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

[uskyoot]

We are determined to have our application finished this weekend.....before they update any more forms.
I am not going to panic because my husband an I are living together in the U.S. so if we need to make corrections or provide more evidence, at least we are together.
Does anyone know if a U.S. debit/credit card will work for the payment or does it have to be an actual credit card

Thanks

 

[lleahdoll]

We are determined to have our application finished this weekend.....before they update any more forms.
I am not going to panic because my husband an I are living together in the U.S. so if we need to make corrections or provide more evidence, at least we are together.
Does anyone know if a U.S. debit/credit card will work for the payment or does it have to be an actual credit card

Thanks

As long as it's Visa/MasterCard

"There are two ways you can pay your fees:

Pay online

To pay your fees online you will need:

PDF Reader software
a printer
a Visa®, MasterCard® or American Express® credit card, and
a valid email address.
When you are finished, you must print a receipt of payment and include it with your application."

Us Americans have it easy because as far as I know all debit cards are supported by Visa or MasterCard so it's easy to buy and pay for stuff online. Canadians don't always have that as they use Interac. My husband had to order a Virtual Visa Debit from his bank so we don't have to use his credit card (which is supported by VISA).

 

[withhardshipcomesease]

Hi, I'm new to this forum
I'm really glad I came across it, because I would have just submitted the bare minimum for the application (just the forms themselves)
I just started getting everything together, so I'm not sure yet when I'll be submitting my application.
Good luck everyone!

 

[lleahdoll]

Hi, I'm new to this forum
I'm really glad I came across it, because I would have just submitted the bare minimum for the application (just the forms themselves)
I just started getting everything together, so I'm not sure yet when I'll be submitting my application.
Good luck everyone!

Welcome!!! You'll find a plethora of advice and support on this forum!

And I really think the hardest part is gathering all the relationship evidence. The paperwork is the easy part!! lol

 

[CutiePie92]

And I really think the hardest part is gathering all the relationship evidence. The paperwork is the easy part!! lol

i definitely agree with you. Regarding this, how did you attach the photos? in the form IMM 5490 (spouse partner questionnaire) they keep asking for photos at several questions (development of relationship, marriage, honeymoon etc.) .. did you attach them with the form (printed them on a separate sheet of paper + labeling and all) or in a separate envelope? we want to do a separate envelope for our photos and other relationship proofs but we keep writing in the question answers "please check the 3rd envelope labeled "proof of our relationship" at the section x, y ,z for photos". i'm scared they'll be lazy to check i'm pretty paranoid with this whole immigration thing ???

how did you guys organize it?

 

[withhardshipcomesease]

i definitely agree with you. Regarding this, how did you attach the photos? in the form IMM 5490 (spouse partner questionnaire) they keep asking for photos at several questions (development of relationship, marriage, honeymoon etc.) .. did you attach them with the form (printed them on a separate sheet of paper + labeling and all) or in a separate envelope? we want to do a separate envelope for our photos and other relationship proofs but we keep writing in the question answers "please check the 3rd envelope labeled "proof of our relationship" at the section x, y ,z for photos". i'm scared they'll be lazy to check i'm pretty paranoid with this whole immigration thing ???

how did you guys organize it?

I can't remember if it's been posted in this thread, but I came across a link to a thread discussing organization:
-Oh, it seems that I don't have permission to post links? anyway, the name of the thread is "How I organized our applcation and a summary of all helpful tips I have learned".. It's about 915 pages long hahah so I'm sure you'll find some help there!

 

[QuebecOkie]

Just a little clarification on the Québec stuff. Pay NO attention at this early stage to the information on the MICC (Ministère d'Immigration et des Communautaires culturelles, if memory serves me, the Québec immigration ministry). Be careful to omit the sections of CIC's forms that don't apply to Québec residents.

