Hi evryone! ;D
Ok, so we are finally finished with our application package. After months of compiling, laying out, filling out, printing, organizing, labelling, stressing, we are ready to send this baby.
I just thought I would share how I organized our application to help those who are just starting out (like me, a few months ago).
I will also provide a comprehensive summary of all the “tips” I learned from this forum during all these months of reading thru the posts and asking my questions.I know how it feels like to be a newbie in this process, and I really appreciate all those who have answered my queries. I could never have done this without this forum. So here I am, paying it forward. I hope this will help a lot. =)
First, the application package ready for mailing. I put everything in a long expanding envelope which will be put in a box at the courier's (from what I have read). I guess I'll know after I have mailed this baby =)
Inside the expanding envelope are:
a. The document checklist
b. Cover sheet – which just basically says:
APPLICATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE
FAMILY CLASS – SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP
Sponsor:
ABCDEF GHIJK – client ID XXXX-XXXX
Sponsored Spouse:
LMNOP QRSTUV
Please find herewith the following application forms and documents organized as follows:
Envelope 1- Sponsor forms and supporting documents
Envelope 2- Sponsored person's forms and supporting documents
Envelope 3- Proof of genuine relationship
c. The 3 envelopes stated above
Here is how the three envelopes were labeled:
Inside the envelopes:
ENVELOPE 1: Sponsor forms and supporting documents (33 pages)
Contains:
1. A table of contents enumerating all the forms and documents included with number of pages
2. All the required sponsor forms and documents (plus additional sheets for more relationship details)
What I did:
a. Each form with more than 1 page is paperclipped.
b. I used those red post-it tabs at the side (which do not leave a mark when removed) to label each form and document
ENVELOPE 2: Sponsored spouse form and supporting documents (97 pages*)
Contains:
1. A table of contents enumerating all the forms and documents included with number of pages
2. All the required sponsored spouse forms and documents (plus additional sheets for more relationship details)
3. *This set reached 96 pages because of the additional pages on the sponsored persons questionnaire where we included documentary evidences for :
a. Q#9 – Developemt of relationship (trips, dates, etc)
b. Q#15 – Wedding ceremony (photos)
c. Q#18 – Wedding reception (photos)
-could have been more if only we had a honeymoon =(
What I did:
a. Each form with more than 1 page is paperclipped or binder clipped depending on thickness
b. I used those red post-it tabs at the side (which do not leave a mark when removed) to label each form and document
c. As you can see, I put the pages with barcodes at the top of the set (as instructed in the guide).
d. I also included here Appendix A-Checklist specific for Philippines. This should have been on top but since there is an instruction to put the barcodes on top, I put the checklist after all the forms instead (before the supporting documents)
e. Any additonal sheet we attached, we put the name of sponsored person, date of birth, name of form, question number and the question being answered
f. I don't know if it is required but any additional sheets we attached, we signed (per set, not per page)
ENVELOPE 3: Proof of relationship (313 pages)
Contains:
1. A main table of contents summarizing how i divided the documents and number of pages
2. 3 main sections:
a. Photos
b. Communication
c. Other Documents
What I did:
a. For each of the three sections, a cover sheet is provided summarizing the contents. See below for more details
b. All documents were scanned. (except for the actual wedding invite we provided) I used Microsoft Publisher to layout all the photos, letters, cards, etc.
c. I used those red post-it tabs at the side (which do not leave a mark when removed) to label each main section and sub sections as indicated on the cover sheets
d. Binder clips were used to divide the three main sections
What is included:
a. Photos :
This is what is stated on the cover sheet:
The following photos show our relationship through the years from the year that we met in 2006 until our latest photos in 2012. The photos are arranged in chronological order, and captioned accordingly for the people in the photo, event or ocassion, date and place taken, and person/s who took the photo. To give a bird's eyeview of the entire photo set, here is our relationship timeline as depicted in the photos:
2006- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2007-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2008-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2009-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2010-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2011-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2012-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I also explained that:
• I used Microsoft Publisher to lay out several photos on one sheet instead of printing on photo paper, that this is more economical and organized.
• that captions and narrations are done in third person point of view since it gets rather confusing when using first person pronouns since my husband and I both did the captions.
