Ivygirl88

I have a weird situation I am in and even my lawyer can't seem to give me exact information about some stuff which i find frustration. Im just looking to see if anyone has any advice or has been through this personally.

I am an American, I am currently 6 months pregnant and engaged to a Canadian. We plan on getting married and starting my paperwork to become a permanent resident in Canada within the next month. We are going to apply inbound with me being a visitor to stay there as long as possible. My plan is to have the baby in Canada with my husband and for me to stay there (Hopefully) until the application process is complete and I can legally reside in Canada.

My concerns are about having the baby in Canada, I know I will need to still register it with the U.S.A so it can be a dual citizen and be recognized as an American as well. But are there any complications that can happen with this process? I know i will have to pay out of pocket for the health care and giving birth in Canada, my USA healthcare does not cover anything overseas. Im just trying to do this legally and im terrified that our family is going to be torn apart. This has been a difficult pregnancy and I havnt been able to work (I'm a carpenter) So my Fiance has been taking care of both of us, and will be after the baby for as long as we all need as a family as well.

Any advice on my entire situation would be great, it's a difficult process and I cant seem to find anyone with the same problems that im having to relate to and understand everything through.

Thank you all!

SJOGuy

I think these are the types of questions you should be asking the respective consulates involved. I doubt posting to an online discussion forum will yield definitive answers.

Annalisa12

Can't out of pocket medical expenses run in to the hundreds of thousands in an emergency?

tentseller

Have you done any research into the cost of a birth in Canada?

jc94

pauq

I've met two American couples that came to Canada just to give birth and then returned to the US. I don't know the details but they didn't report any problems in getting US citizenship for their children so I believe it was a straightforward process. Contact the US consulate and they will give you all the required details.

Now, in your case your fiancé is Canadian, was he born here or naturalized? I ask because according to Canadian law, children of Canadian born citizens automatically get Canadian citizenship so if that is the case then you could give birth in the US if that is an option for you and then bring the child here. You'd have to register the baby with the consulate and then apply for his/her passport but that would be a possibility.

In any case, you shouldn't need to worry about having your family "torn apart". One of the pillars of Canada's immigration policy is family reunification, so wherever your child is born you can be certain that your family won't be indefinitely kept apart because of bureaucratic matters as long as you follow due process.

smallmj

Though it can take a long time. When my sister moved back to Canada it took about a year before her husband could come.

Section 107

This is a VERY common circumstance and there really is nothing regarding the American process that you should find to cause make you anxious or afraid. All you need to do is schedule an appointment to request a Consular Report of a Birth Abroad at the nearest US embassy or consulate. You should do this as soon as practical after the birth but there is no rush as it can be done up until the child's 18th birthday. in advance of the appointment you will need to prepare a form DS-2029 (generally the parents also apply for and are issued a passport at the same time, form DS-11).

These forms will require providing some supporting documentation: official "long-form" birth certificate of the child; marriage certificate of parents, if applicable; death/divorce certificates for either parent, if applicable; proof of the US citizen parent's US citizenship (e.g. passport); proof of US citizen parent's physical presence in the US; and official government identification of both parents.

Typically, the most difficult thing is to be able to well document the citizen parent's physical presence in the US as it can take a while to get the various proofs of presence (tax returns, previous passports with entry/exit stamps (this is big reason why one might want the passport stamped whenever possible) school records, military, employment records, etc).

Generally, these CRBA appointments take less than 2 hours, mostly dependent upon simply how busy the consular section is on the day of your appointment. But you walk out with the CRBA and the child's passport. Easy Peasy.

I am not at all familiar with the intricacies of Canadian border law/procedures, but based on my knowledge of US practices in which the passenger's "intent" for coming to the country is all important (intending just to visit and leave? or intending to immigrate?) I would think your tougher challenge will be entering Canada while obviously far along in the pregnancy. For that issue you would do well to consult with a Canadian immigration attorney. Suggest you also visit www.canadavisa.com, a discussion forum on immigration to Canada, to educate yourself about the most efficient and likely processes to use for immigrating to Canada. Trying to do this without having accurate knowledge and therefore going the wrong way about your plans can have severe long-term consequences, the worst of which could be exactly the thing you are most worried about - being separated from your loved ones.

andrewesque

In fact, it's the same whether the Canadian-citizen parent was born in Canada or was naturalized as a Canadian citizen: in both cases, he can transmit his citizenship to his child who is born abroad. See this Canadian government page or this one: a child born abroad to either a natural-born or naturalized Canadian citizen parent is a Canadian.

It's when the Canadian-citizen parent is themselves neither born in Canada nor a naturalized citizen, i.e. a Canadian citizen by descent, that they can't transmit their citizenship to their children born outside of Canada. In other words, assuming in this situation that the OP's Canadian-citizen fiancé is either born in Canada or a naturalized citizen, he will be able to transmit his Canadian citizenship to the OP's child born abroad. But the OP's child in turn won't be able to transmit Canadian citizenship to his/her child (i.e. the OP's grandchild) born abroad.

MSPeconomist

YVR Cockroach

The laws around this one keep changing every decade or so. One government tries to tighten up the laws so people don't pass on 2nd passports/citizenships but in the process unwittingly catches a group that it wasn't the intention to catch. Then a new government comes along, tries to rectify the law, and the unintentionally catches another group, etc.

At least it isn't like the British where laws apply to when you were born (i.e., laws are not retroactive).

FWIW, there is "birth tourism" in Canada. Allegedly the main users are Chinese citizens in my region.

GUWonder

GUWonder

GUWonder

Section 107

Spot on about no need to pay an attorney if no unusual or complicating factors; the forms and information required are very straightforward.

Wait, so are you saying the request for a CRBA requires people to have sex for 5 years first? Wow, what a progressive government!