Spousal sponsorship

[frege]

I am a U.S. citizen and married a Canadian in Sept. 2015. While I keep my legal address/residence as the U.S., I have spent most of the time in Canada with him since then. We submitted the Family Class Sponsorship and permanent resident apps to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) only to receive a letter stating that they process applications where the Principal Applicant resides overseas. The letter also states that they kept no record of our submission. This is very confusing as I've done my research and can't find out where we need to mail the application - other than the CPC-M which returned our app. Also, is the medical exam required since I have only been in the U.S.A. & Canada in the last 5 years, no other countries. Any suggestion(s) is much appreciated!

That is odd. I would call CIC and try to get advice on this issue.

If you determine that CIC made a mistake, then resubmit the same application with a cover letter explaining why you believe this is an error on their part and including any proof you have of the date it was originally delivered and/or sent to them. Ask that the application be treated by CIC as having been received on the date they originally received it.

 

[frege]

Hi Guys,
I migrated to Canada in 2015, landed in June. I am in the GTA. Initially when I came it was hard (as I had expected) but gradually things started getting better. I recently got hired in a decent paying job - my field, got a car and getting my credentials that much closer to where it should be, I am an ACCA sitting a few more exams towards my CPA.

Now that you have some background on me, here is why I'm in this forum again (besides sharing some FSWP info ).. I recently got married to my long time girl friend. We've been together for more than 5 years... I wanted to get married before I applied to come to Canada but didn't know what to expect and how hard it was going to be, I didn't want her to take the risk (selfish me) and we didn't get married at that time.

I am filing her application this month and I think we have everything covered. I am not taking a lawyer nor being represented by anyone. I completed my paperwork and she did the same - awaiting her package to consolidate and sent to Mississauga processing centre.

Questions:
1. I don't have phone bills showing we talk. In these times everyone uses communication methods that are more cost efficient.. I have tons of emails, whatsapp messages, facebook messages, Skype logs.. Do you think this will be enough?
2. My wife is working back home and she now lives with my parents.. she is in Guyana. Since I am here by myself I make enough to cover my own expenses and save a bit for our future. I don't send money back home to her on a consistent basis.. In fact, since I am here I only sent money once for her... her birthday last year.. do you think this will pose a problem? Since she is working she is supporting herself just fine..
3. Based on my research I see the fees payable is $75 (application fee) + $475 (principal applicant) which totals $550.. Do I have to pay the RFPR fee now? Does my wife need to pay anything to the local visa processing centre back home? Her case will be processed in Port of Spain..
4. Please confirm the package (for outland) has to be sent to:
CPC Mississauga
P.O. Box 3000, Station A
Mississauga, ON

Thanks a lot,
Chris
L5A 4N6

I'd just like to warn you of something you may already know about.

If you lived with your girlfriend for at least a 12-month period before immigrating to Canada, then be very careful as CIC may consider her to have been a common-law partner who should have been declared before you landed. CIC will compare her address history in her application and your history from your original immigration application and anything you've submitted to them since then. If there's lengthy overlap in your address history, then you will need to demonstrate that you hadn't combined your lives to the same extent as a married couple would. If that is the case, get advice from an immigration lawyer.

Not paying the RPRF fee immediately could cause a delay of perhaps a month in the application.

 

[Chris101]

I'd just like to warn you of something you may already know about.

If you lived with your girlfriend for at least a 12-month period before immigrating to Canada, then be very careful as CIC may consider her to have been a common-law partner who should have been declared before you landed. CIC will compare her address history in her application and your history from your original immigration application and anything you've submitted to them since then. If there's lengthy overlap in your address history, then you will need to demonstrate that you hadn't combined your lives to the same extent as a married couple would. If that is the case, get advice from an immigration lawyer.

Not paying the RPRF fee immediately could cause a delay of perhaps a month in the application.

Hi Ferge,
Thanks for letting my know this. I got married a couple of months ago, that's when my wife started living with my parents (I wanted them to bond a bit before she comes).. Prior to our marriage my wife was living with her parents, we did not share a common address..

 

[Chris101]

The medical exam is required no matter what (for the principal applicant). CPC-M is the right place to mail the application. If your application was returned, that's because a file was missing or a signature was missing. The address is in the application guide http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp. All applications are sent to CPC-M first, then the CIC forwards them to an overseas VO (for Americans, it stays in Canada but gets transferred to Ottawa).

