Anyone want to join a thread for people applying in the near future?

[taffy7]

I was concerned about the naughty stuff in the conversation records too. I'm actually thinking I might leave a small bit of it in, (not everything obviously) since I think it would be abnormal for spouses in a long distance relationship not to have those kinds of conversations.

My wife and I also first started talking to each other in December 2012, got engaged in June 2013, and married in February 2014. I think a year or so is a bit on the short side from beginning of relationship to marriage, but I don't think it would raise CIC suspicions as much as folks getting married on their first meeting etc. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have gotten married so quick if I'd been dating a Canadian chick, but since I already knew she was the one I went ahead and proposed because going months at a time without being together really sucks.

I have a general question about the forms. The ones that have the "validate" option seem pretty easy to fill out on the computer, but the others are a huge pain, as it's almost impossible to fit things into the boxes provided. Do you guys think it's cool if we just print those ones blank and fill them in by hand?

For the sections you do not have enough room attach a separate piece of paper,with the applicants name.date of birth and the sponsor name on it , also the # of the question on the form #
E.G

John smith applicant
20th march 1983

susan smith sponsor

IMMOO8 QUESTION # 2

Then write your response. Hope this helps.

 

[taffy7]

I was a bit sneaky with our text messages , every time one of us started getting a bit rude i change the chat to another form e.g whatapps or a phone call ..then we could carry on without having to send it to Cic . ;D.I did send all our other chats because like others we got married after meeting each other after a year .We didn't have a lot of proof .

 

[lleahdoll]

I was concerned about the naughty stuff in the conversation records too. I'm actually thinking I might leave a small bit of it in, (not everything obviously) since I think it would be abnormal for spouses in a long distance relationship not to have those kinds of conversations.

My wife and I also first started talking to each other in December 2012, got engaged in June 2013, and married in February 2014. I think a year or so is a bit on the short side from beginning of relationship to marriage, but I don't think it would raise CIC suspicions as much as folks getting married on their first meeting etc. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have gotten married so quick if I'd been dating a Canadian chick, but since I already knew she was the one I went ahead and proposed because going months at a time without being together really sucks.

I have a general question about the forms. The ones that have the "validate" option seem pretty easy to fill out on the computer, but the others are a huge pain, as it's almost impossible to fit things into the boxes provided. Do you guys think it's cool if we just print those ones blank and fill them in by hand?

Same situation here. I knew my husband was the one (we both did) but we probably would not have married so soon had we been in the same state/city/country. Especially because of the border scrutinization. If it was just cross-country trips, there wouldn't be all the questions about traveling so much.

 

[CutiePie92]

i definitely agree with the "quality over quantity" thing. We don't plan on submitting 100 wedding pictures or such. Also, pokerface pictures are a nono!! Thank god we're not that type in photos But as i said, if you have a 3-4-5 year old relationship you're able to show them a few photos from different years. we didn't stay so much together. (we met december 2012 online, live in july 2013 and married in april 2014)

We're deleting the naughty conversations (not the loving ones) because it's goddamn undecent and i don't want them to read that it's our privacy! we're going to mention to them that we had way too many conversations so we deleted a few (including the intimate ones) and i'm sure they'll understand.

I'm pretty sure we bitc*ed about immigration as well ;D i hope we'll be able to delete those too. I'm sure anyway that they won't read everything, they'll probably just boringly scan all the pages in like 10 minutes and that's it

 

[lleahdoll]

i definitely agree with the "quality over quantity" thing. We don't plan on submitting 100 wedding pictures or such. Also, pokerface pictures are a nono!! Thank god we're not that type in photos But as i said, if you have a 3-4-5 year old relationship you're able to show them a few photos from different years. we didn't stay so much together. (we met december 2012 online, live in july 2013 and married in april 2014)

We're deleting the naughty conversations (not the loving ones) because it's goddamn undecent and i don't want them to read that it's our privacy! we're going to mention to them that we had way too many conversations so we deleted a few (including the intimate ones) and i'm sure they'll understand.

I'm pretty sure we bitc*ed about immigration as well ;D i hope we'll be able to delete those too. I'm sure anyway that they won't read everything, they'll probably just boringly scan all the pages in like 10 minutes and that's it

Yeah, I think quality, lovey-dovey or even smiley photos are better over 100's of photos. My husband is NOT a photo person and his family barely have many photos of him from his teen/adulthood years. LUCKILY, I'm a photographer and love taking photos to remember events and spending time with my loved ones so we have a good amount of photos.

I'm sure you don't HAVE to mention deleting parts of your convos as I'm sure they'll get the gist that you talked more than a handful of times XD But idk... maybe we should note that? Any seniors have experience with that?
Yeah we bitched about and joked about immigration. One of the earlier conversations we had I joked about "sneaking over the border". That was before we even had decided to try immigration and before we talked about me visiting him (he had already visited me). We just really missed each other and were wishing we were physically living closer together. hahah

 

[agarand8]

This doesnt have anything to do with anything but just what she said about "sneaking over the boarder" and maybe taking that section of the convo out made me think of something that happened to me when I was very first starting in this process and didn't know anything.

