Canadian marrying American in the US, but planning to live in Canada

[canadianGroom 0]

Hi everyone, there seems to be some very resourceful people here and I was hoping maybe I could get some helping hands.

I am Canadian (of Toronto), and I am marrying my American fiancee this July in NY near Rochester. I have driven across the border many many times to visit her (never with any visa, just my Canadian passport), and have also done so a couple times after we were engaged. I always told the border I was visiting my fiancee and was let in with no problem. (I did not know they could deny my entry based on that, I just learned that today!)

Our plan is for me to come to the US in July and get married in NY, then we will drive back together as newly weds to Canada, to live and start our new life . In the mean time I will apply to sponsor her and have her apply to become a permanent resident here in Canada.

From the experience some people shared, it sounds like a big mistake for me to cross the border to marry my fiancee without any form of visa (such a K-1, the reason I am posting in this forum, if there is another more appropriate forum please direct me there), and upon reading that getting a fiancee visa could take up to 6 months and we just can't do that, the wedding is already planed and things are being arranged.

We want to live in Canada, and don't want to apply for a green card nor K-1. How do I prove to the US border that all I want is to get married in the US and come right back to Canada to live with my new wife after the wedding?

I appreciate all the help I can get, as reading all the horror stories is getting my stomach sick.

[Krepander 0]

Hei. I did this last fall (US-Norway) but I only told the border people I was there on vacation (they didn't ask more so I didn't tell to stay out of trouble. My visit was totally legal, we moved to Norway 2 weeks later.)

I would ask your employer to write you a letter where he/she states that you have worked there for x years, have informed him/her of what you are doing in the US (getting married and coming back to Canada), that the employer has given you vacation time and expects you back to work on (date here).

I'd also bring a copy of your apartment contract (if applicable) or other housing contract to prove that you have ties to Canada and are not planning to stay in the US.

These things are what other people have told me to bring.

[Eric_and_Corinna 0]

If you're not planning on actually immigrating to the US (at this point), I don't think you have anything to worry about. Like the previous poster said, you should make sure that you do have some evidence of your ties to Canada, but be honest with Customs if they do ask. You're not doing anything illegal by coming to the US to get married. If and when you decide to move to the States, you can apply for an immigrant visa at that time (DCF route will most likely be the easiest and quickest for you at that point)

Good luck!

[KimandRuss 0]

It's really at the discretion of the border control agent who processes you. Technically, you are free to come and marry in the U.S. if you are not intending to immigrate. If the official beleives there is a chance you might come in and stay he will most likely deny you entry. Happened to my fiance too.

As stated above, gathering documents to prove you will be returning to Canada is your best bet. I've also heard of others calling the border patrol where they will be crossing to talk to an official about it.

You should be fine as long as you prove your case and don't lie but it is still up to the POE officer.

good luck and congratulations

[pushbrk 14,355]

It's really at the discretion of the border control agent who processes you. Technically, you are free to come and marry in the U.S. if you are not intending to immigrate. If the official beleives there is a chance you might come in and stay he will most likely deny you entry. Happened to my fiance too.

As stated above, gathering documents to prove you will be returning to Canada is your best bet. I've also heard of others calling the border patrol where they will be crossing to talk to an official about it.

You should be fine as long as you prove your case and don't lie but it is still up to the POE officer.

good luck and congratulations

I would also avoid mentioning you are coming to get married. Something more generic but equally true like simply, "pleasure", "vacation" or "visiting family and friends" will help you avoid unwanted scrutiny.

You are doing nothing wrong.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

I agree with the other posters.

You are doing nothing wrong at all.

You don't even need to mention the getting married part.

Just as Pushbrk said, visiting for pleasure, vacation, visiting friends, etc. will be just fine.

Bring the proof that you are returning to Canada just as back up but I doubt you'll need it.

I've visited since we started the K1 and brought a whole folder full of proof, I was honest and said I was visiting my fiance, they never asked to see any of it. They DID ask when we were getting married though, so that is where you could come into some problems, but again, if you have all that back up proof, you should be good to go!

Congratulations!!!

I also wanted you to be aware that Canada doesn't have a fiance type visa for immigration to Canada so you won't be able to being sponsoring her until you are married. On the up side, she can live with you while they process her Permanent Residency but she will not be able to work.

It's hard to get in to Canada...here's a great website I recommend: Road to Canada

Best of luck to you!!!

[canadianGroom 0]

thank you all SO MUCH for your speedy help. Your replies are all very valuable.

