Fast-tracking applications when there are children involved?

[thaihubbie]

After spending almost 3 years now, from the time I was pregnant and my husband was first refused a Visitor's Visa, to when our child was an infant and my husband was refused a Visitor's Visa for the second time. To now when our child is almost 3 years old and I've been trying to save up as much money as possible for our hopeful move to Canada next year....why tell me why someone why there isn't a fast-tracking of Sponsorship Applications when there are children involved. Our daughter already has her Canadian Citizen Certificate and Canadian passport and has traveled to Canada once alone with me for a visit. Does my daughter not have any rights as a Canadian child to decent education, health care, social activities, grandparents WITHOUT us having to separate from my husband and her father?? Why are they forcing to choose between having my family all together living in a third world country or separate a child from her father? If we did go to Canada ahead of her father could anyone guarantee me that he would even be able to join us? How is it that other Visitor's Visa applicants from Thailand are given visas then just extend them and are living in Canada while their Sponsorship application is being processed but there are no children involved?

 

[jillandmat]

from what i gather.. i don't think they really care.. anyone can get preg. and it doesn't add any weight to an application...

i suppose if you are married and have been living together for some time with kids.. then maybe..
but I have no idea

 

[minna]

nope kids don't change the spousal application time.

if it did, then it would encourage people to have kids to get through immigration fast, even if the kids were not wanted.

now, if the kids are being sponsored alone (i.e. orphaned children being brought to Canada to live with family, or foreign adoptions) then that expedites the processing time - they are processed immediately by CPC-M rather than going into the stacks that our applications must go into...

 

[kwabena kwabena]

After spending almost 3 years now, from the time I was pregnant and my husband was first refused a Visitor's Visa, to when our child was an infant and my husband was refused a Visitor's Visa for the second time. To now when our child is almost 3 years old and I've been trying to save up as much money as possible for our hopeful move to Canada next year....why tell me why someone why there isn't a fast-tracking of Sponsorship Applications when there are children involved. Our daughter already has her Canadian Citizen Certificate and Canadian passport and has traveled to Canada once alone with me for a visit. Does my daughter not have any rights as a Canadian child to decent education, health care, social activities, grandparents WITHOUT us having to separate from my husband and her father?? Why are they forcing to choose between having my family all together living in a third world country or separate a child from her father? If we did go to Canada ahead of her father could anyone guarantee me that he would even be able to join us? How is it that other Visitor's Visa applicants from Thailand are given visas then just extend them and are living in Canada while their Sponsorship application is being processed but there are no children involved?

It wont speed it up, it is just the standard procedure for everyone. either than that then i guess everyone will go and have a baby.

 

[lynw]

IMHO there should absolutely not be ANY discrimination as to whose case gets processed faster, on ANY grounds. It would be, well, just wrong.

 

[thaihubbie]

How do you explain to my daughter and her grandparents who have still not met my husband how so many people I know of have got Visitor's Visa's to Canada because they convinced the visa officer that they would return to their home country, then just extended their visas and sent in the Sponsorship application and stayed in Canada while it was being processed so that they never left Canada as promised? Yet, we are yet to go to Canada as a family 3 years later and there is a 3 year child involved who is ALREADY a Canadian Citizen? :'(

 

[AllisonChains08]

You having kids isn't going to get you anywhere, nor does it make you any different in this case. CIC really doesn't care.

 

[minna]

there are plenty of people in your shoes.

CIC has not forbidden your family from visiting you in Thailand. Or from your family meeting your husband anywhere else in the world where he may be able to get a visa. Nor have they forbidden you from bringing your child to Canada, or living in Canada - you have chosen to stay with your husband. You might not think it is much of a choice, but it is a choice you have made.

I don't know why your husband has been denied a visitor's visa, but it happens. The stories you are reading about are generally people in visa-exempt countries. Maybe next time fall in love with someone in a visa- exempt country (that's a joke)? Or consult someone very knowledgeable about canadian immigration about the way to apply and how to best word your visa application to convince CIC that your husband will return to Canada when his visa expires.

