Jonathan Dueck

Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
-- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!

I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
(full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
mid-August.

However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
(Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
Canada at that point.)

She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
cross the border in three weeks.

1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
citizen I don't need one).
2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
for permanent residence / citizenship for her?

Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
finding our circumstances mentioned in them.

Regards,
Jonathan Dueck
([email protected])

Renee

I wouldn't think that your wife is in any different situation than anyone
else who is married to a Canadian citizen, but not yet a Canadian permanent
resident. Either she has to apply for landed immigrant status, or she needs
to get a job offer and HRDC approval prior to applying for a temporary work
permit. She can do that from within Canada.

At this point, you probably need to ask for a temporary resident visa for
your wife when you cross the border. She will be prohibited from employment
or studying, but it will give her legal status. I moved here in February
five months prior to my planned wedding date to a Canadian citizen, and they
issued my initial TRV at Calgary International Airport for six months. I
applied to extend it while my permanent residency is being processed since I
haven't been able to get a job offer (the job market is VERY competitive!).

A British friend of mine has an open work permit by virtue of her Irish
husband having a temporary work permit when he transferred to Canada with
his international company. But the key there is that neither of them are
Canadians. The only reason she qualified for the open work permit is
because she is the spouse of someone already in possession of a temporary
work permit. If you are already a Canadian, I don't think the rules work
that way. It would certainly make a lot of our lives easier while we
immigrant spouses live in PR application limbo!

Your wife is of course able to achieve status in Canada on a TRV, and then
she can apply to change the conditions of her status to a temporary worker
once she has a job offer and HRDC approval to be hired. It wouldn't affect
her PR application if she decides to submit one, because she would be
required to have legal status in Canada while the application is processed.
The temporary work permit would be her way of achieving that. I would think
it's very difficult to get a job offer while she's in the States, unless she
already knows the company from prior employment.

Hope that helps....and hopefully someone can confirm what I've said. I'm
applying on an inland spouse application after living in Canada before the
wedding. I can't get an open work permit just because I'm married to a
Canadian, so I don't assume your wife can either. Maybe it's different if
you're returning to the country after an absence, but I don't think so.

Since you said that you've both lived in Canada before, she really should
apply for PR status. It would make this kind of thing much easier for you,
and both the US and Canada recognize dual citizenship once it gets to that
stage. If you apply inland, which you will be able to do, your PR
immigration fees will be C$1,525 assuming you don't have dependents, and the
experts on these boards are quoting estimated processing times of 4-6 months
for US Citizens who have only lived in the US. I just got my application in
CIC hands on June 20, so I can't give you my own timetable yet.

Cheers!

Renee



"Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > mid-August.
    > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > Canada at that point.)
    > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > cross the border in three weeks.
    > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > citizen I don't need one).
    > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    > Regards,
    > Jonathan Dueck
    > ([email protected])

Jonathan Dueck

Thanks so much, Renee! Your advice could not come at a better time.
It's good to know that my wife can most likely apply for PR status, or
for a work permit, from within Canada. (Good luck with your search,
by the way.)

One other question I have: the reason I've hesitated on the PR idea
is that it is quite possible that we will leave for the States (or
maybe the UK) at the end of my 1-year job in Edmonton, and thus (I
think) we would simply have to pay for the whole PR process again,
should we move back. Do you think this is true? Thanks again for
your help!

