the best way???

[bellababy]

Wow... so thrilled I found this site. I've been following another forum and the responses are mostly nasty and lots of fighting. Seems to be alot of people here giving out hugs!! I need some too!!!

My husband and I met last year while I was vacationing.

He is currently in Canada with a VV. We were married in July.

Our options:

1. He could stay with me in Canada and we could apply inland.
2. He could go to his home country and we could apply outland. I'm currently unemployed - a long story but not a bad one - working on a change in careers.
3. We could go back to his home country together - and then apply from there to come home together. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bobshynoswife]

It's hard to give an opinion without more details! Which country is he from?

Are you a Canadian citizen? If not, #3 is not possible.

There is another option, which is applying outland while he stays visiting in Canada.

Do you think you'll be approved as a sponsor? There is no minimum income requirement but you can't be on social assistance and must show that you will be able to support him.

Fill us in on some more details so we can help you work through your options. Oh, and congratulations on your marriage!

 

[bellababy]

awwww so thank you for your reply. It brought tears to my eyes. I feel so alone in this situation. Our situation has become very bizarre in the past week. And I'm hesitant to post for the world to see - am seeing a lawyer on Monday to document - I'm sure we'll be paying for it FOREVER!

Yes, I am a Canadian Citizen, born and raised.

My husband is from East Africa. He is he on a VV but I was NOT the invitor. So, I don't know if extending his visitors visa is even possible. We've been told its very hard to do.

As far as me being approved as a sponser, I think it would be possible, if I got a f/t job. I have never collected SA. I'm currently living on a p/t job and funds from the sale of my business.

But I am willing to go back with him. As terrifying as that might be for me. But I've heard it might be the quickest way, with the least hassle.


And THANKS!! for the congrats! It was wonderful!

 

[kelsey199200]

its kind of a personal choice although #3 would probabbly be the hardest because you have to send additional proof that you fully intend on residing back in canada after the process is finishsed. for example a lease on a house, work to go back to etc...im not sure if he can apply inland incase his visa expires and for some reason he cant extend it. also in this process you would need manyyy documents from his home country and that would be very difficult to do if hes in canada since he would probably need to be present for most of them. if he went to his country you could always visit him for longer periods like 2 month at a time using a visitors visa since it wouldnt considered to be residing and you wouldnt need to submit the proof. sorry if i confused you more lol but it really depends more on your situation, anyways good luck!

 

[canadianwoman]

PR applications from Kenya typically take a long time.

1. He could stay with me in Canada and we could apply inland.

Because of the long wait for Kenyan PR applicants, this is what I would do, of possible. Send in your inland application right away. This will work only if he can get an extension. Problems with inland: you cannot appeal, and the applicant cannot leave Canada while the application is in process.
Because the visa officer will most likely assume your relationship is not genuine if you apply outland, actually living together during the inland application process will definitely make it easier to prove your marriage is real.

2. He could go to his home country and we could apply outland. I'm currently unemployed - a long story but not a bad one - working on a change in careers.

You don't need a job or an income to sponsor a spouse, though the visa officer will want to know how you will support yourselves once he gets to Canada. It would most likely be a long wait, so you should budget to go visit him at least once a year - this will also bolster your claims that your marriage is genuine.

3. We could go back to his home country together - and then apply from there to come home together.

This would also help you case - living together shows the visa officer that your relationship is real. But if the sponsor is not living in Canada, you have to prove that you will return to Canada when the applicant gets his PR visa. Some people on this forum have been rejected because the visa officer didn't believe they would go back.

You're lucky in one way - most spouse's from Africa will not be able to get a TRV, and so the inland process is not possible.

 

[angelbrat]

Inland application is my vote too.

Should your husband leave Canada it is highly unlikely he will get back in until the PR is approved.

Inland, he should file for his extended VV, if you get your PR application in before his VV expires, he will be on implied intent as a visitor.

Also, in your case, I think Inland will be a lot quicker and from what I have read here on the Forum, if it does go to interview, seems the IO officers here are a lot more tolerant than those abroad.

Downside of Inland, if they do refuse the application you cannot appeal.

But, I am sure there are others here whom are far more experienced than me whom can advise you.

 

[bellababy]

Thanks SOOOO much for your replys.

