Fixing to Apply: Can anyone review our info.

[Ravcat]

Hi there,

I am writing to get yalls opinion on if things will go smoothly for us.

I will try to keep this brief and to the point!

How we met: Online 3-4 years ago
Dated: 2-3 years
Engaged: 3/30/13
Married: 4/5/14

Him: Lives in Ontario. Works as a bush pilot/plant operator. $70k a year. Owns a house/truck/work truck. No debts. College Graduate. No kids.
Me: Lives in Texas. No current work, but has worked in the Police Department/Elementary School and a few other places. Owns SUV. No debts. Some College Education/Not completed. No kids.

My concerns: I previously tried to travel up to Canada with my car packed with too much stuff, lack of proof of funds, ect... and as a result I was refused at the border. This was December of 2012. We had a horrible time and had to drive back to Texas...and after talking to lawyers we "did everything wrong"...for example, I quit my job...was the biggest no no but I was planning on staying in Canada for the 6months that a visa allows...opps.

Travel: He has visited me multiple times. Oct 2012. Dec 2012. Proposed New York AirPort 3/30/13 Bermuda Trip w/ his Family April 2013. *** I was let into Canada in April, but not without issues at the border, they were concerned that I would stay because of my isssue at the border December. January 2014 visit. Married April 2014. Honeymoon Cancun.

What we are going to include in our packet.
About 150 personal pictures, including pictures from our simple wedding. Trips to the different places we have been. I do NOT have many pictures of me and his family, or vise versa...I have pictures of him with my Dad or me with 1 of his family members, but no group shots. AND we only had my side of the family (Dad, Mom, and my Brother) present for the wedding ***Is that a red flag???***) We could not ask all his family to fly in for a 5 minute Justice of the Peace ceremony (Even though it turned out quite nice...)
Print outs of our Orbitz flights. (Is this enough proof because we didnt know to save boarding passes) Plus we have visa stamps in our passports...
Credit Card receipts of all the purchases of stuff when we had visits (Movie tickets...ect...we didnt save...) Will that be enough evidence?
A few letters from family/friends saying they know us and know our relationship is genuine. Probably only 5 or so people. (Do we need more?)
Photocopies of big purchases: wedding rings, diamond earrings, necklaces, and bracelet.
I have also sent care packages but I have no receipts...lol

Is there anything we are missing or anyone could suggest. We are going to try to send all of our stuff off in May.

What worries us is not using a representative, which is a lawyer that quoted a price between $6,000-$9,000 depending on if we had issues/problems.

Do we do this without a lawyer or should we bite the bullet and pay the $6-9000 with the concern that we would be rejected and have MORE serious issues?

We have no criminal background or anything crazy like file for bankruptcy or anything, we are very "clean"...I guess you could say? LOL.

Thank you for your time and input!!! <3

 

[Ravcat]

Oh ya we skype almost non-stop and I have logs of that. Also have phone records...

 

[little_apple]

You have tons of proof. Don't get a lawyer. You will be fine.

Fill out the application step-by-step, include every requested document, make sure you sign every form, include all the proof you mentioned above.
Write a history of your relationship if you want and even mention that you tried to visit him in 2012 and got refused entry. It shows CIC that you really tried to see each other as often as possible.

 

[apt2208]

Agree with everything little_apple said defintley no need for a lawyer.

 

[QuebecOkie]

Second the opinions of those above. No lawyer is needed. They're expensive and many are not even as up-to-date on immigration issues as some of the more senior members of this forum.

You have lots of good proof, and generally it doesn't seem as through US/Canadian couples are under the level of scrutiny that applicants from some other parts of the world (non-visa-exempt countries, countries with very different cultures/standards of living, etc.).

I included Expedia flight itineraries because, like you, we didn't have boarding passes for the trips we'd taken together. I wrote up a brief "story" of our relationship. I only sent 8 photos (I think 150 is total overkill for your case, but do what makes you feel comfortable). Only one showed his mom, dad, brother, me, and him. All of the others were just the two of us. None with my family. We're just not great about taking photos. We had a TINY civil ceremony; just three friends present as witnesses, despite my parents and sister living only an hour or so away. I just explained that while being married was important to us (it really wasn't, as the paperwork didn't change anything except make it possible to continue our lives together in the same country), the "wedding" was not at all important to us.