Regards,
Jon

"Renee" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] .ca>...
    > I wouldn't think that your wife is in any different situation than anyone
    > else who is married to a Canadian citizen, but not yet a Canadian permanent
    > resident. Either she has to apply for landed immigrant status, or she needs
    > to get a job offer and HRDC approval prior to applying for a temporary work
    > permit. She can do that from within Canada.
    >
    > At this point, you probably need to ask for a temporary resident visa for
    > your wife when you cross the border. She will be prohibited from employment
    > or studying, but it will give her legal status. I moved here in February
    > five months prior to my planned wedding date to a Canadian citizen, and they
    > issued my initial TRV at Calgary International Airport for six months. I
    > applied to extend it while my permanent residency is being processed since I
    > haven't been able to get a job offer (the job market is VERY competitive!).
    >
    > A British friend of mine has an open work permit by virtue of her Irish
    > husband having a temporary work permit when he transferred to Canada with
    > his international company. But the key there is that neither of them are
    > Canadians. The only reason she qualified for the open work permit is
    > because she is the spouse of someone already in possession of a temporary
    > work permit. If you are already a Canadian, I don't think the rules work
    > that way. It would certainly make a lot of our lives easier while we
    > immigrant spouses live in PR application limbo!
    >
    > Your wife is of course able to achieve status in Canada on a TRV, and then
    > she can apply to change the conditions of her status to a temporary worker
    > once she has a job offer and HRDC approval to be hired. It wouldn't affect
    > her PR application if she decides to submit one, because she would be
    > required to have legal status in Canada while the application is processed.
    > The temporary work permit would be her way of achieving that. I would think
    > it's very difficult to get a job offer while she's in the States, unless she
    > already knows the company from prior employment.
    >
    > Hope that helps....and hopefully someone can confirm what I've said. I'm
    > applying on an inland spouse application after living in Canada before the
    > wedding. I can't get an open work permit just because I'm married to a
    > Canadian, so I don't assume your wife can either. Maybe it's different if
    > you're returning to the country after an absence, but I don't think so.
    >
    > Since you said that you've both lived in Canada before, she really should
    > apply for PR status. It would make this kind of thing much easier for you,
    > and both the US and Canada recognize dual citizenship once it gets to that
    > stage. If you apply inland, which you will be able to do, your PR
    > immigration fees will be C$1,525 assuming you don't have dependents, and the
    > experts on these boards are quoting estimated processing times of 4-6 months
    > for US Citizens who have only lived in the US. I just got my application in
    > CIC hands on June 20, so I can't give you my own timetable yet.
    >
    > Cheers!
    >
    > Renee
    >
    >
    >
    > "Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > >
    > > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > > mid-August.
    > >
    > > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > > Canada at that point.)
    > >
    > > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > > cross the border in three weeks.
    > >
    > > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > > citizen I don't need one).
    > > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    > >
    > > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    > >
    > > Regards,
    > > Jonathan Dueck
    > > ([email protected])

Renee

Jon,

It depends on how long you are away from Canada.

Here's some info regarding minimum stay in Canada as a permanent resident -
I copied it from one of Andrew Miller's replies on another thread...

Under current law PR must be present in Canada for at least 730 days (2
years) in every 5 years period to maintain PR status. Note that by being in
Canada only for minimum period required to maintain PR status such permanent
resident will not meet eligibility for citizenship.

Good luck with everything!

