Spouse H1B holder residing in US, indian passport but has valid Canadian visitor visa

[Vbhar]

Hello Everyone,

I am Canadian PR, currently residing in Canada, got married in US(court marriage) few weeks ago to my now spouse who is an indian passport currently on H1B residing in US. I am planning to sponsor her application soon, she has canadian visa and has visited me twice last year.
1) can i submit inland application so that she can get an OWP while her PR application would be under process or should we go for outland application?
2) we know each other from a very long time(maybe a decade) but got into a relation in 2024, and we have had court marriage in US, so my question is what proofs can we give for proving our relationship, it genuine, we both have good jobs, she has visited me twice, i went 1 time to US so we have photos of all visits, no gifts history, and probably uber eats order to each other's place occasionally.

Thanks,

 

[canuck78]

Hello Everyone,

I am Canadian PR, currently residing in Canada, got married in US(court marriage) few weeks ago to my now spouse who is an indian passport currently on H1B residing in US. I am planning to sponsor her application soon, she has canadian visa and has visited me twice last year.
1) can i submit inland application so that she can get an OWP while her PR application would be under process or should we go for outland application?
2) we know each other from a very long time(maybe a decade) but got into a relation in 2024, and we have had court marriage in US, so my question is what proofs can we give for proving our relationship, it genuine, we both have good jobs, she has visited me twice, i went 1 time to US so we have photos of all visits, no gifts history, and probably uber eats order to each other's place occasionally.

Thanks,

Did any friends or family attend your wedding? Are all your family and friends aware that you got married? Is it posted publicly for example on things like social media? Did you have a reception even a small one? When does her H1B expire? Was your visit the wedding? 3 visits since 2024 is not a lot of time together. How long were these visits?

 

[whiterabbit]

what proofs can we give for proving our relationship

Check the checklist for the application - it literally lists the proofs you need to provide.

In terms of proofs of relationship, the list is something like:

- proof of visits (tickets, accommodation, or whatever else you have to show you stayed together)
- photos together in different places / with different people and with descriptions of context behind each one
- proof of contacts (messages etc)
- letters of support from your friends who can confirm your relationship is genuine
- proofs of financial support (joint bank accounts, money transfers)
- other proofs you have (social network posting, gifts to each other)

and a written statement where you can explain the dynamics of your relationship and how it has developed.

Essentially, you just need to present a clear picture of you as a couple, so everything is natural and transparent.

 

[canuck78]

Check the checklist for the application - it literally lists the proofs you need to provide.

In terms of proofs of relationship, the list is something like:

- proof of visits (tickets, accommodation, or whatever else you have to show you stayed together)
- photos together in different places / with different people and with descriptions of context behind each one
- proof of contacts (messages etc)
- letters of support from your friends who can confirm your relationship is genuine
- proofs of financial support (joint bank accounts, money transfers)
- other proofs you have (social network posting, gifts to each other)

and a written statement where you can explain the dynamics of your relationship and how it has developed.

Essentially, you just need to present a clear picture of you as a couple, so everything is natural and transparent.

Agree but given H1B issues in the US there may be a lot more suspicion when it comes to marrying people with status in Canada these days. Also fairly uncommon to get married without any family attending when they have known each other for around a decade likely in India and having spent minimal time together in person. One of the reasons I suggest posting the wedding publicly. There is a fairly common pattern of getting married without telling friends and family before having their “real” wedding later on.

 

[whiterabbit]

Agree but given H1B issues in the US there may be a lot more suspicion when it comes to marrying people with status in Canada these days.

Sure, I just responded to the question about proofs they will need to provide.

Also, speaking of wedding, in one of three forms they will need to check some boxes about relatives attending the wedding and explain why the checked "no" for some of them (if they did).

Essentially, all the questions about common relationship patterns are asked in the forms with options being "yes" and "no with a text box to explain why"

If they are genuinely in the relationship, there should be no issue responding to the questions with proofs in the related sections.

 

[Vbhar]

Did any friends or family attend your wedding? Are all your family and friends aware that you got married? Is it posted publicly for example on things like social media? Did you have a reception even a small one? When does her H1B expire? Was your visit the wedding? 3 visits since 2024 is not a lot of time together. How long were these visits?

