Passport Requested; change of status upcoming - what to do?

[Canuckgirl]

So my common-law spouse (outland application) got his passport request yesterday (August 5) by email from Buffalo - great news, right? Well, we noticed on the "Instructions for family members" it says not to submit the passport if their status will change before landing. In our application, we were very upfront with the fact that we are getting married on August 21. We sent the passport by express mail to Buffalo today, and more than likely we'll get it back not before August 21, so landing will likely have to happen after the wedding. Is that going to be a problem? 2 things that I'm not completely clear about - 1st, do the Instructions for Family Members also include the applicant (he is on his own, no other family included in the application)? 2nd, do we still have to advise Mississauga and/or Buffalo of the change of marital status once it "officially" happens, even if we already have the passport in hand?

I called CIC this morning and they gave me an answer, and told me to check with Buffalo as well - but you can only send Buffalo an email, and they have not sent a reply to the one I sent this morning. The person at the CIC call centre advised me to send the passport in with a letter "reminder" that we are still getting married August 21 and that if necessary, we can forward the marriage license after that date. I didn't want to delay anything, so I sent off the letter with the passport without hearing anything from Buffalo regarding my email this morning. I'm just worried now that we could run into problems. Any advice or did anyone deal with a similar situation? I would hate to mess up something now, especially after everything got processed pretty quickly.

 

[SimpleMan]

I suggest the same thing that CIC told you: send an email to Buffalo, and add a letter "reminder" with your passport.

 

[SaugaBoss]

So my common-law spouse (outland application) got his passport request yesterday (August 5) by email from Buffalo - great news, right? Well, we noticed on the "Instructions for family members" it says not to submit the passport if their status will change before landing. In our application, we were very upfront with the fact that we are getting married on August 21. We sent the passport by express mail to Buffalo today, and more than likely we'll get it back not before August 21, so landing will likely have to happen after the wedding. Is that going to be a problem? 2 things that I'm not completely clear about - 1st, do the Instructions for Family Members also include the applicant (he is on his own, no other family included in the application)? 2nd, do we still have to advise Mississauga and/or Buffalo of the change of marital status once it "officially" happens, even if we already have the passport in hand?

I called CIC this morning and they gave me an answer, and told me to check with Buffalo as well - but you can only send Buffalo an email, and they have not sent a reply to the one I sent this morning. The person at the CIC call centre advised me to send the passport in with a letter "reminder" that we are still getting married August 21 and that if necessary, we can forward the marriage license after that date. I didn't want to delay anything, so I sent off the letter with the passport without hearing anything from Buffalo regarding my email this morning. I'm just worried now that we could run into problems. Any advice or did anyone deal with a similar situation? I would hate to mess up something now, especially after everything got processed pretty quickly.

congrats! only 4 months!

 

[Canuckgirl]

I really don't think there is any other option but to send a letter, but I still won't feel "safe" until landing is done!

 

[RobsLuv]

OK, you have to look first at what the requirement to advise about a change in family composition is about before you know for sure how to handle this. Applicants for PR are required to notify the processing office of any changes to their marital status because, if they are marrying a foreign national, they have to stop the processing of their application and add their new spouse to the application before they land. If they don't do this, they forever forfeit the ability to sponsor that spouse as a family member. This really isn't applicable to a family class sponsorship.

You are a Canadian already - so when the two of you marry, his notifying them of his change in marital status will not require that his application be stopped and you added to it. He will not be sponsoring you to Canada in the future. Spousal/common-law applications are processed a little differently when a couple is married as opposed to common-law, so sometimes it can be to your advantage to marry during processing because spouses do not have to prove co-habitation as part of their qualification. If there were questions about your actual qualification as c/l partners, that would no longer be an issue if you married, so marrying the sponsoring partner during processing does change the process a bit - however, at this late date, it's probably a non-issue for you guys anyway because it seems you were approved as c/l partners already and marriage won't change that.

If it were me, I'd send a fax to Buffalo (rather than an email) reminding them that you're marrying on August 21st and telling them that your husband's passport has been requested. That way you've reminded them, again, of your plans. You probably won't hear back from them. If you marry before he gets the COPR and passport back, immediately fax them a copy of your solemnization certificate. You probably still won't hear anything from them - but you'll have done your "due diligence" to report his change in marital status. I think you won't hear from them because, really, your marriage has no bearing on his landing or on the application - it is not applicable to R117(9)(d).

If he receives his COPR after you're married, I think it's important that you accompany him to his landing interview and that you have your Canadian passport with you, as well as the marriage licence (or Record of Solemnization) to prove that you are his spouse and that you are a Canadian. He should tell the landing officer that he has married you - but it should be of no consequence.