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How thick your package is?

floomy

Hero Member
Dec 17, 2012
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Mine is kind of thin and what I saw and read in this forum it seems most ppl sending thick package.

so i am kind of worried.

My situation is simple.

my husband and i have neve been apart- so no long distance realtionship evidence needed.
we lived together in canada for years before we got married, but could not find any evidence now.
we do not have wedding or any ceremony but reception without photo (has separate sheet explained why we do not have any photo in our reception)
we have married for a year and have a daughter

so my supporting document is
plane tickets for our trips. lamaze class certificate.
photos- appx. 40 photos including I am holding my daughter in delivery room and couple of photos with my in-laws in canada

would that be enough?
 

keesio

VIP Member
May 16, 2012
4,795
396
Toronto, Ontario
Category........
Visa Office......
CPP-O
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
09-01-2013
Doc's Request.
09-07-2013
AOR Received.
30-01-2013
File Transfer...
11-02-2013
Med's Done....
02-01-2013
Interview........
waived
Passport Req..
12-07-2013
VISA ISSUED...
15-08-2013
LANDED..........
14-10-2013
"thick" does not always mean better.

No wedding photos is the only thing you are missing that would concern me but if you have a good explanation, then that should be fine

Your other information sounds good. 40 photos is more than enough. plane tickets are always good.
 

DuberBlue

Hero Member
Sep 6, 2013
276
8
Category........
Visa Office......
CPP-Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
04-03-2013
AOR Received.
13-03-2013
Med's Done....
18-12-2012
Interview........
waived
Passport Req..
16-09-2013
VISA ISSUED...
25-10-2013
LANDED..........
26-10-2013
Wow....this totally isn't what I thought the topic was gonna be about....
 

Ponga

VIP Member
Oct 22, 2013
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Unfortunately, no one can tell what constitutes `enough' evidence, but the fact that you are married, certainly helps.

Do you currently have (or can you obtain, easily):

Joint bank account(s)?
If not, it might be easy to add the applicant to an account that the sponsor already has (changing an individual bank account to joint).
I did this with Scotia and it was pretty painless.

Joint cell phone account?
(again, I was added to my sponsor's plan so my name appears on the bill as well as hers...easy to do)

Joint lease, mortgage, etc.?

Costco membership card in both names?

Basically, anything outside of what a long distance couple would have, in place of things like phone logs, chat logs, email, etc.

Good luck!
 

keesio

VIP Member
May 16, 2012
4,795
396
Toronto, Ontario
Category........
Visa Office......
CPP-O
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
09-01-2013
Doc's Request.
09-07-2013
AOR Received.
30-01-2013
File Transfer...
11-02-2013
Med's Done....
02-01-2013
Interview........
waived
Passport Req..
12-07-2013
VISA ISSUED...
15-08-2013
LANDED..........
14-10-2013
DuberBlue said:
Wow....this totally isn't what I thought the topic was gonna be about....
;D
 

nortena

Star Member
Dec 14, 2011
72
0
Texas
Category........
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Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
08/07/2013
AOR Received.
25-07-13
Med's Done....
08/03/2013
Interview........
Waived
Passport Req..
Waived
LANDED..........
22-03-2014
I have a REALLY NICE package waiting for me in Calgary ;)
 

taffy7

Champion Member
May 23, 2013
2,482
69
Category........
Visa Office......
London
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
10th April 2014/June 10th 2014 application complete
Doc's Request.
09 June 2014 same doc's requested again 6th Oct 2014. docs not needed again mistake by cic
AOR Received.
sponsorship approval 05 Aug 2014
File Transfer...
05 Aug 2014
Med's Request
28 July 2015
Med's Done....
30th Dec 2013
Passport Req..
in process 18th July 2015/ DM 5/12/2015
LANDED..........
28/12/2015
This title did sure catch my attention lol ... Its not the size of the package what counts , its the contents that you have provided . :D
 

guri3577

Hero Member
May 19, 2013
659
27
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Vegreville, Alberta
Job Offer........
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App. Filed.......
23-05-2013
AOR Received.
30-05-2013
Med's Done....
14-04-2013
Interview........
waived
VISA ISSUED...
AIP&DM: 30-01-2014
LANDED..........
25-02-2014
I think it needs to be thick enough to impress the visa officer :D
P.S. thickness is not the only thing they look at, quality in there needs to be good as well.
 

bankerguy

Hero Member
Jun 6, 2013
311
5
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Vegreville
Job Offer........
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App. Filed.......
13/09/2013
Doc's Request.
sent with app - app received Sept 18, 2013
AOR Received.
04/10/13
IELTS Request
n/a
File Transfer...
V --> M OWP received Jan 9th (pilot program)
Med's Request
AIP Feb 25/2015 & DM FEB 27/2015
Med's Done....
Sent with app
Interview........
March 18, 2015
*insert bad joke*

ahem..


