Hola,
My husband and I have been married for over 9 years, and have 4 children. I am Canadian, and he is from the United States. Originally he entered Canada ( 10 years ago ! ) with no travel documents, as he was just coming to visit for a few weeks at most, with plans to cross border date, finish school, eventually get married etc. Those 2 weeks came and passed, and he has been here ever since. We were married within the first year of his 'landing' in Canada, and had our first child.
We began the immigration process approximately 9 years ago, gathering the necessary photos, fingerprints, medical exams etc. Filled out most of the forms, but the hold up became his American Citizenship Document that was back in his mother's house. He was born in Vietnam, and although there was no existing birth certificate, his mother had the one original document proving his status carefully tucked away.
Unfortunately, it was so carefully tucked away, it took her another 2 years to, ah, find it and mail it to us. We have another child by this time, and my husband has settled into being our stay at home dad. I am self employed and therefore do not receive any sort of maternity leave, so it made sense since he could not legally work, he would raise the kids until we got things sorted out.
We apply for the Child Tax Benefit and are denied because he is not able to provide a SIN number on the application.
At this time, we hire a lawyer to now handle the immigration application because he has been here now for close to 5 years. I wanted things handled as professionally and efficiently as possible because I have no excuse as to what took so long in the first place. I should have pressed the mother in law to find that document sooner perhaps....
The initial meeting with an immigration lawyer was frustrating at best. My husband was born in Vietnam, the birth father known, but also listed as MIA. He is the birth father, but the mother waits for a few years and then carries on with her life and marries and the step father then proceeds to adopt the kids. So, now he is the father. The lawyer gets angry because of these details, he doesn't know how to list father's address and such details. Put down the adopted father, or list the father as deceased etc. on the application. We are even more confused, heh. After an hour, we decide to take the application home and call his mother for more details. We leave him a $500 retainer.
A few months go by, and I drop by the lawyer's office to drop off the completed application, with medical exam, fingerprints, all the stuff necessary to essentially mail it in. Problem is, there is no office anymore. I double check the business card, go home and look in the phone book, perhaps he has moved. Nothing. I contact the Upper Canada Law Society to find out that he has died. Ack! I ask about our file, how I might be able to retrieve it and they tell me his client files were split up between 3 people. 2 were local lawyers, and the other was his son. ( ? ) I contact the 2 lawyers thinking I'll just run over and get our file and complete the application ourselves. They don't have it. I call the number the UCLS gave me for the son, and he's not interested in talking to me at all, hangs up the first time. I call back and insist that he needs to help me in some way with any kind of information he can. He is incredulous that I even called him, hangs up.
We begin to think the husband should maybe return to the US and get a replacement American Citizenship Document, and apply from Detroit or Buffalo, but the immigration stuff has expired - passport photos, medical, fingerprints etc...not sure how to proceed as we've read that you can now apply from 'within' Canada if you are married. I call another Immigration lawyer and briefly outline our problem with the missing documentation. For $250 we can tell him more about it....we already are out the $500 retainer! It is my understanding we cannot do anything about it until we can have proof of my husbands US citizenship.
I am ashamed to admit, that another 2 years go by, and 2 kids, and then I call our local MP's office and luckily she downloads and prints out the replacement form.
Get the form ready, and you need a $380 money order drawn on an American Bank account to complete it. We will have to send it to his mother again to mail from within the US, with the fee drawn on her account etc.
My accountant is wondering why CRA disallows the Child Tax Benefit, disallows husband as a dependent on my income tax return, and routinely send letters asking to prove my kids exist. There have been 5 years in which the kids were not allowed as dependents ( although I think we have amended those returns ). We have made no attempt to hide my husband's illegal ( limbo? )status/ maybe this is naive, but he's on my income tax returns, cable bills, phone etc.. He does not/cannot work, does not have a doctor, has an expired US driver's license. We have had to go to the hospital once, for which we paid around $270 - not so bad really. I know this is not an ideal lifestyle.
A few questions if you are still reading!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1) Should we wait for the replacement American Citizenship to arrive? redo all the expired stuff and then send in application? Or is this a risk?
2) Should we apply for a Minister's Permit and return to the US and get a proper Visitor visa while waiting?
3) Should we be concerned about him being deported?
4) What happens with the Child Tax Credit/Benefit? We have not received any ever. Will they retro this? ( kids are 9, 7, 3, 8 months ) Is there anyway I can just apply for this alone without a spousal SIN number?
5) Can the husband apply for a temporary SIN number?
6)Should we go to the local CIC office and explain the situation? I did this years ago, but they said to just have a lawyer send in an application. ( this was while we waited for his mom to send the documentation )
7) Can I file some form of grievance with the Upper Canada Law Society for our documents being "lost"? It also would be nice to retrieve some of the $500 retainer that was largely unused.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Any comments on this would be greatly appreciated. I am embarrassed to even type this expose, but I am overwhelmed, and tired of trying to be "resourceful". Time flies when you are having fun I guess?