We will do our best to bring support document. I however will be unemployed during the time of the wedding. Are there other documents I can bring with me other than an apartment lease?

I understand I am not doing anything wrong, but just the though that I might be denied to enter the US to marry my fiancee is a scary though.

One good news though, I called Canada Immigration, and since my fiancee is American, she will be able to come back to Canada with me no problem after we are married, and in Canada she can apply for her PR while I sponsor her.

Thanks again!

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

If you do get denied, there is the option of her coming to Canada to marry you.

Nothing is impossible!!!

Keep faith and best of luck!!!

[canadianGroom 0]

If you do get denied, there is the option of her coming to Canada to marry you.

Nothing is impossible!!!

Keep faith and best of luck!!!

Yes thanks Laura , I considered this possibility. And after we are married in Canada we can enter the US freely to have the nice ceremony we have been planning.

[Kathryn41 3,207]

One caveat I will mention about your 'wife; coming back to Canada with you . . she will not be allowed to bring her belongings back with her, other than clothes or whatever, until she has been officially approved as a landed immigrant. So, if you show up at the border with a trailer in tow, you will not be allowed to bring the trailer and contents into the country and will need to find a storage facility on the US side of the border. As well, you can apply for a temporary resident visa for your wife at the border and that will be proof that she is in Canada legally. You can apply to sponsor her as a permanent resident from within Canada but you do need to make sure that she has legal status while she is waiting for the application to process. You may also need to file for extensions of her temporary resident status if the processing of her permanent residency takes longer than 6 months, which is most likely. You should be able to do this upon arrival at the border. If she enters Canada as a visitor without documentation, she will need to get the paper documentation as a Temporary Resident after she has been in Canada for 6 months. You may want to review the Canadian Citizenship and immigration website. All of the forms you will need are also there: http://www.cic.gc.ca

[Flames9_RN 359]

1) Always tell the TRUTH. never lie to the POE officer

2) Be confident in ur replies

3)keep ur response short and to the point, dont tell ur life story!!

4) look the POE officer in the eye when speaking to them. They are looking for people lieing and have been trained to find them!

5)pack light! No job resumes with you

6) Bring ties to Canada (letter from employer when ur expected back at work, lease, etc etc)

7) Always be polite, being rude isnt going to get ya anywhere, and could make things worse!!

8) have a plan in case u do get denied (be polite) It wont harm ur visa application if ur denied,that is if ur polite and didnt lie! Refer to #1

Best of luck

[canadianGroom 0]

Kathryn

Thank you for your lengthy reply.

I plan on filing the sponsorship and her PR application as soon as we get married. I spoke to a Canada immigration office today on the phone, after explaining my situation, he told me since she's a US citizen, she wouldn't need any paperwork to come to Canada to live with me. Do you have personal experience or have read something suggesting otherwise?

flames9

Thanks for dropping in, I saw your same post somewhere else in the forums.

[Kathryn41 3,207]

Kathryn

Thank you for your lengthy reply.

I plan on filing the sponsorship and her PR application as soon as we get married. I spoke to a Canada immigration office today on the phone, after explaining my situation, he told me since she's a US citizen, she wouldn't need any paperwork to come to Canada to live with me. Do you have personal experience or have read something suggesting otherwise?

Actually, I do have personal experience although it is four years old now. I worked for an MP in Canada and our riding was close to the US border . We dealt with a lot of cross-border couples. It was a very regular experience for a couple to come into our office requesting help getting their belongings across because while they had been allowed to cross, their belongings weren't because they didn't have Permanent Resident status yet. Basically all we could do was get them started on the paperwork process.

We also assisted a number of US spouses in obtaining the necessary documentation to confirm/maintain their legal status in Canada while waiting for their Landed Immigrant status to be granted. While a US spouse is allowed to 'visit' for up to 6 months without having any paperwork - just like a Canadian can visit the US for up to 6 months without having paperwork - if your wife wishes to stay in Canada beyond that time she needs documentation - an extension to the de-facto visitor status. A number of spouses were not allowed to enter unless they did obtain a Temporary Resident's permit at the border first. These types of Temporary Resident permits were available at the border initially and then had to be renewed either at the border or via an application to CIC. I don't know if that is still the case or not. If a Canadian border authority thinks that an American is living in Canada without authorization, the American can be turned back at the border - and yes, we had that happen as well, so while the American doesn't need a paper document verifying their 'temporary residence' status for the first 6 months, it is a good idea to have it if she intends to cross the border while her application is being processed.