Well mine was about 2 inches thick..we had to get the HUGE envelope..because it was JUST a bit big for the step down in size envelope.
We are not married though. We've been living together 3 years, we submit 80-100 pictures of us in Vegas, with friends, out and about in the city, goofy selfies etc... My girl actually labelled the back of each picture with the date and place each one was taken. We submit apartment rental agreement and renters insurance docs, bank printouts showing both of our names on accounts, letters from our bank account manager, 3 letters from family members stating about what they know about our relationship, plane tickets, hotel reservation tickets.

I would say we submit a LOT of stuff....but since we're not married i figure that we HAD to. I wouldn't be to worried if i were you. 40 pictures and a marriage certificate is probably enough unless there are some BIG red flags that jump out at the person who is reviewing your application.

just my opinion.
 

truesmile

Champion Member
Jun 7, 2012
2,622
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MNL
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25-05-2012
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18-07-2012
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24-07-2012
Med's Done....
18-05-2012
Interview........
WAIVED
Passport Req..
05-12-2012
VISA ISSUED...
08-01-2013
LANDED..........
02-02-2013
Ours was also somewhat "thin". Thank goodness we sent it in before finding this forum or we would have been worried too. Before delving into a "list" of what you have or don't have included, perhaps more importantly, are you 'visa-exempt' and subsequently, which VO?
 

JRPW

Star Member
Jul 9, 2012
197
7
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Manila
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
2012
Doc's Request.
2013
AOR Received.
2012
Med's Request
2013 (re-med)
VISA ISSUED...
2014
LANDED..........
2014
My wife and I sent in an application that I wouldn't consider thick. We didn't have a wedding ceremony or reception. We just went to city hall and handed in our wedding license. Of course, we explained out situation in an essay we wrote and included it in our application. We did send a lot of photos that were arranged in chronological order. I wrote the date, where the photo was taken and the names of the people in the photos. When we applied last year, we had been married for just over three years and had been together for just over five. I should mention that my wife is Japanese, so she is visa exempt.
 

SenoritaBella

VIP Member
Jan 2, 2012
3,673
194
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Dakar
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Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
08-01-2014
AOR Received.
12-02-2014
File Transfer...
25-02-2014
Med's Request
02-11-2015
Med's Done....
18-09-2013
Passport Req..
02-11-2015
VISA ISSUED...
hopefully soon
LANDED..........
hopefully soon
The size doesn't matter much but important to submit enough evidence that addresses possible questions an officer may have and ensure you explain any anormalies. Our application is large(mostly our communication) but our lawyer will trim it. She said you don't want to send such a large application that could make an officer not want to deal with it. So I guess less is more.

If possible, get a lawyer to review your file before submission.
 

Ponga

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Oct 22, 2013
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SenoritaBella said:
The size doesn't matter much but important to submit enough evidence that addresses possible questions an officer may have and ensure you explain any anormalies. Our application is large(mostly our communication) but our lawyer will trim it. She said you don't want to send such a large application that could make an officer not want to deal with it. So I guess less is more.

If possible, get a lawyer to review your file before submission.
We are doing the same.

We were confident that we could figure out the forms without too much difficulty (boy was I wrong about that one) but are now finally nearing the finish line for our application. You'd like to believe that if they really need to see more evidence, they will either request more, or schedule an interview before stamping DENIED across the application....which I'm sure they do.

Right?!?!?!
 

SenoritaBella

VIP Member
Jan 2, 2012
3,673
194
Category........
Visa Office......
Dakar
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
08-01-2014
AOR Received.
12-02-2014
File Transfer...
25-02-2014
Med's Request
02-11-2015
Med's Done....
18-09-2013
Passport Req..
02-11-2015
VISA ISSUED...
hopefully soon
LANDED..........
hopefully soon
Going by people's experiences the forum, the applicants and their sponsors(in some cases) were interviewed before they were refused. They were usually asked to bring certain documents to the interview.

The odd situations I've read so far are cases where the officer requests a document(e.g. police certificate) and perhaps the applicant did not receive the request, did not provide document and gets denied.

Ponga said:
We are doing the same.

We were confident that we could figure out the forms without too much difficulty (boy was I wrong about that one) but are now finally nearing the finish line for our application. You'd like to believe that if they really need to see more evidence, they will either request more, or schedule an interview before stamping DENIED across the application....which I'm sure they do.

Right?!?!?!
 

SaskiaL

Star Member
Nov 13, 2013
56
3
124
Calgary
Category........
Visa Office......
Vegreville
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
08-01-2013
AOR Received.
05-02-2013
Med's Done....
??-10-2012
Interview........
waived
VISA ISSUED...
AIP 12-11-2013 DM 22-04-2014
LANDED..........
02-07-2014
I am curious as of why it matters that one is visa-exempt and what VO means.. Would anyone please clarify?