Tip: We included photos that really depicted the development of our relationship. We included photos of not just us, but us with family member s and friends, highlghting special ocassions, showing activities we enjoy doing. We also made it a point to show “passage of time”. Like changes in weight, hairstyle, and also photos of us with nephews and our dog from the time they are little up to present, and we included a note at the earliest photo with them, indicating or referenicing that earliest photo to the page numbers where we have photos with them as they grow older.
Total photos included: (i will still be counting -lol ;D ) Total pages: 77 pages
b. Communication
In the coversheet, I explained the following:
• normal forms of communications we have
• the lack of various evidences (like chat logs, phone bills)
• That scanned copies were sent and not originals, for sentimental value. But if they deem it necessary to still see originals then we will provide them at a later date upon request
• That envelpes are not postmarked since all were hand delivered
• That we often converse in our native language and thus some are not in English. However, we have provided English translations which were done by us to the best of our abilities (since these are non-official forms and documents). However, should they require official or certified translations , we will provide them at a later date upon request
• That we sometimes use pet names or nicknames in the letters and gave examples and meanings of these pet names (the VO may get confused as to whom the addressees on the letters are)
Tips: Whenever there are sentences not in English, we highlighted them and provided an English translation below the scanned letter or card, and indicated “translated by: xxxxxx”
For emails, what we did is print all emails as they are , with the conversations highlighted in color, then copy pasted the entire thing on Word, then replaced the highlighted conversations with English translations if necessary. If already in English, we just left it as is, then priinted this as well. So now we have two sets of emails, one is as is, one is with translations. And if you compare the pages of the two sets side by side , they correspond as to the formatting, spacing, and paging so that the VO will be able to compare the untraslated stuff vs the translated stuff better.
Total pages: 108 pages
c. Others Documents:
Under this, we included evrything else we can think of:
Movie Tickets- Shows almost all of our cinema tickets for the movies we saw together since 2007 up to 2011
Trips - Shows plane tickets, boarding passes, and various receipts for two major trips we took
Joint bank accounts - Shows scanned copies of bank certificates, passbook and ATM cards of our joint accounts
Wedding contracts and receipts - Shows copies of contracts and receipts from suppliers for our wedding such as videographers, reception hall, wedding coordinator, and others
Pre-marriage requirements- Shows copies of documents that we obtained as pre-marriage requirements such as municipal seminars and license, proof of marriage eligibility from our Church, and others
Wedding greetings-Shows scanned copies of wedding greetings from guests and relatives which were written on gift cards
Wedding guestbook and signature frame-Contains scanned pages of our wedding guestbook showing signatures of our wedding guests, and a photo of our signature frame, which is a framed photo/portrait on which guests wrote down their greetings.
Invitations to family occasions-Shows some of our saved copies of invitations (printed or posted in Facebook) for occasions such as birthdays, christening or weddings in which we were invited.
Relationship Keepsakes- Shows some of our treasured keepsakes to remember our journey together like gifts / flowers given, dinner date mementos, and others
Facebook Printouts - Shows our interactions on FB, where it can be seen that our relationship is known to the world, especially to our friends and families who also interact with us on posts, photos and statuses. It shows our interactions since 2009 when we started using Facebook. (we used the “show relationship” tool in FB for this) Also included here are screen prints showing that my hubby is a “group member” of my clan groups. Also included are screen prints of wedding greetings from our FB friends. (Sadly, before 2009, we used friendster and we haven't been able to retrieve our data from there before it shut down. We explained this fact)
Wedding Invitation - Actual copy of our wedding invitation
Total pages: 127 pages
Whew, sounds like a lot of work right? But however stressful it was, we had fun doing it, it was sort of making a scrapbook of all our relationship stuff. So here is the application in all:
Total pages: 446
Thickness: 3-4 inches
Weight: estimated at 3 kgs. (Exact weight to be determined upon mailing)
) I asked her if it would fit in the biggest "pack" they have and she said, well, we could try, if not, she can send it as is (orange envelope and all) but I said, no, these are important documents, what if the envelope gets cut and my papers might fall off or get dirty or something, hehe. So here's the biggest pack they have:
