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| Subject: Our Story |
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A lot of questions? - We are in a comitted relationship and plan to marry in the next 6 months. We are willing to live in US or Canada depending on best job offers. One is Candian the other is US citizen.
1. Should we marry in the US or Canada if we are still undecided on our final destination.
2. If the others job provided for immigration should we allow the job to handle immigration as single people then get married?
3. How best to avoid the legal limbo of living apart while paperwork is being processed.
Thanks
[28-01-2005,15:25]
Mr Smith |
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(in reply to: Our Story)
It is really up to you guys where you get married. If you get married in States, you will get your marriage certificate faster. Why does marriage certificate matter?- you need to send a copy to immigration.
Canada does not have fiance(e) visa, which means that if you decide to immigrate to Canada, you need to get married first. In States, you have fiance visa, but you will have to get married within 3 months or fiance visa will expire.
Canadian immigration is much more simple then American. If you decide to immigrate to Canada, you have one set of papers to fill out and send it. Once the person get Permanent Residency that´s it. She/he can get citizenship within 3 yrs. No other paper work is required to be send to immigration.
Where as in States, paper work is complicated, very complicated. The processing time is a LOT LONGER and then once your spouse get permenent residency she/he will still have to provide the immigration within 2-3 yrs that your relationship is still genuine and continuing. If you guys get divorced in the mean time, she/ he will not be able to stay in States. Where as if that happend in Canada, American can still stay in Canada.
My husband is American and we had a decision to make Canada or States, and we decided Canada. States just have to much immigration paper work and it was something that we did not wanted to go through.
If you decide to live in States, Canadian spouse can still sponsor you for Canada. You two can both live in States (Canadian spouse need to have legal status in States) and just apply from aboard.
If one of you finds employer who is willing to sponsor you, that is good, but then again besides working visa, you would still have to get permanent status if you want to stay in country. You are not gonna be under working visa whole your life.
But then again it is really up to you. Our choice was to get married and do the paper work for permanent residents. We did not wanted to go through too much immigration paper work hassle.
To my knowledge, the fastest way is to get married and apply for Canadian immigration. One stays in States, one in Canada. You two can still travel and see each other whenever you want and stay together up to 6 months without requirement for visitor visa.
You can also live together in Canada while waiting for permanent residency. But the person being sponsored needs to make sure that the status is legal all the time. Meaning to have visitor visa. That process is little bit longer then when you are actually apart but hey at least you are together.
You might want to go over applications and guide that are available online and see what you need to have before you apply.
All the best!
[28-01-2005,17:26]
Jassy |
(in reply to: Our Story)
Interesting... well as both the countried allow for dual citizenships... it should not matter...
The question is how would you guys be legally allowed to work in Canada and US...
Considering the population, Job market is ofcourse better in the US then in Canada. But again... where do you want to settle...
The immigration process is much faster for Canada then US so yes you should move to Canada... but if your skills are already in use in US then why to worry... just stay there...
If you are in the US and your spouse is in US too (sonsidering you guys get married) then apply for adjustment of status. In this period your spouse cannot work but you guys will stay togather... I thinkit takes about 800 days for change of status to go thru in US.
In Canada it is much less... the Change of status (spousal sponsership is less thena year if applied at mississauga center.
No matter there you decide to settle... one of you will not be working... so work it out yourself... may be stay in the US and then apply for spousal sponsership for Canada and also do the same for the US...
You will have both at the end of 3 years... so why not get the benefits both side... and again.. its all legal... so you are not cheating any governemt or anything...
You are all in safe hands
Cheers,
HS
[28-01-2005,20:24]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: Our Story)
Quoted from Jassy´s response: "You can also live together in Canada while waiting for permanent residency. But the person being sponsored needs to make sure that the status is legal all the time. Meaning to have visitor visa. That process is little bit longer then when you are actually apart but hey at least you are together."
This is not entirely true. Assuming that the American spouse moves up to Canada before starting the immigration process they will most likely be issued a visitor´s record at the border (usually without much difficulty), especially if they tell them that they are moving up to Canada to live with their Canadian spouse while applying for permanent residence. Of course they´ll be required to show proof of the marriage (usually in the form of a marriage certificate or record of marriage), as well as proof of citizenship. It also helps if the Canadian spouse is travelling with them at the time they cross the border. If you are legally in Canada and are applying for permanent residence via spousal sponsorship, you have two options:
1) Apply "Inside Canada" which takes a bit longer to get finalized, but allows you to apply for a general work permit as well as provincial health coverage once Approval In Principle is received - it usually takes 5-6 months for Approval in Principle to be received and then an additional month to receive a work permit once it is applied for. After Approval in Principle, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to roughly a year for permanent residence to be granted - during which time you must maintain a legal status in Canada.
2) Apply Outside Canada. In this case, the completed applications would be sent to the Mississauga Case Processing Centre. The Mississauga CPC would approve the Canadian spouse as sponsor and then forward the American spouse´s permanent residence application to the Buffalo Regional Programme Centre for processing. Applications processed Outside Canada are usually finalized much quicker then those processed within, as spousal sponsorship PR applications are considered a priority by all visa offices. The only drawback is that, while the application is being processed, the applicant isn´t eligible for provincial health coverage and they aren´t allowed to work until they become landed.
My husband and I went with the later (Option 2). I´m a U.S citizen, he´s a Canadian citizen. I entered Canada in January 2004. When I crossed the border I informed the immigration officials that I was coming up to Canada to live with my husband (who luckilly was travelling with me) while I applied for permanent residence. After verifying my citizenship and the fact that I was indeed married to a Canadian citizen - they confirmed this by asking to look at our marriage certificate as well as my husband´s birth certificate & provincial health card - I was issued a visitor´s visa/record valid for 6 months, which they informed me I could apply to have extended. The immigration officials I dealt with were extremely friendly and very helpful, as they answered a number of my questions on exactly what I needed to do to apply for PR and how I was to maintain my legal status in Canada.
My application for permanent residence was handled by Buffalo, after my husband was approved as my sponsor. The total time that elapsed from when the applications were sent to the Mississauga CPC to when I received my passport request from Buffalo was just under 6 months. I sent my passport in for visa stamping on January 12th, and I´m just waiting to get it back so that I can land.
[29-01-2005,04:48]
Mel |
Status Question (US resident vs. H1 spouse) (in reply to: Our Story)
I am a permennet resident of US (not citizen) i applied for my spouse i130. His H1 expires in a few months (making him become out of status) .. How else can he stay in the states?? His canadian immigration is in process as well. How long after he gets his residency in canada he will be able to come back here, considering his wife lives here?
[19-01-2011,18:10]
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kathy |
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