Q & A: Visiting Canadian Spouse

Q. My husband is a US citizen, living and working in the USA. Due to our circumstances, neither of us are presently able to leave out home country to emigrate. However, my husband was recently refused admission to Canada as a visitor. Can anything be done?

Answer: This is an unfortunate issue of timing, and potentially overzealous application of new policy. At a recent department policy meeting, immigration officials revealed that they were tightening the provisions regarding admissibility of visitors married to Canadians. Essentially, they were no longer to be admitted strictly on the basis of this relationship, but rather on the merits of their case as a visitor alone.

One the basis of the information provided, it is apparent that the merits of your husband's case is strong. It is possible, however, that this was not adequately presented in his application for admission. If any additional efforts to seek temporary admission are to be made, they should be done only in possession of sufficient documentation attesting to those ties that he has to the USA (i.e., home, work, volunteer, etc.). Documentation to this effect may help support the application, but the decision regarding admissibility is finally discretionary, and is hampered by a prior refusal.