 

[thaihubbie]

First of all it's a disgrace that there are plenty of people in my shoes. I believe that once the child's Citizenship papers are approved then the processing for the Sponsored Spouse should be fast-tracked or just put into a separated category than others where children are not in the picture. Secondly, my parents are very elderly and invalid and cannot travel anywhere let alone Thailand. We made that very clear to the Visa officer when we applied both times for his Visa and were refused. The letters of invitation from my parents made it very clear that they cannot travel anymore. Amazingly too, when my husband tried to prove with a lot of documentation that he owns a huge farm in Thailand with monthly revenue and a truck etc. They told him that he would probably just sell it all once he got his Visa. Yet, others (and when i say others I mean people sponsoring a Thai spouse) didn't own any property, land etc. were granted a visa and just stayed there.
The system is not fair and I'm not willing to just sit back and accept it. I'm fighting it all the way to the grave.

 

[lynw]

I believe that once the child's Citizenship papers are approved then the processing for the Sponsored Spouse should be fast-tracked or just put into a separated category than others where children are not in the picture.

Discrimination in any form is abhorrent, and I believe illegal in Canada. Please leave it behind when you migrate.

 

[thaihubbie]

Discrimination spans vast areas. I would argue that people from certain countries getting visas quicker than others is discrimination. I would argue that my husband having his Visitor's Visa interview done by a Thai Citizen NOT a Canadian Citizen both times at the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok is discriminatory and biased. And yes, I totally agree from personal experience that discrimination is unacceptable but unfortunately we aren't in Canada so have no rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms from what I understand. The Charter only applies to people within Canada so Canadian Citizens including children who are not within Canada have no rights to security and protection. My main point is that if a Canadian Citizen child is not being allowed to be in Canada without being separated from her father that she is not being given the right to protection under the Charter forcefully.

 

[lynw]

Yup, you have some valid points but what your statements seem to boil down to is that your application should go to the head of the queue based on the age of members of your family group. Nothing new, people often expect that, but it doesn't make it right.

 

[boyee6576]

My humble two cents

I have to have a serious operation, WITHOUT the support of my husband. I can not tell you the stress of not having him here with makes me feel. Something could go seriously wrong, hopefully it wont but who can be 100% sure? My husband is extremely upset and worried that he cant be with me. Does immigration care what this is doing to us? No. Immigration doesnt hold this as anything of value to them and they dont those who have kids. No one goes a head of the pile. Everyone thinks their situation should be priority. If people start getting pushed ahead then what happens? Wait times get longer and the back log will go and and everyone will suffer

Fair or not to you personally, its fair to all applicants if you really look at. I am sorry you have to go through it but they dont fast track for anyone and thats the just how it is. I feel my situation should hold some importance but it doesnt. Everyone of us here have had to suffer though this process, some more than others. This is just how it is.

 

[angelbrat]

What I am unsure about, is after 3 years why haven't you filed a spousal PR application??

If you had filed this 3 years ago, the chances are you and your family would now be living in Canada.

Or at the very least, if your husband was a PR he wouldn't need a visitor visa to enter Canada.

Instead of going down the visitor visa route, file for PR, as a Canadian citizen this can be done outland whilst you stay with your husband as long as you show intent to move to Canada.

 

[thaihubbie]

Your points are all valid and I have succumbed to your arguments that all people feel that their situation is more of a priority than others but there are legal ramifications as well when there are children involved. Do you know about the new Citizenship Law that was passed in 2009 that affects the children of expats?

Read these new rules carefully. To help you along, here is a key phrase you should look for in the section about ‘Persons born or adopted outside of Canada' after the new rules go into effect:

“This means that children born in another country after the new law comes into effect will not be Canadian citizens by birth if they were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.”

Government bafflegab to be sure but essentially, it means that if you had your child abroad and gave him/her your Canadian citizenship, after April 17th, that same child cannot give their children the same Canadian citizenship unless they are born in Canada (and a few other rules thrown in for good measure). Given that a high percentage of children of expats are born abroad and these kids have a propensity for living and working abroad in adulthood, there's a pretty good chance your grandchildren or your children (if you are an Expat Kid reading this) will also be born outside of Canada.

In a nutshell this means that children of expats cannot pass down Canadian Citizenship if they were granted Canadian Citizenship after April 2009. My daughter received her Citizenship March, 2009 so just missed the date by a hair.
**Yes,angelbrat you are correct that I should have filed for PR 3 years ago when he was first refused his Visitor's Visa but we TRULY didn't want to immigrate at that time, we just wanted to visit. Plus we didn't have enough money to immigrate. Thus 3 years later, I've busting my butt trying to save money for immigration but we have yet to go for a visit.