Port of Spain Office, Trinidad and Tobago

[Brit_Edwards]

haha thanks millslu. You came on after you sent everything, too late lol. Nah, I know you waiting on your ARC and stuff, so at this point, it's just to wait it out a bit longer. Start with the CSE's if it goes past the time they told you to expect something, but that's about all you can do.

Awesome! Haha yes, it is certainly the art project putting all the docs together! Then it looks so neat and pretty at the end, you don't want to send it off. You mentioned pre-marital counselling. Make sure you draw major attention to that in your story details, cause it scores big points in proving genuine relationships. If you can as well, get a letter from the person who did your counselling. Also show how your husband's family has been involved in your life since the wedding, and if you did anything post-wedding to further combine your assets, make sure you highlight that. Seems like you've got it pretty well under control. WE trust and know your relationship is irie, but just remember VOs make it their mission to poke holes in your story. So you always want to be preemptive. Anything they might attack, be ready with the answer and provide it in the application. This way they have no reason to request additional info later on.

On a totally different note... you mentioned your daughter's name is hyphenated. May I ask if you guys had any concerns around doing that? My husband and I are leaning towards this for our future kids, but pretty much everyone is telling us not to.

Yea we did counselling my dear...but by the sounds of it should I write a cover letter tho seperate from the forms?

Girlfriend...anything to make immigration leave me alone im all for it... well her name not 100% hyphenated tho, but she has his last name..so her name is B. A.N. Marshall. Edwards

 

[millslu]

am i the only one who got married after he left???? Sounds like im doomed because of that...and lawd man on a serious note... they would REALLY scrutinize me and theres a baby in the picture?...$100s - $1000s of dollars in phone bills from the day he left to now, ME GOING TO ST LUCIA 3 TIMES IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS, western union receipts in adundance plus so much more -__-....

Ugh im guess i should prepare for an interview it seems ... :'(

heyy 2brit i dont think you need to panic you look like you have everything under control, @zouk just gave u some good advice on the common law, sometimes more is always good, and they will poke alot of holes, my wife and i got married 6 monthe before i was sent home we got engaged a year before we got married, no kids tons of evidense casue we love takin pictures of our selvs togther, but it really didnt help they still found holes, the interview to me had very little to do with my marriage it had a mixture of things i didnt even prepare for expecially my past. and at the interview i brought another mountain of stuff again they never went through it at the end of the interview they gave it back to me and said thanks,it made me believe they didnt even go though my original application, becasue my ARC was in the file from january and she didnt even know that, i had to pointed it out to her.

so dnt panic do your best and everyone is different but one thing that will remain the same is you and your husband are gonna be together no mater what.

@zouk i alreay sent iin my CSE and they wrote me back that they email canada for my medicals . so we are waiting for GCMS NOW

 

[Behopeful]

Hello to eveyone! Welcome to our newest member. Millslu, MissD and Zouk have provided lots of great advise. This is a long process for sure and when we all started none if us anticipated it would take as long as it does. My advise is think longer and when it takes less time you will be pleasantly surprised! When some of us started 6-12 months ago, we didn't know there would be a strike, etc which can slow your file down. And I am not suggesting POS is striking, but I would assume there is some level of support for the IO's that are. Afterall, they are from the same representing union.
The cover letter is one thing I wish I would have added to my file. It didn't even cross my mind. As well, I would be careful about including pics that don't have applicant and sponsor in the picture. IO's want to see the development of your relationship together. I included a small number of photos with the applicant and my parents, but my way around this was having my parents write support letters and attach those photos to the letters. Do other senior members have thoughts on this? Did you include or not? We did add some pictures of my husband with our daughter but didn't include tons. I don't think IO's always think marriages are fraud but rather marriages of convenience.
Brit... I'm not sure how you go about paying back the money for the flight. My husband paid his own way because CBSA stated it would cost 1500$ regardless of the actual cost of the flight. I've heard they would request it at the end before PPR but better if you can get it out of the way now. All the best and welcome again!

How is eveyone else? Anyone do anything fun for the long weekend? MissD when is graduation?

 

[Behopeful]

heyy 2brit i dont think you need to panic you look like you have everything under control, @ zouk just gave u some good advice on the common law, sometimes more is always good, and they will poke alot of holes, my wife and i got married 6 monthe before i was sent home we got engaged a year before we got married, no kids tons of evidense casue we love takin pictures of our selvs togther, but it really didnt help they still found holes, the interview to me had very little to do with my marriage it had a mixture of things i didnt even prepare for expecially my past. and at the interview i brought another mountain of stuff again they never went through it at the end of the interview they gave it back to me and said thanks,it made me believe they didnt even go though my original application, becasue my ARC was in the file from january and she didnt even know that, i had to pointed it out to her.

so dnt panic do your best and everyone is different but one thing that will remain the same is you and your husband are gonna be together no mater what.

