Havana, Cuba

[sassylassie]

well aren't you just the sassylassie!!!

all sass...no class

 

[sassylassie]

OPINIONS PLEASE:

I sent this email to the lawyer who is doing all the translations for me (from wedding docs to visitors visa to perm resident app)

"So I am just finishing the last bit of work on the Application to Sponsor Him as a Permanent Resident. It was suggested to me that we explain any red flags that may pop up from the application. One that may is the fact that my husband as no military service. As you know all Cuban men are required to complete service. He was released due to a family illness. Attached is a letter confirming this. Do you think it is worth translating and including in the app?"

This question arose from an earlier post on this forum

This is his response:
"With regards of the military service matter, I don't think that is a "red-flag" issue, it's true that in Cuba is mandatory, however, the main concern of the Canadian government is if he did a milirary service, because they can see him as a threat to Canada but in this case I do not see any problem.

You have to disclose on the forms that he did not go to the service, and if they require more details and information, they will let you know. Remember that CIC is going to be making more questions if you provide more information.

Just keep it simple, don't lie and provide information just when CIC asks for it.

At this point I do not think you need the translation, what you need is to do a good application to sponsorship and prove that you qualify as an sponsor

If you have any question please call me, I already have the document and if the transaltion makes you feel better just give the green light and I'll translate it."

Opinions? I thought if I get the opinions of a few other ppl it might help me make a better choice.

Thank you again for all your help.

SassyNOClassy :

 

[KJG]

Hey Sassy:

Your counsel is right....do not inclose this letter in your application...it will be needed for the pre when he goes for that.....but my husband was discharged after 3 weeks due to medical issues...so we just put the dates he was there and then we put...discharged due to medical reasons......I did not put a copy of the letter in or his little card saying he was discharged.....Canada just wants to know if he has training and or type of position in the military etc. So if your husband did even a week or two or whatever put those dates down on the form and then put discharged due to family illness........

 

[sassylassie]

Hmmm
He filled the form out as none....since he did not even finish training. Still put those dates?

 

[KJG]

Hmmm
He filled the form out as none....since he did not even finish training. Still put those dates?

my thought sassy is that even if he spent 1 week there the dates should be put down...and put beside it discharged early due to....... obviously the Immigration Officers in Havana know that military time is mandatory so by leaving it blank it would seem to me that they would question that in itself because it is well known cubans cannot leave the country without doing service unless formally discharged for a specific reason......but again that is my opinion........

 

[Avana]

Good Morning everyone!!

TSauretBaxter...OMG your spouse will be here tomorrow!!! Congrats! I hope you have the most amazing reunion!

KJG 4 kids?! Bless you!!! : )

Avana:
So I met my husband last year when I took my mom away for my birthday. I had not had a vacay away since 2008 and really needed one. There was supposed to be a group of 10 of us. Slowly as booking time came everyone backed out for one reason or another. We had all planned to go to Jamaica. I was torn between not going at all and going on vacation alone. I felt strongly that I needed to get away so I booked a one week to Cuba (never been before) but have been to many other all-inclusive Caribbean resorts. At the last min mom was able to get the time off work so I bought her a ticket and she came.
My husband worked on the resort that we went to. At first we were just chatting about music, dancing and Cuban life. I felt a strong connection to him but of course tried to ignore it and be realistic. When it came time for me to go home I requested that we find a way to stay in touch. And that we did, like every day.
That was in November and I went back in December (my Christmas gift from my boss). I am very lucky. He said he could see that I needed to go back to see someone. At first I tried to deny it. I asked to go meet his family and see his town that December.
From there we just built our relationship through calls, texts and visits.
As you guys know only we can know ourselves the genuineness of a relationship. At first my family was supportive but of course concerned about the heartache and distance we would face. My mother already knew him and liked him. When the rest of my family and friends met him and saw us together that first time they were all convinced too.
I would have to say, if his English was not as good as it was then our relationship would not be a relationship today. My Spanish is very basic, and I need a man who can challenge me and be on the same level as me. That is hard when there is a language barrier.

Of course there are more details to our meeting story...but this is the basic story : ) What about you???? How did you meet your man?

Avana...how do you find your flights? Do you use a website? I just looked and saw Cubana Air does fly from Toronto! Whooo hoo! I always wanted to get away for a long weekend, but I always booked online with flightcentre and only see flights through Air Canada, Sunwing and Air Transat. You have given me renewed hope!!!! Seriously I am like Can I get away for the weekend before the baby is born??? I know I know I should not fly in the last trimester...but damn I am tempted.

One question I wanted to ask you guys.....what is the process for staying in your spouse's home after marriage? When I was at the consulate they said "oh you just fly on the visitor's visa and when you land go to the immigration office to switch your visa?!" to me this seems risky non? Anyone had experience with this? BTW the 25KG talk earlier in the week scared the crap outta me. How am I to travel with a baby for 3 months on only 25kg?!? Are they going to charge me for having all those diapers?!? Grrrrr

Oh and yes....it sounds like we are on the same page with $1000 plus phone bills, again we have found ways to curve that.

