Processing times for Spouse PR from the United States

[Rob_TO]

Thank you!! It would be nice if CIC could clear up all these misunderstandings by giving clear information in the first place! They even say to choose your countries visa office because that is where your application WILL be processed. We could have saved so much stress if they would have said that problematic cases are sent to the US visa office. Even when speaking to a lawyer we were not told this information!

This is all explained actually pretty clearly, if you just read the outland guide: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp#3900E6

Where do I apply?
Mail your completed application in a stamped envelope addressed as shown below (address to Mississauga)

Phase: Eligibility Review
An officer will review your application to ensure you meet the sponsorship requirements.

.... If the requirements are met:
the application for immigration to Canada of the person you are sponsoring will be sent to a Canadian visa office for processing.

And as per the link above to worldwide CIC offices, CPC-Ottawa is the only one shown for apps from the US. I think the only question CIC asks now on the forms, is where a potential interview would be held in case there is need for one. I don't think they even give an option anymore to select your outland processing office in general as that decision is made solely by CIC based on your citizenship or residency.

 

[BeShoo]

We were told by other people who were in our same PR situation that it would be a good idea to get tips from a lawyer to make the process go faster. He didn't give us any helpful information at all... glad we didn't need to pay him! Seems like there are a lot of scams out there!

They can't make anything go faster, even though some of them would like you to think that they can. The two most time-consuming things are waiting for the government to process the application which doesn't change whether you have a lawyer or not and gathering evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and the lawyer can't really do that. You are the one who has all the evidence of how your relationship developed. I've seen stories here of lawyers or agents who forgot to include something important or even forgot to send the application or something. Unless you've got some complicated circumstances (previous crimes, divorces that aren't settled, etc.) or you can't write proper English, there is no good reason to hire an agent.