mlleamanda
New Member
Hi folks.
I have seen a lot of posts on here related to my issue but nothing exactly like it so I could use more specific advice if possible.
Here's my situation: I am an American, and was a student in Quebec, Canada for 4 years. Upon graduation, I got a job offer in Quebec and a Post-Graduation Work Visa valid for a year (ends this May) and, I have been told by immigration it's "nearly impossible to renew" (because I attended a school in Montreal and even though I don't work in Montreal apparently if you attend a school in Mtl metro area - which I did - you're not eligible to keep the permit for more than a year.)
My job wants me to stay in a permanent position and my salary is 31k. I want to keep my job. They don't, however, have the financial means to hire a lawyer and get one of those expensive work permits for me; HR said it was up to me to get the appropriate permits/visas to legally work there.
To do this, I decided to apply for PR - but then I was told it takes a year at least to process, so even if I were to apply for it tomorrow I would likely have to wait until 2008-2009 and beyond, and meanwhile my current work visa ends at the end of May 2007 so I need an immediate solution.
So a friend at work, who is French and was in the same situation as me, recommended I apply for a "application to change conditions or extend stay in Canada" - apparently she did this -paid the fee and presented them her offer of employment - and immigration accepted her application and she's been staying on that until her PR goes through.
Should I go ahead and do that? But does she have an advantage, applying as a French person in Quebec (I know French people have certain extended rights/advantages here in Quebec)? What is the likelihood that will work for me, an American? It almost seems to easy/ too good to be true.
Here's the other complication. Aside from keeping my job, I want to stay here to be with my boyfriend, a Canadian citizen. We'll probably get married within a year or two and we don't want to be apart in the meantime or after we're married, but as a student he does not have the financial means to support me so I will have to continue to work, uninterrupted, during this time. What is the best option? Should I apply for PR now, before he can sponsor me as his wife, or wait a year or so until we get married and he can sponsor me? Will that somehow expedite the whole PR process for me: if he sponsors me after we marry? Or are there any special rights I can get as a wife of a Canadian to work here in Quebec at the job I HAVE until my PR goes through?
Basically, my point is I want to do anything that would allow me to 1) keep my job 2) stay in Quebec with my boyfriend and eventually marry him.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer and best wishes to you all with your own immigration issues.
I have seen a lot of posts on here related to my issue but nothing exactly like it so I could use more specific advice if possible.
Here's my situation: I am an American, and was a student in Quebec, Canada for 4 years. Upon graduation, I got a job offer in Quebec and a Post-Graduation Work Visa valid for a year (ends this May) and, I have been told by immigration it's "nearly impossible to renew" (because I attended a school in Montreal and even though I don't work in Montreal apparently if you attend a school in Mtl metro area - which I did - you're not eligible to keep the permit for more than a year.)
My job wants me to stay in a permanent position and my salary is 31k. I want to keep my job. They don't, however, have the financial means to hire a lawyer and get one of those expensive work permits for me; HR said it was up to me to get the appropriate permits/visas to legally work there.
To do this, I decided to apply for PR - but then I was told it takes a year at least to process, so even if I were to apply for it tomorrow I would likely have to wait until 2008-2009 and beyond, and meanwhile my current work visa ends at the end of May 2007 so I need an immediate solution.
So a friend at work, who is French and was in the same situation as me, recommended I apply for a "application to change conditions or extend stay in Canada" - apparently she did this -paid the fee and presented them her offer of employment - and immigration accepted her application and she's been staying on that until her PR goes through.
Should I go ahead and do that? But does she have an advantage, applying as a French person in Quebec (I know French people have certain extended rights/advantages here in Quebec)? What is the likelihood that will work for me, an American? It almost seems to easy/ too good to be true.
Here's the other complication. Aside from keeping my job, I want to stay here to be with my boyfriend, a Canadian citizen. We'll probably get married within a year or two and we don't want to be apart in the meantime or after we're married, but as a student he does not have the financial means to support me so I will have to continue to work, uninterrupted, during this time. What is the best option? Should I apply for PR now, before he can sponsor me as his wife, or wait a year or so until we get married and he can sponsor me? Will that somehow expedite the whole PR process for me: if he sponsors me after we marry? Or are there any special rights I can get as a wife of a Canadian to work here in Quebec at the job I HAVE until my PR goes through?
Basically, my point is I want to do anything that would allow me to 1) keep my job 2) stay in Quebec with my boyfriend and eventually marry him.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer and best wishes to you all with your own immigration issues.