Ok one more question....application related.....on the top of the sponsorship form it asked if you are not approved do you want to cancel the application and have all fees minus $75 refunded?!? I choose no, continue with the application. Just wanted to get your thoughts on this. Does this mean they will still review his application and may give him perm residence based on his own merits? Just curious how you guys handled this question. To be honest I am not concerned about the approval part. There are really no reasons for them to deny me. I make well over the min. At this point live alone and have no one else to support, and have never sponsored someone.

Ok ladies have a fantastic day!!!

Whoa, so many posts, dont know where to start, so I'll start at the beginning! haha

SassyLassie, what a nice story! Here's a shortened version of mine:

First time I went to Cuba I was 17, it was my first trip alone with my girlfriends, and immediately after I fell in love with the culture, the people, the music... Just about everything but the hotel food.. lol I continued to go for years. I think I had gone 6 times before I met my husband 8 years later. I had been trying to convince my parents (who were big cruisers back then) that they should go to Cuba for a week and see what all the fuss was about. It took some convincing but eventually they agreed, and since I had been before so many times, they invited me to come along with them, and who would turn down a vacay?? haha Anyways, since my parent were choosing they chose a more high end hotel than I was used to, as a young traveler before I had always been booking the deal of the week, but my parents had heard about a wonderful hotel near Holguin. On the very first day (this I remember like it was yesterday), My mom and I were in the pool and my dad was chatting at the pool bar and I noticed one of the guys coming in for his afternoon shift (my now husband), for some reason, we locked eyes from a good distance away while he was talking to someone else. He excused himself, and came straight towards us to introduce himself, we chatted about general things for about 20 mins while we were in the pool and that was it. I didn't think much of it. My mom much later told me that she could feel the electricity going through the air... lol, that night, my parents and I went to the show and my husband was actually the one hosting it so he was occupied. We were sat a few rows back, but as soon as the show ended, he handed the mic off and came straight to me again and asked me to dance. Little did he know I had actually taken salsa lessons before (because of my love of the Cuban culture), and he was quickly impressed that I knew anything at all about it. That week we literally spent every moment we could together. If he had to go work in the sports center, he would come and ask me to come sit with him, if he was working at the gym, he would come and get me. We sat talking for hours, sometimes me and him, and my parents too, who also got along with him really well. When the trip came to an end, he wanted to keep in touch, but I was reluctant, explaining to him that I could never be in a long distance relationship of just a few hr drive, let alone a plane ride away and in a country like Cuba. I didn't want to take his interest seriously and downplayed it a lot. But I did give in and give him my email and phone number. As soon as I came back I started getting emails, and phone calls, and to be honest as much as I was feeling super into him I didnt want to attach myself thinking that I would meet someone at home and forget all about him eventually. Needless to say it didnt happen. We kept in touch for another 8 months before I went back again., then 2 weeks after that trip I went back again. It was becoming obvious to me that I couldnt and wouldnt ignore my feelings by this point. After this second trip I agreed to try to be in a serious relationship. and the rest is history! lol He approached my dad and told him about his feelings for me and if he would approve of his daughter being with someone like him, which my father responded that whoever treats me well and makes me happy is good for him. A year after that he asked my parents permission to propose, and they were complete;y happy and LOVED him by then already! and thats it. Its been a long 4 years since I met him, and cant wait for all this distance business to be over. Like KJG said, Never say Never!! lol

 

[Avana]

As for my weekends, I check EVERYWHERE: air canada (as much as I hate them), Air transat, Cubana, websites like Itravell2000 and selloffvacations will let you book shorter trips too. I dont know exactily how far along you are in your pregnancy but make sure you get it cleared by your doc to be safe!

Like KJG said the process for staying at your spouse's house is not hard but a pain. Just have to go to the local immigration office and they "interview" you and thats it, give you the visa. Its good for a month too!

And yes select to continue the process, if for whatever reason it is denied (im sure it wont), you would be able to appeal the decision!

 

[Avana]

Avana.....weekend trips are awesome......like you said people do it to vegas and to new york city...etc.....and I tell you it is alot quicker to cuba than it is to vegas!!!! Until this year I only had 3 weeks paid holidays so it was work alot of overtime to accumulate extra days off....this year I got 4 weeks and I am still running a week short!!! My boss does not like me to be gone at the end of the month or the beginning of the month so sometimes it is hard...this time it was like I am taking the first week of October off .....my husband has the interview and I am going......he was cool with that.....not much he could say really cause I didn't ask!!!!

That is a very cute idea your husband has....I like it.

Yes your flights out of Montreal are not so much as Toronto that is for sure.

October 4th.....my 3rd child's (2nd son) birthday....hoping it brings us like.....and yes there is nothing like a Cuba countdown going on. The past three years I have lived for them.......like I said this past few months were the toughest because I did not have a predetermined date so it was like double the agony waiting...but all is good....amazing how one phone call can change lives......

I have to say if someone told me 4 years ago what was ahead for me I would have thought they were "loco"....but I have learned in the past three years never to say "never" again.....!!!!

