I'm posting this because the situation was unusual.
I am a U.S. citizen and I have a Thai partner. Prior to immigrating to Canada, I had been traveling to Thailand every year on vacation - usually just for a month - to see him. After a couple of years, I realized our relationship was very strong and I should try to find a way to live together permanently. Unfortunately, the U.S. doesn't recognize gay marriage or relationships, and so there was no legitimate way for him to get a visa. That led us to the decision to immigrate to Canada.
In a phone consultation with David Cohen, he advised me to move to Thailand in order to meet the 12 mo. cohabitation requirement for common-law partners and at the same time to apply for immigration as a skilled worker. That way, the 12 month cohabitation requirement would take place while my application was just waiting in queue. Then, after 12 months, I could amend my application to include my partner with very little disruption to the application process. This approach worked fantastically well - and our application was approved in about 19 months. It would have been shorter, but my first FBI background check was lost in the mail. We are now living happily in Canada. Much thanks to David Cohen.