@ zouk i alreay sent iin my CSE and they wrote me back that they email canada for my medicals . so we are waiting for GCMS NOW

Millslu... Great point! Interviews are not always to examine the relationship but sometimes just your past history. Prepare for anything with immigration!

 

[Zouk Princesse]

am i the only one who got married after he left???? Sounds like im doomed because of that...and lawd man on a serious note... they would REALLY scrutinize me and theres a baby in the picture?...$100s - $1000s of dollars in phone bills from the day he left to now, ME GOING TO ST LUCIA 3 TIMES IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS, western union receipts in adundance plus so much more -__-....

Ugh im guess i should prepare for an interview it seems ... :'(

Haha you're not the only one, but unfortunately it will draw scrutiny as their inclination will be to say that he married you to get back into Canada. Sad but true. It doesn't necessarily have to mean an interview though, again, it's all how you present it. The reason for calling for interview would be for you to prove that your relationship naturally progressed to marriage, and was not done to gain entry to Canada. Your job is to prove this up front in your application, so that they won't have anything additional to ask. Sadly, babies don't mean anything to CIC. They have stated quite clearly that "all a baby proves is that two people had sex". If your case looks weak to them, a baby won't help. HOWEVER... if you've got a strong case, having a baby on top of that can only make you stronger. It's all in the presentation

Also YES, you should definitely include a cover letter separate from the forms! It's one of those things that they don't tell you but earns big points. For one, it shows you're super organized, which they interpret as a sign of a genuine relationship (fraudsters won't put in that much effort). Second, it gives you the opportunity to present your case the way you want them to see it, to guide them through all your evidence and frame your story for them. Think of it as the opening statement in a trial. It's also the opportunity to point out any potential red flags and address them head on, rather than leaving the VO to come to his/her own twisted conclusion. Finally, it allows you to walk them through how you organized your application, so they can find everything quickly, as likely your package will include things that are not on the CIC checklist.

Another suggestion... while it usually isn't worth the $2000-$3000 an immigration consultant will charge to represent you, it is totally worth the $200 or so they'll charge you to look over your case. Most consultants offer this service. You simply bring in your completed package and they will look over it through the eyes of a VO and give you any feedback on how to make it better. It's soooo worth a couple hundred bucks. If you can do this, I'd strongly recommend it!

@ zouk i alreay sent iin my CSE and they wrote me back that they email canada for my medicals . so we are waiting for GCMS NOW

Oh yeah... I forgot lol. Yeah, you're on the last leg brother, don't worry

 

[millslu]

hey welcome @behopeful, to not to confuse @brit cover letters picture and all that is essential, i had a cover letter written by my wife which was awesome and stuff, tons of pictures, at the end i felt that none of that mattered, as long as they examine your history in the country especailly filing for refugee ect right away convenince comes to mind, so i would concentrate on everything before he applied for refugee and everything after he applied and also before he was sent home and after he was sent home.

great advice ppl keep it coming hope this is helping @brit i wish i had somne of that advice when i sent mine, it wouldnt hve cost me $3000.00 good dollars for some dumb ass consultant. hahah

 

[millslu]

Haha you're not the only one, but unfortunately it will draw scrutiny as their inclination will be to say that he married you to get back into Canada. Sad but true. It doesn't necessarily have to mean an interview though, again, it's all how you present it. The reason for calling for interview would be for you to prove that your relationship naturally progressed to marriage, and was not done to gain entry to Canada. Your job is to prove this up front in your application, so that they won't have anything additional to ask. Sadly, babies don't mean anything to CIC. They have stated quite clearly that "all a baby proves is that two people had sex". If your case looks weak to them, a baby won't help. HOWEVER... if you've got a strong case, having a baby on top of that can only make you stronger. It's all in the presentation

Also YES, you should definitely include a cover letter separate from the forms! It's one of those things that they don't tell you but earns big points. For one, it shows you're super organized, which they interpret as a sign of a genuine relationship (fraudsters won't put in that much effort). Second, it gives you the opportunity to present your case the way you want them to see it, to guide them through all your evidence and frame your story for them. Think of it as the opening statement in a trial. It's also the opportunity to point out any potential red flags and address them head on, rather than leaving the VO to come to his/her own twisted conclusion. Finally, it allows you to walk them through how you organized your application, so they can find everything quickly, as likely your package will include things that are not on the CIC checklist.

