SSI and applying for PR.... (USA)

[Americangirl88]

My boyfriend and I plan on getting married and moving to Montreal by June 2013 -that is when his work visa is up. He was born there, while I was born in the USA. I am on SSI currently for a disability. I read that the SSI will not be transferred if I move to Canada which I figured. My bigger issue is if they'll deny me entrance because I've never had a job and they assume I will never work and just drain the system. Is that possible they could deny me for that?

Also, I do wonder about the time span on applying. I heard 6-8 months or even longer. Let's say we get married tomorrow and start applying for sponsorship and all of that. Would that be cutting it close with him going back in June 2013? I read that I can live with him for 6 months in Canada while it's being processed. Is that correct? I fear that if we do things too late, then I'll end up having to spend months without him when he goes back to Canada.

 

[Ryissa]

Here's what I've been (correctly) told so far about everything. I only know this because our situations are so similar, heh.

There's two stages. Stage 1 is currently 86 days. Stage 2 says 12 months but can take less time. My own husband and I calculated that if things took the max amount of time I'd maybe get my PR by about December 2013 if we went it in beginning of this September.

You can't "live" with him for 6 months, only visit. It's up to the immigration officer at the border to let you visit for that long. If you do plan to try, make sure to have your marriage certificate and copies of your applications and everything you possibly can to prove your situation and prove that you'd go back after 6 months. Have a concrete backup plan if the immigration officer turns you away or limits your stay.

As for disability, I have been told myself that since you are a spouse of a Canadian you cannot be refused PR because of that. That's why I got married first before starting the application process.

 

[Leon]

You can not officially move to Canada on a visitor status. You can however enter with your husband, show marriage certificate and filled out application papers and state that you are applying for spousal sponsorship. You can then ask for a visitor record which is a visa that allows you to stay in Canada longer, up to a year. With a visitor record, there is also proof of when you entered so with that, you can also apply for a visit visa extension.

In most cases, US applications should not take 12 months. That is the time 80% of cases have been processed by. The average case would be faster. In any case, you can go on trackitt.com and look at other peoples timelines.

I have no idea if you can transfer disability payments or not but once you become a PR, although you will get free health care like everybody else, your spouse who sponsored you is responsible for you financially for 3 years so if you apply for any social assistance in Canada, including disability during that time, they will look for your spouse to pay it back.