Overwhelmed -In what order do I do everything?

[Snowisland]

Hello all, I am getting married next month and we want to do all we can while I am in Canada for a couple of weeks to get spousal sponsorship application done. I am USA, he is Canadian. We have marriage license and will get married in Canada, then I will be there two more weeks before returning home to USA. We have traveled back and forth using passports for two years. We both own homes so we will live apart until I am able to live in Canada as a permanent resident. At that time I will sell my house and move to Canada. But I am overwhelmed and don't know what to do and in what order.....Since it's the end of the year now, I assume we will file our Revenue/taxes first week of February after we both have all the info we need. So, while waiting for that, do we get FBI check first, like the day after married? When do we do the health exam? Also, he has children from a past relationship, not a marriage..and pays child support as they agreed on without any court or written agreement. As long as he sends the money every two weeks, he only hears from the mother if she asks for more or is he is late. Otherwise, they do not communicate. How can we get proof of the support agreement without her help? The money is sent by bank transfer. If we ask her for something in writing we fear she will try to get more money from him because of my income. They communicate through chat in facebook when needed. Sorry, I know this is long and rambling and you must have the answers to this somewhere, but I have looked for a couple of hours now and can't find. Thank you so much for being here and helping.

 

[keesio]

A few key things:
-The FBI check is taking up to 12 weeks recently so you want to focus on that first. The trick with that one is that the FBI letter you get is valid for up to 3 months from the date of the letter. So CIC must receive your application (with that letter) within the 3 months of the date on that letter. Note that it doesn't really matter if you get the check before or after you get married. All they are going to do is run your fingerprints and look for criminal activity. All CIC cares is if the results are clean. Doesn't matter your civil status at the time.
-Medicals should be done close to the time you are ready to mail out your application. That is because they had a validity of one year. After one year, CIC may extend them or ask for another. The year should be fine though because most US applicants (especially citizens) get processed in much less time than a year.
-I'm not sure why he needs proof of the support arrangement regarding his child support. All CIC cares about is if your husband has income and if he went on welfare. He needs to submit a document called an "Option C" for his last tax return. This should have information on if he collected welfare. If he did not, then he is fine.

Let me give you the (rough) timeline for my wife and I when I sponsored her from the USA
1) Got married October 20th, 2012
2) Got fingerprints and mailed to CJIS for FBI check on November 20th 2012
3) Starting November 20th: Started filling out application forms for Sponsor and Applicant
4) Starting November 20th: Getting all requested documentation for sponsor and applicant (photos, passport copy, birth certificate copy, etc) as requested by the documents checklist
5) December 18th: Got FBI certificate letter with results of the background check (Note that it took 4-6 weeks back then. It is currently up to 12 weeks now so adjust your timeline accordingly since you will have to wait longer for yours)
6) Did Medicals on January 3rd, 2013
7) Paid all application fees online and filled out receipt information on January 4th, 2013
8 ) Finished filling out all application forms and put it together with all required documents on January 5th, 2013
9) Bought some various sized envelopes and carefully put together package (mostly used paper clips and organized things into different smaller envelopes) on January 6th
9) Double-checked whole application and all documents on January 7th, 2013
10) Triple-checked whole application and all documents on January 8th, 2013
11) Went to Post Office and mailed the application on January 9th (with tracking and signature required on delivery).

Good luck!

 

[Snowisland]

Thank you so much!

 

[Mariac819]

Keesio pretty much summed up how we did it except we have different dates

Make sure your fingerprints are of good quality. I actually had my initial set of fingerprints rejected by the FBI (they were taken by a detective at a NYPD precent). The next set I went to an actual fingerprinting agency, they charged me $40 but the FBI accepted them. I had to submit twice to the FBI, thankfully they were only taking 4 weeks at the time - so it only took 2 months to get the 2 prints and the check back from them.

 

[keesio]

I forgot to mention one thing... note that the name you use on your application is the name on your passport. I'm not sure what your plans are regarding if you will change your last name. If you do change your name after marriage but don't update your passport, then you would still apply with the name on your passport. If you want to apply with your new last name, you must update your passport first.

One option is to not update your passport before and simply mail in your application with your maiden name. Then later you can update your passport and let CIC know so they can update your application while it is in their hands (my wife did this and it was fine) and they will finish your application using your new married name. Another thing is to not bother updating your passport and have CIC process the application under your maiden name. The issue will be that they will issue your landing document in your maiden name and after you immigrate to Canada, your Canadian resident card will be in your maiden name (and any other Canadian ID/document you get will also be in your maiden name). You can then decide to do the whole name change thing in Canada but this may be more of a hassle.

And if you are planning on moving to Quebec, then all of this is moot since Quebec does not recognize name changes for marriage.

 

[Mariac819]

I forgot to mention one thing... note that the name you use on your application is the name on your passport. I'm not sure what your plans are regarding if you will change your last name. If you do change your name after marriage but don't update your passport, then you would still apply with the name on your passport. If you want to apply with your new last name, you must update your passport first.

