tmm99
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- May 15, 2008
- Messages
- 5,223
This is going to be long… But I would like to solicit some ideas/opinions/thoughts/options here. Maybe some of you expats have dealt with something like this before?
I am a US citizen. I currently live in California. My husband is Canadian living in the Toronto area. He is sponsoring me to come live in Canada, but it will probably take several more months for the PR (Permanent Residency) to be granted (hopefully by August or September, but you never know about those things until it actually happens… Having said that, if my PR comes through at the normal, average speed, I will get mine by August.). We have been spending about a week together every two months the last 2 years.
I gave notice at work a while back and I will be leaving my work shortly. I really, really wanted to hold off on resigning until PR came through, but I just couldn't – I had some health scares while having a lot of stressful events at work, and I decided to pull the plug sooner so I could be closer to my hubby full time sooner..).. Anyway, so, until my PR comes through, I see two options, but I am not sure which would be better or if I can find a better way to handle some conditions. I am hoping some of you could share your experience or opinions. I need to think through some points especially because Canada immigration seems to be very stringent on determining who to let in for how long. They want to make sure whoever comes in, leaves within a said time frame and they want to see proof that you have strong ties to your own country (employment/pay stubs, residence/mortgage). (This seems to depend on which officer you get…) Anyways, here are the options:
1) Pack my stuff and put it in storage in Buffalo, NY or Niagara Falls and find myself an apartment there. Drive into Canada and stay with my hubby maybe one month at a time and come back for a couple of days to the apartment on the US side to get mail and run errands like Dr’s appointments.
PROS – Straight forward. (I will find an apartment before I leave CA and forward the address to the new address, etc)
PROS - I can show the rental agreement at the border (one piece of evidence I can show to them - See I have all the intention to come back to the US. I am only *visiting* Canada..)
CONS – It will cost me $800-$1000 per month rent.
CONS – I will have to get a NY Drivers license and registration/license plates (which seems like a pain since I will only be there for just a few months, but I’ve been told it would be a red flag to try to pass the border in a CA plated car while your residence is in Buffalo, so that’s why I will change the DL/license plates.)
2) Pack my stuff and put the stuff in storage in NY (same as Option 1) but instead of finding an apartment there, I will go visit my hubby in Canada (fly into Canada from CA) and stay there until PR comes though.
PROS – I won’t have to spend the extra $800-$1000 for the apartment in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, NY. (Huge saving)
CONS - I don't have the piece of paper (rental agreement) to show at the border.
CONS – Storage will cost more because I will have to store my car there also. (I will just leave the car with CA registration in that case.) I am not sure how much it costs to store a car, but probably much less that the amount of $ I am saving by not renting an apartment.
CONS – I am not sure what I will do with my address. I can get a UPS store address near where I currently live and do an address forward to the UPS store address from my current CA address until I am an PR in Canada… And I could have one of my friends check my mail at the UPS store, and sift through my mail to see if there is anything important…
CONS – I probably shouldn't cross the border to the US until my PR is finalized since without a job and without a rental agreement to show, they may not want to let me back in the country (This will all depend on the immigration officer, is what I’ve been told). Which means I don’t know what to do with the Dr situation. I can always get a traveler’s insurance inside the country, and pay out of pocket to visit a Dr. for any non-emergency ailments (flu, etc). I will still keep paying for my Cobra just in case I need real coverage and if I do need a serious medical attention which is not covered by the traveler’s insurance, I can always come back to the US to get treatment?
I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of other details, but this is it for tonight.
Any comments would be GREATLY appreciated.
I am a US citizen. I currently live in California. My husband is Canadian living in the Toronto area. He is sponsoring me to come live in Canada, but it will probably take several more months for the PR (Permanent Residency) to be granted (hopefully by August or September, but you never know about those things until it actually happens… Having said that, if my PR comes through at the normal, average speed, I will get mine by August.). We have been spending about a week together every two months the last 2 years.
I gave notice at work a while back and I will be leaving my work shortly. I really, really wanted to hold off on resigning until PR came through, but I just couldn't – I had some health scares while having a lot of stressful events at work, and I decided to pull the plug sooner so I could be closer to my hubby full time sooner..).. Anyway, so, until my PR comes through, I see two options, but I am not sure which would be better or if I can find a better way to handle some conditions. I am hoping some of you could share your experience or opinions. I need to think through some points especially because Canada immigration seems to be very stringent on determining who to let in for how long. They want to make sure whoever comes in, leaves within a said time frame and they want to see proof that you have strong ties to your own country (employment/pay stubs, residence/mortgage). (This seems to depend on which officer you get…) Anyways, here are the options:
1) Pack my stuff and put it in storage in Buffalo, NY or Niagara Falls and find myself an apartment there. Drive into Canada and stay with my hubby maybe one month at a time and come back for a couple of days to the apartment on the US side to get mail and run errands like Dr’s appointments.
PROS – Straight forward. (I will find an apartment before I leave CA and forward the address to the new address, etc)
PROS - I can show the rental agreement at the border (one piece of evidence I can show to them - See I have all the intention to come back to the US. I am only *visiting* Canada..)
CONS – It will cost me $800-$1000 per month rent.
CONS – I will have to get a NY Drivers license and registration/license plates (which seems like a pain since I will only be there for just a few months, but I’ve been told it would be a red flag to try to pass the border in a CA plated car while your residence is in Buffalo, so that’s why I will change the DL/license plates.)
2) Pack my stuff and put the stuff in storage in NY (same as Option 1) but instead of finding an apartment there, I will go visit my hubby in Canada (fly into Canada from CA) and stay there until PR comes though.
PROS – I won’t have to spend the extra $800-$1000 for the apartment in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, NY. (Huge saving)
CONS - I don't have the piece of paper (rental agreement) to show at the border.
CONS – Storage will cost more because I will have to store my car there also. (I will just leave the car with CA registration in that case.) I am not sure how much it costs to store a car, but probably much less that the amount of $ I am saving by not renting an apartment.
CONS – I am not sure what I will do with my address. I can get a UPS store address near where I currently live and do an address forward to the UPS store address from my current CA address until I am an PR in Canada… And I could have one of my friends check my mail at the UPS store, and sift through my mail to see if there is anything important…
CONS – I probably shouldn't cross the border to the US until my PR is finalized since without a job and without a rental agreement to show, they may not want to let me back in the country (This will all depend on the immigration officer, is what I’ve been told). Which means I don’t know what to do with the Dr situation. I can always get a traveler’s insurance inside the country, and pay out of pocket to visit a Dr. for any non-emergency ailments (flu, etc). I will still keep paying for my Cobra just in case I need real coverage and if I do need a serious medical attention which is not covered by the traveler’s insurance, I can always come back to the US to get treatment?
I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of other details, but this is it for tonight.
Any comments would be GREATLY appreciated.