What I've Been Hearing re: Spousal Sponsorship

[needadviceandhelp]

I've been hearing some somewhat disturbing news regarding spousal sponsorship. I have a friend who insisted to me that nobody is being allowed in Canada, and that if my fiance wants to be here with me he should try to get a work visa of some sort. She also said due to our timeline (we've been together 6 months) we will get denied.

Our relationship is 100% genuine - so I'm wondering -what is everyone's take on this? Is it really that difficult to get into Canada? My fiance is American, by the way.

Thanks

 

[LeisaP]

where is your fiance from?
when do you plan to get married?

what your friend is saying is not true. If your relationship is genunie and you have enough evidence to prove it, no criminalities and pass a medical it is not difficult. it takes alot of time and work to do a spousal sponsorship. so do not worry about what he/she is saying.

 

[needadviceandhelp]

My fiance is from the USA and we plan on getting married in a civil ceremony next month. We will have our larger wedding a couple years from now after we save up.

Neither of us have any criminal issues and he will definitely pass a medical. I have a great job and income too so that part won't be hard.

Thanks - I'm scared now about being denied for some reason

 

[CharlieD10]

Relax. America/Canadian couples have one of the best chances of being approved. It takes time to do your application properly and wait for it to be processed, but lots of people do it successfully.

 

[needadviceandhelp]

Thank you I'll try not to worry. I guess worst case scenario we move down there and try again

 

[LeisaP]

My fiance is from the USA and we plan on getting married in a civil ceremony next month. We will have our larger wedding a couple years from now after we save up.

Neither of us have any criminal issues and he will definitely pass a medical. I have a great job and income too so that part won't be hard.

Thanks - I'm scared now about being denied for some reason

the approval rate for spousal sponsorships is very high. especially coming from the USA.

there is no minimum income to sponsor your husband.
but you will have to wait untill you get married to do it.
as the only way to become a PR through spousal is if you are legally married, or in a common-law relationship(living together for 12 months)
so seeing as your planning to get married anyways. i would suggest you marry first. than send in the application as your spouse

if you send in enough evidence for proof of relationship. (on the CIC website the forms tell you the kind of evidence they look for)
pass the criminal checks and medicals.

your spouse will get approved for sure.

it is not difficult if your relationship is genunie. it sounds to me that your relationship is genunie so you have nothing to worry about.

 

[OhCanadiana]

I've been hearing some somewhat disturbing news regarding spousal sponsorship. I have a friend who insisted to me that nobody is being allowed in Canada, and that if my fiance wants to be here with me he should try to get a work visa of some sort. She also said due to our timeline (we've been together 6 months) we will get denied.

Our relationship is 100% genuine - so I'm wondering -what is everyone's take on this? Is it really that difficult to get into Canada? My fiance is American, by the way.

Thanks

There is no minimum time requirements - as long as you can prove that your relationship is genuine to a skeptical stranger, you'll be fine (there's newlyweds who have arranged marriages and have only known each other for very short periods of time who have been approved and there's people who have been married many years who also apply ... it's about genuineness of relationship, not length). Since your fiance is American, for the long run you should apply (after you get married) to get a PR card for him. It will be much faster to apply outland through the US (and you can do that even if he is in Canada).

For the shorter term, he can try to visit you - but can't work or study - he would need to be a tourist until his permanent residency is approved. Or, he can get a work permit. Being American, he could consider a NAFTA visa (the fastest way to get a work permit - if he has a job offer and experience in certain professions, he shows up at the border with the job offer and they will issue the work permit on the spot). The list of NAFTA-work-permit-eligible professions is available in Appendix G on CIC's website (search for nafta cic and you'll get the link)

Your friend may be confused because CIC has placed a pause on other programs (e.g., parent sponsorship, skilled worker immigration stream, etc) but spousal sponsorship and NAFTA are still intact.

But, it's absolutely doable. You can join others with experience with sponsoring an American spouse in the US Outland thread in this forum (for some reason, I can't post links right now so I can't point you straight to it either)

 

[needadviceandhelp]

Thanks for your replies and all the information - we want to apply from Canada though, so he may stay here until the process is complete. How difficult is it to apply from Canada and receive approval?

And we are most definitely genuine we will have a large amount of proof to submit from all sorts of occasions as well as chat logs, pictures, movie tickets, cards, letters, etc etc etc (the list goes on).

 

[Sweden]

You should apply outland and your spouse can still in Canada... the first stage of inland is 11 months, and he can not work, not travel back to the US etc... if you apply outland you are looking at 3 months for stage1, and anywhere between 6 to 12 months for the second part... and he can still live in Canada with you, and travel back and forth to the US if needed... so by the time you finish outland, your inland first stage might not even be completed. So for US/can couples, there is really no reason to apply inland.

Good luck with the process, and here is the link that OhCanadiana was pointing at http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-outland-applicants-thread-t106068.465.html

Sweden

 

[OhCanadiana]

You may want to take a look at the discussion at http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/another-inland-vs-outland-scenario-t113663.15.html before taking your final decision on inland vs. outland.

ETA: And since I can post links again,

General info on NAFTA: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-business.asp#nafta

List of professions is in Appendix G at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/fw/fw01-eng.pdf

Thanks for posting the third one, Sweden

Note that applying inland wouldn't give him any status in Canada, by virtue of the application itself. He still needs to get in to Canada.

 

[needadviceandhelp]

he is in Canada currently.

To apply outland he needs to be in the USA does he not?

Thanks

 

[LeisaP]

he is in Canada currently.

To apply outland he needs to be in the USA does he not?

Thanks

no, he can be in canada and still apply outland.
just if he gets called for an interview he will have to go to the usa for it.

 

[OhCanadiana]

he is in Canada currently.

To apply outland he needs to be in the USA does he not?

Thanks

No. As I said above, you can apply outland even if he is in Canada. In fact, the inland instructions even encourage you to apply outland (one of the bullets under Important Info at the start of the application).

 

[needadviceandhelp]

So, he can apply outland while being in Canada, and this is likely a better process? What are the pro's of that vs inland? Inland takes longer?

Thank you in advance

 

[CharlieD10]

It takes longer, you have no right of appeal if the application is refused, it offers no advantages to someone like an American whose visa office would process applications faster Outland, and you should not leave Canada while an application is in process because it can be deemed abandoned and you lose all the time and money spent on it if you are not readmitted to Canada if you have to leave.