Marriage in U.S., living in Canada

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Subject: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada
  Hi all,

I was wondering if someone can give me some advice... My question may or may not have been answered in other threads, so I apologize in advance for any duplication.

I am going to get married to an American next year, and the marriage ceremony will be in the US, however, we plan to live in Canada.

Since we are officially engaged now, can I sponsor her as my fiancee instead of waiting until after we get married? This would save us a lot of time...

If this is not possible, what will happen at the border coming back to Canada? If the marriage certificate is not yet available, what would we need to do or present to the border officials?

My understanding is that we can get a visitor´s visa (good for 6 months) while we wait for the Perm Res application to go through. If this is true, would it be possible for us to leave Canada to go on our honeymoon even if she is not a perm res yet?

Thanks all,
Jago

[08-12-2004,14:31]
Jago
(in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
Are you Canadian citizen or PR?
Is your fiance American citizen?
Have both of you been living together for more than a year?

[08-12-2004,15:33]
Anonymous
(in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
Sorry, I guess I was not clear in my post.

I am a Canadian citizen and my fiancee is an American citizen. We have not been living together, she currently lives in the US and I live in Canada. We´ve been dating long distance for almost two years now.

Thanks for your help.

[08-12-2004,16:45]
Jago
(in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
Jago
My wife and I were in exactly the same boat as yours three years ago. I am a Canadian citizen and Nicole my wife is a US citizen. I wouldn´t try to sponsor your fiancee before you are married, unless you can be considered common law. In Canada that is one full year of living together. The spousal agreement will be what the sponsorship agreement will be under.
We were married and had our honeymoon in the US. The day that you are married you will be issued a marriage certificate that is signed by the justice/ pastor or other official and witnesses. This document is very important for the border and the spousal agreement.
Before you are married go to immigration or request all pertinent documents at the website. The govn´t will send you the packages within ten days. Get 2 or 3 packages just in case you make a mistake. Send it to your fiancee ahead of your arrival; fill it out as much as you can; do the state and FBI security checks. The day you cross into Canada get the medical done and the RCMP security check. Basically do everything they tell to do and send the application with the cashiers check for the fee as soon as possible, beleive it is worth it.
At the border there will be a bunch of fees. The visitor visa was $150 and there will be other fees. Have your marriage cert., have each birth certs. This brings us to passports. My wife´s passport has her maiden name on it, so every document so far has had her maiden name on it and so every time we have to fill out any provincial, municipal, or federal paperwork; we have to have copies of her marriage cert, birth cert, work visa, and passport. My advice is the day you are married; have your spouse send her passport in for a name change with a copy of the marriage cert., it won´t cost you anything except postage unless you get it expidited back to you. Belive it, it´s a pain in the butt if you don´t.
There are many things that are involved the process, but if you do what you are supposed to, it shouldn´t be too much of a hassle. Just be prepared for delays and pay your fees a soon as possible because they will not recognize your application for permanent residency until you do.
Anyway this hopefully will help you out in your quest for knowledge. Good luck.

P.S. : DO NOT USE BLUE PEN, BLACK PEN ONLY!!!!!!!!!

[08-12-2004,17:55]
Aaron
(in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
Thanks, Aaron! I sincerely appreciate your advice.

Jago

[08-12-2004,18:24]
Jago
Visitor Record (in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
They will actually give you a VISITOR RECORD, not a Visitor Visa. The visitor record is FREE.

I just got one 3 months ago for my wife to sponsor me and its good for 12months. I´m American and my wife is Canadian.

I have my application ready to go and it will likely be mailed out on Friday!! WOOOOOOHOOOOO [cheers slowly fade to tears as I realize the waiting period]!

Regardless, once you have your visitor record you can gather your documents [yes there are TONS] and apply. what I HIGHLY recommend doing is getting your background checks done as soon as you move up there, first thing, because they take quite a while to get there [mine too 10weeks from the FBI]. Additionally, don´t forget to get your Notice of Assessment from Revenue Canada, and your medical check.

Good Luck and welcome to the hard road of govt waiting lines.

CHeers
FP

[08-12-2004,20:06]
FP
Working Visa (in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
I guess another question me and my fiancee have is whether or not she will be able to get a working visa right away when we cross the border and come into Canada? If not, how long will it take to get one? Can we apply for a working visa in advance?

Thanks again everyone. Your help is much appreciate!

[09-12-2004,02:16]
Jago
I think (in reply to: Marriage in U.S., living in Canada)
You can not sponsor her as your fiancee. Fiancee visa does not exist in Canada. You can not sponsor her as common law because you never lived together and you are planning to get married. If you apply as common law and soon as they find out that you are planning to get married, you application will be returned. If you say that you will not get married, you need an explanation as why you do not want to get married (your believes, religion ect).
Once you get married you will get a piece of paper that will be signed during marriage ceremony and that is only a suvenier. You need to apply for marriage certificate, and in States taked 2-3 weeks to get it, where as in Canada you will have to wait for months. You have to include that marriage certificate in your application.
One of other members of this forum said to order applications and forms, well do not wait for those forms by mail, just go on Google and search for Applications and forsm for Canadian Immigration. You can get all those forms from internet including a guide.
It is up to you whether you want to go with from Outside Canada application (where you future wife will in States until application is approved) or Inland, where she will be in Canada waiting for papers. She will not be able to work until she receives her PR. If she is planning to stay in Canada longer they six months, she needs to advice people on boarder.
They might be a problem if she receives her permanent visa for Canada and I think that she should not be leaving Canada during that period.
Well then again, Canada is really beautiful and you have an option of having a honeymood somewhere in Canada.
Here I found the website for applications, check this out, and guide is very helpfull. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/fc.html
All the best.

[09-12-2004,10:30]
Jassy
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