Renee




"Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks so much, Renee! Your advice could not come at a better time.
    > It's good to know that my wife can most likely apply for PR status, or
    > for a work permit, from within Canada. (Good luck with your search,
    > by the way.)
    > One other question I have: the reason I've hesitated on the PR idea
    > is that it is quite possible that we will leave for the States (or
    > maybe the UK) at the end of my 1-year job in Edmonton, and thus (I
    > think) we would simply have to pay for the whole PR process again,
    > should we move back. Do you think this is true? Thanks again for
    > your help!
    > Regards,
    > Jon
    > "Renee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected] .ca>...
    > > I wouldn't think that your wife is in any different situation than
anyone
    > > else who is married to a Canadian citizen, but not yet a Canadian
permanent
    > > resident. Either she has to apply for landed immigrant status, or she
needs
    > > to get a job offer and HRDC approval prior to applying for a temporary
work
    > > permit. She can do that from within Canada.
    > >
    > > At this point, you probably need to ask for a temporary resident visa
for
    > > your wife when you cross the border. She will be prohibited from
employment
    > > or studying, but it will give her legal status. I moved here in
February
    > > five months prior to my planned wedding date to a Canadian citizen, and
they
    > > issued my initial TRV at Calgary International Airport for six months.
I
    > > applied to extend it while my permanent residency is being processed
since I
    > > haven't been able to get a job offer (the job market is VERY
competitive!).
    > >
    > > A British friend of mine has an open work permit by virtue of her Irish
    > > husband having a temporary work permit when he transferred to Canada
with
    > > his international company. But the key there is that neither of them
are
    > > Canadians. The only reason she qualified for the open work permit is
    > > because she is the spouse of someone already in possession of a
temporary
    > > work permit. If you are already a Canadian, I don't think the rules
work
    > > that way. It would certainly make a lot of our lives easier while we
    > > immigrant spouses live in PR application limbo!
    > >
    > > Your wife is of course able to achieve status in Canada on a TRV, and
then
    > > she can apply to change the conditions of her status to a temporary
worker
    > > once she has a job offer and HRDC approval to be hired. It wouldn't
affect
    > > her PR application if she decides to submit one, because she would be
    > > required to have legal status in Canada while the application is
processed.
    > > The temporary work permit would be her way of achieving that. I would
think
    > > it's very difficult to get a job offer while she's in the States, unless
she
    > > already knows the company from prior employment.
    > >
    > > Hope that helps....and hopefully someone can confirm what I've said.
I'm
    > > applying on an inland spouse application after living in Canada before
the
    > > wedding. I can't get an open work permit just because I'm married to a
    > > Canadian, so I don't assume your wife can either. Maybe it's different
if
    > > you're returning to the country after an absence, but I don't think so.
    > >
    > > Since you said that you've both lived in Canada before, she really
should
    > > apply for PR status. It would make this kind of thing much easier for
you,
    > > and both the US and Canada recognize dual citizenship once it gets to
that
    > > stage. If you apply inland, which you will be able to do, your PR
    > > immigration fees will be C$1,525 assuming you don't have dependents, and
the
    > > experts on these boards are quoting estimated processing times of 4-6
months
    > > for US Citizens who have only lived in the US. I just got my
application in
    > > CIC hands on June 20, so I can't give you my own timetable yet.
    > >
    > > Cheers!
    > >
    > > Renee
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > "Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > > > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > > > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > > > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > > > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > > >
    > > > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > > > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > > > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > > > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > > > mid-August.
    > > >
    > > > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > > > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > > > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > > > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > > > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > > > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > > > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > > > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > > > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > > > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > > > Canada at that point.)
    > > >
    > > > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > > > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > > > cross the border in three weeks.
    > > >
    > > > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > > > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > > > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > > > citizen I don't need one).
    > > > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > > > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > > > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    > > >
    > > > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > > > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > > > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    > > >
    > > > Regards,
    > > > Jonathan Dueck
    > > > ([email protected])

Renee

Hi again...just thought of something else.

When I said that your immigration fees would be C$1,525, that is the amount
that you would send with your PR application to cover sponsoring fees, PR
processing fees, and the right of landing fee.

If you have to extend a TRV, it's $75 to do that. If your wife applies for
a temporary work permit, I believe it's $150 for that.

Your wife will need criminal clearances from the FBI and the state police
from her states of residency, so that carries more processing fees. If she
will probably apply for PR, she may want to initiate those before she leaves
the States to make it a bit easier....keeping in mind that they will expire
after six months so she'd have to make sure she was applying right after
arriving in Canada.

Then she'll need to do medicals, which she can do with an approved MD at the
same time she applies for PR or just before. I did mine in Calgary, and
paid $150 to the doctor. Then I paid around $37 to the radiologist for the
chest x-ray and around another $80 for lab work. You are required to get an
HIV and syphilis screen, but since I have three small tattoos, I also needed
a hepatitis test.

Didn't mean to sound like the $1,525 was going to be your only expense. It
*is* expensive overall to apply for PR, but worth it, I think.

