Hello and welcome to (almost) August,
I am a sponsor applying for my wife from China.
I started preparing everything back in May and gave myself an August 1st deadline to ship the APP out to Mississauga.
I started with what I expected to be the longest and drawn out processes first then worked slowly towards the simpler aspects of the application.
So, I spent probably 2 - 3 weeks weeding through over 2500 pages of internet communications... Abridging it down to about 270 pages. I marked and highlighted every point of abridgment as well as the dates which originate from as early as 2011. I left a good amount of context within each conversation so as to make it somewhat clear.
Next came the photos:
We have 1000's, and selecting them for use wasn't all that daunting. In fact it was fun.
Rather than printing them loosely, I organized about 400 photos over 63 pages in a PPT file inserting general timelines and dates, as well as explanations for most. I selected photos from our first meeting over 10 years ago.. which unfortunately doesn't show us in the same photo, but rather a series of photos that would connect us both to the same time and place. Others were photos we shared while apart, showing packages I would send from Canada and her receiving (then wearing) in China... and once we were together the photos I chose were not strictly about us alone, but rather us as a unit among family and friends... us together or alone with family, places we traveled to, photos from home, during festivals, etc. My hair, beard, and even body size (Hah!) visibly changed in these selected photos to express time. I wanted to show as best I could my deep integration within her circle.
When it came to the wedding photos I added plenty from the photo shoot, but also dozens of others on various contact sheets of the event. A wide view of the reception and guests, as well as most group photos were included.
I abandoned all shame and embarrassment by adding photos that may not be all too flattering. But all together they make, as my wife likes to say, a photographic diary. She even wants to print another for us to keep.
In addition to the photos and the personal conversations I added a third bunch of colour print outs displaying other proofs, like screenshots of my YouTube page (in which she and her family is prominent), and Amazon invoices that include her name in the notes attached to gifts. There were also about 10 screenshots of congratulatory respects and love showing the multitude of comments below our wedding photos.
With those done, I jumped to organizing my intent to return... and naturally this one is tricky.
What I did, and I hope it's suitable, is mention my small business (based in Canada) which requires my very own presence upon operation. I included the business license, screenshots of the business website (Indicating a start date of August 2017). E-mails between my sister and I regarding a FULL plan, conversations with multiple friends about my plan to return, and wishes and ideas upon arriving. I included my work contract with it's termination date as well as my web history (I searched for terms like Jobs, Rental, Apartment, Gatineau, and others) as there are numerous searches over a period of months for each of these. Lastly my Canadian bank account, credit card, and even credit bureau tracking subscription information was printed so as to give an idea of my ongoing attachment.
As for financial stability I have signed and stamped income statements from both my full time and my part time employers, as well as a printout of my saving accounts. These accounts are in my wife's name for logistical reasons, but I'm assuming can double as relationship proof since the income statements clearly state the account number my salary was deposited into. Heading these visual proofs I also included a long detailed plan that quite closely matched that which I sent to my sister.
At the moment my wife has gone to the capital city of her home province to get her birth certificate (non-existent prior to 1996ish) made up, translated and notarized along with her national ID Card, Hukou, Marriage Certificate, and Police Report.
Medical was done a week ago on the 21st, Document attached.
The full 1040 was paid Friday (22nd), Receipt attached.
Most recent versions of each application has been filled... but not yet signed. Proofread and reprinted on more than one occasion.
In the Generic applications for both Sponsor and Sponsored I have added additional pages with the printed out Chinese address as required.
Additional pages were also used for both questionnaires.
photos are taken (probably more than we need),
Chinese address labels printed,
And things are currently divided in clear plastic zip-lock folders. I will look for an appropriate large folder to divide the sponsor and principal applicant portions, and an even larger case for them both together.
Finding such things can be a pain in many Chinese cities.. But if that fails, I can always make my own.
To be honest I feel quite confident, yet naturally nervous.
I do worry about the CSQ application for Quebec which will come later... it asks for proof of a Quebec address, for which I have none. I haven't lived in Quebec since 2004...
Does anything seem to be left out? Any Advice or comments?
Do let me know, and wish me luck.. the same to everyone else!
I'm beginning to find myself fidgety after spending months on this and now having nothing to do.