Another suggestion... while it usually isn't worth the $2000-$3000 an immigration consultant will charge to represent you, it is totally worth the $200 or so they'll charge you to look over your case. Most consultants offer this service. You simply bring in your completed package and they will look over it through the eyes of a VO and give you any feedback on how to make it better. It's soooo worth a couple hundred bucks. If you can do this, I'd strongly recommend it!

Oh yeah... I forgot lol. Yeah, you're on the last leg brother, don't worry

haha @zouk you sound so much like my wife she is super organised and she did the exact same thing with our application. yayyy am on my last leg so am guessin they will get back to me in 6 months for PPR HAHAHAHAH ;D ;D

 

[Behopeful]

haha @ zouk you sound so much like my wife she is super organised and she did the exact same thing with our application. yayyy am on my last l :-[eg so am guessin they will get back to me in 6 months for PPR HAHAHAHAH ;D ;D

Wow Millslu... You are thinking long term!!
I organized mine with lots of notes and appendix but didn't include an overall cover letter which I kinda regret, but can't cry over spilled milk now!

 

[Zouk Princesse]

Hello to eveyone! Welcome to our newest member. Millslu, MissD and Zouk have provided lots of great advise. This is a long process for sure and when we all started none if us anticipated it would take as long as it does. My advise is think longer and when it takes less time you will be pleasantly surprised! When some of us started 6-12 months ago, we didn't know there would be a strike, etc which can slow your file down. And I am not suggesting POS is striking, but I would assume there is some level of support for the IO's that are. Afterall, they are from the same representing union.
The cover letter is one thing I wish I would have added to my file. It didn't even cross my mind. As well, I would be careful about including pics that don't have applicant and sponsor in the picture. IO's want to see the development of your relationship together. I included a small number of photos with the applicant and my parents, but my way around this was having my parents write support letters and attach those photos to the letters. Do other senior members have thoughts on this? Did you include or not? We did add some pictures of my husband with our daughter but didn't include tons. I don't think IO's always think marriages are fraud but rather marriages of convenience.
Brit... I'm not sure how you go about paying back the money for the flight. My husband paid his own way because CBSA stated it would cost 1500$ regardless of the actual cost of the flight. I've heard they would request it at the end before PPR but better if you can get it out of the way now. All the best and welcome again!

How is eveyone else? Anyone do anything fun for the long weekend? MissD when is graduation?

Pics of your spouse (the applicant) with your family/close friends is always an awesome thing to have! We sent in every single pic showing him interacting with family. Anytime he/she stays over at your family's home, mention it! For example, we included pics from my husband and I at my best friend's son's bday party Letters are great, but pics also say a thousand words. If you label who's in the pics, that stands as solid proof right there. Especially if they look all happy and close in them We got a great shot of my husband and my aunt casually laughing over something at our wedding

 

[Zouk Princesse]

haha @ zouk you sound so much like my wife she is super organised and she did the exact same thing with our application. yayyy am on my last leg so am guessin they will get back to me in 6 months for PPR HAHAHAHAH ;D ;D

Haha I'm sure it won't take another 6 months! Have you spoken with anyone who's requested med extensions recently? I'd like to hope they're more organized now and don't take 8 weeks like ours did

 

[millslu]

hhaha i was kinda joking about the 6 month when u dealing with POS U kinda hve to think long term and then hope for a surprise, if you know wat i mean. well i think i saw a few ppl who had they ARC processed in 2.5 months and then they ask for medical redo together with a PPR so am leaning towards that, since my ARC has been with them for 3 months now.

 

[MissDominica]

@Behopeful, graduation officially in June 2014, but I'll be done before that and just waiting for the diploma lol.. so I will have a couple months off to rest.

Hope everyone is irie!

 

[Zouk Princesse]

hhaha i was kinda joking about the 6 month when u dealing with POS U kinda hve to think long term and then hope for a surprise, if you know wat i mean. well i think i saw a few ppl who had they ARC processed in 2.5 months and then they ask for medical redo together with a PPR so am leaning towards that, since my ARC has been with them for 3 months now.

ok cool.

 

[fromadistance]

Good to see the activity on the thread today! How is everyone?

My friend just got a visitor visa today and it took exactly 10 business days. So POS is alive and kicking and not on strike which is great!

 

[millslu]

yehh its good to know and yes its great to see @brit wake us up a bit, i know its long and tediouse being in this forum and not hearing anything for months, but its good we here today, am hoping that we get some good news for anyone, we have @priestman waiting, we have @gigi waiting, we have @missd waiting for something and i dnt know about @limbo about his sitaution and there is @millslu and its been 8 months , we havent had any confetti here hope that curse can be broken.