(Sorry in advance for long post - this one is complicated) I am a US citizen and Resident and my husband is a Canadian citizen and resident. We applied for outland spousal sponsorship in March 2019 and therefore hope to have a response by March 2020. There are some other factors that might end with us living in the US for a few years by choice due to work, but we are going to wait until the spousal sponsorship application is processed first before making any changes so it does not interfere, since he has to be a Canadian resident. However, there are some complications to my application.
I have a clean criminal background according to Washington State, where I reside; my background check is completely clean. No charges against me have ever been convicted. HOWEVER my police certificate from the FBI shows several arrest warrants, arrest for charges, and bench warrants for failure to appear. I committed felonies in 2012 because I had a drug addiction at the time. I accepted an agreement for a state sponsored long term treatment program called Drug Court - the stipulations of which include a rigorous program of inpatient and outpatient treatment, random UA's, going to therapy groups, monthly court check ins, etc. Upon successfull completion of the program, all pending felonies are dismissed with prejudice (dismissed permanently.) I completed Drug Court successfully and have been clean from drugs and maintained a clean record for 6.5 years thus far.
I was very open about ALL of this information on my application. I have provided all requested documentation to IRCC: arrest records, court records showing I completed the program and the charges were dismissed, and state and federal background checks. My case was recently transferred to the New York consulate, which is concerning to me. I have read this means my case requires additional scrutiny and might take longer than the 12 months, but IRCC did not say anything specific other than that my case has been transferred.
Because I was worried about my criminal background, I contacted an immigration lawyer who advised me to submit a "determination of admissibility" case to the consulate. She said the processing time should be 4 months, and that if we did that simultaneously to the sponsorship app, they should reach a decision before the sponsorship app is processed and it would make it more likely for my sponsorship to be approved. She did this for me in February 2019, and the sponsorship app was submitted in March 2019 - it has been 9 months and we have not received a response for the determination of admissibility, 5 months past the alleged processing timeline.
Questions:
1. Does completing Drug Court and having the charges dismissed automatically mean I am admissible, since there are no convictions? If not, what are the chances of approval? I travel to Canada quite often to visit my husband and am allowed in, which gives me hope, but permanent residency is more rigorous than visiting temporarily.
2. Have I wasted my time and money on the determination of admissibility application? Why is it taking so long for a response? When & if I receive a response from the consulate, what affect does it have on my sponsorship application? (The lawyer has not actually made this part entirely clear)
Any further insight to this situation is greatly appreciated! I am getting nervous!
I have a clean criminal background according to Washington State, where I reside; my background check is completely clean. No charges against me have ever been convicted. HOWEVER my police certificate from the FBI shows several arrest warrants, arrest for charges, and bench warrants for failure to appear. I committed felonies in 2012 because I had a drug addiction at the time. I accepted an agreement for a state sponsored long term treatment program called Drug Court - the stipulations of which include a rigorous program of inpatient and outpatient treatment, random UA's, going to therapy groups, monthly court check ins, etc. Upon successfull completion of the program, all pending felonies are dismissed with prejudice (dismissed permanently.) I completed Drug Court successfully and have been clean from drugs and maintained a clean record for 6.5 years thus far.
I was very open about ALL of this information on my application. I have provided all requested documentation to IRCC: arrest records, court records showing I completed the program and the charges were dismissed, and state and federal background checks. My case was recently transferred to the New York consulate, which is concerning to me. I have read this means my case requires additional scrutiny and might take longer than the 12 months, but IRCC did not say anything specific other than that my case has been transferred.
Because I was worried about my criminal background, I contacted an immigration lawyer who advised me to submit a "determination of admissibility" case to the consulate. She said the processing time should be 4 months, and that if we did that simultaneously to the sponsorship app, they should reach a decision before the sponsorship app is processed and it would make it more likely for my sponsorship to be approved. She did this for me in February 2019, and the sponsorship app was submitted in March 2019 - it has been 9 months and we have not received a response for the determination of admissibility, 5 months past the alleged processing timeline.
Questions:
1. Does completing Drug Court and having the charges dismissed automatically mean I am admissible, since there are no convictions? If not, what are the chances of approval? I travel to Canada quite often to visit my husband and am allowed in, which gives me hope, but permanent residency is more rigorous than visiting temporarily.
2. Have I wasted my time and money on the determination of admissibility application? Why is it taking so long for a response? When & if I receive a response from the consulate, what affect does it have on my sponsorship application? (The lawyer has not actually made this part entirely clear)
Any further insight to this situation is greatly appreciated! I am getting nervous!
