Comin Back from Canada

[Phil376 0]

Hey folks

Ive been tryin to help my sister with this immigration stuff, and we have been readin the forums tryin to find an answer but decided to post our question here

My sister (an American) is engaged to a Canadian guy. He has been in the states for the past 4 months living with her. They got engaged a few months ago. The last time he was back in Canada was only for a few weeks, and before that he was livin with her for about 6 months. (So over the past year he's only been in Canada about 2 weeks)

In September they're goin back to Canada to be at his cousin's wedding in Ontario. They're going to be in Canada about 2 weeks.

His flight doesn't have him goin back to Canada...just from US to there, and back into the US. Looks like from these forums that isn't a good sign to the border guards? Also, he ain't got no job in Canada or house or nothin...only tie to Canada he's got is a student ID from college that I think he's still enrolled in up there.

And another thing----- he is flyin in to a small airport, that help at all??? Last time (after bein here bout 6 months and goin to Canada) he flew into a small airport in Minnesota (canadians are only foreign planes there), and they didn't ask hardly any questions or nothin.

Well thanks for your time

Just wonderin' if you think he'll be coming back into the US without hassle, or might get some hassle, or what ya thinkin

Thanks much

Phil

[Mithmeoi 29]

If he's been overstaying and they look at his passport he might get a fuss over that. What kind of visa did he come in on or did he just enter with his passport?

You said his ties to Canada are not good either so that's not a good thing.

[Tater&Bugger 3]

Sounds like he has been overstaying in the US so there is a very good chance he will have problems getting back in... likely will not be allowed. IF when he joined her in the US and didn't have the intention of marrying her they could always get married now and apply for Adjustment of Status. Then when the case is looked in to he will really need to prove that he did not go there under false pretences. The other option, which is the safest but takes the longest is they apply for a K-1 fiance Visa, or get married and apply for a spousal Visa. He will have to wait it out in Canada seeing as they may not let him back in since he's already spent too much time there.

I think applying for AOS can be challenging since he's already overstayed, but not impossible. I am just not sure it's worth the risk of being banned. I recommend they seek the best Visa option for them NOW and apply ASAP... that way when he goes back to Canada there isn't as long to wait, then he can come back legally. the guides on here will tell you the pros and cons of each Visa... or another friendly member will post it for you =)

Best of luck!

[Sprailenes 47]

My sister (an American) is engaged to a Canadian guy. He has been in the states for the past 4 months living with her. They got engaged a few months ago. The last time he was back in Canada was only for a few weeks, and before that he was livin with her for about 6 months. (So over the past year he's only been in Canada about 2 weeks)

Living? Without a visa? That's not exactly legal. Also going to agree with others around here, it looks like he's overstayed. That comes with a ban.

His flight doesn't have him goin back to Canada...just from US to there, and back into the US. Looks like from these forums that isn't a good sign to the border guards? Also, he ain't got no job in Canada or house or nothin...only tie to Canada he's got is a student ID from college that I think he's still enrolled in up there.

He needs to have ties to Canada, and with an overstay and no return ticket, there's a good chance that he could very well be denied entry.

And another thing----- he is flyin in to a small airport, that help at all??? Last time (after bein here bout 6 months and goin to Canada) he flew into a small airport in Minnesota (canadians are only foreign planes there), and they didn't ask hardly any questions or nothin.

Small airport, big airport - laws are laws and they're pretty strict about overstays.

Listen to the other posters here, look at the visa options available to them. As of right now, it sounds like they may be breaking the law.

Off topic but this fuscia colour is kind sassy... don't think I could use it all of the time though

[SupportGeek 21]

Hey folks

Ive been tryin to help my sister with this immigration stuff, and we have been readin the forums tryin to find an answer but decided to post our question here

My sister (an American) is engaged to a Canadian guy. He has been in the states for the past 4 months living with her. They got engaged a few months ago. The last time he was back in Canada was only for a few weeks, and before that he was livin with her for about 6 months. (So over the past year he's only been in Canada about 2 weeks)

In September they're goin back to Canada to be at his cousin's wedding in Ontario. They're going to be in Canada about 2 weeks.

His flight doesn't have him goin back to Canada...just from US to there, and back into the US. Looks like from these forums that isn't a good sign to the border guards? Also, he ain't got no job in Canada or house or nothin...only tie to Canada he's got is a student ID from college that I think he's still enrolled in up there.

And another thing----- he is flyin in to a small airport, that help at all??? Last time (after bein here bout 6 months and goin to Canada) he flew into a small airport in Minnesota (canadians are only foreign planes there), and they didn't ask hardly any questions or nothin.

Well thanks for your time

Just wonderin' if you think he'll be coming back into the US without hassle, or might get some hassle, or what ya thinkin

Thanks much

Phil

Yea, I will have to agree to what the others have said, it certainly looks like an overstay of under 6 months. Which WILL impose a 2 year ban on entry to the US. I think overstays over 6 months are a 10 year ban, and before you ask, they count the time stayed in the US in a 12 month year, consecutive, there is no date that it resets and the Canadian gets another 6 months to stay.

Even then, the amount of time the Canadian CAN stay in the US is really up to the POE officer.

If they plan to get married before the ban is lifted, they can do one of a couple of things: he goes back to Canada, they file an I-129f petition for foreign fiancee and start that process, at some point in the process they will need to try getting a waiver to have the ban lifted early, Im not sure what all is involved in that another poster likely will have that information, I know its a pain in the butt, however will need to be taken care of unless they dont plan to marry within 2 years.

