Hong Kong timeline

[Fencesitter]

Oh, and you should mention that if this wasn't a genuine marriage, why would you fly across the world to be at the interview. I think this is just further proof that your relationship is real. If I were in a fake marriage, I wouldn't want to spend all that money (plus the time) to fly from Canada to HK!

FS

 

[mobeyk]

Good luck Marty 11. I will be in thoughts with you guys.

 

[Marty11]

Thank you guys ! I will keep your good wishes in my thoughts.

 

[Fencesitter]

My wife's been chatting with some folks on QQ (like MSN). 8 cases where the couple had a child got processed in 6-months (this includes the sponsorship approval timeline)! Amazing! So actually, the HK office is not so slow. They also seem to process applicants from Guangdong a lot faster than Fujian or Hainan Island. I guess that sort of makes sense, as there are a high number of marriage of convenience cases out of Fujian (not sure about Hainan).

My wife knows of 4 other cases that are exactly the same as ours: white Canadian sponsoring wife from Guangdong and they have a child. All 4 cases were processed super fast!

I really can't wait! I'm so excited to get back to my home in Canada! It will be so great to finally be able to breath fresh air again...go fishing...camping...regular rounds of golf...FOOD! One more week and I'm on holiday for 2-months...will be great to be home with my wife and son....

Have a good Canada Day and let's hope CIC keeps up the great work!!

FS

 

[Marty11]

Hey, FS,

I am thinking that you guys, with a child will be processed within 6-7 months at most, including Stage 1. Which means that you could be home for Christmas, as I told you earlier.
Being to HK VO, I think the guys do an amazing job there, filtering the real, genuine cases from the rest.

And Happy Canada Day to you as well !

 

[mobeyk]

What you guys think of my case?
I have 2 kids and divorced 4 years ago, she has none and was single, She is 39, I am 44, we met online October 15 2010, i visited china Jan 2011 for 6 weeks, visiting her family for 3 weeks, we married June 2011, none of my small family was there as my parents are busy with the farm, my sister lives in Germany is single mom, my uncles and aunt are in iran, no aunt or uncles from moms side. We had two receptions in china, one in her hometown and one at parents hometown, both well documented with 50 and 80 guests. I visited again in January 2012, where we spent 8 weeks together. We have all flight tickets, hotel receipts, 1.5 years worth of emails and chat logs. cards from her to my parents and kids drawings including a family drawing from my daughter showing my wife included in whole family. I have proof of supporting her. She is trading stocks but i help her when needed to pay expenses. I even included the itinerary for my upcoming august trip.
we included all emails and only half of chat logs * 600 pages*, over 200 photos, sorted by event, date or trip. What you guys think of our case?

 

[Marty11]

I think you have a strong case as well. Timeline is very similar to mine. They 'smell" immediately a genuine relationship as opposed to a fake one. Having so much proof you for sure have a strong case. Just have to be patient with the process. You may fall, like me, in the first 20-30% of straightforward cases, meaning processed in the first 6-7 months. The families with children get processed faster (like FS). We are in the second line I guess, but still ok. So do not worry, just keep all evidence as time progresses, chat logs, phone calls logs, plane tickets, tickets to attractions and so on.
Good luck to us all.

 

[jayyvr]

Hello all,
I have been leeching on this forum for a few days now and I'm now joining the club. Waiting begins.

I'm sponsoring my common-law partner (lesbian couple) to Canada, application to CPC-M received on Jun 25.
Meds done Jun 14. We are both Chinese.

Here's our case:
I was in China since Dec 2010, and I met her online in early Feb 2011. We confirmed our relationship late Feb 2011 and I visited her in her city.
We took a trip together in early March and then I had to be in HK for 2 weeks due to my Chinese visa expiring. We decided in March that we wanted to live together, so in April she moved to Shenzhen. Another point that is detrimental to our case is that I have sponsored someone 4 years ago, and that person left me just 3 months after landing. I suspected there was fraud involved but there's nothing I can do except reporting it to CIC.

