snow2014

I am new to the forum and have lots of questions. I really hope to get right answers from educated and trained people. Hoping I will learn a lot! Thanks in advance.

RICH

Hello!

Not all here are educated or trained, but we have loads of experience to offer.
What is it you are interested in?

Welcome, and enjoy

snow2014

My Canadian Citizen cousin is staying in USA with her boyfriend. In mid January, 6 months will be completed. She has no contact with her family. She is 18 and has just completed her high school, so can't legally work. Her family is very concern.I know that she didn't get married yet and applied for fiance' visa. I would want to know all the possibilities and consequences if she stays or not. She is in Orlando, Fl.

snow2014

Oh, I didn't mean that way.

MrsFychan

what visa is she on over there? if the visa runs out and she stays when immigration find out they will deport her and she will not be able to return

snow2014

She is Canadian Citizen so she doesn't need visa. She can visit US and can stay there for up to 6 months, but question is, what will happen;if she stays over 6 months or what will she do after 6 months?

MrsFychan

so a 6mths visitors visa and the deportation if she over stays

snow2014

Thanks for replying back but how will American Immigration finds out if she over stays. Canadian doesn't need visa for US however max period is 6 months, I know.

ps I am not sure, I am posting my question on the right page?

Jerseygirl

I have moved your thread over to the US Immigration Forum. The people who post in this forum will be able to help you.

ian-mstm

Is her boyfriend a US citizen? If so, then she has options. That said, if she gets married, she's no longer eligible for a fiancée visa. However, if she gets married to a US citizen and files the proper paperwork, then she'll probably be successful adjusting her status and getting a US green card.


They'll find out when she files paperwork to adjust her status. In the grand scheme of things though, an overstay is usually forgiven for the spouse of a US citizen. If she decides to stay in the US, she should not leave the US under any circumstances whatsoever until she has a green card in her hands.

If you want my advice, I suggest you give her this information and then stop trying to help her. Let her succeed or fail on her own... because if you help her and things don't work out, she'll blame you - because you should have helped more.

Ian

hoffage123

You are contradicting yourself.

As you have stated the maximum length of time permitted for a Canadian to legally stay in the US is 6 months. Any longer than that is an overstay and leaves the individual subject to deportation. Travelling on the VWP isn't the same as travelling visa-free i.e. without restrictions, the same as a US Citizen would in the US.

Hypothetically - If the individual doesn't work or engage with the community I suppose it would be quite tricky to find them to bring deportation proceedings. As most people don't live like hermits, and have to have a place to stay, bank account, work, food to eat etc you can see that it is fairly easy to be identified, notwithstanding the obvious - she entered through a POE, therefore her date of arrival is well documented. If she adjusts her status as a spouse of a US Citizen then that would also notify USCIS. That is, if she gets married to the boyfriend first and he is a US citizen.

I suggest your cousin follows Ian's advice.

Hoffage

crg

I'd like to see where it says in the actual laws of the US (not some comment on a web site) that a Canadian can't stay for longer than six months as a visitor. It's not in the law itself AFAIK. The max period for a B1/B2 visitor is one year without extension, so there is anecdotal evidence that a Canadian in the US beyond a year could be placed in removal proceedings for failing to comply with the terms of nonimmigrant status.

Of course, the Canadian health scheme may take a dim view when their beneficiaries are gone for too long.

As for adjusting, there may be a problem meeting the income requirements if there is no one with enough money to sign the affidavit of support.

hoffage123

Crg

Here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wi...hout_1260.html and Here http://canada.usembassy.gov/visas/in...canadians.html

To stay longer as a visitor under the VWP it needs to be agreed before the expiry of your status with USCIS, and normally up to 6 months is granted for total duration as a visitor. This isn't what is happening in the OP's situation as they are talking about a potential overstay situation. We aren't talking about a B1/B2 situation here.

Best Wishes,

Hoffage

crg

Yeh. That's the unattributed web site commentary I mentioned earlier. I'd like someone to find it in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or Immigration & Nationality Act (INA as amended). I've looked far and wide for it myself. Canadians generally don't get an I-94, but there is still an open question about how binding a passport notation is for a Canadian admitted by air considering that people by air no longer get an I-94. Historically, a Canadian who stays years without an I-94 controlled admission would not normally earn a 3 or 10 year bar for overstaying.

hoffage123

I'm not sure how unattributed that is considering I referenced the DoS website and the US Embassy website for Canada itself, it seems pretty clear-cut from there imo. It wasn't a random website that I linked to.

On the Canadian Govt website itself, it says to refer to the information on the US Embassy pages http://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-states when considering the exit/entry rules. Looks clear enough to me.

Also, I think the reason that Canada is not specifically mentioned in the INA (other than to do with American Indians living in Canada) is that the rules are meant to broadly cover a wide range of situations, countries, nationalities, etc. The guidance that is on the DoS website and US Embassy Website for Canada states what needs to be followed, regardless of what has 'historically' happened (now is that attributable?). At the end of the day the CBP officer can still turn around and decide to deny you entry, there is no automatic right of entry to the US for Canadians, why would there be an automatic right to stay as long as they wanted? Would kind of defeat the purpose of a border no?


Hoffage