Thanks folks,
Medu
My husband and I have been married for over 9 years, and have 4 children. I am Canadian, and he is from the United States. Originally he entered Canada ( 10 years ago ! ) with no travel documents, as he was just coming to visit for a few weeks at most, with plans to cross border date, finish school, eventually get married etc. Those 2 weeks came and passed, and he has been here ever since. We were married within the first year of his 'landing' in Canada, and had our first child.
We began the immigration process approximately 9 years ago, gathering the necessary photos, fingerprints, medical exams etc. Filled out most of the forms, but the hold up became his American Citizenship Document that was back in his mother's house. He was born in Vietnam, and although there was no existing birth certificate, his mother had the one original document proving his status carefully tucked away.
Unfortunately, it was so carefully tucked away, it took her another 2 years to, ah, find it and mail it to us. We have another child by this time, and my husband has settled into being our stay at home dad. I am self employed and therefore do not receive any sort of maternity leave, so it made sense since he could not legally work, he would raise the kids until we got things sorted out.
We apply for the Child Tax Benefit and are denied because he is not able to provide a SIN number on the application.
At this time, we hire a lawyer to now handle the immigration application because he has been here now for close to 5 years. I wanted things handled as professionally and efficiently as possible because I have no excuse as to what took so long in the first place. I should have pressed the mother in law to find that document sooner perhaps....
The initial meeting with an immigration lawyer was frustrating at best. My husband was born in Vietnam, the birth father known, but also listed as MIA. He is the birth father, but the mother waits for a few years and then carries on with her life and marries and the step father then proceeds to adopt the kids. So, now he is the father. The lawyer gets angry because of these details, he doesn't know how to list father's address and such details. Put down the adopted father, or list the father as deceased etc. on the application. We are even more confused, heh. After an hour, we decide to take the application home and call his mother for more details. We leave him a $500 retainer.
A few months go by, and I drop by the lawyer's office to drop off the completed application, with medical exam, fingerprints, all the stuff necessary to essentially mail it in. Problem is, there is no office anymore. I double check the business card, go home and look in the phone book, perhaps he has moved. Nothing. I contact the Upper Canada Law Society to find out that he has died. Ack! I ask about our file, how I might be able to retrieve it and they tell me his client files were split up between 3 people. 2 were local lawyers, and the other was his son. ( ? ) I contact the 2 lawyers thinking I'll just run over and get our file and complete the application ourselves. They don't have it. I call the number the UCLS gave me for the son, and he's not interested in talking to me at all, hangs up the first time. I call back and insist that he needs to help me in some way with any kind of information he can. He is incredulous that I even called him, hangs up.
We begin to think the husband should maybe return to the US and get a replacement American Citizenship Document, and apply from Detroit or Buffalo, but the immigration stuff has expired - passport photos, medical, fingerprints etc...not sure how to proceed as we've read that you can now apply from 'within' Canada if you are married. I call another Immigration lawyer and briefly outline our problem with the missing documentation. For $250 we can tell him more about it....we already are out the $500 retainer! It is my understanding we cannot do anything about it until we can have proof of my husbands US citizenship.
I am ashamed to admit, that another 2 years go by, and 2 kids, and then I call our local MP's office and luckily she downloads and prints out the replacement form.
Get the form ready, and you need a $380 money order drawn on an American Bank account to complete it. We will have to send it to his mother again to mail from within the US, with the fee drawn on her account etc.
My accountant is wondering why CRA disallows the Child Tax Benefit, disallows husband as a dependent on my income tax return, and routinely send letters asking to prove my kids exist. There have been 5 years in which the kids were not allowed as dependents ( although I think we have amended those returns ). We have made no attempt to hide my husband's illegal ( limbo? )status/ maybe this is naive, but he's on my income tax returns, cable bills, phone etc.. He does not/cannot work, does not have a doctor, has an expired US driver's license. We have had to go to the hospital once, for which we paid around $270 - not so bad really. I know this is not an ideal lifestyle.
A few questions if you are still reading!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1) Should we wait for the replacement American Citizenship to arrive? redo all the expired stuff and then send in application? Or is this a risk?
2) Should we apply for a Minister's Permit and return to the US and get a proper Visitor visa while waiting?
3) Should we be concerned about him being deported?
4) What happens with the Child Tax Credit/Benefit? We have not received any ever. Will they retro this? ( kids are 9, 7, 3, 8 months ) Is there anyway I can just apply for this alone without a spousal SIN number?
5) Can the husband apply for a temporary SIN number?
6)Should we go to the local CIC office and explain the situation? I did this years ago, but they said to just have a lawyer send in an application. ( this was while we waited for his mom to send the documentation )
7) Can I file some form of grievance with the Upper Canada Law Society for our documents being "lost"? It also would be nice to retrieve some of the $500 retainer that was largely unused.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Any comments on this would be greatly appreciated. I am embarrassed to even type this expose, but I am overwhelmed, and tired of trying to be "resourceful". Time flies when you are having fun I guess?
Thanks folks,
Medu
