ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: Paranoia during the "wait"

[Iay]

Our medicals expired because I was in too much of a hurry to do them first thing last year (I had no idea how much paperwork is involved, and had naively thought we just do the medicals and fill a few forms). Our VO had a processing time of 5 months back then when we finally submitted, so this didn't seem like a big deal, until the processing time jumped to 16 months.

They finally started looking at our file in January, after 7 months. Then they requested a medical extension in February. I thought I'd be happy to hear that they've done so. Now after reading here that it takes 2-3 months for the extension request to go through, I'm having the following nightmarish set of thoughts a few times a day:

-The medical extensions will arrive after 3 months, probably some time in May. By then, all of the police certificates will be over a year old, and after a few weeks we will receive an email requesting new PCs . Mind you the FBI took almost 3 months last time. So then I have this theory that we will maybe receive his visa at end of summer.(If we are lucky- that is) :-X

I know it's totally unreasonable, but paranoia isn't really reasonable

Oh boy, our medical was done way too early too. :/ I didn't know extensions or re-medical will take that long, 2-3 months.. Sometimes, I try to counter paranoia by being overly positive. Whenever I feel paranoid, I pretty much claim to be done before the medical expires, which is this August 2013. So basically, 6 months from now.. and I haven't even passed stage 1. LOL.

 

[Sweden]

Our medicals expired because I was in too much of a hurry to do them first thing last year (I had no idea how much paperwork is involved, and had naively thought we just do the medicals and fill a few forms). Our VO had a processing time of 5 months back then when we finally submitted, so this didn't seem like a big deal, until the processing time jumped to 16 months.

They finally started looking at our file in January, after 7 months. Then they requested a medical extension in February. I thought I'd be happy to hear that they've done so. Now after reading here that it takes 2-3 months for the extension request to go through, I'm having the following nightmarish set of thoughts a few times a day:

-The medical extensions will arrive after 3 months, probably some time in May. By then, all of the police certificates will be over a year old, and after a few weeks we will receive an email requesting new PCs . Mind you the FBI took almost 3 months last time. So then I have this theory that we will maybe receive his visa at end of summer.(If we are lucky- that is) :-X

I know it's totally unreasonable, but paranoia isn't really reasonable

or - alternative scenario... with the new electronic system, the medical extension goes through quickly, let's say a month... by then, your PCs are still valid, and since they have requested the medical extension, it means that it's the ONLY thing that they are missing to issue your visa... so they receive the extension, it's all good, and in a month, they send you the passport, with shiny visa and COPR to land in Canada!

 

[Iay]

or - alternative scenario... with the new electronic system, the medical extension goes through quickly, let's say a month... by then, your PCs are still valid, and since they have requested the medical extension, it means that it's the ONLY thing that they are missing to issue your visa... so they receive the extension, it's all good, and in a month, they send you the passport, with shiny visa and COPR to land in Canada!

thanks for this sweden! by the way, when did they start the new electronic system for medical extension? Hmmm. I thought I already overcame this paranoia, here it goes again. LOL.

My goal for this wait is to at least be with my husband this Christmas.... keeping my hopes high!

 

[BCgirl2012]

or - alternative scenario... with the new electronic system, the medical extension goes through quickly, let's say a month... by then, your PCs are still valid, and since they have requested the medical extension, it means that it's the ONLY thing that they are missing to issue your visa... so they receive the extension, it's all good, and in a month, they send you the passport, with shiny visa and COPR to land in Canada!

Yes, this is the version my husband keeps telling me too when I freak out :-D It does help

 

[BCgirl2012]

Oh boy, our medical was done way too early too. :/ I didn't know extensions or re-medical will take that long, 2-3 months.. Sometimes, I try to counter paranoia by being overly positive. Whenever I feel paranoid, I pretty much claim to be done before the medical expires, which is this August 2013. So basically, 6 months from now.. and I haven't even passed stage 1. LOL.

I hope you will be done way before that!

 

[Sweden]

thanks for this sweden! by the way, when did they start the new electronic system for medical extension? Hmmm. I thought I already overcame this paranoia, here it goes again. LOL.

My goal for this wait is to at least be with my husband this Christmas.... keeping my hopes high!

electronic system for medicals ( new ones as well) was introduced end of November/beginning of December 2012. It's the reason why people who have done the medicals recently can see "medicals have been received" already during stage 1 sometimes (sometimes only, of course, CIC is not very consistent!). But it should make the transmission of information much easier, and quicker as well!

Christmas - that seems like a very reasonable goal to me!

 

[Iay]

Thanks Sweden and BCgirl2012.. Now wearing my anti-paranoia helmet again.

