Alurra71 said:
I personally dislike these comparison charts. They don't show PROPER steps. For instance the US:
20 weeks only takes into consideration the time it takes for the sponsor to file the petition. Once the petition is 'APPROVED' (this is NOT the PR) it is then forwarded on to NVC where it is then assigned a priority date and when your priority date meets the qualifying date they will THEN send you instructions on how to file for your DS-261 and various other fees and paperwork.
BTW, that cost and the 20 weeks is ONLY what essentially boils down to homeland security running their own checks to determine that yes, it's OK for you to file paperwork. So they run the security check backward to Canada. 5 months for just the security check that will either allow you to file paperwork at a later date determined by the NVO. There WILL be more costs. MANY more costs ...
Form I-130 = $420 (You pay this just to see whether your spouse qualifies to be sponsored - security check)
Affidavit of Support = $120 (You MUST meet the income guidelines in order to sponsor your spouse. You MUST do this from INSIDE the US you can not petition from outside the US) *On a side note, that income guideline is 125% of the poverty level for your size household. For 2014, for just YOU and your SPOUSE you MUST make $19,662 per annum. Not a difficult amount to acheive; BUT if your spouse has children or if you have children from another marriage? Just go ahead and add on another $5075 per year per person.
Immigrant visa processing fee = $325
After these fees, and with your MANDATORY online filing of form DS-260 / DS-261 you WILL be invited to attend an interview to determine your 'couple' status. Be ready for this interview. It won't be simple and easy like here in Canada.
Now, you've passed all these hoops, and added all the paperworks and such. They are pretty much the same on either side of the border. Medical/Health, PCC, birth certificates and passports, the standard documentations we all know what they are ... So what's next?
You've been given the opportunity to now file to register as a permanent resident of the good old US of A! HOORAY, but wait, there's more ...
Now you need:
Form I-485 = $1070, assuming you are between the ages of 14 and 78. If you have children, and they are 14 or over? Well, add on $1070 for EACH child. On the up side, if they are under the age of 14 it will only cost you $635 per child.
Now you're a lawful permanent resident, but you're not done yet ... ALL new residents must apply to have their 'conditional' residency removed after 2 years otherwise, you loose your PR. For that you're going to need:
Form I-751 = $595. NOW you are a full on PR. You'll only need to pay more fees if you:
A: Loose your PR (Green) Card - $450
B: Spend too much time outsid of the US and need to return to your 'Unrelinquiesh domicile' - $585
C: Loose your PR (Green) Card outside the US and need a Travel Document to return - $445 (assuming you are aged 14-79 again) Remember, when you get back, you'll need that new Green Card *points to fees associated with A*
Of course, these are only a FEW of the things that might get you caught out and in need of a financial loan to gain re-entry. Keep in mind, US isn't like Canada. You can't just return to a land border and present your original landing document and be allowed entry. You're stuck, like chuck until you pay the fees and get the proper authorization.
On the upside. From start to finish it should only take a total accumulated time span of roughly 27 months to get to the point where you can loose your Green Card.
Should I go find the total documentation for the other countries listed or can we agree that trying to compare the countries in frames of 'time' spent to get to the end result aren't really worth it?
Canada is now and always has been the EASIEST country to immigrate to. They have the most lax laws and easiest family reunification process in any of the so called 'first world' countries.
It's not easy to sit and wait for them to process the paperwork, I know and understand that. I'm not saying it is. I just think you should spend time and energy looking at ANYTHING other than facts that skew the truth that the grass is NOT 'greener' on the other side.
Alurra71,
First, I wish to recognize you for your thorough knowledge of the Permanent Resident application procedure for the US. I respectfully defer to your expertise in this matter, and thank you for contributing this valuable information to the discussion.
However, I must say that several comments you made in your reply only served to fan the flames. At the end of your post you say that it's not easy to sit and wait for the paperwork to be processed. Maybe you have suffered through both the American and Canadian immigration processes, in which case yes, you have spent more time waiting for basic privileges in a foreign country (i.e. OWP, healthcare) than my family has. In case you haven't, I speak for every member of this group when I say it's very easy for you to sit on a high horse and regurgitate the “CICSpeak” that Canada is now and has always been the easiest country to immigrate to. I will comment on this later. You landed in a little over 12 months? Such a thing would have everyone in this thread crying bloody murder for circumventing the wait times; either that or you would be eligible for expedited processing due to having a removal order imposed on you by CBSA, perhaps the only fate worse than waiting in this miserable immigration purgatory as it lengthens from 6-8 months (for AIP, what we were told at the time of our application in September 2013) to what will almost certainly be 16 months or longer by the time we receive AIP (which does not carry the privileges of full PR).
