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keesio said:
But note that also some things that you might not perceive as a big deal may be a "red flag" to CIC. Like large age differences between the couple (like 20+ years). Or the applicant (or sponsor) never meeting his/her in-laws at all. Or the lack of a wedding ceremony. Or getting married very quickly after first meeting. I should mention that US-Canadian couples get the most leeway in a lot of these "legitimate relationship" checks so while those would be a big red flag for other applicants (especially from non visa exempt nationals), it is less so for Americans.

Essentially, anything that suggests the relationship might be a "marriage of convenience" is a red flag. US Citizens tend to be given latitude here because the presumption is that they are not trying to escape poor economic/social/political conditions.

In my own application we had plenty of these red flags: a prior refusal (that's a HUGE red flag), a significant age difference (18.5 years), a significant financial difference, the fact I'd never met my spouse's parents - indeed they didn't even know we were married. We had a small (two witnesses, a marriage commissioner and us) wedding, no reception. In spite of it all, they didn't question our relationship. We didn't submit a huge number of pictures (~25) but that was sufficient. I found chat logs and e-mails going back several years that did a good job of demonstrating the development of our relationship. I made sure to be up front about all of these issues and address them for the officer.

So red flags don't mean that your application will fail, they are factors in your application that make a reasonable person question whether or not the relationship is genuine. If there are such factors, it's best to address them up front.
 
Canadavisa_Apr2013 said:
We received our PPR today - such a relief. Can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Can someone please update on the spreadsheet?

Thanks!
You are updated. Congrats and good luck. :)
 
americaninlove said:
Hey, could you update the forums for me? It still hasn't been updated. We just got Medicals Received in E-CAS today too! Got the update after midnight tonight! Check your E-CAS today, best wishes everyone! :)

PPR: Feb 18th, 2014
Interview: Waived
Medicals Received: Feb 22nd, 2014
You are updated. Good luck!!
 
It's been a month since I received PPR. Does anyone know if the visa office notifies you when they send the COPR or should I just keep checking the mail in the next month for it to show up?
 
americaninlove said:
Hey, could you update the forums for me? It still hasn't been updated. We just got Medicals Received in E-CAS today too! Got the update after midnight tonight! Check your E-CAS today, best wishes everyone! :)

PPR: Feb 18th, 2014
Interview: Waived
Medicals Received: Feb 22nd, 2014

Hi there,

Is it the right sequence for process, that you get passport request before the medical received update? Mine only has two updates, Application received and Medical received.
 
Mushmash said:
It's been a month since I received PPR. Does anyone know if the visa office notifies you when they send the COPR or should I just keep checking the mail in the next month for it to show up?

The only notification that I got was when I randomly logged into the CIC website and saw that my status had changed to Decision Made. It's either that or you wait for the envelope from the CIC. That was just my experience though.
 
geofb said:
The only notification that I got was when I randomly logged into the CIC website and saw that my status had changed to Decision Made. It's either that or you wait for the envelope from the CIC. That was just my experience though.

Hmm...thanks for your input. I guess I just have to keep checking the mail then. I've heard of cases where CIC sends the COPR and the person lands and Ecas still hasn't changed to DM.
 
Mushmash said:
Hmm...thanks for your input. I guess I just have to keep checking the mail then. I've heard of cases where CIC sends the COPR and the person lands and Ecas still hasn't changed to DM.

I've heard that too...and sometimes it changes to DM and still takes a few weeks, but with us we got our envelope 3 business days after DM.
 
NicAnn said:
I've heard that too...and sometimes it changes to DM and still takes a few weeks, but with us we got our envelope 3 business days after DM.

Yea all I can do is continue checking the mail and Ecas. At least now I know CIC doesn't actually send you an email when COPR is generated. It's the actual mailed document and the change in status online. Anyone received their COPR from a US office while in canada as a visitor? I'm curious as to how long the mailing time is. Thanks
 
Mushmash said:
Yea all I can do is continue checking the mail and Ecas. At least now I know CIC doesn't actually send you an email when COPR is generated. It's the actual mailed document and the change in status online. Anyone received their COPR from a US office while in canada as a visitor? I'm curious as to how long the mailing time is. Thanks

Mine was processed directly at CPP-Ottawa, but came within a week of receiving DM status in ECAS.
 
Securitron said:
Mine was processed directly at CPP-Ottawa, but came within a week of receiving DM status in ECAS.

Right on! Congrats on your success with CIC.
 
Mushmash said:
Right on! Congrats on your success with CIC.
my wife's came almost 2 months after DM was posted.
 
Securitron said:
Mine was processed directly at CPP-Ottawa, but came within a week of receiving DM status in ECAS.

It makes me wonder how quickly it will come to us. We live in Ottawa, but knowing Canada Post it'll take 2 weeks while it gets routed through Toronto, Windsor, and Winnipeg to get to us.
 
How long does it take from Passport Request to Visa stamped?

We got the ppr on Feb. 24 and Ecas shows decision made already. But we have not sent the passport yet. We need the passport to travel on March 16. Will it be enough time for us to receive the passport back by then?
 
jasminezxm said:
How long does it take from Passport Request to Visa stamped?

We got the ppr on Feb. 24 and Ecas shows decision made already. But we have not sent the passport yet. We need the passport to travel on March 16. Will it be enough time for us to receive the passport back by then?

I think "passport request" is to request a copy of your passport. You don't need to mail your actual passport to them. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.