Evidence:
1. A lease where we began living together, 6 months in total. However the lease was signed by her alone, as it's a hassle for a foreigner to sign any documents.
2. Restaurant receipts, Ikea receipts showing purchase of household items, receipts of gifts to her
3. Train tickets for trips taken inside China, boarding passes for a trip to Philippines
4. Photos of trips, dinner with friends, trips with friends, random daily photos
5. Proof of separation and explanation about my previous sponsorship (Emails in 2008 reporting my ex-partner's misrepresentation etc.)
6. Love letters from my partner
7. Phone logs showing calls to each other
8. Excerpts of QQ chat logs during our first 2 months of relationship (You can imagine people who live together wouldn't chat on QQ as often.)
9. Courier slips showing our address for online purchases (Taobao, equivalent to eBay)
10. Utilities bills in my name, and Maintenance fees paid by her
11. Printouts of internet banking transfers to her, about once every month
12. Photocopies of her HK&Macau Entry Permit showing trips to HK together
13. Development of relationship written in my partner's perspective (love story)
14. Movie tickets (about 20 movies for 2)
15. Plans to return to Canada (New condo completing in Oct 2012)
16. Statement from my best friend confirming the development of our relationship

Except everything listed in the checklist, the list above is everything I included as supplementary documents if my memories serve right.

I have 3 clear plastic folders in my application. The first one included all forms by sponsor and applicant and all other essential documents in the checklist like police certificate and medical report. The second I have all the printouts, photocopies or receipts, phone logs and chat logs. The third are the items with sentimental values, ie photos, trips receipts etc. I grouped my photos and receipts by trips, ie. photos to Philippines and e-tickets, together with hotel invoice and other trip receipts into a clear ziploc bag. We have a few trips to HK and Macau as well, and I grouped the show tickets or entrance receipts that way. I have a few of those ziploc bags in my supplementary documents folder.

Since I have done all of this before, I am familiar to the whole process. I was initially reluctant to go through this whole thing again, not that I don't love my girlfriend, but because of the fear of rejection and the stress of living the whole thing, waiting and interview etc. However, after a year or so in China, I can only confirm that not only emotionally I hate China, financially I wasn't doing well and my career here is not going anywhere. I wish to return to Canada as soon as possible where I was raised and was respected as a citizen. I felt foreign the whole time I'm here. I cannot be myself being a lesbian in China, and I cannot even qualify for a credit card due to my visa status, let alone getting a supplementary card or opening a joint account with my lesbian partner. I can say this is all fate I have to come back here for my family, and then meeting someone whom I have never planned to. I have been single for 3 years after my last sponsorship, and if it wasn't for her, I really don't have the courage to go through with it again.

Well, that's my long story.

Any support or advice is much appreciated.

Jay

ps. Once I receive my file number, I will send additional call logs, photos, statements from friends and family, and an insurance policy showing her as beneficiary.

 

[Fencesitter]

I feel your pain in terms of the whole living in China thing. It's not easy, but hey, like they say about New York, if you can make it (survive) in China, you can make it (survive) anywhere...

I think the previous sponsorship will be a red flag, even though it was not your fault. This will be something you need to consider.

Are you 100% sure that your partner is not just using you to gain status in Canada? If it were me, I'd be suspicious, especially seeing how the last relationship turned out.

Aside from that, there's nothing I can say except, go for it. You have nothing to lose!

Good luck!

FS

 

[Fencesitter]

What you guys think of my case?
I have 2 kids and divorced 4 years ago, she has none and was single, She is 39, I am 44, we met online October 15 2010, i visited china Jan 2011 for 6 weeks, visiting her family for 3 weeks, we married June 2011, none of my small family was there as my parents are busy with the farm, my sister lives in Germany is single mom, my uncles and aunt are in iran, no aunt or uncles from moms side. We had two receptions in china, one in her hometown and one at parents hometown, both well documented with 50 and 80 guests. I visited again in January 2012, where we spent 8 weeks together. We have all flight tickets, hotel receipts, 1.5 years worth of emails and chat logs. cards from her to my parents and kids drawings including a family drawing from my daughter showing my wife included in whole family. I have proof of supporting her. She is trading stocks but i help her when needed to pay expenses. I even included the itinerary for my upcoming august trip.
we included all emails and only half of chat logs * 600 pages*, over 200 photos, sorted by event, date or trip. What you guys think of our case?

You're golden...no worries about your case at all. You are married and everything is legit, so there is really nothing for them to doubt. I'm not sure about the timeline, but like Marty said, you'll probably fall within the 20-30%...perhaps even faster.

As long as you have documented everything, which you have, then I see the VO processing you within normal standards, that is, no additional requests and no interview.

For our case, having a child together is something I feel will push our case through faster...plus we met in person, lived together since 2006, and have loads of evidence documenting our relationship. My parents came to visit us shortly after we got married (when I was on holiday)...so that's something else that we have going for us...

