Los Angeles Visa Office Applicants Check in here! :)

[DoubleA]

Just received the PPR from LA (via e-mail to my sponsor).

A couple of interesting things to note:

(1) There is no option to present the passport in person on the letter. It states "You are required to submit your passport(s) and photographs by MAIL within the next sixty (60) days from the date of this letter."

(2) They will send a passport via express mail in the US, but only by regular mail in Canada.

I have to be in the US in mid-October for work anyway, so my hope is that I can manage to wrangle this to get my COPR back by the time I have to return at the end of October.

Surprising what a relief it is to have received this.

What is a PPR? And what does that mean for you GEEK? how close does that put you to being in Canada? We had to resend my wifes FBI report because the CIC didn't like that we used a channeled here in the US. Guess our file is a little delayed now.

 

[OhCanadiana]

What is a PPR? And what does that mean for you GEEK? how close does that put you to being in Canada? We had to resend my wifes FBI report because the CIC didn't like that we used a channeled here in the US. Guess our file is a little delayed now.

A PPR is a passport request. What it means depends on the visa office. For the US (and other visa offices incl. Europe, Mexico), they have historically asked for the applicant's passport once everything is done and all they need to do is glue in the visa (if relevant) and issue the CoPR (confirmation of Permanent Residency) needed to land. So computergeek is almost done. Other VO (notably India) request it earlier in the process so it means less for them.

 

[Belinasha]

Congrats Computergeek!!!! I'm so happy for you, you must feel so relieved!

This is what I got today from my MP's minion:

"My contact with C&I indicates the file is in LA with background checks in process. The background checks and other checks still could extend up to five months. At that point normal processing times will take effect."

I then replied to ask why they weren't going to extend the FBI check for 1 year as per usual procedure and if when I get the new FBI check we could possible submit it through his office so that we wouldn't have to go through this yet again and he replied:

"What I have given you is the status of the immigration file as recorded on the C&I system. Any requirements that C&I make need to be followed. All documents requested should be submitted through the usual channels."

There's no accountability with this process whatsoever. They received our FBI when it was valid and we have proof, yet nobody wants to listen..

So...we have to wait the 6-18 weeks for the new FBI check to come, then hopefully we can get it into them before the 120 days expires that they gave us to submit it. Maybe we'll get a PPR by next summer..but who knows. My husband's medicals expire next month, so those will have to be redone. All of this because someone can't stamp a form or give us the correct information on where to send documents....I wish there was some accountability.

 

[cgagnon]

Thanks. ;D But "strange" is the best way to describe my case. It falls way outside the norm at this stage.

Tomorrow my primary passport heads to LA. I'm hoping it will meet back up with me by the end of October when I'm supposed to come back to Canada (heading to the US for work in mid-October.) Fortunately, I have that second (legal) US passport so I won't have a problem getting back to the US.

Wow such great news will update the spreadsheet shortly I got back from NC and passed thousand island bridge definitely easier!!!!

 

[DoubleA]

Hey All,

Would anyone know what the rules are for my wife and i to travel back to the US once we land
In Canada? My wife is the applicant, i'm the sponsor. Can she leave Canada for a few weeks/months to visit family with our newborn son?

I understAnd that we have to move to canada once she is approved and before her medical expires, i just don't know what the rules are for travelling out of Canada once my wife immigrates. Currently we all live in the US.

What happens if we all move to Canada but have loose ends to tie up in the US.

Any knowledge on the topic would be great.

Thank You
A

 

[computergeek]

Would anyone know what the rules are for my wife and i to travel back to the US once we land
In Canada? My wife is the applicant, i'm the sponsor. Can she leave Canada for a few weeks/months to visit family with our newborn son?

She can leave immediately following the formal landing procedure if she so desires. She can spend up to three years outside Canada in fact, but she does need to meet the 730 days in the preceeding five year period rule (ah, but time spent with you outside Canada counts for PR residency obligation purposes).