One option is to not update your passport before and simply mail in your application with your maiden name. Then later you can update your passport and let CIC know so they can update your application while it is in their hands (my wife did this and it was fine) and they will finish your application using your new married name. Another thing is to not bother updating your passport and have CIC process the application under your maiden name. The issue will be that they will issue your landing document in your maiden name and after you immigrate to Canada, your Canadian resident card will be in your maiden name (and any other Canadian ID/document you get will also be in your maiden name). You can then decide to do the whole name change thing in Canada but this may be more of a hassle.

And if you are planning on moving to Quebec, then all of this is moot since Quebec does not recognize name changes for marriage.

How long did it take your wife to get a new passport?

I've discussed this a couple of times on the forums but I fear I'll get COPR
While waiting for my new passport - talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

[keesio]

I think it took about a month. She did standard processing. There were also some expedited options which you can pay extra for but we were not in a rush (CPP-Ottawa was averaging about 8 months at the time for US applicants).

If I recall correctly, I think she needed to update her SSN with her new name first (she went to some office and did it on the spot). Once you do that, you can update all your other docs (passport, driver's license, etc)

 

[rhcohen2014]

How long did it take your wife to get a new passport?

I've discussed this a couple of times on the forums but I fear I'll get COPR
While waiting for my new passport - talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

expedited service i think is 2-3 weeks, and if you're in ottawa, you can go down to the embassy and make an appointment. they'll do it in 2 weeks, though i'm not sure if they charge the expedited rate. Just as I made the decision to change my name, I got my ppr, so i went to the embassy and was able to make an appointment.(the appoinments are always booked online, but in person they can get you in.) the timing didn't quite work with my travel plans and needs for my passport, so i ended up just sending my ppr without my married name.

 

[Mariac819]

expedited service i think is 2-3 weeks, and if you're in ottawa, you can go down to the embassy and make an appointment. they'll do it in 2 weeks, though i'm not sure if they charge the expedited rate. Just as I made the decision to change my name, I got my ppr, so i went to the embassy and was able to make an appointment.(the appoinments are always booked online, but in person they can get you in.) the timing didn't quite work with my travel plans and needs for my passport, so i ended up just sending my ppr without my married name.

That is what I am worried about Rh -

1. Maybe I am being hopefully but we are hoping to hear from Ottawa by end of year
2. Like Keesio said - I thought we needed our SSN card changed before passport.

Probably best I wait. Had decided to wait already.

Your COPR was in your maiden name? Will you be resubmitting for a nam change on your PR? I had found a link that it's only $50

Is eventing else like SIN and health insurance / license in your maiden name?

 

[figtoria]

Also - we got married in Ontario (Canadian and American) and it took about 3 months to get our "official" marriage certificate from the province. We were married at the beginning of December 2011 and didn't get our certificate until the end of February 2012.

So I would take that into account as well.

 

[rhcohen2014]

2. Like Keesio said - I thought we needed our SSN card changed before passport.

nope, all you need is your marriage certificate to change your name in your passport. It states this in the directions for changing your name. they don't ask for SS cards or anything. it's not necessary to change SS first.

Your COPR was in your maiden name? Will you be resubmitting for a nam change on your PR? I had found a link that it's only $50

Is eventing else like SIN and health insurance / license in your maiden name?

yep, everything is in my maiden name, because everything has to be issued in the name on the COPR. it can't be put in my married name until I change my pr card to my married name, then I can go around changing it on everything else. I have yet to receive my PR card...it seems to be lost in the mail, as it was mailed out on Oct 21. I have to wait until Dec. 6 to call back about it. since the first one has technically been issued, if they can't find it and I need to replace it, maybe i'll be able to get it done in my married name.

 

[keesio]

Also - we got married in Ontario (Canadian and American) and it took about 3 months to get our "official" marriage certificate from the province. We were married at the beginning of December 2011 and didn't get our certificate until the end of February 2012.

So I would take that into account as well.

Oh good point! My wife and I got married in the US (NYC) and it only took 3 weeks to get our marriage certificate. Didn't realize Ontario could be slow like that!

 

[Mariac819]

nope, all you need is your marriage certificate to change your name in your passport. It states this in the directions for changing your name. they don't ask for SS cards or anything. it's not necessary to change SS first.

Thank you!.. I am reconsidering now that it looks like Ottawa is taking their sweet time again. lol

yep, everything is in my maiden name, because everything has to be issued in the name on the COPR. it can't be put in my married name until I change my pr card to my married name, then I can go around changing it on everything else. I have yet to receive my PR card...it seems to be lost in the mail, as it was mailed out on Oct 21. I have to wait until Dec. 6 to call back about it. since the first one has technically been issued, if they can't find it and I need to replace it, maybe i'll be able to get it done in my married name.

Oh - that sucks ... I hope you figured it all out soon!