It looks like you might have filled out the wrong forms for what you were applying for. Do you want to apply inland or outland? If your spouse is not in Canada, you cannot apply inland. Either way, outland is only a 3-4 month process for Americans. Make sure you fill out the outland application guide and send it to the correct address listed in that application guide.It's also possible it could have been their mistake, but that address is correct.
1: Whatsapp and the rest are fine. Phone bills themselves aren't technically necessary, as long as you have other proof that you have ongoing communication, which you do.
2: You don't need to send money to your spouse to sponsor her. Many people never send money to their spouses because they are self-sufficient in their home country. It's not a requirement.
3: Pay the RPRF fee upfront if you can. They will request it later if you don't, but it's possible and recommended to pay it upfront if you can. She does not need to pay anything to a local visa office.
4: That's correct.

Hi Decoy24601,
Thanks for the info.. Is the RFPR fee the same across the board or is it different for spousal sponsorship..?? Is the current amount $490?

Chris

 

[Decoy24601]

Hi Decoy24601,
Thanks for the info.. Is the RFPR fee the same across the board or is it different for spousal sponsorship..?? Is the current amount $490?

Chris

No problem ;D. It's the same amount across the board. $490 is the correct amount. Just to let you know, you also have the option of waiting until later to submit it, but you can always submit it before they ask. Sending in the RPRF will absolutely not delay your application, because they will not add it to your file until they are already going to open it to work on it for whatever reason. Some people will tell you this isn't the case, but I submitted corrections to a mistake on a form and sent in the RPRF before SA, and according to my notes it did not delay my application in the slightest. What could possibly delay your application is if they have to ask for it later on. Again, it's more of a preference, but there are a few options.

 

[frege]

No problem ;D. It's the same amount across the board. $490 is the correct amount. Just to let you know, you also have the option of waiting until later to submit it, but you can always submit it before they ask. Sending in the RPRF will absolutely not delay your application, because they will not add it to your file until they are already going to open it to work on it for whatever reason. Some people will tell you this isn't the case, but I submitted corrections to a mistake on a form and sent in the RPRF before SA, and according to my notes it did not delay my application in the slightest. What could possibly delay your application is if they have to ask for it later on. Again, it's more of a preference, but there are a few options.

I disagree with this. Not sending in the RPRF receipt at the outset can delay your application.

We tried sending the RPRF receipt to Mississauga before the sponsorship portion was processed. They apparently were unable to associate it with our file because they only give you a file number once they've started processing your application. Most likely it was lost. As a result, we were only able to send it to them after the Mississauga portion was done, and it took them another five weeks to enter it into the system. We know this from our GCMS notes.

Our GCMS notes showed that when they approved me as a sponsor, they also entered "NO CSCD - No visa office on IMM1017 - Fees to be processed pending CPC-Miss."

In other words, there were two reasons we didn't have what is most likely called a "client service commitment date." First, the doctor forgot to enter a visa office on Form IMM 1017. Second, Mississauga thought we hadn't paid our RPRF, when the real problem was they'd lost our receipt we sent them after applying.

From that point on, it seems our application was treated as being incomplete and therefore a lower priority. It took perhaps two months longer for our file to go "in process" than for other applicants who were at the same visa office as us, and it is reasonable to think that the "No CSCD" comment in our file had something to do with it.

 

[Decoy24601]

I disagree with this. Not sending in the RPRF receipt at the outset can delay your application.

We tried sending the RPRF receipt to Mississauga before the sponsorship portion was processed. They apparently were unable to associate it with our file because they only give you a file number once they've started processing your application. Most likely it was lost. As a result, we were only able to send it to them after the Mississauga portion was done, and it took them another five weeks to enter it into the system. We know this from our GCMS notes.

Our GCMS notes showed that when they approved me as a sponsor, they also entered "NO CSCD - No visa office on IMM1017 - Fees to be processed pending CPC-Miss."

In other words, there were two reasons we didn't have what is most likely called a "client service commitment date." First, the doctor forgot to enter a visa office on Form IMM 1017. Second, Mississauga thought we hadn't paid our RPRF, when the real problem was they'd lost our receipt we sent them after applying.

From that point on, it seems our application was treated as being incomplete and therefore a lower priority. It took perhaps two months longer for our file to go "in process" than for other applicants who were at the same visa office as us, and it is reasonable to think that the "No CSCD" comment in our file had something to do with it.

Of course not sending the RPRF at the start of the application has the chance of a delay at any point in the process, especially if it is sent later without a UCI or File Number. It is possible to send the RPRF with a file number after AOR, so sending before SA should be possible. Of course you also have to take into account that the CIC makes errors and loses things. My notes revealed that they didn't even notice I had sent the RPRF until I had called the call center and the call center agent made a note of it. My notes revealed that Ottawa had actually started a request for the RPRF, but canceled it when they realized I had already submitted it.

