America/Canada relationship help

[r9mzy]

This is my first post and thread here, so hello everyone

I'm 20 and live in America while my SO is 18 and lives in Canada. We've been together for almost a year and just recently had our first visit(she came here) and had an amazing time. We're both still students and live with our parents. I was hoping to get some serious advice or options to close the distance eventually. I would appreciate anything. Thank you in advance. For reference we're looking more for me to go to Canada rather than her come to America. I care about her very much and am willing to do whatever it takes, but I honestly don't know where to begin or what to plan.

[princessmaria]

School is an option, and at your ages it seems like the only option. It costs as much for an American citizen to go to school in Canada as it does for an American citizen to go to school in America. Tuition is ridiculously cheap in Canada, but international students pay 18-19k a year (if you live on campus, less if you find other accommodations), which is standard in America. I don't know your financial situation or your college goals but if you can find a way to make that work, it is an option! Otherwise, I'd say wait until you both graduate and then figure out closing the distance. Until you're both done with school it'll be hard to CD without transferring. Once you graduate you can always get married and look into spouse visas. It is smart for you to move to Canada. Immigrating to America is a bit more difficult. Good luck

[mllebamako]

I agree with princessmaria, at this point, school is your best option.

[r9mzy]

I've done open studies at a community college for a while and have no major nor have entered a program so what is the best way to transfer or apply to school in Canada? Also I'd be very dependent on loans.

[Riyko]

Depending on what you major in, in a school in Canada depends on what you'd need to do to be re certified in the United States if you ever wanted to move back to the US or had to if say the relationship was to ever fall apart (I hope it doesn't for you two). Some majors require more class time to be re certified then others take me for example I majored in Business Admin Finance Major with a minor in Financial Planning up in Canada, I came back to the US and for me to even work in the US with my major and minor I would basically have to redo my schooling all over again because the financial systems are different in the US and Canada (I decided to major in sign language interpreting here in the US, but I make sure to go back to Canada often enough and get re certified every time I get a notice saying my Certified Financial Planner certificate needs to be re certified).

Anyways, Do keep in mind if you plan on studying a lot of places you'd normally get loans from in the US don't give loans for international schools anymore. When I went to school all the loan places did, now I look and it's extremely hard to get loans for international schools.

If you have any questions feel free to message me (i'm an american who went to school in Canada).

[Deleted]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm afraid I'm not much help when it comes to Canada, however I do live in the US

[folclor]

I'm actually not going to suggest school. ^^; I tried that route but the US government changed some requirements that schools must meet to offer students US financial aid and that screwed me over as most Canadian universities now do not offer US federal financial aid for US students. Also, a lot of big universities (I went to UofA in Edmonton) actually can cost closer to $30,000 per year if you go full time, which you have to do to get aid. If you go to a smaller school it might only be around $10-$15,000 a year, which is more expensive than many state unis I know of (then again, might vary by state). Some Canadian universities do accept private loans. UofA didn't.

However, all that being said, if you have a vocation that you want to focus on I'd suggest going to a school specifically for that. It really doesn't matter what field. The easiest field to stay in Canada with is going to be anything medical or scientific or anything like carpenter, electrician, etc. But they'll also take artistic endeavors as my older brother went to school for animation and was granted a 4 year work visa after finishing his 2 year program.

If you go the school route choose a program that's focused on a job, not on an academic pursuit. If you don't want to go to school up there for any reason, your best bet is to do something in the medical field, science, or something like carpenter, electrician, etc. Alberta is hurting for craftsmen right now and you'd be readily accepted.

Good luck ^^ I'm currently facing a similar problem, myself, so I hope you have a lot more luck than I.

[r9mzy]

I really appreciate all this feedback, thank you everyone. So I got some good word on the schooling, is there any other possible routes though? Would I never be able to get a visa without a degree or certification?