Renee


"Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks so much, Renee! Your advice could not come at a better time.
    > It's good to know that my wife can most likely apply for PR status, or
    > for a work permit, from within Canada. (Good luck with your search,
    > by the way.)
    > One other question I have: the reason I've hesitated on the PR idea
    > is that it is quite possible that we will leave for the States (or
    > maybe the UK) at the end of my 1-year job in Edmonton, and thus (I
    > think) we would simply have to pay for the whole PR process again,
    > should we move back. Do you think this is true? Thanks again for
    > your help!
    > Regards,
    > Jon
    > "Renee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected] .ca>...
    > > I wouldn't think that your wife is in any different situation than
anyone
    > > else who is married to a Canadian citizen, but not yet a Canadian
permanent
    > > resident. Either she has to apply for landed immigrant status, or she
needs
    > > to get a job offer and HRDC approval prior to applying for a temporary
work
    > > permit. She can do that from within Canada.
    > >
    > > At this point, you probably need to ask for a temporary resident visa
for
    > > your wife when you cross the border. She will be prohibited from
employment
    > > or studying, but it will give her legal status. I moved here in
February
    > > five months prior to my planned wedding date to a Canadian citizen, and
they
    > > issued my initial TRV at Calgary International Airport for six months.
I
    > > applied to extend it while my permanent residency is being processed
since I
    > > haven't been able to get a job offer (the job market is VERY
competitive!).
    > >
    > > A British friend of mine has an open work permit by virtue of her Irish
    > > husband having a temporary work permit when he transferred to Canada
with
    > > his international company. But the key there is that neither of them
are
    > > Canadians. The only reason she qualified for the open work permit is
    > > because she is the spouse of someone already in possession of a
temporary
    > > work permit. If you are already a Canadian, I don't think the rules
work
    > > that way. It would certainly make a lot of our lives easier while we
    > > immigrant spouses live in PR application limbo!
    > >
    > > Your wife is of course able to achieve status in Canada on a TRV, and
then
    > > she can apply to change the conditions of her status to a temporary
worker
    > > once she has a job offer and HRDC approval to be hired. It wouldn't
affect
    > > her PR application if she decides to submit one, because she would be
    > > required to have legal status in Canada while the application is
processed.
    > > The temporary work permit would be her way of achieving that. I would
think
    > > it's very difficult to get a job offer while she's in the States, unless
she
    > > already knows the company from prior employment.
    > >
    > > Hope that helps....and hopefully someone can confirm what I've said.
I'm
    > > applying on an inland spouse application after living in Canada before
the
    > > wedding. I can't get an open work permit just because I'm married to a
    > > Canadian, so I don't assume your wife can either. Maybe it's different
if
    > > you're returning to the country after an absence, but I don't think so.
    > >
    > > Since you said that you've both lived in Canada before, she really
should
    > > apply for PR status. It would make this kind of thing much easier for
you,
    > > and both the US and Canada recognize dual citizenship once it gets to
that
    > > stage. If you apply inland, which you will be able to do, your PR
    > > immigration fees will be C$1,525 assuming you don't have dependents, and
the
    > > experts on these boards are quoting estimated processing times of 4-6
months
    > > for US Citizens who have only lived in the US. I just got my
application in
    > > CIC hands on June 20, so I can't give you my own timetable yet.
    > >
    > > Cheers!
    > >
    > > Renee
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > "Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > > > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > > > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > > > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > > > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > > >
    > > > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > > > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > > > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > > > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > > > mid-August.
    > > >
    > > > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > > > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > > > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > > > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > > > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > > > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > > > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > > > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > > > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > > > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > > > Canada at that point.)
    > > >
    > > > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > > > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > > > cross the border in three weeks.
    > > >
    > > > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > > > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > > > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > > > citizen I don't need one).
    > > > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > > > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > > > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    > > >
    > > > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > > > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > > > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    > > >
    > > > Regards,
    > > > Jonathan Dueck
    > > > ([email protected])

sysclp

Don't forget that time spent outside Canada with your Canadian citizen spouse doesn't count against you for keeping your PR. That means if you get her PR and she is always with you when living in the US, then she won't lose her PR no matter how long you stay gone, unless they change the law again of course.

Renee

Thanks for adding that....I'm staying in Calgary permanently, so I never
researched that part of the PR status.

I read the info you posted here on another thread - after adding two replies
on this thread this morning...didn't want to make it three in a row!

This board is great, and I knew someone else would help Jon out if he didn't
read the other topic.

