Fast-tracking applications when there are children involved?

[jillandmat]

I am an expat living in uruguay -- and have been here for the past 5 years..

we didnt' file for PR until a few months ago.. why? because it was easier for us to stay in uruguay -- plus we didnt have any pressing plans for us to be in canada right away.

I think it has helped us develop our relationship more by waiting a few years to file...

we've also had 2 kids along the way -- which I personally think add weight to our continued and genuine relationship.. seeing how we've been a family together for the past 5 years...

These are OBVIOUSLY NOT babies outta convenience... they are babies out of a loving relationship... ya know?

not talking about discrimination.. and i'm not asking for special treatment... but we have more proven "ties" than say someone who met online -- got married -- spent 10 days together and then filed for PR...

just sayin'

 

[thaihubbie]

Yes, 'just saying' is exactly the point! Why are couples who have obviously been together for years and have kids lumped into the same category of applicants who have known each other let's give a random ballpark figure of -less than 6 months. If there are children involved, I really think there should be a separate case processing class i.e. Family Class married more than 6 months+children. It doesn't mean that I think our situation is more special or less painful than anyone else rather stream-line applications according to the obvious strength of the application. How much investigating into the validity of our relationship do they really need to do?
**jillandmatt did your children get Canadian Citizenship already? Was it before or after April, 2009?

just sayin too'

 

[jillandmat]

They Have canadian citizenship -- my daughter was born Jan 2009 -- and I applied actually in Jan 2009 -- within a month of her being born.. BUT i think that means that she doesn't have that right right?

even if i was born in Canada? and she wasn't? -- kind of a lame law if you ask me..

plus it took us over 1 year to get both citizenships for them.. (my son and daughter) dont understand WHY it takes so long...

 

[thaihubbie]

I will have to double-check that law again, but I think it states if a child born to a Canadian abroad received their Citizenship Card after April,2009 they will not be able to pass on Canadian Citizenship to their children if they do the same i.e. have a child born abroad.
It took us almost a year to get our daughter's Citizenship Card too! Even though the Canadian Embassy Website states something like 3-6 months. She ended up getting her Citizenship March,2009 just missing this law by a thread. My Canadian friend who is married to a New Zealander wasn't so lucky. Her son received his Citizenship Card a year after applying and it was after April, 2009. Apparently, New Zealand has the same law so this kid can't pass on either nationality if he has a kid abroad!
Once again, I must state the main point of my argument. There should be fast-tracking or stream-lining of Sponsorship Applications when there are children involved. Because of this new law, Canadian children born abroad today cannot pass on Canadian Citizenship to their children if they are born abroad EXCEPT if they are military or diplomatic children who are exempt from this law...well isn't that just special) Too bad for your kid if your mom or dad was a human rights worker, teacher or missionary.. .

 

[sbwv09]

I've read cases on canlii where it was pretty obvious that a child was conceived to help solidify the case.. people who married the same day they met (when it wasn't a part of their culture), that sort of thing. I'm not saying that is your situation at all, but I hope you understand why so many people are frustrated by your stance. We all want to be with our SO, and it's hard for families to be apart, but how is it fair to those of us who don't want/can't have children to be shoved to the back of the line? Would you want people to procreate just because they would be moved ahead in the process?

 

[thaihubbie]

DEVELOPING A SEPARATE CLASS FOR SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP+CHILDREN

I think I need to re-name my thread on second thought. I'm not saying that people sponsoring spouses when there are children involved who already have Canadian Citizenship should be shoved ahead of the line of others who don't want/or can't have kids RATHER there should be a separate application and or department/case officer whatever you want to call it dealing with this group. Let's start dividing applications into more definitive categories. This doesn't necessarily mean that only people who are sponsoring spouses and there are children involvedwill be processed quicker but it might mean it will be quicker for all of us no?? Do you honestly think that large numbers Canadian Citizens who are married to non-Canadians will start having children simply in order to sponsor their spouse? Of course, there might be a few cases of complete idiots out there in the world who will encourage their spouse to get pregnant but quite frankly I think that is very naive to think that many people would do that.

 

[bobshynoswife]

You know what? My husband and I would LOVE to have a child together, but we will not have one until his gets PR. You had that option too, after you got married to apply for PR and not have children at that time. Just because you chose to live in Thailand for a few years and have a baby does not mean you should get fast-tracked over me, who chose to apply for PR just a few weeks after getting married.

 

[jillandmat]

I think that it does get a bit complicated when kids are involved...
we are taking the chance that YES my DH will be accepted.... there is really no reason why he wouldn't be
and well we've made the tough decision to move back without him.. and wait for him in canada..

yes its going to suck living apart... and speaking via skype instead of real life.. but when you think of life in chapters..
its a very small part of a the LARGER chapter of life.. really...


No one can compare applications -- every situation and story is different -- babies no babies.. on line IRL.. it all comes down to whether or not the IO thinks its real or not..

 

[sbwv09]

I don't really feel that separating the cases would make them faster.. it would probably slow them down. You would have to get more IOs, facilities, resources, etc... which they wouldn't do because they are strapped for cash anyway.

