Do I need a Visitor's Visa?

[Danu 19]

Usually what we recommend for proof you're coming back would be like, your K1 NOA1, lease/rental agreements, a job letter expecting you back at a certain date, bills etc. Anything that shows you have strong ties and responsibilites that would bring you back to Canada. I totally don't read anything you put as you wanting to do anything more than a few people have asked on here, but the border guards might not see it that way with a lack of ties unfortunately. I know it sucks. I got laid off and because I had no rental agreements or anything I chose not to go anywhere instead of risking not being able to go down for a visit. Didn't want to get turned away. Now you might have an issue, you might not, going for a shorter time may indeed be easier, but no matter what you decide I wish you the best of luck!

I don't think getting a visitor's visa would help much because they could still turn you back for the same reasons even with the visa, and some of the other countries they have to prove those ties before they get a visitors visa, so if they require that here, you might not be able to get it anyway...not sure how they work up here as most people just go in on the waiver.

Edited February 6, 2010 by Danu

[trailmix 77]

The "visiting" in quotations is what makes me think that people are under the impression that I am not wanting to just visit.

I just want to visit. If it isn't for six months, fine. I just don't know what I can provide if I say "I'm visiting my fiance for a month" and they ask for proof that I'm coming back.

Oh, well I did put it in quotes, but I didn't mean it that way at all.

What I was trying to say is there is a fine line between visiting and residing. What you and I call visiting may not be what the border person sees as visiting. You know exactly what your intentions are - and they are all good intentions. The border person does not know you.

I see what you are saying about the proof - 1 month, 6 months, when you say "I am visiting my fiance" - it's going to raise a flag. Even if you only want to visit for a month there is always the possibility of being turned back - that is true for all visitors, not just those visiting their SO - it's just that with a fiance(e) and a longer visit - it just looks a little more suspicious to them.

If your plan is to go ahead, all you can do is be honest, bring as much proof as you can and hope for the best and it might just be fine.

Edited February 6, 2010 by trailmix

[neiks 19]

Oh, well I did put it in quotes, but I didn't mean it that way at all.

I think she may of been referring to my post, Trailmix.

I don't want to make people unwelcome in their questions, I am just giving people the infomation and it's not always the info that they want to hear.

I'm going to be kind of a hard #### here and start grilling - only for your benefit that this is what you need to be prepared to encounter at the border. In your original post you stated that you wanted to visit for 6 months and perhaps if the Visa wasn't complete by then you would go home for a few days/weeks and then turn around and return to the US to visit again. I think this is a bad idea. Border officers take into the consideration the amount of time you are spending in the country. If you are spending the majority of the time in the US, ie over 6 months of a year, you are going to have issues with proving that you still are a resident of Canada.

I think now you are saying you want to visit for maybe a few months. There is a big difference between visiting for a few months and half a year plus when it comes to the issue of which country you are choosing to take up "residency" in.

I do wish you luck and hope you do get to visit your boyfriend often. I visted my husband very frequently during my immigration process - but I also had substantial ties to Canada - a house, a job that I had to go to everyday, etc.

I have seen a wide spectrum of "visting senarios'. From a lady that "visited" her husband in the US for 10 years, claimed to live at her mothers house and went home to Canada every few weeks but spent the majority of her time in the US. She did this for 10 years before a new officer started at the Port put a stop it, refuse her entry into the US and made her start immigration proceedings before she was allowed to come visit her husband. I have had a lady returning to Canada with her car packed solid with her personal belongings. She said she met her US boyfriend, quit her job, let her rental go, sold her furniture and "moved" to the US to live with her boyfriend. She had been there for 10 months then decided it wasn't working out so she was moving back to Canada. She claimed not to know anything about needing a visa or that she could only "visit" the US for a max 6 months. Somehow, somewhere a US customs officer let her into th US. But I have also seen the refusals from the US POE coming back. Young ladies, with no job, not going to school, living with her parents, coming back in tears because they just wanted to go to the US for the weekend to see their boyfriend.

I don't think you have "illegal intent" as I don't thing the majority of people do. I think most cases it is just "naive intent" where people think it's oK - it's just the US and shouldn't be a problem to just go visit - but that is not always the case.

This forum is all about providing information and help and sometimes that info isn't what people want to hear but you are now informed and can make a decision that is right for you.

Once agan, good luck to you.

[Josie Grossie 0]

I think she may of been referring to my post, Trailmix.

I don't want to make people unwelcome in their questions, I am just giving people the infomation and it's not always the info that they want to hear.

I'm going to be kind of a hard #### here and start grilling - only for your benefit that this is what you need to be prepared to encounter at the border. In your original post you stated that you wanted to visit for 6 months and perhaps if the Visa wasn't complete by then you would go home for a few days/weeks and then turn around and return to the US to visit again. I think this is a bad idea. Border officers take into the consideration the amount of time you are spending in the country. If you are spending the majority of the time in the US, ie over 6 months of a year, you are going to have issues with proving that you still are a resident of Canada.

I think now you are saying you want to visit for maybe a few months. There is a big difference between visiting for a few months and half a year plus when it comes to the issue of which country you are choosing to take up "residency" in.

What is usually an acceptable length of time between visits? If I do go for two or three months at the most, how long should I come back to Canada for, or is there no set time? It all depends on the one talking to me at the border?