 

[anticipation]

My first "going crazy for this process" story is when my printer went whacky over the payment receipt and printed it huge and printed all over the place it was barely readable, but I was determined to send out the application. I just hoped that immigration would be able to read it. After I got back home from sending the application I found an e-mail with the same receipt in perfectly legible form. Goodness gracious.... I just let it go and everything was fine.

Then when my husband came home and got the letters about first stage approval and owp, he called me to read them to me.
And he did read them verrrrrrrry slowwwwly from the very top of the letter including the address of CIC , our address, the date and the salutation. At which point I said it won't matter if I get approval if I come home and kill you... Funny Canadian...

The most confusing and misleading part is the complete lack of explanation about worker's permit application and the title for it is something completely different! I couldn't have figured it out without this site.

 

[zardoz]

Our paranoia is just the process of getting the application to CPC-M. We should never have sent it "tracked" as we are spending huge amounts of the day seeing how far it's got. It was posted a week ago and it's still not marked as "Delivered" although we can see it trundling around Mississauga from Canada Post facility to facility.

This is seriously scary stuff as we keep asking what hasn't it been delivered yet??

If we had decided to send it cheaply, untracked instead of very expensive, tracked, we wouldn't be worrying nearly so much.

Z.

 

[QuebecOkie]

After listening to my in-laws and American friends ask "well he married you, doesn't that mean he's Canadian?" I've come to accept that no one has any clue what you actually have to do except those who ACTUALLY went through it!!

Bahahahahaha! I'm giggling over this, and the others who chimed in with the same thing. Our friends, both Canadian and American, all seemed to think that on the day we got married, *poof* the husband magically gained American citizenship and I magically gained Canadian citizenship. Poor privileged Americans...most of my friends still can't believe all the hoops I have to jump through. "But, you're not an immigrant...you're 'MURICAN!" *sigh*

 

[frankinto]

My American partner and I have been at it since 2006... Imagine our breathtaking ignorance: We packed all of his stuff in the car so he could move in with me. I knew he would be allowed to stay for 6 months and I thought we would start the immigration process during that time. The only problem was the time when, as a truck driver, he had been turned back from the border for having a criminal record (misdemeanour, $350 fine, not a crime in Canada, happened 13 years before) and was told to show up with an FBI report next time.

So we arrived up at the Peace Bridge with the report, showed it to the border agent who seemed a bit alarmed at our plans and sent us to immigration... Needless to say, we were turned back again.

Long story short: it took 4 and a half years before my partner could even set foot in Canada. The rehabilitation application process was extremely complicated, his infraction was interpreted in the absolute worst possible way, which extended the process even more, and unlike the PR application, there is no website and no one to call. In the meantime I travelled countless times to the U.S. and Vonage was a godsend! At some point we almost gave up waiting for a response, but it finally came in late 2010. We were shocked! We married in Toronto a few months later.

Then we started the PR process - which, compared to what we had already gone through, was nothing.

But even now that we got our PPR, I'm paranoid that something will happen and they'll change their minds! Ugh.

 

[Zouk Princesse]

that's an impressive succession of events! as if somebody was really trying to get your husband to go to Canada with his PR!! it could almost be a movie, with all the various - usually not very realistic - obstacles coming up, and the brave hero fighting his way!
Well done!

Hahaha yes, we've quite considered selling the rights to our story lol

 

[Nevaeha]

I'm paranoid that the email we received from the visa office informing us that they requested an extension on my husband's medical was sent to us in error!!!!! I check my emails constantly to make sure we don't get an "Oops, we sent this email to you by mistake".

 

[Nevaeha]

Hahaha yes, we've quite considered selling the rights to our story lol

I had a great chuckle at your story! I'm sure it was farrrrrr from funny as it was happening!

 

[SquirrelBR]

Let me tell you about paranoia.

I am inclined to that. My father, who is a very sucessfull entrepeneur, has always been a pessimist. He had to take risks to accomplish the things he did in life, but he didn't like to take risks. I remember myself saying sometimes to him: father you worry too much, that is never going to happen etc.

So last night my wife was sleeping and I woke up and I was in panic! Thinking I had written something that could be interpreted the wrong way, imagining things that I did / Didn't / Should / Shouln't have put in my application etc. Then my mother tells me how my father was always like this, and have made it through.

I began to realise that, we are in this situation: We did our best. The agent's will look at it in their way, we cannot control that. I think for some people, like me, the fact that we do not control something so important in our lives, is what makes us afraid.

But we can control how we feel about it: So I plan to get involved more in my daily life, living the present moment! I think exercise and meditation will help. I will also try to fullfill my week with activities (not being able to work is hard for many of us). Instead worrying everyday next year (how long I think the process usually takes), I will do my best to live and appreciate what I was given, the joy of now instead of when.