Renee


"sysclp" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Don't forget that time spent outside Canada with your Canadian citizen
    > spouse doesn't count against you for keeping your PR. That means if you
    > get her PR and she is always with you when living in the US, then she
    > won't lose her PR no matter how long you stay gone, unless they change
    > the law again of course.
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

James Metcalfe

"Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > mid-August.
    > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > Canada at that point.)
    > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > cross the border in three weeks.
    > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > citizen I don't need one).

She will not be allowed to apply from within Canada unles she has been
provisonally approve for PR as a result of a In Status Application for
landing. She can aply for a WP at the border.




    > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?

No.


    > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.

My advise would be to start the process for PR in canada for your wife asap.
She may be able to qualify for a WP under NAFTA as a professional however
you have not indicated her profession. Given the time frames i would wait
until you arrive in Alberta before proceeding.

Jim Metcalfe - Former Dunwoody resident.





    > Regards,
    > Jonathan Dueck
    > ([email protected])

Jonathan Dueck

I just want to thank everyone for their very helpful responses here!
You have made my life much easier, as I had been wading through
documents and calling offices which didn't call me back, or which
referred me to other offices which referred me to yet other offices...
this all had been going on for some time now, and so it's very good to
have a relatively clear idea of where to start.

One further question: in order to apply for a work permit when we
first arrive at the border, as you mention, my wife would have to have
a job offer in hand, except if she applied under NAFTA provisions
(which she is not likely to do with a Masters degree in theology).
Or did you mean she would have to drive down to Montana and try and
get a work permit if she was offered a job after staying in Alberta
for some time on a temporary resident visa, i.e. she could not apply
for a work permit even if offered a job as a temporary resident of
Canada, unless she left the country to apply for this work permit?

Regards,
Jon

"James Metcalfe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<f%[email protected]>...
    > "Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > >
    > > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > > mid-August.
    > >
    > > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > > Canada at that point.)
    > >
    > > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > > cross the border in three weeks.
    > >
    > > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > > citizen I don't need one).
    >
    > She will not be allowed to apply from within Canada unles she has been
    > provisonally approve for PR as a result of a In Status Application for
    > landing. She can aply for a WP at the border.
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    >
    > No.
    >
    >
    > >
    > > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    >
    > My advise would be to start the process for PR in canada for your wife asap.
    > She may be able to qualify for a WP under NAFTA as a professional however
    > you have not indicated her profession. Given the time frames i would wait
    > until you arrive in Alberta before proceeding.
    >
    > Jim Metcalfe - Former Dunwoody resident.
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > >
    > > Regards,
    > > Jonathan Dueck
    > > ([email protected])

Renee

If your wife gets a job offer after she is in Alberta, her employer will
have to apply for the HRDC (Human Resources Development Canada) approval,
then your wife will be able to apply for the temporary work permit ($150
fee, I think). She would use the application for changing the conditions of
her stay in Canada, and tick the box for "initial work permit." She can do
that from inside Canada since she will have legal status already, and she
does not have to leave the country...that's what the Immigrations Officer at
Calgary International Airport told me when I initially moved on my temporary
resident visa.

I suppose I should have mentioned the NAFTA option in my original reply, if
only to be complete for other people who may be reading this thread. I have
a Bachelor of Business Administration, and the Immigrations Officer asked me
if it was in Accounting, since that would have qualified me for an open work
permit right away. No go for me, but maybe someone else could have used
that info.

The other possible glitch in your case with the NAFTA permit is that they
state that business visitors must be remunerated from outside Canada, and
must not have the intention of establishing employment with a Canadian firm.
Yes, your wife is accompanying her Canadian spouse, so she probably would
not be considered as a business visitor under the NAFTA rules. However,
your current employment puts you in Canada for one year, at which time you
are thinking of leaving again. An Immigrations Officer evaluating the case
might decide that your one-year job makes them translate things differently.
It shouldn't, but you never know.