I did recommend that this person send their RPRF at the beginning of the application in my first response, but I also wanted to make sure they knew all the options. Under normal circumstances without errors on CPC-M's end, sending in the RPRF before SA (but with at least a file number) should not cause any delays.

 

[badpusacat]

Anyone here who is not able to submit a PCC from a foreign country due to the fact that it is not possible to get a PCC from that country anymore (Example: Saudi)? I know that the instructions are in CIC website but what if it's really not possible to get a PCC from a certain country.

What did you do? What happened to your application?

 

[KateChurchill]

That is odd. I would call CIC and try to get advice on this issue.

If you determine that CIC made a mistake, then resubmit the same application with a cover letter explaining why you believe this is an error on their part and including any proof you have of the date it was originally delivered and/or sent to them. Ask that the application be treated by CIC as having been received on the date they originally received it.

Thanks for your response. I wonder that while I have my US address listed, if they saw my name on our Canadian lease and also saw that we have cohabited since Sept & are considering me as living in Ontario even though I'm actually a visitor at this point.

 

[KateChurchill]

Would it be possible that the Mississauga office disregarded my app because it was mailed from Ontario and not the US? Our Ontario address was put on the return address, not my US address. Do you think those factors alone would effect them telling me they only accept overseas applications? And by them using "overseas," the US is not overseas so that's confusing too. Thanks for your help!

 

[frege]

Of course not sending the RPRF at the start of the application has the chance of a delay at any point in the process, especially if it is sent later without a UCI or File Number. It is possible to send the RPRF with a file number after AOR, so sending before SA should be possible. Of course you also have to take into account that the CIC makes errors and loses things. My notes revealed that they didn't even notice I had sent the RPRF until I had called the call center and the call center agent made a note of it. My notes revealed that Ottawa had actually started a request for the RPRF, but canceled it when they realized I had already submitted it.

I did recommend that this person send their RPRF at the beginning of the application in my first response, but I also wanted to make sure they knew all the options. Under normal circumstances without errors on CPC-M's end, sending in the RPRF before SA (but with at least a file number) should not cause any delays.

I don't know if things have changed since we applied, but at that time, you didn't get a UCI until they started processing your sponsorship application. We never got an AOR before they started processing. So there really was no way to make sure they recorded the RPRF before the sponsorship application was processed.

I think that, short of surveying people who have done this and gotten their GCMS notes later, it's really hard to say whether your experience or ours is more representative of what happens when you send your RPRF in late. In any case, I only said that it *could* delay an application, not that it *would*.

 

[frege]

Would it be possible that the Mississauga office disregarded my app because it was mailed from Ontario and not the US? Our Ontario address was put on the return address, not my US address. Do you think those factors alone would effect them telling me they only accept overseas applications? And by them using "overseas," the US is not overseas so that's confusing too. Thanks for your help!

There are two different sets of forms.

There's this set for overseas applicants: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

And there's this set for in-Canada applicants: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

Do you know which forms you sent in?

By the way, if you need to choose between inland and "outland," you may be interested in this: http://www.cicnews.com/2015/12/canada-extends-pilot-program-allowing-sponsored-spouses-canadian-immigration-obtain-open-work-permits-126793.html

 

[calgary2017]

Hi All,

always have b een checking the CIC status with the Unique Client Identifier (UCI) of my wife , who is the sponsor.

However I want also to double check with MY number of file.

I have on one email of Paris inmigration sevices
CT / F000444261

but this format is differennt from my wife´s UCI

So, that CT/ F000444261 what is :

Client ID Number /UCI
Receipt Nr.
Application Number/Case Number
Record of Landing Number
PR Card Number


Please that someone confirms me that
Thanks

 

[ImABule]

Hi All,

always have b een checking the CIC status with the Unique Client Identifier (UCI) of my wife , who is the sponsor.

However I want also to double check with MY number of file.

I have on one email of Paris inmigration sevices
CT / Fxxxxxxxx

but this format is differennt from my wife´s UCI

So, that CT/ Fxxxxxxxx what is :

Client ID Number /UCI
Receipt Nr.
Application Number/Case Number
Record of Landing Number
PR Card Number


Please that someone confirms me that
Thanks

That is your application number.

Please edit your post.

Your application number is very private information..

 

[calgary2017]

ImaBule,
don´t worry, I had changed some numbers
Thanks