How I organized our applcation and a summary of all helpful tips I have learned

[pelipeli]

u will get it honey don't worry i feel bad a little that i got it before, but i'm sure overall u will b done before us, ur VO is so fast.... unfortunately noone is immune, there's a queue and everybody waits their turn....but u know it's so far from Ottawa to Edmonton for a snail mail
for me it will b triple stress: visa, my own movement back and cat relocation....i'll follow ur progress

thanks missmini, no you don't have to feel bad.. and u r probably right, our VO is fast as compared to others.. I hope I will get some good news today, I am going to call CIC..

 

[canadiangirl78]

maybe cuz they made special meeting around her file to take tips on how to organize their own work and office LOL

LOL!!! you always make me laugh missmini.

 

[pelipeli]

I just called CIC, and I think it is always my bad luck that my calls get answered by a not so friendly agent. This is the third time I called ever since, and all of them were snobbish and unfriendly.

Anyways, the agent confirmed that it's in their system that they received my application January 25th but no decision has been made yet.

First she even asked the date I submitted my application and she said as per website they are still working on January 19. I said I have a friend who submitted January 30 and when she called CIC , they checked the system and it was found out that they are sponsor approved already, so maybe if she would just check the system for me she can give me more information.. so that's the only time she checked the system.

And oh , she said that the 88 days in the website is 88 days processing from the day they start processing the file and not the day they received it (that's just plain BS!)

Anyways, I am heartbroken that there is no sponsorship approval yet but at least I can rest my fears that my application was lost or misplaced.
I think I am going to call again this afternoon then tomorrow, and everyday until I get the good news. :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

[tink23]

I just checked the processing times and it says 82 days and that they are currently working on applications received February 1st.... so u should hear something!
I wonder if any of the call centre people have ever gone through the process themselves. Maybe if they had they would be a little kinder to people calling when they haven't heard anything for 3 months!

 

[pelipeli]

I just checked the processing times and it says 82 days and that they are currently working on applications received February 1st.... so u should hear something!
I wonder if any of the call centre people have ever gone through the process themselves. Maybe if they had they would be a little kinder to people calling when they haven't heard anything for 3 months!

thanks tink,

I did call again this afternoon, knowing that its already Feb 1 on the cic website, but then same answer, and the agent said maybe they are just doing some final verifications.
So maybe I'll call again tomorrow...

 

[parker24]

thanks tink,

I did call again this afternoon, knowing that its already Feb 1 on the cic website, but then same answer, and the agent said maybe they are just doing some final verifications.
So maybe I'll call again tomorrow...

I have gotten some rude people too, usually towards the end of the day. Try calling at the beginning of the day, like 8am EST (or just after). They are A LOT more friendly since they are just getting started. That's just what I find when calling, hopefully it's true for any agent!

 

[pelipeli]

I have gotten some rude people too, usually towards the end of the day. Try calling at the beginning of the day, like 8am EST (or just after). They are A LOT more friendly since they are just getting started. That's just what I find when calling, hopefully it's true for any agent!

thanks parker, i thought of that too, so i called at 8:04 am (thus cic website not updated yet) and still got a rude one. lol. maybe she hasnt taken her breakfast or she is still applying her makeup on when I called , haha.

 

[Fencesitter]

When I called I prefaced my call by mentioning the unprofessional attitude of the last call center agent I spoke with about my app. I then went on to say that I hope this will be a different experience. It worked. The woman I spoke to was very friendly, but the problem this time was that she had no clue what she was talking about! So, the next time I call, I will preface my query with the same and include the latter. Hopefully the next time I will get a friendly AND knowledgable agent....though I think that's a bit of an oxymoron.

FS

 

[pelipeli]

When I called I prefaced my call by mentioning the unprofessional attitude of the last call center agent I spoke with about my app. I then went on to say that I hope this will be a different experience. It worked. The woman I spoke to was very friendly, but the problem this time was that she had no clue what she was talking about! So, the next time I call, I will preface my query with the same and include the latter. Hopefully the next time I will get a friendly AND knowledgable agent....though I think that's a bit of an oxymoron.

