canadian visit visa from usa

[mishi 0]

hi to all!

1. my mother came here in canada on visit visa from pakistan. she had 1 year visa on her passport march 2007-mar2008).she lived here for 8 months then went to usa (got visa so went for shopping) then again came back here in canada in . on P.O.E ( they came by road) she was told that visa was for 1 year but at the p.o.e she was authorized to live here for 6 months. she didnot know that none of us do , as they dont have any kind of I-94 on the passport. we checked the passport we couldnot find anything saying she has to spend 6 months and then to reapply for extension of her stay. the officer said its a rule u have to satay not more than 6 months.we said we didnot know. we told him that she is going back to her country in feb . so the officer said if she is really going back then its ok and let her enter. she went back as scheduled.

now i am pregnant and need her to assist me in child care she is in usa with my brother. i am worrying if she apply for visa she might be rejected on the reason of overstay. please if anyone knows anything in this regard let me know. there is a question in application form that have u stayed more than 6 months in any country. please help .

2. my father is applying from pakistan again in this question that (in past 5 years have u or member accompanying u has lived in any country for more than 6 months except the country of citizenship please mention) what should he write in that as he himself has never lived in any country for more than 6 months and my mother is not accompanying her as she is in usa. does he have to write "no". if he puts NO and later on they say he has lied as my mother has stayed for 6 months. please help

[Kathryn41 3,205]

hi to all!

1. my mother came here in canada on visit visa from pakistan. she had 1 year visa on her passport march 2007-mar2008).she lived here for 8 months then went to usa (got visa so went for shopping) then again came back here in canada in . on P.O.E ( they came by road) she was told that visa was for 1 year but at the p.o.e she was authorized to live here for 6 months. she didnot know that none of us do , as they dont have any kind of I-94 on the passport. we checked the passport we couldnot find anything saying she has to spend 6 months and then to reapply for extension of her stay. the officer said its a rule u have to satay not more than 6 months.we said we didnot know. we told him that she is going back to her country in feb . so the officer said if she is really going back then its ok and let her enter. she went back as scheduled.

now i am pregnant and need her to assist me in child care she is in usa with my brother. i am worrying if she apply for visa she might be rejected on the reason of overstay. please if anyone knows anything in this regard let me know. there is a question in application form that have u stayed more than 6 months in any country. please help .

She will need to apply for a visitor's visa (Temporary Resident visa) again. Her past history is on file with Canadian Immigration so it would be pointless for her to pretend they don't know about the previous overstay. Since she was re-admitted on the understanding that she would be leaving in February and she did leave, she is in a good position to apply for another visa. One of the things Canadian Immigration will want is proof that she did indeed leave when she said she would, so she should be prepared with her passport showing any type of stamps that verify she left in February. Having a copy of her plane ticket/boarding pass would also be a good idea. She will need to reassure the immigration officer that her overstay was due to a misunderstanding and not an attempt to evade immigration procedure. Yes, it is standard in Canada that all visits are only valid for 6 months at a time although a visa could be issued for a year's validity - it doesn't mean that she gets to stay in Canada for a year, but that she is allowed to enter Canada during that year. Extensions of the 6 months Temporary Resident visas are necessary every 6 months - you should apply earlier, however, as they generally take about 2 months to process (or were, they may have changed now).

She will also need to prove that she has strong enough ties in either the US or her home country to show that she is not likely to remain in Canada illegally. She has strong ties to Canada right now with you and her grandchild so she will need even stronger ties for outside of Canada. Property, close family members out of the country, previous travel history showing she doesn't overstay alloted times (other than the one you mentioned), source of income, proof of maintaining residence outside of Canada, etc. - she will need all of these. She will also need to provide proof of funds available to her to support her while in Canada - you can take care of accommodation and food needs but she will need to have money as well - and provide proof (ie. bank records, etc.).

You will also want to provide her with a letter of invitation for her to come for a set amount of time - don't say a year but say specific dates, such as "I am due to deliver my baby on March 3 and would like my mother to come here for moral support from February 14 and stay for 4 months until June 14th. I agree to provide her with accommodation and food while she is here as well as provide her with health coverage (investigate travel insurance for the time period). Here is a copy of the estimate for her health coverage (provide it with the same dates)." Do NOT say she is coming to assist you with child care as that may give the impression that she will be 'working' for you, but stress that she is giving you moral support and helping you get used to being a new mother as well as meeting her new grandchild. Make sure you list absolute dates that she will be here. She can always apply to extend those dates when she is in Canada. The important thing is to get her permission to come first.

Be prepared to address any possible red flags when she goes for her interview. Stress that she did not intend to overstay the visa before but misunderstood the length of time she was allowed to be in the US and had actually scheduled a return flight that was before she believed her allowed time in Canada expired. Stress that she did what she could to meet what she believed was her allowed time in Canada previously.

2. my father is applying from pakistan again in this question that (in past 5 years have u or member accompanying u has lived in any country for more than 6 months except the country of citizenship please mention) what should he write in that as he himself has never lived in any country for more than 6 months and my mother is not accompanying her as she is in usa. does he have to write "no". if he puts NO and later on they say he has lied as my mother has stayed for 6 months. please help

Your father's visa is for himself only, not for your mother. It asks about all family members and relationships, and since your mother isn't accompanying him he may want to address that situation at his interview - that she is applying on her own from another country to also visit you. They may only allow one of your parents to visit at a time. Your father, like your mother, needs to answer all questions truthfully and completely, as well as provide the necessary supporting documents (ie proof of ties to home country, etc.). The requirements for your father to visit from Pakistan will probably be different than for your mother to visit from the US. Each Consulate has additional requirements that are country specific. You can find more information here - read over the forms and the instructions to get an idea of what is involved: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/apply-how.asp - it is applying for a Temporary Residence Permit. Here is the actual form: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/form...257b(pilot).pdf

Hope this helps.

[trailmix 77]

I'm wondering if there really is an overstay here?

You mention that your Mother had a visa in her passport allowing her to stay for a year in Canada. If that is so, then there was no overstay as she only stayed 11 months if I am understanding you correctly.

[neiks 19]

I'm wondering if there really is an overstay here?

You mention that your Mother had a visa in her passport allowing her to stay for a year in Canada. If that is so, then there was no overstay as she only stayed 11 months if I am understanding you correctly.

I think that is where the misunderstanding was. When Canada issues a visa it has an expiration date of a year to utilize it. If it's not activated in that year it is then expired. I think the poster misunderstood the year to activate it as the time the visa was valid for. It can be kind of confusing how it apears on the visa. It has a year expiration for activation which is different for the actual period of time that it is valid for the length of stay.

[trailmix 77]

Ahh ok, that makes sense, thanks for clearing that up neiks

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I just gotta say...

Neiks, it's great to have you on here. Your experience as a border official has clearly helped a few folks.

[neiks 19]

I just gotta say...

Neiks, it's great to have you on here. Your experience as a border official has clearly helped a few folks

Thanks, I appreciate that. For awhile I did shy away from the board as it seemed that there was a lot of not so nice comments in regards to border officers. I know there are lots of bad experiences at the POEs but not all of us are out to ruin peoples lives or all a bunch of pigs, idiots, or power tripping losers. I just try to give out accurate info to assist others.