US vs Canadian Immigration

[Fencesitter]

Hi folks,

Curious to know if it's a lot easier to immigrate to the US? Has Canada made it more and more difficult? How does the process in the US compare to what we are all going through?

Any info would be great...

FS

 

[scylla]

There are pros and cons to each. The US has a fiance/fiancee class which makes things easier for some. On the other hand, in order to sponsor in the US, you must be making an income that meets/exceeds 125% of poverty line income. This makes things far more complicated for students, those who are unemployed, those who are on disability, etc. (They must find a co-sponsor who has sufficient income and is willing to sign a legal agreement to provide support to the applicant if necessary.)

Processing times are the same in Canada regardless of whether the sponsor is a Canadian citizen or PR. Not so in the US (much slower for green card holders).

Applicants in the US receive a conditional green card (this process was put in place to reduce fraud and is similar to the conditional PR rule that Canada is considering). While the conditional green card process has its positives, it has also resulted in some applicants using their sponsors to get to the US and then fraudulently accusing their sponsors of abuse to retain their green card (ruining the lives of their sponsors in the process). So in my mind it's a hard call if the conditional green card/PR card is a positive or negative.

There are many other examples of differences...

 

[R151NG5UN]

Hi folks,

Curious to know if it's a lot easier to immigrate to the US? Has Canada made it more and more difficult? How does the process in the US compare to what we are all going through?

Any info would be great...

FS

Not sure why you are comparing a country with close to 1/2 billion people to a country with population of 35m or so. Both country's have different needs and different immigration laws. One is a country that is expanding and still developing in a lot of areas, the other is fully developed trillions in debt and struggling in the world of economy.

If you were going to compare Canada to another 1st world country then a more suitable comparison would have been Canada against Australia.

 

[Fencesitter]

Sure, Australia...but I am more interested in North America and the 'system' rather than population, immigration needs, etc...

You're reply is not at all condescending...

A simple curiosity...

I think it makes sense to process applications submitted by citizens faster than green card holders. Why should they get the same level of service when they are not even a citizen? This is something that needs to be looked at more closely by CIC.

I really don't like the word 'conditional' after going through such a lengthy process, though I understand the rational. I suppose if you're in a strong relationship, this shouldn't make much of a difference.

I like the fact that spousal sponsorships in Canada are income exempt. I guess this has to do with the differences between immigration in the US and Canada - we need more people, whereas the US, does not have such a need, or at least on the same scale as Canada.

FS

FS

 

[Sunshine87]

Not sure why the anger towards the OP's question. Though this topic strikes curiosity with FS, this is a question that Canadian and US couples face.

I did plenty of research before my husband and I married, since we were going back and forth on which Immigration to pursue. Applying the outland Canadian route definitely seemed quicker and less expensive than the US version. That, plus the fact that we both agreed there was a much better life for us in Canada, was the deciding factor.

I think the one good thing that the US has going for it is the Fiancé Visa, so that you are able to be in the US with your significant other a few months before the wedding. The stipulations are fairly similar to applying Inland in Canada.. long wait for work permit, unable to leave the country, ect.

 

[lunas]

I like the fact that spousal sponsorships in Canada are income exempt. I guess this has to do with the differences between immigration in the US and Canada - we need more people, whereas the US, does not have such a need, or at least on the same scale as Canada.

FS

FS

I like that too. I've been thourgh the American Immigration Process over 10 years ago and mine was very smooth (back in that time, I don't know how it is now) but I do like that Canada doesn't ask for a minimum income for the sponsor.
I don't think I could meet that requirement if I had to sponsor my Canadian husband.

 

[mameelynn]

We had to make a decision as to if we were going to do all the paperwork and fees for either the US or Canada and even though we live in the US we decided to go with Canada. Ours is a bit of a sticky situation though. I have been in the US for over 6 years now and came down as a visitor and we got married (we did look into getting a fiancée visa but when I called and talked about "my friend" that was looking to get married the agent told me pretty much that it could add a year or more to get one and that planning a wedding is hard enough and the fact that "my friend" was from Canada who could visit without it why not?!) We were going to try and start the whole process as soon as we were married but we didn't make the 125% over and we were surprised to have our first baby right before our first anniversary and once there are more in the family that need to be supported you need to make more money. We now have three children and only last year made enough for my husband to sponsor me in (we couldn't get his parents to co-sing... they are a whole other issue...lol) and when we looked into it we found out we could be required to pay a fee because of how long I have been in the country and we would for sure want to have a legal help with the process. On top of that the US almost tripled the costs in the last few years.. oh and because you get a temporary permanent status for the first 5 years and then you have to pay almost as many fees after that to get your permanent status. (both my mom and aunt went through the US process) Add on top of that unless I was willing to get US citizenship(which I don't) we would have to never rely on state help or anything (our kids qualify for state health) and if that was the case we would have to make around $6000 more a year to pay those things and that is after the $10000 give or take that it would have cost us for the immigration stuff!!! We are now in process for my husbands Canadian PR and even when we add in the costs for immigration, medical, passports for him and our kids, their Canadian citizenship certificates, photo's and what not we are sitting around the $3000 mark and the passports and what not we would have had to get at some point anyway. Once we move to Canada we will be making more than we are here so even though we have to pay for a move we will be better off there then here. We always talked about how we would rather raise our kids in Canada and if we had of understood more about it 6 years ago we would have started out in Canada but we thought that there was an income requirement for spousal.... Better late then never!!