I understAnd that we have to move to canada once she is approved and before her medical expires, i just don't know what the rules are for travelling out of Canada once my wife immigrates. Currently we all live in the US.

What happens if we all move to Canada but have loose ends to tie up in the US.

She does not need to move. She just needs to present herself at the border so the CBSA officer may change her status from "foreign national" to "permanent resident". After that, she can go back to the US and tie up loose ends.

People do this all the time - they only run into trouble when it takes more than three years to wrap up their affairs.

 

[DoubleA]

She can leave immediately following the formal landing procedure if she so desires. She can spend up to three years outside Canada in fact, but she does need to meet the 730 days in the preceeding five year period rule (ah, but time spent with you outside Canada counts for PR residency obligation purposes).

She does not need to move. She just needs to present herself at the border so the CBSA officer may change her status from "foreign national" to "permanent resident". After that, she can go back to the US and tie up loose ends.

People do this all the time - they only run into trouble when it takes more than three years to wrap up their affairs.

Hey Geek,

Thank you for the info.

I'm curious why in the application, the CIC puts so much emphasis on knowing where you intend to live once in Canada....if you can just leave canada after landing?

What is the 730 day rule?

What happens to my status after we land my wife, anything? I currently have a green card in the US and am a Non Resident in Canada....a citizen, just a non resident so I don't have to pay the difference in tax. Would I be deemed a resident again once she lands?
To much to think about

Thank you
A

 

[canadiangirl78]

If you are a citizen of Canada, you have to re-establish residency at the border. That is what I did and I had a B4 and a list of goods to follow. Then I had to reactivate my SIN.

 

[DoubleA]

If you are a citizen of Canada, you have to re-establish residency at the border. That is what I did and I had a B4 and a list of goods to follow. Then I had to reactivate my SIN.

Hmmmm.....well I'm pretty sure my SSN is still active as I have property with a mortgage in BC. I also just had to put the electricity back in my name and they ran my SSN then and it came back all good.

Hmmmm.....

 

[parker24]

Wow such great news will update the spreadsheet shortly I got back from NC and passed thousand island bridge definitely easier!!!!

You went by me and didn't stop for some tea?! WHAT THE HEY?!

I do love that bridge, I live about 15 minutes from it

 

[canadiangirl78]

Hmmmm.....well I'm pretty sure my SSN is still active as I have property with a mortgage in BC. I also just had to put the electricity back in my name and they ran my SSN then and it came back all good.

Hmmmm.....

Yeah I was gone for a long time. It goes inactive after 5 years.

 

[epilobium]

Hey folks,

Our file got transferred to LA Sep 24 . Parker, I PMed you with my info for the spreadsheet - please let me know if you don't receive it.

So there are very few folks who recently got transferred to LA on the spreadsheet? Any theories about what's happening? Looks like the application time is 10 months, which isn't too bad I suppose.

We are lucky that my husband got a job and a NAFTA work permit in the meanwhile, so he is feeling more comfy in Canada now with a firmer status. The car issues are annoying though. He has a lease from the US that is turning out to be hard to dump.

 

[OhCanadiana]

You went by me and didn't stop for some tea?! WHAT THE HEY?!

I do love that bridge, I live about 15 minutes from it

East or West? I found going via Howe's Island to be a wonderful (and fun and relaxed) border crossing. I doubt you can land there since it's so small but for other purposes the two ferry rides are great and makes it feel like a mini-vacation in and of itself.

 

[epilobium]

Further to that, I tried to send an enquiry to the LA email on Monday that is on the CIC website and it was bounced back.

My sponsorship approval letter said that application updates should be sent to the LA office. There was a wierd-looking email address which didn't work for me either. I did put the address into my browser though, and it took me to the case-specific enquiry page. So I used that to make an update (indicating that my husband has a NAFTA work permit and job in Canada). So the email address was a mistake - we're supposed to update applications through that web page if we do it electronically.

 

[epilobium]

;D Congratulations computergeek! It's been a long road...hope you have an excellent plan for celebrating.