I've received conflicting answers from Customs Agents myself, so why not
Immigrations Officers? Sometimes you just get varying attitudes from them.
When I got my passport stamped in February for my move, the initial officer
at the main entry area was very nasty and told me that the six month
temporary resident visa is not an automatic guarantee, and they could make
it six weeks, even for someone with a long established honest track record
of fiance visits and a long-since planned wedding date now five months away!
She really got up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. I was nearly
in tears heading to Immigration, but the officer in Immigration who
processed my visa was very nice, and gave me no worries.

Once again, good luck to you from another Albertan!

Renee


"Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I just want to thank everyone for their very helpful responses here!
    > You have made my life much easier, as I had been wading through
    > documents and calling offices which didn't call me back, or which
    > referred me to other offices which referred me to yet other offices...
    > this all had been going on for some time now, and so it's very good to
    > have a relatively clear idea of where to start.
    > One further question: in order to apply for a work permit when we
    > first arrive at the border, as you mention, my wife would have to have
    > a job offer in hand, except if she applied under NAFTA provisions
    > (which she is not likely to do with a Masters degree in theology).
    > Or did you mean she would have to drive down to Montana and try and
    > get a work permit if she was offered a job after staying in Alberta
    > for some time on a temporary resident visa, i.e. she could not apply
    > for a work permit even if offered a job as a temporary resident of
    > Canada, unless she left the country to apply for this work permit?
    > Regards,
    > Jon
    > "James Metcalfe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<f%[email protected]>...
    > > "Jonathan Dueck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Hi! I'm a bit "rushed" to find out about this, so I decided to repost
    > > > -- apologies if I've annoyed anyone. If you don't have an answer
    > > > about my question but have a suggestion as to who I could email,
    > > > please email me at [email protected] or followup to this post,
    > > > and let me know, as I'd appreciate it greatly!
    > > >
    > > > I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and my wife is a U.S.
    > > > citizen. Currently, we reside in Atlanta. I have accepted a one-year
    > > > (full-time) sessional teaching job at a Canadian university, and I
    > > > plan to take this temporary job. So, we are moving to Alberta in
    > > > mid-August.
    > > >
    > > > However, my wife would also like to work in Canada. Since we are only
    > > > guaranteed to stay for a year, we are hoping to apply for a Temporary
    > > > Employment Authorization instead of applying for Landed Immigrant or
    > > > Permanent Residence status for her, as I understand this is a lengthy
    > > > and somewhat expensive process. This way she can work for a year, and
    > > > in the case of me being offered a longer-term job, we could then
    > > > pursue Permanent Residence and then (dual) citizenship for her.
    > > > (Note: we've lived in Canada this way before for two years, with her
    > > > on a work permit and me employed as a research assistant and pursuing
    > > > graduate studies. However, she had a job offer well before coming to
    > > > Canada at that point.)
    > > >
    > > > She does not yet have a job offer, though she has applied for several
    > > > jobs; I am wondering what we should do at this point, as we plan to
    > > > cross the border in three weeks.
    > > >
    > > > 1) Can she apply for temporary employment authorization from within
    > > > Canada, since I am her spouse and am a Cdn. citizen (the documents
    > > > I've seen say this can work if I have a work permit, but since I am a
    > > > citizen I don't need one).
    > >
    > > She will not be allowed to apply from within Canada unles she has been
    > > provisonally approve for PR as a result of a In Status Application for
    > > landing. She can aply for a WP at the border.
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > > 2) Will she have to give up such employment authorization (and also
    > > > her job, assuming she gets one) in the case of us deciding to apply
    > > > for permanent residence / citizenship for her?
    > >
    > > No.
    > >
    > >
    > > >
    > > > Please let me know if you have advice, which I'd appreciate greatly --
    > > > having looked through a number of immmigration documents and not
    > > > finding our circumstances mentioned in them.
    > >
    > > My advise would be to start the process for PR in canada for your wife
asap.
    > > She may be able to qualify for a WP under NAFTA as a professional
however
    > > you have not indicated her profession. Given the time frames i would
wait
    > > until you arrive in Alberta before proceeding.
    > >
    > > Jim Metcalfe - Former Dunwoody resident.
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > >
    > > > Regards,
    > > > Jonathan Dueck
    > > > ([email protected])