I was justing taking a look around online for maybe someone who could help me with all of this stuff. Obviously before I found this forum. I found some website that said they would give a free assessment or something if you e-mailed them. So I emailed them and in the e-mail I explained that my boyfriend was Costa Rican and we'd already been denied a 6 month TRV and what should I do. I also put in the e-mail that I had received advice that I should try to apply for only a 2 week visitors visa, and then a longer one, and then a longer one so that eventually the government will trust us and approve longer visas so that he can come to Canada forever.

I received a reply that only stated "An assessment will be $150"

I was put off by that because it said it was a FREE assessment so I responded with "So much for a free assessment"

I didn't keep the reply that she sent me but it was an angry paragraph saying how they don't help people to break the law and if we want to do things illegally we need to go somewhere else for help.

I was completely shocked and sent a reply saying she should learn how to read because I wasn't trying to break the law and that I wouldn't want help from someone as dumb as her anyways. lol

That was my very first experience trying to get help with this whole immigration process. SO FUN. lol Apparently you should choose your words carefully or people will think you're criminals. *shakes head* lol

 

[CutiePie92]

I received a reply that only stated "An assessment will be $150"

oh damn that's just bad... thank god i found this forum from the beginning.
i also heard loads of bad stories about immigration lawyers.. i don't think it's a general rule obviously but they squeeze the money out of you and give bad advice.. i read a story here about someone that had a spouse that was deported from Canada a few years ago.. you know you need to mention absolutely everything in your app . his lawyer advised him to NOT MENTION that. whatever happened, no one should lie in the application! it's like diggin your own grave in my opinion..

 

[SaskiaL]

Hello all,

As someone who has gone through this process (and is almost done as I just got DM yesterday), I would like to share my experience.

When we applied, we only submitted about 20 photos of us. These included pictures of us with our respective families and they were from different years (my hair was different in almost every picture). We didn't include any mail conversations, because we considered them to be too intimate to share with an immigration officer.

We also included an affidavit by an acquainted lawyer stating that we are in a truthful relationship. So if you know a lawyer or a doctor, you should get this document.

Other than that we wrote a short 1-page essay about how we got to know each other. From what I've gathered in this forum we sent in a lot less information than the average couple, but it worked out in the end. So my advice for you is to not stress about quantity but make sure the quality is good.

Hope this helps some of you.

 

[lleahdoll]

I keep seeing people mention "DM". I tried Googling it but didn't find anything.
What is DM? I don't think it's on the Immigration abbreviations list..

 

[QuebecOkie]

Decision Made. It's stage two approval, after which (for outland apps) you will receive a PPR (passport request; if you're from a visa-exempt country, I believe you only have to send a copy of the first page of your passport) and then your COPR (certificate of permanent residency) and then cross the border to "land" as a PR or (for inland applicants) you receive a letter from CIC* to get an appointment for an "interview" at a local CIC office where you "land," get your COPR, and become a PR.

*edited to add: in Québec, you may first get a letter with a request to verify your information on a multi-page form and to return it with proof you paid your RPRF (right of permanent residency fee) and two PR photos. After sending that in, you then get a letter with a landing date at the Montreal office or are contacted about landing at a "traveling" office if they're sending one to your area. CIC is inconsistent, and I'm not sure that EVERY inland Québec applicant has received that first letter.

 

[lleahdoll]

Decision Made. It's stage two approval, after which (for outland apps) you will receive a PPR (passport request; if you're from a visa-exempt country, I believe you only have to send a copy of the first page of your passport) and then your COPR (certificate of permanent residency) and then cross the border to "land" as a PR or (for inland applicants) you receive a letter from CIC* to get an appointment for an "interview" at a local CIC office where you "land," get your COPR, and become a PR.

*edited to add: in Québec, you may first get a letter with a request to verify your information on a multi-page form and to return it with proof you paid your RPRF (right of permanent residency fee) and two PR photos. After sending that in, you then get a letter with a landing date at the Montreal office or are contacted about landing at a "traveling" office if they're sending one to your area. CIC is inconsistent, and I'm not sure that EVERY inland Québec applicant has received that first letter.

Thank you!! I try to keep up and figure out what most things mean on my own but sometimes I'm stumped lol

Hmmm... wonder if anyone else has experiences to share on that? I am applying to Quebec but Outland (even though I'll most likely be staying here the whole time of the PR process).

 

[uskyoot]

It amazes me how normally functioning adults (well almost normal) like myself have an intellectual free fall when it comes to this process. I am ready to make the payment for spousal application and I am using my brothers credit card. I read somewhere on this forum about what to fill in for name, address etc when making the credit card purchase but can I find it now...Of course not...I would assume that it is the cardholders info as that has to be matched with the card #. So, do I just right our names on the receipt somewhere...

Thanks again......

OH and the applicants name goes on the receipt????????

 

[uskyoot]

It's done......It's done. Our application is ready to go.......

Thanks to all that helped

 

[lleahdoll]

It's done......It's done. Our application is ready to go.......

Thanks to all that helped

Ah!!! Good luck!!!!!
Keep us updated still!

 

[QuebecOkie]

It amazes me how normally functioning adults (well almost normal) like myself have an intellectual free fall when it comes to this process.

Isn't it, though?!?! I swear, my IQ dropped each time I got into my immigration paperwork, and I'm normally a pretty smart cookie.

Good luck with the application process!