Got accepted in 4 months - a useful tip

[drahkur]

Hi there,

My husband and I started the application just over 4 months ago and received the final acceptance/confirmation letter today.

Based on what I'm understanding about the process and what I've found is that a longer application is in no way better (at least if you're American**). I have seen many posts of people sending in hundreds of pictures, 500 pages of chat, correspondence with their family etc., and the application ends up as a 1000 page textbook. This is ridiculous and all it is going to do is significantly hinder your application. The people looking at the applications aren't idiots - they don't need 500 pages of chat to see that your relationship is genuine. It bogs down the process and makes it harder to parse through it all.


Just thought I'd part with some wisdom to help others. Good luck all.

 

[Amalthea]

This greatly depends on individual circumstances, what visa office you are applying thru, common-law or married, etc

Americans aren't put through the ringer like other countries are, so it's unfair to tell someone from a highly-scrutinized visa office that they only need to send in 10 pictures.

 

[canadianwoman]

Thanks for the information, but please also tell us what country the applicant was from, and if there were any red flags in the relationship.

Some of the very long applications have been from people from 'difficult' countries. People whose relationships seem suspicious also need more evidence.

 

[drahkur]

This greatly depends on individual circumstances, what visa office you are applying thru, common-law or married, etc

Americans aren't put through the ringer like other countries are, so it's unfair to tell someone from a highly-scrutinized visa office that they only need to send in 10 pictures.

I'm sure it does, to a degree. Sending in a 1000 page textbook is still not in your best interest. I've seen a guide on here explaining that it's what you need to do.

In no way am I saying you only need to send 10 pictures. It's just that a lot of people seem to go way overboard and it doesn't help.

 

[chelctron]

Looking for some advice. My fiance and I are due to be married very shortly. We recently found out that we are expecting a little one in May and for the benefit of our child's future have decided to go through a sponsorship application so that we can raise our family in Ontario. He is a Canadian citizen and has a five year old son living on their reserve (our initial plan was to move his son to the U.S once he got on his feet which, due to some discrepancies between DHS and the Social Security Office took much longer than we had hoped). We desperately want to be united with his family so that we can ensure that our baby has a solid foundation in which to be raised. Living arrangements are already settled. We'd be living on the Eagle Lake reserve (he is 100% Ojibwe) in a cabin that was built by him and his family.
The timing unfortunately is terrible. Before reading all of the laws for entering Canada, we were hopeful that we could deliver the baby in Dryden so that his family could be with us. It looks like this is not going to happen and so now we are having to move to Wisconsin and will be residing there until our sponsorship application is processed (when we are actually able to submit it).
The advice I am looking for refers to the application process. I want it to go smoothly and when I read that yours only took 4 months, I had a spark of hope. I know that they will want to see the marriage certificate but what else do we need to be ready to provide? How did you submit your photos? Did you have your family help by providing statements declaring the legitimacy of the relationship/marriage? We aren't going to be able to afford a ceremony with the dress and the cake and we really just want a quiet wedding done in the privacy of the courthouse. Neither of us are fond of pictures and so there really aren't very many that exist right now.
I'm so nervous that we are going to spend money that we really don't have on the application fee only to have it take forever and possibly be denied....

 

[Sous02]

Hi there,

My husband and I started the application just over 4 months ago and received the final acceptance/confirmation letter today.

Based on what I'm understanding about the process and what I've found is that a longer application is in no way better (at least if you're American**). I have seen many posts of people sending in hundreds of pictures, 500 pages of chat, correspondence with their family etc., and the application ends up as a 1000 page textbook. This is ridiculous and all it is going to do is significantly hinder your application. The people looking at the applications aren't idiots - they don't need 500 pages of chat to see that your relationship is genuine. It bogs down the process and makes it harder to parse through it all.


Just thought I'd part with some wisdom to help others. Good luck all.

Comparing an American sponsorship to Canada to the rest of our applications is apples to oranges.

 

[desertFlower]

Hi drahkur!!
I am somehow agree with you!
The quality is more important than the quantity of provided documents.
It also depends of the visa office.
My husband also get his visa in 4 months from Cairo (so not only USA...).
Good luck to everybody! 8)

 

[canadianwoman]

Looking for some advice. My fiance and I are due to be married very shortly. ...