You may continue to have some issues at the border, since you're "on the radar" now, but as long as you take your time, go carefully through the guide and checklist as you put your app together, you shouldn't have any trouble with the PR process. (Well, no more trouble than anyone else; even with a straightforward app, CIC is opaque and inconsistent, and frustrations and stress are sure to find you...deep breaths!)

 

[rhcohen2014]

most likely the reason you had trouble at the border was because you were not married yet. they do not look to fondly of boyfriend/girlfriends trying to cross the border. i received an exclusion order for 1 year because of a similiar situation. i just finished grad school and lived with my sister, and had been going back and forth for a few months. They didn't like the fact i wasn't following their rules and didn't believe i had "significant" ties to the us. once my exclusion order was lifted, i travelled back to canada and made sure to have proof of my new job and my signed apartment lease.

Now that we are married, they like me more, and let me through easier (i haven't been asked to go to secondary the last 2 times i've crossed). When we were preparing our application, i would carry my lease, paystubs and all the paperwork with me to prove our intentions, which includes our marriage certificate. If you travel there before applying, it's a good idea to pay for at least part of the fees and/or medical so they can see your intentions are to apply once you finish the application. Even now i always bring my lease and employment info with me, as well as a copy of our entire application and marriage certificate. once they see you are married and doing everything the proper way, they most likely will give you less hassel - of course there is always that one agent that likes to make things difficult, so you can never be too sure.

 

[SenoritaBella]

In the event that you are still unsure of whether or not to use an immigration lawyer, may I suggest a relatively 'cheaper' alternative - you can complete your entire application yourself and pay the fees. Then provide your entire package to a lawyer just for a review. They will just be reviewing your forms for completeness and verifying against your evidence, read through your 'proof of relationship', etc then flag any questions they have which can help you address them before submission or may recommend you not send certain documents, etc.

We are using a lawyer and she offered us the option above vs. retaining her for the whole process. We choose the latter, and it's expensive but we have managed to keep our bill down somewhat by being organized and not contacting her for things we can do ourselves such as requesting our GCMS notes.

 

[Ravcat]

Wow guys, I am overwhelmed with such prompt positive responses!

Since the 'border' incidents it has been really scary to do anything concerning a lot of things. The lawyer told us not to have a small wedding, because it would look bad...eloping etc...and we felt like that's what we did because after 1 year of ho-humming around trying to plan a wedding that wasn't going to happen like he wanted it to (He wanted all his family to spend thousands n thousands to come to the wedding...which only lasted 15minutes!!! lol...he is now glad we did it the way we did and we are going to have a reception in Toronto area...)..we decided to do the simple, yet scary, ceremony. Which turned out awesome!!!

When we flew direct into Toronto from our Bermuda trip, I only had my suitcase and all the paperwork I thought I needed...plane ticket back to the states, bank statements, proof of insurance...proof that my car was in the states, my cat/dogs (vet bills) were all in the states...The guy almost declined me then...the only reason he let me in was because my Hubby was staring at us through the glass wall and he was like "is that him??" and he motioned for him to come talk. Only after 1-2hrs of asking so many personal questions did he let me in. And it was under the stipulation that I was out by my flight date. ***He said if I was not out by this date I would never set foot in Canada again! SCARY!*** BTW I bought a $800 plane ticket back, and he said "whats $800 to you..." he didnt care that we booked the flight back home...It just felt like anything we did or said was not good enough. That was my only stay in Canada, which lasted about 3 weeks. Awesome 3 weeks though!!!

I will now take a breath of relief and go into this with a more positive attitude! I cannot wait to be off skype and be able to hang out with my hubby!!!!

 

[little_apple]

Wow. My officers were always so nice.

Two weeks ago I came back to Canada after a short trip to the states. My work permit was expired just a few days earlier and I only had an extension to stay as a tourist until September.