FS

i'l try that next time, thanks FS! I even made a mistake of asking a followup question then she said "let me finish speaking" haha, my gosh, what a &!#<%... lol.

 

[Fencesitter]

Yeah, well, once this is all over, I would love to call back and let them know what exactly I think of their level of service - and also make sure to note that I want the call recorded!

FS

 

[Emily2301]

Thanks =) to answer your question, you could do your development of rel'p in a more fact-based, objective way, like give dates, major events that you consider milestones in your rel'p. then you can do your relationship essay in a more subjective way like talk about how you feel, how you fell in love, what made you think he's the one, focus on your compatibility as a couple, etc.. =)

Good luck to you!

P.S. don't worry, you could do a lot more reading to help you organize yours. some even put their forms in plastic sleeves ;D

Thanks for the reply! I will take that into consideration. A more fact-based, objective overwiew would probably be a good idea. Hmm, I gotta try this! Thank you! I will keep checking in Good luck to you! Oh, and yes, I did a lot of reading...maybe even too much, sometimes I'm driving myself crazy! ???

 

[Emily2301]

hi Emily....for us the development ended up also like an essay and we left it like that....but me (the sponsor) i made a timeline (table) with the important events on our relationship; just in case somebody will fall asleep reading a long essay s/he can look over that table directly and skip the essay...just make sure that somewhere (the essay, point based list, table) u will go through ur relationship evidence too (like this they will understand what u include where and why)....i think any way is good, as long as it makes u confortable and as clear and easier as possible for them

Hi missmini, that is a GREAT idea!! I started thinking about something like this when I read pelipeli's response. I want it to be clear and easy to look over and at the same time I didn't want to delete my hard work :-( And I thought that it was good that I wrote it in a more personal way. But then I realized that I also didn't want to repeat myself several times by writing another essay. I guess I kinda mixed those two things up (development and additional essay) Making a table is the perfect solution! Thank you! I knew that I had to reference the relationship evidence, and I was planning on including that in the essay. But again, the table/list seems to be perfect for that! I'm amazed how difficult it can be to think of the best way of answering a question. I thought I was fine, then got confused, and now it seems so clear! I just love the forum for that Btw, I'm applying under common-law and I was wondering where to include my proof of common-law...with the other relationship proof or with my application (attached to the sponsored spouse/partner questionnaire?? Thanks for the input!!

 

[missmini]

Hi missmini, that is a GREAT idea!! I started thinking about something like this when I read pelipeli's response. I want it to be clear and easy to look over and at the same time I didn't want to delete my hard work :-( And I thought that it was good that I wrote it in a more personal way. But then I realized that I also didn't want to repeat myself several times by writing another essay. I guess I kinda mixed those two things up (development and additional essay) Making a table is the perfect solution! Thank you! I knew that I had to reference the relationship evidence, and I was planning on including that in the essay. But again, the table/list seems to be perfect for that! I'm amazed how difficult it can be to think of the best way of answering a question. I thought I was fine, then got confused, and now it seems so clear! I just love the forum for that Btw, I'm applying under common-law and I was wondering where to include my proof of common-law...with the other relationship proof or with my application (attached to the sponsored spouse/partner questionnaire?? Thanks for the input!!

hi Emily sorry for the delay....that is actually a tricky question, i did see many having the same issue....i would include it with the relationship but at the beginning cuz it's more important....if u put it separate u will see that some things might overlap (u would start to have questions like: is this more for the relationship or more for common-law? like the support letters - they can b included in both but u shouldn't put 2 copies of the same thing and also u would want to keep them together; or travelling same thing - important for both, and so on; u can make a toc and main sections like supporting letters, cohabitation proofs, joint assets, finance, memberships (all the joint things), travelling, communication, etc....then under each one u will put a short description of the actual proof....this way is inspired from Love_Young organization and TOC, do search for it
same if u put it with the sponsor or the sponsored part, it's hard to decide which to include where....
i think if u have that common-law paper signed then u can put that together with the additional documents for the sponsored person, in ghe group where u need to show civil status docs....it really depends on how much u have too, u don't want to make the sponsor or sponsored package too bulky....anyway wherever u put it just reference it well and refer to those proofs in the questions from the forms
if u apply for common-law then the table is more important cuz they need to clearly see how ur relationship developed and since when u lived together and where (some people might live together continously but in different places/countries)

