Received a letter requesting what I already sent in!

[Biehn]

Hell everyone,

I'm currently being sponsored through the Family Class Sponsorship. So far my Sponsor has been approved, I am not required for an interview, and they "expect to finalize" my application soon. the office I processed through is Buffalo, and I am a U.S. Citizen, my sponsor is Canadian.

In the letter I received today they stated that I was approved for my initial assessment and hope to finalize my application without an interview. GREAT NEWS! However, the same very letter requested that my sponsor pay the Right of Residency Fee and that Police Certificates and FBI Clearance documents be sent in; if they are not sent in within 60 days my application would be canceled.

MY DILEMMA:
I have a receipt in my email stating the $615(I think) that I paid for my Right of Residency Fee and I am 100% sure that I sent in my FBI Clearance paper as well as my California State Clearance/Record too. Both of these things have surely been fulfilled/paid/sent in. Thusly, why did the letter request that they be done?

I really don't want my application to be canceled, but I also couldn't possibly get another FBI Clearance and State Clearance within the next 60 days, nor do I wish to pay a fee I've already paid.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Respectfully,

-Robert

 

[newlife23]

The total amount to be paid to CIC is $1040 which includes the PR card.

 

[saralune]

yeah it seems like it is not paid in full, also possibly, your certificates are expired ?

 

[AW2011]

This is just Buffalo's delay tactics. Just send them all your proofs soon.
When did you get AOR from them by the way?

 

[RobsLuv]

The application fees are $75 sponsor fee, $475 applicant fee and $490 Right of Permanent Residence fee . . . so if you paid $615 total, you've miscalculated somehow and they're looking for more money. Pay the difference between the $1040 and what you already sent, and send the receipt to CPC-Mississauga. You can also fax a copy to Buffalo.

It is possible that the criminal clearances have expired - or were too old when they were submitted with the application. They need to be submitted before they are 3 months old, and are only valid for 6 months. Although it's not common for Buffalo to request new clearances, they certainly are not precluded from doing so. Yeah, it's a pain to get new ones - but if they don't think they have what they need, they're going to keep hounding you until they get them. I found when we were processing that there's not much point in arguing with them.

If you're in Canada, you can get fingerprints done locally on an RCMP fingerprint card and the FBI will accept that. Your State clearance is going to depend on which State - they all seem to have different requirements, but you should be able to submit prints and get results back within 60 days. If not, just fax Buffalo and tell them that you've ordered the clearances and are still waiting. As long as you stay in touch with them, they will not cancel your application while you're waiting for something like that over which you have no control.

 

[Admirable]

It takes about 3 mths to get the FBI Clearance from submission to receipt. You will definitely need to get this done asap and also inform Buffalo that you have applied for a new one. Submit proof (the copy of the money order and application form) Furthermore, always make copies of anything you send to the Visa Office.

 

[ddobro2]

Welcome to the wonderful word of FUBAR Buffalo. I too received an IA, whose purpose apparently is to give you the good news (expect to finalize soon, interview waived) and then ask for stuff that you likely already provided (in my case it was the Quebec CSQ that Quebec sent to them and that I sent to Mississauga asking them to forward to the VO).

Anyway, assuming you did everything right with the police certificate (remember, it's every country that you've lived in for at least 6 consecutive months since the age of 18; also that the date on the police certificate/s cannot be more than 3 months old by the time Mississauga received the application) and Buffalo is just acting FUBAR, just go ahead and send them the copy of the FBI cert (you did make a copy of your whole application before you sent it in, didn't you?).

As for the RPRF fee, it is definetely $490 and not $615. So if your receipt states $615, I don't know what happened there. The total fees you should have paid would be $75 (sponsorship) + $475 (principal applicant only, assuming there are no other accompanying) + $490 (RPRF or "landing fee"). Thus it would be a total of $1040.

Hell everyone,

I'm currently being sponsored through the Family Class Sponsorship. So far my Sponsor has been approved, I am not required for an interview, and they "expect to finalize" my application soon. the office I processed through is Buffalo, and I am a U.S. Citizen, my sponsor is Canadian.

In the letter I received today they stated that I was approved for my initial assessment and hope to finalize my application without an interview. GREAT NEWS! However, the same very letter requested that my sponsor pay the Right of Residency Fee and that Police Certificates and FBI Clearance documents be sent in; if they are not sent in within 60 days my application would be canceled.

MY DILEMMA:
I have a receipt in my email stating the $615(I think) that I paid for my Right of Residency Fee and I am 100% sure that I sent in my FBI Clearance paper as well as my California State Clearance/Record too. Both of these things have surely been fulfilled/paid/sent in. Thusly, why did the letter request that they be done?

I really don't want my application to be canceled, but I also couldn't possibly get another FBI Clearance and State Clearance within the next 60 days, nor do I wish to pay a fee I've already paid.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Respectfully,

-Robert

 

[Biehn]

Hello!

I appreciate the many replies. So to reply:

1. I do not have copies of my State Clearance(Police Clearance) because the lady who helped me in obtaining my clearance advised me to send the original, meaning copies surely didn't matter. Original only. Nor do I have copies of my FBI Clearance because I didn't want to risk them getting delayed in mail by being sent to me and then having to send them to Buffalo, so instead I had them sent directly to Buffalo with all the appropriate information relating them to my application.