You will send your completed sponsor application, PR application, and supporting documentation to CIC, now the Mississaugua office regardless of inland or outland applications. CIC will send you a letter instructing you to request the Certificat de séléction du Québec (CSQ) from MICC. You need CIC's letter to request the CSQ as an applicant under the Family Class.

This is the voice of experience talking. We got to reading MICC's pages, and we got completely turned around, and we sent only my husband's sponsorship app to CIC in August 2012. Got a call from an agent, and then had to send the PR application for me, as well, before they could start processing. We lost about 2 months due to our error.

Québec isn't quite as different and special as MICC will scare you into believing, haha! Just a few questions on the regular forms that don't apply, the need to request the CSQ after CIC tells you to do so, and the privilege of paying an extra $269 at that time.

Happy to help with any of the other basic questions. I'll be following the thread. I'm NO EXPERT. Just someone who has done (too much?!?!?) a lot of reading on this forum and who has been through the process and come out on the other side. Good luck to all of you! I'd say to take a deep breath and relax...but then, I know better than to think that's possible, don't I?

 

[uskyoot]

For the photos of proof of relationship, did you label the back of every picture, or group some together with one label

 

[QuebecOkie]

I used digital colour photos and pasted them into a Word document. Then I typed up a description of each photo.

Examples:

[photo of my husband and me sitting on the bench-seat thingy ready to go parasailing.]

This photo shows me and X preparing to go parasailing in Cancun, Mexico. This was an excursion during our first vacation together, November 2010. Itinierary attached.

[photo of my husband and me in a pool.]

This photo shows me and X during our second vacation together, March 2011. We're in one of our favourite spots - the pool - at Couples Tower Isle resort in Jamaica. Itinerary attached.

[photo of the two of us at the Alamo.]

I first met X's parents when they traveled to San Antonio, TX, in December 2011. Here are me and X at the Alamo.

I posted the photos in order, so the captions made a sort of timeline of our relationship, the trips we'd taken together, when we first met each other's families, our wedding (I also typed up a brief explanation for why we had a simple civil ceremony with only three friends present), a few major events. The Word document ensured that everything stayed organized, gave me an easy way to write up "our story" and was way easier than printing out photos (as we only have digital photos, no prints).

I only included 8 photos, plus text, totaling 4 pages, plus three travel itineraries. US applicants of similar ages and backgrounds, who dated a while (a year or more) before marrying don't seem to face a lot of scrutiny. I worried for a while I didn't send enough. I'd encourage those with tougher VOs (countries with very different cultures or standards of living) to include more.

 

[uskyoot]

My husband and I are from the U.S. and have been married for 5 years. I am 58 and he is 62. We don't have much proof from when we dated but I/m not really concerned as we have been married for a while now. Some of the photos we had were sent to USCIS when I was applying for my Green Card and they were taken on a disposable camera, and we can't find the negatives (GASP! anyone remember those) We do have lots of photos since then with kids, grandkids etc. Honestly, I just don't want to label every picture

 

[lleahdoll]

i definitely agree with you. Regarding this, how did you attach the photos? in the form IMM 5490 (spouse partner questionnaire) they keep asking for photos at several questions (development of relationship, marriage, honeymoon etc.) .. did you attach them with the form (printed them on a separate sheet of paper + labeling and all) or in a separate envelope? we want to do a separate envelope for our photos and other relationship proofs but we keep writing in the question answers "please check the 3rd envelope labeled "proof of our relationship" at the section x, y ,z for photos". i'm scared they'll be lazy to check i'm pretty paranoid with this whole immigration thing ???

how did you guys organize it?

For the photos of proof of relationship, did you label the back of every picture, or group some together with one label

All my photos are digital and I don't have any hard copies anyhow. So I'm organizing them all in a word document. Putting 2-4 photos per page depending if they're vertical or horizontal and giving a date and description of where the photo was taken.
I will also be putting them in chronological order to give a kind of timeline.