Thanks @canuck78 for response, no one attended our wedding, i visited her and we went to a court where a US judge officiated our wedding and we read vows to each other, since the state didnt require any witnesses so we didnt take anyone because most of the people we know in US are work friends, we visited these friends together who are aware of the marriage but we didnt take too many photos.
I think being a private person has a disadvantage when it comes to sponsoring a spouse as we didnt post any pictures of each other on our social media, probably a birthday wish post from 2020 would be there, we have WhatsApp chat that shows we are connected to each other day in and out.
yes, my visit was the wedding, and her visa expires in Jul , but her company is filling an extension now and she will get for another 3 years. Should i be on her file and take a H4 though i dont plan to stay in US? Visits were usually 1 week. she had planned another visit , nov 24 though she had to cancel her tickets last minute because of lack of clarity on H1B holders rules at the time. We know each other from 2014 and have pictures stretching a few years with friends and family during the time.

 

[Vbhar]

Sure, I just responded to the question about proofs they will need to provide.

Also, speaking of wedding, in one of three forms they will need to check some boxes about relatives attending the wedding and explain why the checked "no" for some of them (if they did).

Essentially, all the questions about common relationship patterns are asked in the forms with options being "yes" and "no with a text box to explain why"

If they are genuinely in the relationship, there should be no issue responding to the questions with proofs in the related sections.

Thanks @whiterabbit for the detailed response, we didnt make our relationship public just for the sake of privacy, i understand now it has its disadvantages, we are ready to explain this to the officer, but my concern is they will be suspicious as you mentioned and i checked the list of documents that prove a relationship is genuine like joints accounts etc, but we haven't made a major purchase like a house so we didnt have the need for joint accounts, and more over we are in different countries with the only tie to the country as the spouse, so we don't have the same address , we are on comfortable jobs so no one actually needs the money for day-today and saves individually for our future so no bank transfers because we missed to think of that we would need these as proofs, a few friends can vouch for the relationship and we can have that documented apart from that should i wait to file the application till we mindfully create these proofs, because they didnt get created automatically, everyone's way of showing affection is different but i understand we have to prove it to the officer that we are not fraudsters.
Also if i am on her H1B file as an H4 would that help our case, i was planning not to be on that file because i dont intend to shift there?

 

[armoured]

Hello Everyone,

I am Canadian PR, currently residing in Canada, got married in US(court marriage) few weeks ago to my now spouse who is an indian passport currently on H1B residing in US. I am planning to sponsor her application soon, she has canadian visa and has visited me twice last year.
1) can i submit inland application so that she can get an OWP while her PR application would be under process or should we go for outland application?
2) we know each other from a very long time(maybe a decade) but got into a relation in 2024, and we have had court marriage in US, so my question is what proofs can we give for proving our relationship, it genuine, we both have good jobs, she has visited me twice, i went 1 time to US so we have photos of all visits, no gifts history, and probably uber eats order to each other's place occasionally.

Thanks,

1. Apply outland unless she is in Canada and expects to remain throughout the process. She can apply for OWP as an outland applicant, but must do so from within Canada.
2. You've discssed a lot the disadvantages - go with what you have, this is not an arranged marriage it seems, you visited each other several times, have evidence from knowing each other before, and both seem to be residing as 'secular' adults in nearby countries (not India). If you do have photos of you two together with other people (even if not at wedding but other social occasions), that will help. Adults who both work sometimes lack evidence of 'financial support', don't stress about that. Have one pay for the other's plane ticket or similar next time there is an occasion, the other pay for Airbnb or hotel.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks @canuck78 for response, no one attended our wedding, i visited her and we went to a court where a US judge officiated our wedding and we read vows to each other, since the state didnt require any witnesses so we didnt take anyone because most of the people we know in US are work friends, we visited these friends together who are aware of the marriage but we didnt take too many photos.
I think being a private person has a disadvantage when it comes to sponsoring a spouse as we didnt post any pictures of each other on our social media, probably a birthday wish post from 2020 would be there, we have WhatsApp chat that shows we are connected to each other day in and out.
yes, my visit was the wedding, and her visa expires in Jul , but her company is filling an extension now and she will get for another 3 years. Should i be on her file and take a H4 though i dont plan to stay in US? Visits were usually 1 week. she had planned another visit , nov 24 though she had to cancel her tickets last minute because of lack of clarity on H1B holders rules at the time. We know each other from 2014 and have pictures stretching a few years with friends and family during the time.

Is there a good reason your family is not aware of your wedding or your relationship? Given you appear to have known each other and each others families this seems very unusual. When did you get married? Was this during a period where it was unclear what was happening with H1B although not sure if we actually know what is going on with H1B since we haven’t seen if there will be refusals of renewals and Trump the can change their plans on a dime. For 2 professionals without travel or financial limitations it is extremely unusual to get married after 2 short in person meetings with nobody attending their wedding. Not saying sponsorship will get denied but your sponsorship plans are essentially to move before H1B has to be renewed.