The other issue is that Canadian immigration law states an immigrant within the country must have valid legal status in order to become a Permanent Resident. Now, the immigration officials we dealt with could be lenient at times and I do know of 2 cases where they were willing to back-dated a renewal Temporary Resident permit so that they could issue the landing documents. With the 6 months Temporary Resident permit your wife will not have to worry about problems at the border. After 6 months in Canada she will require one regardless until she is landed.

Something your fiancee can do right now is start to gather her security/police reports. She will need one for every state in which she has lived as well as one from the FBI for her Permanent Resident application. There is a list that we used to hand out to individuals that stated which States provided what type of documentation, where to apply, and how much each certificate cost. The FBI one often takes a while and many applications were delayed waiting for that report to arrive.

As I said, my experience is at least 4 years old, although I have not heard of any major changes to the basic immigration process since I left the MPs office in 2004.

Edited May 6, 2008 by Kathryn41

[canadianGroom 0]

Thank you so much Kathryn, your information and experience is most valuable!

With you info, we are starting to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa right away. My fiancee has lived in 3 states, 2 of them when she was younger than 5 years old though, I wonder if she would need reports from those 2 states as well?

After reading through the CIC website, I have yet a few unanswered questions. If you or someone else can answer or direct me to the right place, I would be most grateful.

1)

We are starting to apply for Temporary Resident Visa now. CIC website says the FBI report process time is 16-18 weeks, thats 4-5 months, that means we should get it by September or October. The problem is we are getting married in July and coming right back into Canada.

If my fiancee can't get all the documents ready (ie. the police FBI report) by the time we try to enter Canada for the first time as a newly wed, can we apply for the Temporary Resident Visa after we are in Canada, provided that we are let into Canada as a couple without any visa?

2)

I know it varies, but in general how long does a multiple-entry Temporary Resident Visa usually grant the applicant to stay in Canada? Is it renewable?

3)

As an American, my soon-to-be wife is allowed to visit Canada for no longer than 6 months without any visa. How is this 6 months calculated? If after 5 months of

staying in Canada, she goes to the US to visit her family for a weekend and comes back to Canada, now upon entry, does the 6 months period start from 0 or 5?

Again, thank you all so much, I can't tell you how much you have helped me in making decision and finding the right info.

[Kathryn41 3,207]

Thank you so much Kathryn, your information and experience is most valuable!

With you info, we are starting to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa right away. My fiancee has lived in 3 states, 2 of them when she was younger than 5 years old though, I wonder if she would need reports from those 2 states as well?

No, it is only those states she has resided in since the age of 18 (I believe - it may be 16 - the information will be in the instructions on the form). The security checks are for the Permanent Residident visa, not the temporary resident visa.

After reading through the CIC website, I have yet a few unanswered questions. If you or someone else can answer or direct me to the right place, I would be most grateful.

1)

We are starting to apply for Temporary Resident Visa now. CIC website says the FBI report process time is 16-18 weeks, thats 4-5 months, that means we should get it by September or October. The problem is we are getting married in July and coming right back into Canada.

If my fiancee can't get all the documents ready (ie. the police FBI report) by the time we try to enter Canada for the first time as a newly wed, can we apply for the Temporary Resident Visa after we are in Canada, provided that we are let into Canada as a couple without any visa?

yes. You can submit the form by mail. She can be legally present in Canada without the form for the first 6 months, although having the form makes it much easier.

2)

I know it varies, but in general how long does a multiple-entry Temporary Resident Visa usually grant the applicant to stay in Canada? Is it renewable?

6 months is the magic number, and yes it is renewable. If you have a Permanent Resident Visa application in the works you can renew it without difficulties until the decision on the PR application is received. Once she receives the PR approval, she has to leave the country and re-enter to activate her 'landing'. (You can literally drive across the border and turn around to come back). During the process she will also receive a letter giving her 'approval in principle' which means she is approved but they haven't finished the paperwork process yet. Once she receives her approval in principle, she is allowed to work or go to school as well. Up until then, she isn't.

3)

As an American, my soon-to-be wife is allowed to visit Canada for no longer than 6 months without any visa. How is this 6 months calculated? If after 5 months of

staying in Canada, she goes to the US to visit her family for a weekend and comes back to Canada, now upon entry, does the 6 months period start from 0 or 5?

I believe it is 6 months in a 12 month period - that is the premise on which we always operated - but that is a question you can ask CIC or border services.

Again, thank you all so much, I can't tell you how much you have helped me in making decision and finding the right info.

Good luck:-). It is a useful exercise to download all of the information related to the applications right now. That way you can start collecting the information and documents you need and are good to go when the time is right.