 

[lleahdoll]

Just a little clarification on the Québec stuff. Pay NO attention at this early stage to the information on the MICC (Ministère d'Immigration et des Communautaires culturelles, if memory serves me, the Québec immigration ministry). Be careful to omit the sections of CIC's forms that don't apply to Québec residents.

You will send your completed sponsor application, PR application, and supporting documentation to CIC, now the Mississaugua office regardless of inland or outland applications. CIC will send you a letter instructing you to request the Certificat de séléction du Québec (CSQ) from MICC. You need CIC's letter to request the CSQ as an applicant under the Family Class.

This is the voice of experience talking. We got to reading MICC's pages, and we got completely turned around, and we sent only my husband's sponsorship app to CIC in August 2012. Got a call from an agent, and then had to send the PR application for me, as well, before they could start processing. We lost about 2 months due to our error.

Québec isn't quite as different and special as MICC will scare you into believing, haha! Just a few questions on the regular forms that don't apply, the need to request the CSQ after CIC tells you to do so, and the privilege of paying an extra $269 at that time.

Happy to help with any of the other basic questions. I'll be following the thread. I'm NO EXPERT. Just someone who has done (too much?!?!?) a lot of reading on this forum and who has been through the process and come out on the other side. Good luck to all of you! I'd say to take a deep breath and relax...but then, I know better than to think that's possible, don't I?

Thank you for the clarification!!!!!! I guess I will not stress about the MICC part until they request it. MICC's website is a bit more confusing than CIC's. And with the paperwork we send MICC, does CIC give us a link to that or do we have to find the form(s) ourselves?
And do we pay the $269 similar to how we can pay CIC (online).

 

[QuebecOkie]

Processes may vary a little, as I was an inland applicant. But we received a letters stating:

January 28, 2013

Mr. QuebecOkie
Address

This confirms that your application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class has been received
by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on 10/23/2012 on behalf of the following
member(s):

QuebecOkie

Since you live in the province of Québec, you must submit an undertaking application to the
Québec government as soon as possible. To find out what steps you need to take, visit the
website of the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) at
www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca and go to the section Sponsors and Sponsored Persons to
download the required forms. For more information, you may contact the Service des
renseignements généraux (general inquiries) at 514 864-9191 or 1 877 864-9191. Please note
that you must enclose a copy of this letter with your undertaking application. Please note that
no further action will be taken your application until such time as our office has received a
decision with respect to your sponsorship and undertaking from the Ministère de l'immigration et
des communautés culturelles.

Please provide for client XXXXXXXX - QuebecOkie:

> CSQ: Certificat de sélection du Québec from the ministère de l'Immigration et
des Communautés culturelles. This must be received at this office by: 04/28/2013.

So they provide pretty good instructions. Then you go online, find the undertaking agreement (le formulaire d'engagement; they provide an English guide, but the French form is the one you must fill out), complete it, and there's another form to fill out to pay by credit card - it's not an online payment. Here's the link to the English part of the site that shows you the undertaking kit for MICC. Do NOT stress about this now, but it's here if you want to look at it. http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/forms/search-title/undertaking-application/kit-a.html

 

[lleahdoll]

Processes may vary a little, as I was an inland applicant. But we received a letters stating:

So they provide pretty good instructions. Then you go online, find the undertaking agreement (le formulaire d'engagement; they provide an English guide, but the French form is the one you must fill out), complete it, and there's another form to fill out to pay by credit card - it's not an online payment. Here's the link to the English part of the site that shows you the undertaking kit for MICC. Do NOT stress about this now, but it's here if you want to look at it. http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/forms/search-title/undertaking-application/kit-a.html

Thank you thank you thank you!!! You are a doll!! <3

 

[QuebecOkie]

Is one of you a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident? I ask because, if the answer is no, there are other sections of this forum that will be more helpful. This section is for family class applicants, with a citizen or PR sponsoring his/her spouse, common-law partner, or parents/children.