as for ur other question abt the address: it's ok to put Canadian mailing and/or residential address even if ur visa office is berlin...it is actually a normal frequent way and it's ur right to apply through berlin based on ur nationality we r in similar situation (mailing/residential address in one part of the world, visa office in other part based on the nationality)....good luck!!

 

[Emily2301]

hi Emily sorry for the delay....that is actually a tricky question, i did see many having the same issue....i would include it with the relationship but at the beginning cuz it's more important....if u put it separate u will see that some things might overlap (u would start to have questions like: is this more for the relationship or more for common-law? like the support letters - they can b included in both but u shouldn't put 2 copies of the same thing and also u would want to keep them together; or travelling same thing - important for both, and so on; u can make a toc and main sections like supporting letters, cohabitation proofs, joint assets, finance, memberships (all the joint things), travelling, communication, etc....then under each one u will put a short description of the actual proof....this way is inspired from Love_Young organization and TOC, do search for it
same if u put it with the sponsor or the sponsored part, it's hard to decide which to include where....
i think if u have that common-law paper signed then u can put that together with the additional documents for the sponsored person, in ghe group where u need to show civil status docs....it really depends on how much u have too, u don't want to make the sponsor or sponsored package too bulky....anyway wherever u put it just reference it well and refer to those proofs in the questions from the forms
if u apply for common-law then the table is more important cuz they need to clearly see how ur relationship developed and since when u lived together and where (some people might live together continously but in different places/countries)

as for ur other question abt the address: it's ok to put Canadian mailing and/or residential address even if ur visa office is berlin...it is actually a normal frequent way and it's ur right to apply through berlin based on ur nationality we r in similar situation (mailing/residential address in one part of the world, visa office in other part based on the nationality)....good luck!!

Hi missmini, thank you a lot for your answer! It is quite complicated... but I see that it makes sense to make one big envelope with proof of relationship and divide this in 2 sections: general proof and common law proof. That way I can refer to one big folder and tell them in which section to look for whatever. And I was planning on making coversheets/indexes for sure, one short one for each piece of evidence actually(to describe which bank account it is for example and what they will find there, or phone bill etc) and then one table of content (listing all the different proofs) for each one of the two sections relationship/common-law. I'm starting to get a better idea! I will look up the post you mentioned, thank you! And I was thinking I would put the declaration of common law with my papers (applicant) or proof of common law since for the sponsor they only ask for it if he had a co-signer which is not the case. But I was wondering about that, too.
Lastly, thank you for your answer about the address; I thought that it was ok, but then I stated doubting myself again. Brain-mush! waah!

 

[missmini]

ooh i'm sorry if it sounded complicated, the thing is once u sent and u managed to organize it somehow it looks clear after LoL but i know that once u have all the proofs laying around everywhere it's not easy to actually decide how to organize especially since the same checklist might refer to the same proofs in different parts of it and it's hard to decide what should go where....that's why peli's thread is a gem especially cuz it has pictures ...i don't think there's the perfect way in doing it, just follow their instructions (no binders etc) and try to make sure they have a clear idea what's included in the package and where they could find it....don't repeat urself and try to have a header on each page with some number, ur names and a title (or at least on as many pages as possible)
but i'm happy u start to get a better picture abt how u'll do it me too i think that toc's, indexes r very important and also outlines or short description for each groups of proofs if needed....don't leave anything unanswered or in doubt... and yeah i remember now that at the sponsor side that common law paper was in case there's a co-signer so better include it in the applicant side, as u said