POSITIVE IMMIGRATION STORY

[Frida19]

I was a lucky one in the fact that I got AOR.... I hope that you hear something soon.

Yes you were really lucky , good thing you are done with this &Thankz I hope I hear something soon too . The fact that they dont tell me anythithing is very upseting .

 

[Hnhkrk]

Yes you were really lucky , good thing you are done with this &Thankz I hope I hear something soon too . The fact that they dont tell me anythithing is very upseting .

It is very, very upsetting. Even though I got AOR it didn't tell me WHERE my application was sent to. I didn't find out until I received emails from both LA and Ottawa a week or two before my application was approved.

 

[charliem]

OK, here is my positive story.

I met my wife (we're both from Africa) about 9 years ago although we never started a relationship until later. She moved to Canada with family 4 years after our first meet and got into contact with me again two years ago. We started dating (long-distance) while she as in Canada and I in Africa. A few months into the relationship, I asked to visit her and attend her graduation and was refused despite having a comfortable job at a university.

Anyhow, she managed to travel to see me for a couple weeks and returned to Canada. At the end of the year she came back and we had our wedding. It coincided with a research fellowship I was due to take at a university in South of Canada. Getting the visitor visa for that fellowship required a 5-month wait, and once granted we arrived in Canada together (on different flights for the last leg of the journey--not by design)

The positive part of my story is Revenue Canada asked me to declare income I earned in Africa before we got married and quickly gave me a temporary tax number and I realize my wife got tax credit based on that assessment. A week after I arrived, I got super-wonderful reception at the home of a professor at the Canadian university where I work now (yes, it's research-funded work, no need for work permit). He'd never met me but thought it would be a good thing to have me for dinner. Unforgettable Dr Walton!

I also managed to exchange my driver's license for an Ontario one without any trouble. With a bit of homework, I can almost any information I need in this country at my computer or with a couple phone calls. The system is very organized, going by the gigaloads of information on government websites.

I'll be learning French and 3-D graphic design at home as I wait for this PR application to roll.

 

[Hnhkrk]

I love reading other positive stories. Does anyone have anything else that they want to share?!

 

[Becki567]

I have to say I love seeing this thread... But maybe not all the negative comments. I am a Canadian born citizen and the constant criticizing of my country and the country people here want to live in gets annoying.

No one here is forced to immigrant or sponsor, and I do believe the majority of the CIC employees do the best they can. I imagine it is a pretty stressful and thankless job.

If you are angry or frustrated with long wait times then blame those people who try and cheat and lie and fake marriages. They are responsible for all the extra time needed to be spent verifying files.

Mr. Jeep guy, if you chose to pay $25000, that was your choice and is not necessary for immigrating. Also, I noticed you used Manila office... 13 months is an incredibly fast time from that office! You should feel lucky.

And finally, this forum can and should be used by everybody, not just those having issues as was suggested by mr jeep.

I can not wait to add my positive story at the end of our journey!

 

[keesio]

My sponsorship of my wife from the US was pretty smooth. Took 7 months to get her COPR. There was one hiccup where the case officer misplaced the FBI letter (causing a mini-panic attack) but then replied 3 days later saying he/she found it.

No doubt that sponsorship of a US citizen has the least grief. CIC views the relationship with low scrutiny and the timelines are pretty good. The close proximity and visa-exempt status causes less strain on the relationship because of easy travel between the countries. So I do agree that US-CDN couples are fortunate compared to others.

 

[kasia333]

I can totally relate to your post.. the stress and the worrying for silliest reasons... as well as the "if you want to test your relationship, go through immigration together" thing. Oh.. and the thing were you feel like you're not contributing cause you used to work, and now you don't part..

thank you for this post..

 

[Hnhkrk]

It's my pleasure to share my story and help others. Like I said, it would have helped me a lot to read some more positive things. The process is so overwhelming and stressful... I finally stopped having nightmares about it. :-\

 

[missmatalini]

I really needed to see this today. Thank you for posting it!

I went from being a college student who also worked full time to sitting in a very big house by myself all the time while my Canadian husband is at work. It truly has been a test in our relationship and it is amazing how much we have been strengthened by this whole experience. We are bulletproof after all of this!

I do also have to say - that I do understand that as an American immigrating to Canada I do have it "easier" than people from non visa exempt countries. . . that being said, we shouldn't be tearing each other down or brushing off each others heartache and emotional turmoil from this experience. Despite how hard it is for some, we are all in the processing and we are all feeling the stress of it. So try to be understanding. I have a lot of respect for those who are in the immigration process while being separated from their spouse, I'm thankful I'm not in that situation. But that doesn't mean in my own way I don't have a really crappy situation. . . we don't know each others intricate details regarding their situations. . . so be compassionate.

Anyway - once again thank you Hnhkrk for posting this, I'm very early in the processing of "waiting" and I already feel like I've done a thousand things wrong and I'm going to either be delayed or denied despite so much research and asking a million questions and checking everything multiple times. . .. Thanks for sparking the hope and faith again. I truly appreciate it.

 

[kkinza]

Thank you, this is soo reassuring <3 Best of luck sweetie, God Bless

 

[taffy7]

Well after reading all 3 pages does this class me as a troll , as i have no idea what that meant