Let's start with some preamble. The foreign VO that my spouse and I could have applied to outland had a total wait of 14 months (potentially faster, reminding our viewers that this published figure is the wait time for 80% of finalized applications in each office) from application received to full PR visa when we were deciding between inland or outland. On the advice of a fully accredited immigration lawyer, and based on a history of CIC honouring its posted wait times within a reasonable margin, we submitted an inland application and expected to wait several months before both of us would be working, and an additional 8 months until we would be fully mobile in and out of Canada with CoPR. It was precisely in the latter months of 2013 that things began to deteriorate for inland applicants. Mired in a labour dispute with Minister Clement and the treasury board, 2013-2014 was a difficult time for employees in the Foreign Service and it appears that CIC had to do some reshuffling to accommodate a reduction in resources. The decision makers at CIC seized the opportunity to move all of our files from Vegreville to Mississauga and you know what Alurra71? There are a lot of them, like ours that are probably still sitting in that very same mail bag. In the same time it will take to get AIP, my spouse could have had a job, healthcare and a PR card by now. It's a mistake that I'll chalk up to bad luck, but had I known this would drag on, there were other options for us to manage our transition to Canada.
Alurra71, let's say a friend makes a commitment to you and your spouse. For $1000, they will perform a professional service for you in the next 6-8 months that will allow you and your spouse, from a position in which you are otherwise unable to do so, to move forward with your lives both personally and professionally. Furthermore, this friend happens to be one of the only qualified people in the entire country capable of conferring these privileges upon you. Now 14 months has passed, this friend hasn't spoken to you, you can't call this friend to ask them what is happening, and you're essentially no closer to salvation than when you originally started. You can get out of this and ask another friend for help, but this path with now take an additional 14 months. Wouldn't you feel duped, Alurra71? As late 2013 / early 2014 Inland Applicants this is what sets us uniquely apart from many of the other valued contributors to this forum; during processing we have had our wait time for basic privileges double over what we originally planned for. This has consequences for those of us who made financial plans for 6-8 months on one income at the outset rather than 16-18 months, which is my speculative assessment of when we will receive AIP. These include but not are limited to, acute financial and emotional stresses at home. We're a battered and bruised bunch, Alurra71.
Addressing your comment about Canada having been, and currently being the easiest country to immigrate to in the first world: This analysis will benefit from taking a page out of our first-year calculus textbooks and looking at the derivative rather than the instantaneous position. Currently, as of this day, yes: Canada may be one of the easiest countries to immigrate to for the average, qualified applicant. However, if you are the leader in any cohort, it is not sufficient to simply rest on your laurels and preach that you are the best, there are high standards to maintain and anyone who is caught in this inland quagmire (and my trusted legal counsel) will tell you that things are in decline in this Ministry and we risk losing this accolade. Your post accurately outlines the caveats that come with trying to compare apples to oranges, I accept that, but I don't think it is a stretch to claim that Family class permanent residency is being neglected under this government and it may reach a point where other “first-world” countries overtake Canada in the list of world's most hospitable immigrant destinations.
Can we agree that that trying to compare the countries in frames of ‘time' spent to get to the end result isn't really worth it? To employ your use of caps,
ABSOLUTELY WE CANNOT AGREE. In fact, I invite any other members of this forum who have experience immigrating to any of the mentioned countries on the “comparison chart”, as Alurra71 has christened it, to chime in and enlighten us with their data and anecdotes. Even though we must accept that it is an imperfect measure, what other yardstick do we have to judge the effectiveness of our immigration programs, other than by how other similar countries handle theirs? I'm open to your suggestions. Furthermore, I have listed my sources and it is my furthest intention to mislead the members of this thread who have had their fill of misleading information from CIC. What I will agree to after reading your post (although many of your points about children and potentially losing PR status do not apply to myself or fellow members of this thread) is that the US PR process is certainly no better, and perhaps less accommodating than the Canadian equivalent, nevertheless I should add that at least in the US they give you a morsel of customer service.
Thank you to those of you who have stuck around to read this post. I know you are suffering and I humbly ask for your forgiveness if you felt mislead. I want this “comparison chart” to accurately portray the facts about where Canada's immigration program stands in comparison with our peers, and I welcome your feedback. I believe that you have to be the change that you want to see in the world. If we can confront the decision makers with data and stories that incite change, we will realize our dream of a normal Canadian family life sooner than we ever thought possible. It's a great thing isn't it Screech? Alurra71?
http://www.inlandsponsor.weebly.com
-GFDVCA