Another option is for them to get married NOW, and file for AOS, Once the AOS is complete and he has a greencard IIRC overstays are forgiven and there will be no ban, this comes with a HUGE caveat though, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should he leave the US before or during the AOS process, not until he has that greencard, if he does, the AOS is considered abandoned, and the ban will be enforced.

It is an extremely risky game he is playing right now if he and your sister are serious about their relationship and are considering marriage. Border officers have access to a fair bit of information, and if he drove across earlier, or flew, there is a record of it in their databases, so they will know that he is a risk to immigrate illegally (and is trying to do so right now in their eyes) With illegal immigrants becoming more and more of a hot button topic right now in the US, it is something the CBP officers are looking at a lot harder these days.

Im curious how he managed to get into the US for a duration of 6 months in the first place? I tried to go across for 2 months once and was hauled into secondary where I showed I DID have ties to Canada (not enough though) and despite a return ticket I was only granted a 4 week stay. Sounds like he has even LESS ties than I did, so I am assuming he likely gave them a different duration of stay when he crossed, If so, he could be looking at a penalty of misrepresentaton as well, and if Im not mistaken can incur a LIFETIME ban.

Im going to suggest the get married and file AOS route now, since the overstays can be forgiven and ban avoided, but the process isnt too quick and he will have to miss his cousin's wedding because he wont be able to leave, but thats the price he will have to pay for gaming the system like this.

Sorry

[LiLMermaid 2]

Yea, I will have to agree to what the others have said, it certainly looks like an overstay of under 6 months. Which WILL impose a 2 year ban on entry to the US. I think overstays over 6 months are a 10 year ban, and before you ask, they count the time stayed in the US in a 12 month year, consecutive, there is no date that it resets and the Canadian gets another 6 months to stay.

Even then, the amount of time the Canadian CAN stay in the US is really up to the POE officer.

If they plan to get married before the ban is lifted, they can do one of a couple of things: he goes back to Canada, they file an I-129f petition for foreign fiancee and start that process, at some point in the process they will need to try getting a waiver to have the ban lifted early, Im not sure what all is involved in that another poster likely will have that information, I know its a pain in the butt, however will need to be taken care of unless they dont plan to marry within 2 years.

Another option is for them to get married NOW, and file for AOS, Once the AOS is complete and he has a greencard IIRC overstays are forgiven and there will be no ban, this comes with a HUGE caveat though, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should he leave the US before or during the AOS process, not until he has that greencard, if he does, the AOS is considered abandoned, and the ban will be enforced.

It is an extremely risky game he is playing right now if he and your sister are serious about their relationship and are considering marriage. Border officers have access to a fair bit of information, and if he drove across earlier, or flew, there is a record of it in their databases, so they will know that he is a risk to immigrate illegally (and is trying to do so right now in their eyes) With illegal immigrants becoming more and more of a hot button topic right now in the US, it is something the CBP officers are looking at a lot harder these days.

Im curious how he managed to get into the US for a duration of 6 months in the first place? I tried to go across for 2 months once and was hauled into secondary where I showed I DID have ties to Canada (not enough though) and despite a return ticket I was only granted a 4 week stay. Sounds like he has even LESS ties than I did, so I am assuming he likely gave them a different duration of stay when he crossed, If so, he could be looking at a penalty of misrepresentaton as well, and if Im not mistaken can incur a LIFETIME ban.

Im going to suggest the get married and file AOS route now, since the overstays can be forgiven and ban avoided, but the process isnt too quick and he will have to miss his cousin's wedding because he wont be able to leave, but thats the price he will have to pay for gaming the system like this.

Sorry

I agree with the file for AOS and forget leaving at the moment.

If he goes back to Canada and applies from there if there is an overstay which there is at this point ...he would have to file a waiver but you can't apply for it until your visa is denied. So after the interview at Montreal. Then the waiver goes through Montreal and the US Citizen would have to prove hardship. In other words why she can't move to Canada. These waivers are NOT easy to get approved.

Honestly at this point he came into the US not planning on staying and getting married and leaving at this point is not going to help him at all. I would get married and file for AOS. He would not be able to leave the US until it was approved and filing for advance parole would be a waste of time. They'd give it to him but he'd be automatically banned on departure from the US. Sorry but I think attended the wedding in Canada is a bad idea.

[TimandJoyce 1]

I would also STRONGLY suggest that your sister and her fiance look at this web site, and all the answers too, because it's very difficult to be a go between in something like this. They need to realize how critical all this is. That's why so many couples get into "trouble". They just don't take it seriously enough.

Hope it all works out for the good for you sister.

[charlesandanna 2]

In terms of overstay, I did something very similar and it depends on dates. You cannot spend more than 6 months in a calendar year, or 6 months contiguously in the USA. According to our lawyer, I am fine. You may be as well.

I agree with all the other posters though. You need to figure out what kind of visa is best for your situation, and then go through the proper process. Even if they do let you in at POE, you do not want to be banned.

[Sprailenes 47]

Not trying to go off topic here, but lawyers aren't the most trusted sources when it comes to immigration. Many lawyers have given skewed advice to other members here.

This site will help you a lot to answer questions, and we're a friendly bunch (for the most part).