I think it's just the entire idea behind it.. that your case is somehow more important and deserves more attention than mine because we don't want children and you already have a child. You could do that with anything.. with Bob'swife who is waiting to have a child, why shouldn't hers go first? Or mine.. I have a higher level of education, why aren't I at the top of the list? or boyee, who has to have major surgery? Why isn't her case fast tracked? See how quickly it can snowball?

The system is far from perfect as it is, but separating people into different classes based on their parental status wouldn't improve anything.

 

[mingus]

or those of us who have been waiting for over 2 years to finally be with their spouse in Canada and are pregnant right now and have no idea if their husband is even going to get to be with them at the birth of their 1st child? Shouldn't we be 1st? Everyone can come up with a reason why they should be bumped up. Like it or not, this is the system we have right now. Should it be changed yes, but even if it was, the changes would do none of us any good, we are already caught in this system.

 

[bobshynoswife]

or those of us who have been waiting for over 2 years to finally be with their spouse in Canada and are pregnant right now and have no idea if their husband is even going to get to be with them at the birth of their 1st child? Shouldn't we be 1st? Everyone can come up with a reason why they should be bumped up. Like it or not, this is the system we have right now. Should it be changed yes, but even if it was, the changes would do none of us any good, we are already caught in this system.

No, you shouldn't be first. My husband and I took precautions to ensure that I would not get pregnant before he came to Canada as a PR, to avoid the situation you are in.

I hope you'll be together at the birth. If not, it is the consequences of the choices you made.

 

[bobshynoswife]

I think it's just the entire idea behind it.. that your case is somehow more important and deserves more attention than mine because we don't want children and you already have a child. You could do that with anything.. with Bob'swife who is waiting to have a child, why shouldn't hers go first? Or mine.. I have a higher level of education, why aren't I at the top of the list? or boyee, who has to have major surgery? Why isn't her case fast tracked? See how quickly it can snowball?

Exactly! I am tired of people whining that this process takes too long and that their special circumstances should be considered.

 

[boyee6576]

Thats the point I was trying to make. If everyone is clammoring to get to the top of the pile, the whole process will take forever and some cases extremely long if not years, bcause someone will always be more important than a regular case. My husband and I had to go through alot to get to this point and its not over yet. If I was put on the back burner so someone else could get their visa sooner, I would be extremely angry. Who wouldnt be? I have had deaths in my family that I could have use his support but immgration didnt see it important. My husband and I wanted a baby too, but I didnt want to raise the child on my own if he didnt get visa, now I am ready for the "change" and my clock is ticking off pretty fast. Should that be considered for fast track? No one should be penalized for having kids and neither should those who decided to wait. Every one feels their case is unique and requires immediate attention. But the bottom line is the first come first serve method is the only one thats really fair. Thats about the only thing about immigration (in my opinon) that is fair. Everyone that has their spouse apart from them wants to be together, they dont want to wait. Your whole life is on hold until you get that visa in your hands which can take a very long time and the mental stress is unreal. If someone to say to me, sorry boyee, someone elses case is more important that yours right now so your file will have to be on hold for a few more months, I would be fuirous beyond belief. What if there was always another file more important than mine? Then what? Separating cases will just drag this nightmarish process out longer than it already is. It has to be a fair playground.

Others are lucky enough to live a life with their spouse in another country. Should those who live in the same country and are able to kiss their spouse goodnight be put on the bottom of the pile? Would that be fair? We can talk about this todeath but the bottom line is, this process is hell on all concerned. I dont beleive that there are many, if any, that are satisfied with the immigration process.
Just my opinion, to each their own.

 

[AlanWales]

Sorry to be harsh, but why should it be fast tracked, maybe slow-tracking the having of children would have been the wiser choice.

 

[thaihubbie]

Two points.
Number 1, let me make myself clear we didn't even want to do this PR application in the first place. The only reason we are even doing it is because we have been unwillingly forced into it because they have refused my husband a Visitor's Visa twice. We thought we made a pretty good case that we would be returning to Thailand. He has a farm and income off that, we were living on the farm, we owned a truck, we were living with his family. They (may I reiterate that it was a Thai officer interviewing him) told us that we would probably sell the farm and the truck once he got his Visa!! Why would the ownership of income generating property not be enough? Then the letter of invitation from my parents clearly said that we wouldn't be staying permanently too. When they told me that I needed to Sponsor him I was thrown for a huge loop and was told that that was the only way he could go to Canada. Why is the Canadian government encouraging people to immigrate when that is not their objective? Basically my parents cannot travel so I have been forced into this whole process. So NO I didn't need to have thought harder about having children BEFORE doing PR because that was never our plan and we have been doing it reluctantly since then. Not only that, we had to move countries so that I can earn enough money to prove to CIC that we can manage to move to Canada even though we didn't even want to be going there. We had to leave our farm, sell our truck and now live far, far away from either of our families. Now I have succumbed to the fact that it is our only choice in order for my elderly parents to meet him just once in their lifetimes.
Number 2, why are people being allowed Visitor's Visas,then just extend them and their spouse applies to Sponsor them? That means that everything that they told the Visa officer in their home country of how they would return was a lie yet the Canadian Government accepts this fact? How much money does that cost the system, doing useless interviews when the person just ends up staying there anyways?