someone that is out of status to stay in Canada with their partner/spouse while awaiting a decision. He would not be eligible for the OWP until you are approved as his sponsor, so...he takes an 11 month vacation.

So, if you withdraw the application, he loses that `psuedo status' to remain in Canada and would likely need to leave.

 

[peygo]

Ponga - exactly right, though the CIC letter specifies that he may continue to work under the same conditions as his most recent work permit.

What a drag, look as though we'll have to just wait it out Inland, unless anyone has any other ideas?

Thanks for the input PMM & Ponga.

 

[Ponga]

Hmmm...perhaps a consultation with a lawyer would be a wise `investment' for you both.

Best case- CIC's letter is correct and life goes on, uninterrupted.

Worse case- You assume CIC's letter is correct (why shouldn't you, right??), he continues working and is later [somehow] deemed to be working illegally.
Now that would certainly ruin your day...and possibly your chances of sponsorship.

Good luck!

 

[Rob_TO]

Ponga - exactly right, though the CIC letter specifies that he may continue to work under the same conditions as his most recent work permit.

Where did you get the letter from?

If it came from the CIC general call centre, then it may not be worth the paper it's printed on. Often they give form letters out saying how with implied status you can continue to work, but don't specify the type of work permit you were on. So I would make sure to note if the letter specifically states IEC work permit . If not, then it may not apply to you.

The call centre often gives out wrong information and don't understand the differences between IEC and regular work permits. Regardless what they've told you over the phone or in writing, it may not help much if you aren't actually supposed to continue working and you are caught like some others have been working under assumed IEC implied status, when such status never actually existed. Whether you have a letter or not, this could still cause a massive delay in processing the application if caught. Though it seems getting caught is very rare, as only a couple cases have been seen on this site.