KJG--your so right! when you dont know when you can go back, it makes every day twice as hard!! even if its not that close by, having something to look forward to can make it soooo much easier! Oct 4th will be an awesome awesome day!!

And definitely agree, its almost like whatever you planned on never doing will happen to you on purpose as a karmic told-you-so! haha

 

[Avana]

Hey SassyLassie.....sounds like a famaliar story....LOL......but like you my husband speaks very good english and that definetly was a big factor in our relationship.....and it is important that you challenge one another and have some common interests for sure....

And with respect to the 25kg....diapers are exempt!!! Believe it or not they are it is at the bottom of the page....LOL....but I have a friend arriving back from Cuba this weekend and she took extra luggage and I have another friend arriving back on Monday and she took extra luggage....they both fly into Varadero so I will find out if they are hitting the tourists at all or just the cuban nationals.........

So to stay at your spouse's residence when you fly in.....that day or the next if it is a weekend you go down to the local immigration officer and pay $40 or $50 cuc and they put a little sticker on the back of your tourist visa......you have to bring your passport and your husband must bring his id card......so no worries there........it is time consuming but not hard

And yes you checked the correct box.....what it basically means is if they say you are not eligble to sponsor the file still goes to Havana for processing and in the meantime you can try and clear up about why they said you are ineligble...so it is better to do this otherwise the file just gets shipped back to you and once you clear up the problem you start all over again.

Hope that helps!!!!!

I can imagine all our stories have some elements in common!! hahah

My husband too speaks english really really well!! (and also speaks french, italian and even german--and obvs spanish... lol) Hes really strong in languages! , and of course I agree about the challenge (and oh boy can Cuban men be a challenge at times.. lol, but its good to have someone who wants some of the control, although Ill never allow him to have it all... lol, he already knows and uses often "Happy wife, Happy Life". ;D

 

[Avana]

OPINIONS PLEASE:

I sent this email to the lawyer who is doing all the translations for me (from wedding docs to visitors visa to perm resident app)

"So I am just finishing the last bit of work on the Application to Sponsor Him as a Permanent Resident. It was suggested to me that we explain any red flags that may pop up from the application. One that may is the fact that my husband as no military service. As you know all Cuban men are required to complete service. He was released due to a family illness. Attached is a letter confirming this. Do you think it is worth translating and including in the app?"

This question arose from an earlier post on this forum

This is his response:
"With regards of the military service matter, I don't think that is a "red-flag" issue, it's true that in Cuba is mandatory, however, the main concern of the Canadian government is if he did a milirary service, because they can see him as a threat to Canada but in this case I do not see any problem.

You have to disclose on the forms that he did not go to the service, and if they require more details and information, they will let you know. Remember that CIC is going to be making more questions if you provide more information.

Just keep it simple, don't lie and provide information just when CIC asks for it.

At this point I do not think you need the translation, what you need is to do a good application to sponsorship and prove that you qualify as an sponsor

If you have any question please call me, I already have the document and if the transaltion makes you feel better just give the green light and I'll translate it."

Opinions? I thought if I get the opinions of a few other ppl it might help me make a better choice.

Thank you again for all your help.

SassyNOClassy :

glad KJG answered this one, I had no idea! My husband did his army, so we never thought twice about it. But I would say make sure you keep those discharge documents safe, I have a friend who's been heavily delayed for papers in Cuba because her husband never did his army, although I dont think it was an actual discharge in this case.

BTW, Sassy- where is your husband from?

 

[Avana]

THAT was a lot of posting!! hahaha

 

[sassylassie]

glad KJG answered this one, I had no idea! My husband did his army, so we never thought twice about it. But I would say make sure you keep those discharge documents safe, I have a friend who's been heavily delayed for papers in Cuba because her husband never did his army, although I dont think it was an actual discharge in this case.

BTW, Sassy- where is your husband from?

He is from Santa Clara. I am sure you have been here Avana

 

[sassylassie]

As for my weekends, I check EVERYWHERE: air canada (as much as I hate them), Air transat, Cubana, websites like Itravell2000 and selloffvacations will let you book shorter trips too. I dont know exactily how far along you are in your pregnancy but make sure you get it cleared by your doc to be safe!

Like KJG said the process for staying at your spouse's house is not hard but a pain. Just have to go to the local immigration office and they "interview" you and thats it, give you the visa. Its good for a month too!

And yes select to continue the process, if for whatever reason it is denied (im sure it wont), you would be able to appeal the decision!

Hmm only a month? I wonder If I plan to stay for an add'l two months if I can just go each month to the immigration office and pay to renew?

 

[sassylassie]

Avana...thanks for sharing your story. It was sweet. What a blessing that your parents met him at the same time you did. They got to know him and I am sure having their support really helped you.

 

[Avana]

Avana...thanks for sharing your story. It was sweet. What a blessing that your parents met him at the same time you did. They got to know him and I am sure having their support really helped you.

Im sure that if you plan on staying longer and you let them know they might be able to give you an extended one longer than one month! If not im sure you would have the option to renew! maybe theyre allowed to put however long they want on it, im not rly sure!

Definitely, knowing my parents knew him all along really helped me to feel good about it, and when my friends met him I felt even better!