Greetings,
I am a Canadian-born Canadian citizen. I met my American fiancée on the internet about a year and a half ago, and we've spent nearly three months together in the U.S. since July of this year. (I am in the U.S. currently.) We are planning to be married in a religious ceremony next month in the U.S. (I.e., we do not necessarily have to register for legal marriage at that time.) Our intention is to return to Canada following this for her to stay with me/my family. Should there be an issue acquiring her permanent residency, she would of course be willing to return to the U.S. within six months' time. So, she will in effect be visiting with the hope of staying indefinitely.
If at all possible, we don't want to be separated at any point in time. And in fact, if I had one question, that's what it would be: how can we avoid being separated as we prepare to live together in the same country on a permanent basis?
With the help of my father, we've decoded some of the Government Canada immigration information found online, and are aware of the application (and fee) for permanent residency, the background check, and medical required. We have not yet begun this process (bearing in mind that we are not yet married). My fiancée has her passport, and we assume there is no barrier to her entering Canada and staying for a period of up to six months without a visa unless a customs official suspects that we/she might intend to break immigration laws (which we would not do). So, we would fly back to Canada together, she would enter as a visitor, and then we would pursue her permanent residency pending our legal marriage.
Are we correct in this matter? What would be the best way to go about this? Should we be legally married once we return to Canada, or is there any way for us to be legally married first in the U.S. and then cross over into Canada and pursue her permanent residency?
Any advice or assistance you could provide would be most appreciated. Ideally, I'd hire an attorney, but I don't have the financial resources to do so at this time. I'd also be entirely willing to stay in the U.S. and pursue residency here myself, but I presume that would be even more difficult, and our preference is to begin our married lives in Canada, besides.
Thank you very much!
I am a Canadian-born Canadian citizen. I met my American fiancée on the internet about a year and a half ago, and we've spent nearly three months together in the U.S. since July of this year. (I am in the U.S. currently.) We are planning to be married in a religious ceremony next month in the U.S. (I.e., we do not necessarily have to register for legal marriage at that time.) Our intention is to return to Canada following this for her to stay with me/my family. Should there be an issue acquiring her permanent residency, she would of course be willing to return to the U.S. within six months' time. So, she will in effect be visiting with the hope of staying indefinitely.
If at all possible, we don't want to be separated at any point in time. And in fact, if I had one question, that's what it would be: how can we avoid being separated as we prepare to live together in the same country on a permanent basis?
With the help of my father, we've decoded some of the Government Canada immigration information found online, and are aware of the application (and fee) for permanent residency, the background check, and medical required. We have not yet begun this process (bearing in mind that we are not yet married). My fiancée has her passport, and we assume there is no barrier to her entering Canada and staying for a period of up to six months without a visa unless a customs official suspects that we/she might intend to break immigration laws (which we would not do). So, we would fly back to Canada together, she would enter as a visitor, and then we would pursue her permanent residency pending our legal marriage.
Are we correct in this matter? What would be the best way to go about this? Should we be legally married once we return to Canada, or is there any way for us to be legally married first in the U.S. and then cross over into Canada and pursue her permanent residency?
Any advice or assistance you could provide would be most appreciated. Ideally, I'd hire an attorney, but I don't have the financial resources to do so at this time. I'd also be entirely willing to stay in the U.S. and pursue residency here myself, but I presume that would be even more difficult, and our preference is to begin our married lives in Canada, besides.
Thank you very much!