Nej said:
Thanks for the response. Yes we are planning on applying outland, but i saw on the visitor extention form that you can apply for an open work permit as well as the extention. Is that correct?
No, unfortunately that's not correct - and it's hard to explain why, but I'll try.
First of all, as a US citizen you are visa-exempt so you can't apply for a TRV, and you won't get one at the border. You may or may not get
any documentation (even a stamp in your passport) when you are admitted to Canada - but if you're admitted, you're authorized to stay for up to six months. That does not mean you can
request a six months stay when you try to enter . . . if you do that they'll immediately get suspicious of your intentions and start making you prove you'll actually leave. If you tell them you're coming to get married, be prepared to be turned around.
Once you're in Canada - you can only apply to extend the status you were given on entry . . . unless you apply for PR as a qualified spouse via the
inland process
and you include
the extension application (with a change of status to open work permit) WITH the inland PR application BEFORE the status you were given on entry expires. But the inland process is not all it appears to be - especially for US citizen applicants. First of all, if you
don't get documented status of your entry, you can't prove you haven't overstayed when you go to apply to extend your status - and applicants in that situation end up having their applications transferred to a local CIC office for processing (as Leon mentioned). If that local office is busy, your ap could sit for up to a couple of years before it's even assessed for the first stage of approval. So, no work permit and you're stuck in Canada.
Inland applicants who can prove their entry date to Canada will file an
application to extend their stay WITH their inland PR application. This protects their temporary status until the first stage of assessment can be completed - which is currently taking 6-7 months. Those applicants who want their new temporary status to be an open work permit after Approval in Principle is granted can check the "work permit" option on the Application to Extend/Change" and pay the $150 fee and, after they are assessed as an eligible spousal PR applicant, they'd be automatically issued an open work permit. This can seem like a great option - except this option has some serious drawbacks. First, if you don't have documented temporary status when you submit your application, you won't be assessed for first stage approval in only 6-7 months - it could take years and you won't be able to work or leave Canada during that time; 2) the inland process has a residency requirement - if you leave and you're not readmitted, you forfeit the inland ap; 3) the inland PR process takes another 6-12 months after Approval in Principle is issued before the application can be finalized; and 4) the inland process has no right of appeal for a refusal.
Contrast the outland process: 1) right of appeal is protected; 2) no residency requirement - so you can be staying in Canada, in Africa, in the US or on the moon and it will not affect the processing of your application; 3) faster processing timeline - Buffalo is currently
finalizing straight-forward spousal aps in 4-6 months, with another 30 days at the start to assess the sponsor before the application is transferred to the overseas embassy. IF you applied via the outland process and an interview was required, you'd have to attend it at the visa office in the States - but otherwise you'd be able to stay in Canada with your spouse while the PR ap was in process, although you wouldn't be able to work until you got PR. But comparing timelines to the inland process - you're able to work in about the same amount of time whether you file inland or outland through Buffalo. . . 6 months average . . . and with outland you're
finalized in that time, where you're not with inland. In addition you can travel outside of Canada (or go home to work if you need to) without jeapordizing your PR application. If it takes longer than 6 months to finalize your application, you just apply to extend your status separately from your PR application and, with proof that you have a qualifying relationship (copy of your marriage licence) and proof that you have a PR ap in process, I've never seen anybody refused when they can also submit proof of their original entry to Canada and they apply to extend before that expires. If you don't get documentation when you enter Canada, just leave with your new spouse after the wedding and re-enter Canada together with your Canadian partner "vouching" for you at the border - proving your marriage and your PR ap in process there (rather than by mail) and they should document you on a Visitor Record that will cover you until your PR ap is finalized.
Hope this helps - if you need more info, check out the
US2Canada website. There are specifics about entering Canada to stay with a spouse at the "Visiting" tab.
