Getting ready to file for spouse

[Robin35]

Hi everyone I'm new (obviously) and just hoping to get some advice info from people that are or have been in a similar situation. My husband is American and i'm Canadian i have two children and we have 1 child together. We got married in the usa in 2006 and lived there as a family until 2010 when my husband took a job that would take him away from home 4 weeks at a time. The kids and i wanted to be close to family. My husband visits us in Canada when he's on break from work (every 4 weeks) but it's time to all live in the same country again.

We are filing 'outland' because he has to travel in and out of Canada during the wait period. We have all the forms ready and signed. Everything required from the checklists for sponsor and immigrant. He's done his medical and we have the form to send in. We have his FBI check and photo's everyone's birth certificates, marriage cert .. Some of things i wonder are how much proof of relationship should i send ? I don't want to 'bog' them down with paperwork - so to speak. I have copies of our visa's to the usa, proof of all visits between when we met in 2005 to when we got married in 2006, monthly airline tickets, letters from his work for the boarder for each visit saying he's coming to visit his wife (since we moved back to Canada) , pictures of us and the kids/wedding photos, our sons birth certificate, proof of joint bank accounts/credit cards. Would it be wise to also send cell phone bills ? They are bulky and i'm thinking considering the amount of time we have been married and all the visits and the baby it may not be needed. Also .. does anyone know if the 1 month plus 12 months approx waiting time is accurate or does it depend on the circumstances of the relationship ? Thanks so much in advance for any insights

 

[MistahFixIt]

First of all, don't worry about bogging the officers down; if you've got evidence, submit it all. Boarding passes / plane tickets, letters, call logs / cell-phone bills, et cetera. I personally submitted a 94-page sample of my Skype call records for the last 3 years or so.

Secondly, the 1 month + 12 months is the CIC's estimate of how long they intend to process 80% of applications they receive in a given time period. If yours is a 'routine case' (which in your case, it sounds like it is) it will probably take less time. Having all of your documents completed, signed, and dated will also speed your application along, as the visa office will not have to stop and request additional documents from you.

HOWEVER.

There is a labour strike right now, which is slowing down processing in many of the visa offices in Canada and abroad, which will probably affect processing times in a negative way.

 

[Sweden]

I don't think I agree about "submit all" - choose quality over quantity. If you have a straightforward case (US/Can couple, married, with a child, and explanation why you're not all living together), there is no need to submit 100 pages of phone records etc. What you could do is a summary - and add that if needed you can submit more. With the rest of the proofs, it should be enough.
Sweden

 

[amikety]

I don't think I agree about "submit all" - choose quality over quantity. If you have a straightforward case (US/Can couple, married, with a child, and explanation why you're not all living together), there is no need to submit 100 pages of phone records etc. What you could do is a summary - and add that if needed you can submit more. With the rest of the proofs, it should be enough.
Sweden

If you're living together, that's the best proof. You don't need every picture or email ever sent, but 1 per week/month is fine. I only sent in 1 Yahoo chat per month, but mostly proof we lived together like our joint rental lease, cell phone accounts, bank accounts, etc. I got PPR very fast (5.5 months).

"Average" for Ottawa seems to be about 7 months from start to getting COPR in the mail. (That's "complete" to Ottawa, when you land is your business I guess )

You can also print out the archives or folder screenshots to show the volume of communication. If the VO needs more, they will tell you - but like I said, proof you live together, make your home together, etc, is far better than any computer/cell phone based proof.