Here is a letter that I wrote to the Prime Minister, 2 MPS, City Councillor, Consul General and MP Olivia Chow........... Lets see if I can get a response!!!!!
:'( :
Dear Prime Minister Harper, Members of Parliament and City Officials:
My name is Joanne O'Brien, resident of Mississauga, and I am currently in the process of sponsoring my husband Glen George Thomas, date of birth xxxxx xxxxx to Canada from Jamaica. I was approved as a suitable sponsor February 25, 2013. Immigration File #xxxxx. We have been married since February xx, 2012.
I have written to the High Commission of Canada on the following dates:
May xx, 2013
July xx, 2013
August xx, 2013
September xx, 2013
On May 14, 2013 I received the following email:
Thank you for your e-mail. It has been received by the Visa Section at the
High Commission of Canada in Kingston. Your e-mail will be answered as
soon as possible.
My questions have still not been answered and it is five (5) months later. This is an unreasonable amount of time to wait for a response.
We applied for Visitors Visa in October 2012, but we were denied, because the host income
(which was myself) could not be confirmed, although I provided my Notice of Assessment from the Canadian Revenue Agency indicating I am a ten(10) year XXXXXXXX Employee, earning in excess of $XX0.000.00 Canadian Dollars per year. My husband had no intention of becoming a Canadian at that time. We have been in the sponsorship process for 9 months, without any updates from the correspondence I have sent. I am wondering should we re-apply for a Visitors Visa again, or will it be denied because I don't earn enough money ? Is there a guideline for income, and how much one should earn for their spouse to be able to come for a visit? I would assume that having
$xx0,000.00 in the bank, being gainfully employed, would constitute "enough income". To be quite bold, I question the Immigration Officer's ability to correctly decipher and understand my Notice of Assessment.
I have flown to Jamaica 11 times ( with family and friends) in the last 24 months to visit my husband. As you can imagine, this is an additional strain on my family, work, health and finances. I must work an extra 280 hours per year to accumulate extra vacation time to visit Glen. We are currently renting an apartment in Lime Hall, Jamaica.
We have been forced into a position of sponsoring him (since the Visitor's Visa was denied), or I would have to choose the alternative, which is quit my job, in which I earn more than $XX0,000.00 per year, leave my children, and discontinue my role as the Founder of http://www.directabundance.com, in which I organize Educational and Community Development projects in developing countries. I travel frequently to supervise projects in struggling communities, including Jamaica and have travelled to the Caribbean 21 times in the last 4 years. My husband is a 49 year old, skilled steel fitter, first marriage, without any dependents or criminal history.
Can you tell me approximately how long the sponsorship will be? It seems unfair, bordering as a violation of Human Rights to keep marriage partners apart for such long periods of time, denying them the right to be with each other, unable to use a temporary Visitors Visa. Glen and I that work together,using his skills as a Steel Fitter and mine as a Social Worker to build schools and sustainable income projects in Jamaica to improve the quality of life for struggling Jamaicans.
In addition, I am being scheduled for surgery at the Toronto XXXXXXX Hospital in early
2014(I had my consultation on October x, 2013) and I would be grateful that my husband will be here to help care for me, as I will be unable to care for myself for 4 - 6 weeks.
I would appreciate if your office would return this email, as I am writing to Kingston Immigration on a Monthly basis without any response. In addition, I have travelled to Jamaica to attend the embassy on 3 occasions in the last year, but have not been able to speak with an Officer. I will be back in Jamaica in November 19 - 26/2013, and would be grateful for the opportunity to speak with an Immigration Officer.
I can be reached x xxxx xx xxxx or email at obrien_joanne @ hotmail.com or joanne @ directabundance.com
I look forward to a response.
Sincerely,
Joanne