2. I don't think I've paid the total grand sum of $1050, so I'll go to the CIC website and try and find where I pay what remainder they want.

3. I've come to recall that my application was sent just before the damned Canadian Mail Strike, meaning that there is a good chance my application was not received in a timely manner, and thusly my Police/FBI clearances were expired by the time Buffalo go them.


All that said, what should the course of my next actions be?

Should I:

1. Got the RCMP and obtain fingerprints?
2. Try and get a State Clearance again? My State is California, and they have special form that I can't get online and also do not accept fingerprint cards, but instead a Live Scan. So how could I obtain that when I'm in Canada?
3. I've sent two emails to Buffalo, asking for a bit of advice, clarification, and sent a receipt to them as well. Should I try and find a better or different method of contacting them?


Also, how do I view what fees I've paid already to CIC? I don't want to repay the same fees again, you know?

This is all so confusing and frustrating, so I apologize if any of this is jumbled or repetitive.

Sincerely,

-Robert

 

[Biehn]

DOUBLE POST!

I figured out why I paid $615. It is:

Right of Permanent Residence Fee($490)
Sponsorship application (per application) ($75)
Permanent Resident Card ($50)
490+75+50=$615.

That means, I guess, I paid for the Card and I didn't need to? Also, they requested that I pay the Right of Residency fee, but the fee I actually didn't pay for yet is the Principal applicant($475). So should I pay that fee instead, even though the mentioned the Right of Residency Fee?---To clarify, I am sure that the total I paid is $615, my receipt states so. Also, encase you are wondering why I didn't pay the Principal Applicant fee, if I do remember I think I was confused at the time and figured that Principle Applicant fee was not needed since I was sponsoring and thusly needed to pay the Sponsorship Application fee.

 

[Admirable]

CIC will do their own RCMP Check. No need for that

Make copies of anything you send to CIC for your own records or in case things get lost even though you submit originals to them

Forget the state clearance. An FBI clearance is sufficient

Pay the remainder of fees. Send receipt to CIC for proof of payment.

 

[RobsLuv]

I agree - they will apply the fees you paid to the mandatory sponsor ($75) and applicant fee ($475) first, and then to the $490 RPRF which can be deferred to later in the process. You don't pay the $50 PR card fee - it's included in the $490. So, basically, you have paid the $75 sponsor fee, the $475 applicant fee and $65 towards the $490 RPRF. You need to send them $425 and you'll be square, as long as you have no accompanying dependents. (They're $150 each if you do.)

 

[mapleleafs2011]

Welcome to the wonderful word of FUBAR Buffalo. I too received an IA, whose purpose apparently is to give you the good news (expect to finalize soon, interview waived) and then ask for stuff that you likely already provided (in my case it was the Quebec CSQ that Quebec sent to them and that I sent to Mississauga asking them to forward to the VO).

Anyway, assuming you did everything right with the police certificate (remember, it's every country that you've lived in for at least 6 consecutive months since the age of 18; also that the date on the police certificate/s cannot be more than 3 months old by the time Mississauga received the application) and Buffalo is just acting FUBAR, just go ahead and send them the copy of the FBI cert (you did make a copy of your whole application before you sent it in, didn't you?).

As for the RPRF fee, it is definetely $490 and not $615. So if your receipt states $615, I don't know what happened there. The total fees you should have paid would be $75 (sponsorship) + $475 (principal applicant only, assuming there are no other accompanying) + $490 (RPRF or "landing fee"). Thus it would be a total of $1040.

Do you have to deal with the quebec CSQ stuff if you're not planning on staying in Quebec?

 

[ddobro2]

You cannot land in Quebec without a CSQ. When you land, you complete the application for the permanent residence card that comes about a month or two later to your mailing address and if you put a Quebec address on that application, CIC will probably not send you your PR card seeing as you didn't apply for a CSQ. If you're not going to stay in Quebec long enough to make use of the government assistance that your CSQ would entitle you to (free french classes, the RAMQ health card), then I wouldn't apply for the CSQ or put "yes" on whatever form in the outland application asks if you will be residing in Quebec. But if your sponsoring spouse lives in Quebec, I would imagine they would look at that a bit suspiciously.

Do you have to deal with the quebec CSQ stuff if you're not planning on staying in Quebec?

 

[ddobro2]

Well it doesn't matter who pays, the sponsor or the PA, but you do have to pay CIC for the work of examing the sponsorship portion at Mississauga, examing the PR portion that pertains to the applicant at Buffalo, and issuing you a COPR.

Also, encase you are wondering why I didn't pay the Principal Applicant fee, if I do remember I think I was confused at the time and figured that Principle Applicant fee was not needed since I was sponsoring and thusly needed to pay the Sponsorship Application fee.

 

[mapleleafs2011]

You cannot land in Quebec without a CSQ. When you land, you complete the application for the permanent residence card that comes about a month or two later to your mailing address and if you put a Quebec address on that application, CIC will probably not send you your PR card seeing as you didn't apply for a CSQ. If you're not going to stay in Quebec long enough to make use of the government assistance that your CSQ would entitle you to (free french classes, the RAMQ health card), then I wouldn't apply for the CSQ or put "yes" on whatever form in the outland application asks if you will be residing in Quebec. But if your sponsoring spouse lives in Quebec, I would imagine they would look at that a bit suspiciously.

Awesome, thanks!