He didn't ask any questions, only where I've been in the states. He saw my expired work permit and my visitor record. Still no questions. Gave me a 6 months stamp in my passport and wished me a nice evening

 

[rhcohen2014]

were you married when that situation happened in toronto? like i said, there is always that one agent who wants to be a bully. a few of us have had to deal with that. They want to see you are following their rules, so the more you try to cross and leave when they tell you to, the easier it will be. Again, always bring your marriage certificate and proof of ties to the US, pay for part of the application and/or medical to prove your intentions to apply.

We had a small ceremony with just immediate family in the states, then had a larger reception in ottawa a couple of months later. it's always nerve racking crossing, so as long as you are prepared and give consistant answers your changes are good. they are a lot friendlier since we got married and have shown them our application. remember, if they have notes in the system about you, most likely they already know the answers to the questions they ask. they want to make sure you are telling them the truth.

 

[Ravcat]

Wow Little Apple, wish our crossings went as easy as yours! I seems to have a bullzi painted on my forehead! I am always having things go wrong with me though! Our honeymoon to Cancun they lost our luggage going there AND back! LOL ... And him going back to the states from Cancun (going through Houston) they gave my hubby trouble...but he got through.

No rhcohen2014, we were not married when the thing happened in Toronto. It was a year ago actually it all happened. I had to be out of Canada by April 21st I believe!

Well if we can prove things more easily now that we are married and are applying...maybe I can go camping this summer with him...because as we are looking at it, this wont be all done for at least 6 months?

If everything goes right, and smoothly, how long does PR take to get through spousal is the big question?

 

[rhcohen2014]

No rhcohen2014, we were not married when the thing happened in Toronto. It was a year ago actually it all happened. I had to be out of Canada by April 21st I believe!

Well if we can prove things more easily now that we are married and are applying...maybe I can go camping this summer with him...because as we are looking at it, this wont be all done for at least 6 months?

If everything goes right, and smoothly, how long does PR take to get through spousal is the big question?

yeah, most likely that was the issue. again they really don't like couples who aren't married or who don't show intention to apply properly. they seem very concerned about people "taking a job away from a canadian". the current "average" time, according to these threads, and the spreadsheets that are tracking everyone's progress suggests US/Canadian apps are taking 8-10 months. the times stated online don't seem to be accurate.

 

[rhcohen2014]

oh and a piece of advice i learned by reading this forum after i sent in my application.

when applying for your FBI record, try to time completing your application with the time it takes to get your record. I learned AFTER sending our application that there is a 3 month expiration date on police records. basically the application has to be received within that time period. currently the wait time on the FBI site is 2-3 weeks. When i sent in my request in November, it was 6-8 weeks.

on the same note, get medicals done as close to sending in the application as you can. medicals are good for a year, so it's not AS important as above, just helpful for the future of the application.

Also, something that delayed us sending in our application for about 6 weeks:
if your husband has not done taxes in a couple of years (this seems to be common practice in Canada), make sure he gets them done soon. The option C form will not be available right away when his taxes are done. The return first needs to be filed with the CRA, which can take 4 weeks, then it can take about 10-14 days to get the option c form once it's been requested. A request can't be made for the most current year until the taxes are filed.

 

[screech339]

if your husband has not done taxes in a couple of years (this seems to be common practice in Canada)

"Common practice??". The only way I can accept that it is common practice is that if they don't owe any taxes or there is a refund but they haven't bothered to get it back. In other words, you don't "really" have to do your taxes if you don't any additional taxes or refunds. I think it is rather st*pid approach as he/she can qualify for other tax benefits. Some benefits will not be given until taxes are filed such as child benefits.

Honestly, why would someone not file taxes especially if they have a refund. The government is not going to return your refund with interest because you didn't file taxes. But they are happy to charge any interest on any balance owed to the government.

 

[yani]

plz help my husband visited last month to Pakistan. now I would like to send some addtional proofs photos, shopping receipts , ticket and other expenses proofs. what to write to the visa office.. plz tell me the format of letter. thanks Smiley