Help! I want to move to Canada to live with my boyfriend

This forum deals with all aspects of immigration to Canada, landed immigrant status, work permits, etc.

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reverse_snowbird
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 9:26 pm

Help! I want to move to Canada to live with my boyfriend

Post by reverse_snowbird »

I'm a US citizen dating a Canadian citizen I met over the internet. We've been dating for 2 years while I've been working hard to save up money for our wedding.

I've received word my job is closing and I'm being laid off. I have been desperate to move out of this city for three years now but couldn't justify leaving a well paying job to do so. Now, I must move, and wanted to go to Canada to be with my boyfriend. He is willing to sponsor me.

Problem is, I don't have much time. My lease expires in a month, my last paycheck comes a bit before then. This change is a bit sudden and it leaves me scrambling for options. I think I have enough points to get to Canada as a skilled worker, but learned from the CIC site that it could be up to two years before I am allowed to set foot on Canadian soil that way. I can't really afford to stay in the city where I am now, and cant afford to move all my belongings twice, once to a cheaper state and again to Canada.

The other problem is that we aren't married. We want to be married as soon as is practical, but because of our precarious financial situation we cannot afford a formal wedding, and would probably have to go to the JP in the US. I don't even know what kind of documents/papers the JP would require for us to do so.

Meanwhile, it costs me a lot of money to go see him, and he likewise is spending a lot of money to see me. It's very painful being apart for so long. Also, we are both autistic, so initiating paperwork and preparing our documents and appointments and interviews for immigration is extremely difficult for either of us. I'm completely overwhelmed just trying to navigate around the CIC site and find the answers I need to make this personal decision.

What can I do? Who do I need to talk to? Who can help me navigate through the rules and requirements, the CIC website and hotline are not very helpful, I need someone to sit down with me and say exactly what I need to know and to do to go forward with this, but I'm running out of time and spending myself down to where I might not have the requisite funds to move. Any help would be appreciated. Be as specific and as detailed as you can.

Sorry if I seem like I'm just whinging and making excuses. I'm not very experienced with the system and have trouble communicating especially over the phone, so this is really difficult for us.

Some details

I'm a master's degree holder in the US, and fluent in English but have no French at all.
I have no criminal record, a clean bill of health, and decent (if infrequently used) credit.
I owe close to $70K US in student loans, which are paid dutifully every month without missing payments. That is my only debt.
I've worked both as a research scientist and as a self-employed web consultant and educational graphics designer.
His employment is a fair bit more shaky; he has an art degree, but works temp jobs mostly and has no savings funds whatsoever, lives paycheck to paycheck, and is considering returning to school to obtain a better degree. However, he is healthy and has a clean background, and has mutual friends who will vouch for the genuine nature of our relationship.

What is the quickest and most supportive way to go about this? Should we marry in the courthouse before I try to come up there? What happens when I get to the border crossing with my U-Haul truck loaded with all my stuff and my two cats? Help me sort this out. Thanks.
Ron Liberman
Posts: 773
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:23 pm
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Post by Ron Liberman »

Hi,

There seem to be many issues here that are not directly immigration ones, but as far as those are concerned, forget about the skilled worker route. The sponsorship route will be much quicker.

You clearly want and need to get married to facilitate this quickly, either in Canada or in the U.S., and then you can start a sponsorship application. Rather than just turning up at the border with your U-Hauil and being turned around, which it seems would be disastrous in your case, it really would be worthwhile to obtain some expert help.
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