Are you an American? If you are, it is unlikely your application will be denied.
The applicant has to have a medical exam that includes an x-ray. It is not advised to have an x-ray when pregnant. Some doctors will do it, with a shield and late in the pregnancy, but it is preferable to just wait until after the baby is born. That means you can either get the rest of the medical done now, and then wait until after the birth to get the x-ray, or just wait to do the whole medical after the birth. CIC won't process the application until the x-ray is submitted.
You don't need a big, elaborate wedding. A small court wedding will be fine, for an American-Canadian couple. Try to make it look special: get dressed up, exchange rings, have flowers, take photos, maybe have a small reception afterwards, even if it is just dinner at a restaurant, go on a honeymoon - anything that helps make it look like it is a special day for you two.
Since you (probably) won't be submitting the application until after the baby is born, try to gather proof your relationship is genuine while waiting. Take a few photos, meet each other's friends and family, etc.
One thing the visa officer looks for is that the applicant has as close a relationship as possible with the sponsor's children. If you are not already close, try to improve your relationship with the child. At the very least, you should know a lot about him.

 

[Andynd1uk]

My wife and I sent in over 1000 pages of Skype calls and text messages and I got COPR within 4 months. The size of the application shouldn't have any affect whatsoever. It really does depend on what visa office your application is sent to. Some are faster at processing your application than others.

 

[singviet]

Like others are saying, it depends on the visa office and the applicant's situation. Saying "Hey guys! I got approved in 4 months, you're all doing it wrong!" is silly.

There may not be a need to send 1000 photos, but I also do not see why it would hurt one's application. It's not like the visa officer needs to go through all 1000 photos with a fine-toothed comb and that would take more time and slow the process down at all. Likely they just skim whatever you send, and put a checkmark in a box. Seeing 1000 photos might make them feel more confident in checking that box, especially when the applicant is from a highly-scrutinized country or in an atypical situation.

 

[ImABule]

Comparing an American sponsorship to Canada to the rest of our applications is apples to oranges.

Exactly

+1

 

[mikeymyke]

I sent in like 400 photos, 1000 pages of chat logs, but that's only because my wife's office is the notorious Singapore VO, a visa office with one of the highest refusal rates, one of the longest processing times, and a long interview queue wait time. Even if the visa officer doesn't care about the extra proofs, what harm does it do to send in a lot of proofs? It doesn't really take me that much more time to send in 400 pics vs 300 pics, I just simply have to drag/click my mouse a bit further for more.

If my wife was American, I definitely wouldn't be sending in anywhere near this amount of proof. But people definitely should send in more if they have a more difficult visa office, or they have red flags in their relationship. Whether or not the officer will disregard the extra proof doesn't matter, bottom line is it definitely doesn't hurt to send in extra stuff, but it will definitely more likely to hurt if you send in less. Why not err on the safe side?

Also as others mentioned, your partner is an American, they pretty much have the easiest path to PR out of all the countries out there. You could take a photo of the two of you getting married in Vegas drunk, one of you is 70 the other is 19 yrs old, and your partner would still be granted PR faster than someone from a poorer country who have no red flags other than the fact they're from a poorer country.

But if you look at my application, my wife is from a very high marriage fraud risk country. Pretty much 90% of people from there have an interview. Yet because of our strong application, she got PR in under 6 months. If she was American, I can guarantee she'd be in her a lot quicker if I just sent in maybe 20 pics of us.

 

[Buletruck]

I agree with the OP. We sent about 50 pictures (4 to a page), the support letters, travel history and passport stamps for a total of about 75 pages. 5 1/2 months for the whole process and that involved a request for a PC from the RCMP. And through the SVO......Quality over quantity....Given the volume of applications they process, I really doubt they spend hours going through 1000's of photo's and chat logs.

 

[Buletruck]

I agree with the OP. We sent about 50 pictures (4 to a page), the support letters, travel history and passport stamps for a total of about 75 pages. 5 1/2 months for the whole process and that involved a request for a PC from the RCMP. And through the SVO......Quality over quantity....Given the volume of applications they process, I really doubt they spend hours going through 1000's of photo's and chat logs.