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how fast the process goes once our files have reached the HK VO. And let's not even think about applications being returned or additional documents requested...it won't happen! I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I spent hours and hours reading over everything and making sure I checked each form to ensure completeness. My wife thought I was being 'too much,' but actually I was just trying to make sure that everything was covered to avoid delays and get the visa processed as quickly as possible.

My only concern is how they will send the approval. I much rather have them e-mail me, as it could take a while for an actual letter to arrive from Canada. I'm guessing they realize this and will e-mail the approval...I'll be checking my e-mail every single day for the next couple of weeks!!!

Good luck mobeyk...but you don't need it...you and I are going to get approved and our families will be in Canada very soon!!!

FS

 

[jayyvr]

I feel your pain in terms of the whole living in China thing. It's not easy, but hey, like they say about New York, if you can make it (survive) in China, you can make it (survive) anywhere...

I think the previous sponsorship will be a red flag, even though it was not your fault. This will be something you need to consider.

Are you 100% sure that your partner is not just using you to gain status in Canada? If it were me, I'd be suspicious, especially seeing how the last relationship turned out.

Aside from that, there's nothing I can say except, go for it. You have nothing to lose!

Good luck!

FS

Thanks for the response!
Yes indeed, my case is quite straightforward except my previous sponsorship. I can tell the difference between my last one and this. I was very cautious at the beginning, but everything just turned out fine.

In terms of documentation, do you think I have enough? Did I miss anything? Would you add something else if it's your case?

 

[Fencesitter]

I think the evidence you mentioned above is fine. You'll also want to be sure to include a detailed plan for your intention to return to Canada with your partner. In addition, I would write a detailed account of what happened with the last person you sponsored (detailed enough to ensure the visa officer doesn't think you are committing fraud, but not to the point where you give out too much information - balance is key).

I'm not sure if this applies to common-law partners, but there is a 5 year waiting period for sponsorship. You might want to check this out to ensure you are eligible to sponsor.

I think it's great that Canada is progressive and open enough to accept gay marriage. It always astounds me how much importance the politicians in the US place on this non-issue.

Good luck!

FS

 

[jayyvr]

I think the evidence you mentioned above is fine. You'll also want to be sure to include a detailed plan for your intention to return to Canada with your partner. In addition, I would write a detailed account of what happened with the last person you sponsored (detailed enough to ensure the visa officer doesn't think you are committing fraud, but not to the point where you give out too much information - balance is key).

I'm not sure if this applies to common-law partners, but there is a 5 year waiting period for sponsorship. You might want to check this out to ensure you are eligible to sponsor.

I think it's great that Canada is progressive and open enough to accept gay marriage. It always astounds me how much importance the politicians in the US place on this non-issue.

Good luck!

FS

Yes, I had those 2 points covered in my application. I put myself in the shoes of VO and looked at my own application and I can see that this will be a red flag and I put effort to address those concerns. It was a pretty nasty breakup and I went thru hell. I have put in an explanation letter, and letters to CIC reporting this case. If deemed necessary, I will include evidence of my psychologic review, hospital records, and transcripts of meetings with lawyers and authorities, just to show that I was traumatized and had nothing to do with the fraud. I even joined a support group of marriage scam victims who went through similar things. I guess the government had listened and enacted laws such as the conditional permanent residence, which is completely fine if the relationship is genuine.

And I checked the waiting period for sponsorship of spouse, partners etc is 3 years, which has already lapsed.

I'm grateful to my country, Canada, for having laws that protects and respects everyone. That's why I must return asap.

I have yet to find a similar case as mine applying through HK office. Yet I believe everyone has their own stories, and every story has their own little twists.

Good luck to you too!! This place is great!

 

[steaky]

I'm grateful to my country, Canada, for having laws that protects and respects everyone. That's why I must return asap.

I used to thought that way too. But now, after my incident with BC traffic police and the case below, I don't take this for granted:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/01/04/bc-ward.html

Yes, Canada have laws but it doesn't mean that police officers enforce it and protects and respects everyone.

 

[Fencesitter]

What difference does it make if the police 'thought' this Ward guy had a pie? There are laws in place to protect us against this kind of thing. That story is shocking and definitely a reminder that even though Canada is a good country, there are still instances when police abuse their power. Unlike China, though, at least you can go after them and sue. Try doing that in China and see what happens, or more aptly, what doesn't happen.

FS