I was surprised by your suggestions. I had the understanding that INLAND was horrible and took FOREVER, like years and years. As I mentioned before I wasn't the person that invited him into the country, nor will the person that did invite him agree to extend his VV. Do you think that will be a problem? I'm afraid he's going to be accused of entering the country under 'false pretenses' since he didn't disclose that he planned to marry while here. But he also entered the country with full intentions of going home 2 months BEFORE his visa even expired.

I love his country. BUT we won't be able to afford to live like royalty like most of the other "white" people seem to live there. I'm not sure how long I will last there. So, if I went there, how could it be hard to proove that I'm coming home with him or before him. Why on earth would I want to live in third world poverty (ok... maybe not quite.. but close) while he came here without me???

Someone told me that if I live WITH him there... we could avoid interviews. Do you think this is true?

Sorry, if this seemed to more of a vent then anything!!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[bobshynoswife]

Hmmmmmmm....

first of all, sorry for the lack of caps, my shift key is broken and i'm in a hurry.

you have a tough decision to make, but you are lucky that you have options! my husband is nigerian, could not get a vv to come here so we had to apply outland. i have children here, so moving to nigeria to wait it out with him is not an option either! so we did what we had to do and applied in may, a few weeks after getting married. we were prepared for it to take 18 months, since that's what the cic website was like, and lo and behold, we already have an interview just 2 weeks from now! there is the possibility that he could be here as early as september.

i do know that the nairobi office is fixing their problems and getting applications done much more quickly. so if you went the outland route it probably won't be nearly as long as you think it might be. if your case is straightforward with no complicating factors (such as a criminal record) then i think it's safe to say that nairobi might not be so bad. i also would jump at the chance to live with my husband in his country for 6 months to a year. i think it will be so much better for your marriage as well as any future children that you immerse yourself and really understand his culture. i know you won't live like royalty, but if you have an okay house to live in and enough money for food and goods, the african culture will enrich you beyond any material goods!

i do not know much about applying inland, but i worry it could look bad for him that he came in by someone else's invitation, married you and then applied as a spouse. it could look like he married you only to stay in the country. this is the reason i would avoid the inland route.

if nairobi was still taking 2 years and you had no option to live there with him, i would certainly advise you to go inland. in your case though, i think it would be better to apply outland.

perhaps someone more experienced could chime in on the possible problems with applying inland after coming in on a visitor visa by other means.

 

[canadianwoman]

I was surprised by your suggestions. I had the understanding that INLAND was horrible and took FOREVER, like years and years.

Inland is sometimes horrible and can take years, but so can outland applications from Africa. Here is a link to the CIC wait times:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp
13 to 25 months for Nairobi. However, it seems that recently applications from Nairobi have been processed much quicker than that.

As I mentioned before I wasn't the person that invited him into the country, nor will the person that did invite him agree to extend his VV. Do you think that will be a problem?

Who did invite him? If it was another woman, then it might look bad.

I'm afraid he's going to be accused of entering the country under 'false pretenses' since he didn't disclose that he planned to marry while here. But he also entered the country with full intentions of going home 2 months BEFORE his visa even expired.

Maybe. But if you didn't actually decide to marry until after he had been in Canada for a while, you should be OK - you would have to state when he proposed and when you accepted. He can also show his plane ticket to prove he had been planning to leave.

Someone told me that if I live WITH him there... we could avoid interviews. Do you think this is true?

Yes, if you live in Kenya with him for a year or 6 months, this is strong evidence that your marriage is genuine, and so you may be able to avoid an interview.

What would be best - inland or outland, and if outland, with you waiting in Canada or living with him in Kenya - really depends on your situation. Look at your relationship as objectively as possible - are there issues that might make the visa officer suspicious? You said you met him on vacation, for example. If you haven't known him very long as well, I would definitely choose either inland or outland with you living in Kenya. Actually living with him for an extended period will make up for a short courtship or other problems. If you have known him a long time and have a lot of evidence your relationship is genuine, then applying outland while you stay in Canada might be OK.

If I were you, I would still apply inland if he can get his TRV extended. This way you are at least together. If he can't get the extension, I would go live with him in Kenya and apply from there (if I could afford it of course.)