I do wish you luck and hope you do get to visit your boyfriend often. I visted my husband very frequently during my immigration process - but I also had substantial ties to Canada - a house, a job that I had to go to everyday, etc.

I have seen a wide spectrum of "visting senarios'. From a lady that "visited" her husband in the US for 10 years, claimed to live at her mothers house and went home to Canada every few weeks but spent the majority of her time in the US. She did this for 10 years before a new officer started at the Port put a stop it, refuse her entry into the US and made her start immigration proceedings before she was allowed to come visit her husband. I have had a lady returning to Canada with her car packed solid with her personal belongings. She said she met her US boyfriend, quit her job, let her rental go, sold her furniture and "moved" to the US to live with her boyfriend. She had been there for 10 months then decided it wasn't working out so she was moving back to Canada. She claimed not to know anything about needing a visa or that she could only "visit" the US for a max 6 months. Somehow, somewhere a US customs officer let her into th US. But I have also seen the refusals from the US POE coming back. Young ladies, with no job, not going to school, living with her parents, coming back in tears because they just wanted to go to the US for the weekend to see their boyfriend.

I don't think you have "illegal intent" as I don't thing the majority of people do. I think most cases it is just "naive intent" where people think it's oK - it's just the US and shouldn't be a problem to just go visit - but that is not always the case.

This forum is all about providing information and help and sometimes that info isn't what people want to hear but you are now informed and can make a decision that is right for you.

Once agan, good luck to you.

That's all I wanted, some information I didn't have my heart set on six months, I just wanted to know if it was possible. I think a shorter visit is the way I'm going to go. Thank you very much, you've been really helpful.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

What is usually an acceptable length of time between visits? If I do go for two or three months at the most, how long should I come back to Canada for, or is there no set time? It all depends on the one talking to me at the border?

The thing is: even Neiks, as a border officer, can't tell you definitively how long. It comes down to the individual guard at point of entry. There was once that I was given a hard time in the Nexus lane for going down for a mere nine days. But that's not typical. I've crossed the border to fly out of Seattle and see my wife (and before that, when she was my fiancee) about eight or nine times in a year and a half, plus crossed the border to pick her up and drop her off at SeaTac airport about as many times...so that's at least twenty-four crossings into the U.S. in the past year and a half, and I've never been denied or steered into secondary processing. Several of those trips were for over a week -- one of which was to get married. Yet there are several other people in this very forum who have been denied entry for various reasons. It really "just depends" on the border guard along with your reasoning and proof.

I'm not sure where you or your boyfriend live, but it MAY be to your advantage to get a Nexus pass. I'm really not sure. I've had one for about a year now, and it has made crossing a lot easier -- often there are no questions at the station, since one is already extensively pre-screened and deemed to not be as much of a security threat. I honestly don't know how much of a factor that is in a border guard's decision to give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Neiks can shed a bit of insight on that.

All in all, I think your best bet is several shorter visits (i.e.: less than one month each) rather than one long one. That's what most of us have done here on VJ, and it is my opinion that the long periods of separation strengthens one's relationship. It just doesn't feel good at the time.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

What is usually an acceptable length of time between visits? If I do go for two or three months at the most, how long should I come back to Canada for, or is there no set time? It all depends on the one talking to me at the border?

The recommendation is that you should expect to spend at least as much time in Canada as you have in the US - so if you are in the US for 3 months, plan on spending 3 months or more back in Canada. If you are in the US a month, plan on spending the next month in Canada. You want to spend a minimum of 6 months plus one day in Canada to avoid complications with health insurance coverage and the US IRS.

If you are outside of Canada for more than 6 months in any given year your Provincial health insurance plan is at risk - you may find that you are no longer considered a resident of Canada and lose your health insurance coverage.

Also, if you spend more than 6 months in a year in the US, the IRS considers you a 'deemed resident' for income tax purposes - that is different than for immigration purposes. You are supposed to file an income tax return with the IRS or provide them with a form that proves you are maintaining stronger ties to Canada and therefore do not need to file a return in the US.

Edited February 6, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Spoom 8]

Josie, I can say with 99% certainty that you will be turned back if you try your six month plan as-is.

Border guards are looking for concrete reasons that you have to return to your home country after visiting. These usually take the form of ongoing employment that requires a physical presence, enrollment in an educational institution that requires a physical presence, or other reasons that you would have to physically be back in your home country.

From what I've read, you have none of these, and thus you are going to raise all sorts of red flags upon attempting to cross.

I speak from experience as I have been turned away at the Canada - US border for lack of ties to Canada, and I'm a Canadian citizen by birth. They handed me a checklist of things to bring back, which included all of what I've mentioned above, an apartment lease, any utility bills I had, enough money to support myself during my intended stay (note that they do not allow explanations like "my boyfriend / girlfriend will support me", even if so stated by them at the border), and a couple other things. Even if you have the lease and bills, I suspect they would still require either employment in Canada or being a student to really consider letting you in. This was for a trip that was to last six weeks, so judge accordingly.

I'm not saying you can't try, but be prepared for disappointment. I highly advise you to instead do what the rest of us have done, and take several smaller trips (less than a month each) rather than one big one. Doing so will establish a record with USCBP that you have, in fact, left the country when you said you would previously, and will make them more likely to let you in later. In any case, you must make sure that you spend at least as much time in Canada as in the United States. If you don't, it could have serious implications tax-wise for you, as well as causing USCBP to be very reluctant to let you into the Country subsequently.