How should I orginize my application when sending it in??

[KtMcrorie]

I am about to send in my application for a common law visa. Is there any particular way I should organize everything? I feel like I have a million pieces of paper and I want to make it as easy for them to get through as possible.

Thanks!

 

[Asta]

u should search in the forum. there are lots of threads like urs. just put some key words into the search field and u will find a lot.

 

[dlee31]

I thought the same thing when I was sending in my application. Here's what I did and I hope it helps even a little.

1. Print out the Checklist for your region. The checklist should be numbered.

2. Organize all the forms and documents according to the order they appear on the checklist.

3. A lot of the forms say "if you have any other evidence attach it on a separate piece of paper" or something like that.
So I did, and I attached the "evidence" to each corresponding form. For example, for the question "have you ever visited your sponsor during your relationship" I attached photocopies of my passport page that had the entry dates to Canada on the form with the question. I also wrote in what each stamp meant.

4. So far you should have the basic application forms + extra pages you want to add following each form.

5. For the "any other evidence" part that supposed to prove our relationship is genuine, I put everything in chronological order, regardless of whether it was an email, photo, card, or letter. I also wrote in dates and details for everything, especially the photos. Example: December, 2009, Christmas party at in-laws. Left to right: mum-in-law, auntie whoever, uncle whoever, cousin, niece. Basically made a storybook of our relationship.

6. Finally, I used plastic 3M tab markers to mark each "section" of my application according to the things listed on the checklist. I also numbered the tabs according to the number on the checklist.

7. Then I went through the whole application three times JUST IN CASE I was missing something.

Giant pain, but it must have worked (or at least my plan of being a neatfreak didn't backfire) cuz I got a letter about four months after my husband was approved to be a sponsor

Best of luck!!

 

[nyssa]

Dlee that's great!! There is a ton of information on this forum that explains what you should add (e-mails/phone calls/photos) but not anywhere near as many that detail how you organized your application in such a manner. Very helpful.

 

[Asta]

try this, maybe u will find something useful:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t19205.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t32761.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t7485.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t33909.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t30264.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t21316.0.html

 

[dlee31]

p.s.

for emails: I went into my hotmail account, filtered the emails so only those from my sponsor (husband) would show, and screen-captured & printed that, so I could show that we've been corresponding for however many years. Then I printed out a few individual emails that I thought were significant to our relationship, including emails sent to me from my in-laws.

for photos: I developed all of them, then taped them with double-sided tape to plain white paper according to when or what event they were taken at (no staples!). This made it a lot easier for me to add them to the "further evidence" pile in an organized manner.

etc: I also screen-captured & printed parts of my Facebook page, because that's where a lot of our friends had left messages like "congratulations" or "we miss you, see you when you get home"


Also, because a lot of the evidence and additional answers were being added on separate sheets of paper, I made sure all my extra pages had the following heading:

NAME: ***
DOB: October 31, ****
PASSPORT No: ******
Re: Form IMM****

and if it was a written statement (ex: describe how you first met your sponsor) I would write the question #, the question, then the answer. For things like photos/cards, I just printed out 50 blank pages with that heading and taped whatever to each page.

I think the most important thing is to make it idiot-proof. I just assumed the person who was evaluating our application would have the IQ of a baby seal, and labeled EVERYTHING.

Honestly, I can't believe I went through all this last year! It's one of those things where you look back and you laugh, but it's a complete effin' nightmare when you're in the middle of it.

 

[sommy747]

I organized mine the same way a lawyer organizes a legal brief , was approved and landed in 4.5 months (inland application , common law)

 

[sbwv09]

I was wondering if it would be ok to use those loose leaf folders and just tuck the things into the sleeves? I know it can't be 'bound' but it seems that everything would be neater this way, and you can just label each folder, "Sponsorship app", "Applicant's app", "supporting evidence", etc..

 

[AllisonVSC]

You can sbwv09, but no need to. I paper clipped my sections together.

 

[Asta]

I was wondering if it would be ok to use those loose leaf folders and just tuck the things into the sleeves? I know it can't be 'bound' but it seems that everything would be neater this way, and you can just label each folder, "Sponsorship app", "Applicant's app", "supporting evidence", etc..

i used some plastic sleeves for papers to put in some smaller size papers, tickets, bills, letters/envelopes etc. some stuff that is not comfortable to paper clip.