Spousal sponsorship

[sbowen3]

I am a US citizen and my boyfriend is Canadian. We have been long distancing for 3 years and we want to get married soon. If I go up to Canada and get married up there on a visotor visa. What is the process of getting sponsorship from him? How long would it take? Could I stay up there while everything is being processed?

 

[Isometry]

Start reading here and here here.

You can apply inland or outland. Personally, I recommend applying outland. You'll need to fill out all of those forms. Make sure you have the necessary documentation: A passport that doesn't expire soon, copies of your birth certificates, you'll need your marriage certificate as well (after you get married!)

If you don't already have extra copies of your birth certificates, order them now. Order your background check from the FBI about two months before you plan to submit your application, because that takes about 2 months to get back. Do your medical exam as soon as possible before you submit the application.

You can view processing times here. Currently, for US citizens applying outland, it's about 14 months. That's 3 months for sponsorship approval and 11 for applicant approval. Please note that the sponsorship approval times are pretty much dead on, but the applicant approval times vary wildly.

You can stay in Canada on a visitor's visa while the application is being processed. Please note that the visitor's visa will only be good for 6 months at a time, though it can be renewed before it expires. Extensions are not guaranteed, but you can probably get them. Also note that if you are only on a visitor's visa, and do not have a separate work/study permit, you will not be able to work or go to school while you wait.

Forgot to add: You'll need proof that your relationship is genuine and ongoing. Things like photographs of you together, boarding passes/passport stamps from visits, joint bank accounts, phone bills showing that you call each other, emails and snail mails to each other, anything else you can think of. Nothing electronic! You should start gathering these things now, and continue adding to it up until you submit the application. Remember, you will not be there to explain anything. You have to show the officer that your relationship is genuine, but they don't know you. For me, this was the hardest part of the whole thing.