Spousal sponsorship

[brucem]

I think (correct me if I'm wrong on this however) that they could file for a Restoration of Status, which would give her status again and would mitigate anything happening since she is within 90 days of having lost her status.
It's kind of pricey, but it could be worth it.

Link in case anyone wants to read up on it: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/validity/restoration.asp

That's a good point! I guess it's whether take the risk at the border or pay the price to restore. I tend to agree with Ivan that it would be very harsh to be banned given a month overstay and probably very unlikely.

 

[MilesAway]

Several questions as follows:

Form IMM0008 Generic application form. How many dependents should I put? I am the one being sponsored by spouse and I am not bringing anyone with me.

Form IMM008DEP: Additional Dependents Declaration form: I do not have any children, but my sponsoring spouse has two that he pays support for but live in a different province so he never has them with him. Since they will be my step children, do I list them?

Form IMM5669: Memberships and social organizations question..I don't remember the exact dates and not even the years I was on a Board of Directors for American Heart Association. I have been a member of a running club for years, don't know the year I joined. Was a Board Member of the Women's Crisis Center for less than one term, don't know that year. Was a Notary, does this need to be listed also? And of course, don't know the years.

Co-signer: My spouse is sponsoring me and only me, do either of us count as a co-signer on any forms?

Has anyone paid to search for dates of birth and or death using companies listed on search engines such as Google? I do not know the date of my ex-husbands birthday, have the month and year, not the day of month. Also, siblings and parents dates and locations. If you have used a company, please let me know which one if you had good results.

If my spouse owes money to the Revenue service from prior and current year, will he still be able to get the Form C and does it matter that he owes this money?

Thanks everyone!

There is no co-signer for spousal sponsorship.

Can you contact those organizations and ask if they can give you the dates? They might have records of that.

Your divorce certificate should have his date of birth. If not, some people have simply put what information they had, and then attached a letter explaining why they did not have the exact dates. It's not uncommon for people to lose track of siblings and ex-spouses, especially when it comes to their addresses.

 

[MilesAway]

Hi everyone, such a great forum and the input from everyone's experience is tremendously helpful and time saving.
I have a few questions
1) in the guide they are requesting to submit an document checklist for TRV, does that mean that we should fill out the TRV application and submit it along with the sponsorship application? if somebody can tell me which checklist did he send along with the principal applicant application, its not clear

2) should we do meds and submit them with the application, or should we wait until we have a file number and CIC request the meds?
my husband has been asking to do the medical examination but they have been telling him that its still early to do them and they will be requested later on during the processing, but i find that its metioned in the checklist,

3) I am a naturalized canadian, so I have never lived or worked in canada, How do I obtain an option c printout? the line is so busy I cant get a hold of anyone to answer me.

Where are they asking you for the TRV checklist? I have not seen that anywhere.

If you are applying outland, then you should do the meds upfront and submit them with the application.

If you are naturalized, then that should mean you were a PR first, then after 3 years, you applied for citizenship. So how did you obtain your citizenship if you never lived in Canada? If you do not have an option C printout, most people attach a letter explaining why and then include alternate forms of proof, such as employment letters and pay stubs.

 

[zbaby]

You are so welcome :
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US

Guys right now i can see my mistake, that i have mentioned the wrong date of meeting my sponsor in the form of relationship questionnaire. i wrote 10th Feb instead of 11th Feb.
is it going to make an issue because we will attach his passport entry exit page and air ticket as well as a proof.
i have already sent all forms to my cponsor in Canada, is it Okay if he makes correction on the form with a Pen otherwise i will have to re fill the form and send a courier, waste of another 03 days

 

[wahmad4]

Guys right now i can see my mistake, that i have mentioned the wrong date of meeting my sponsor in the form of relationship questionnaire. i wrote 10th Feb instead of 11th Feb.
is it going to make an issue because we will attach his passport entry exit page and air ticket as well as a proof.
i have already sent all forms to my cponsor in Canada, is it Okay if he makes correction on the form with a Pen otherwise i will have to re fill the form and send a courier, waste of another 03 days

its absolutely fine to make certain changes using a pen. there are no particular requirements how to fill out forms whether print, type, or use ink(as far as i understand)

 

[IvanP]

its absolutely fine to make certain changes using a pen. there are no particular requirements how to fill out forms whether print, type, or use ink(as far as i understand)

It's fine so long as the form didn't need to be validated (some of the forms have a scannable code on them after you save and print them). Check the form to make sure, and if there's no code, your partner can ink in the change.

 

[benvandam]

Ok so from my understanding this is the best plan if action. Please tell me if it makes sense.

In February after making sure it's been over a year we have been together, my girlfriend will go back to the states. From there she will send in all the documents( can she send it to Ottawa as I see it has a shorter processing time for part 2?)

She will remain in the states and began working to save up.
I see that the Ottawa office takes 16 months to process part 2 so we figure for the last 6 months she'll come back here to Montreal with her savings as we wait for her to become a resident.
The only reason to travel to the stars and back or renew her stay here would be if she wanted to remain here while we applied correct?
Am I missing something obvious or does this check out all boxes needed to make this work.

 

[IvanP]

Ok so from my understanding this is the best plan if action. Please tell me if it makes sense.

In February after making sure it's been over a year we have been together, my girlfriend will go back to the states. From there she will send in all the documents( can she send it to Ottawa as I see it has a shorter processing time for part 2?)

She will remain in the states and began working to save up.
I see that the Ottawa office takes 16 months to process part 2 so we figure for the last 6 months she'll come back here to Montreal with her savings as we wait for her to become a resident.
The only reason to travel to the stars and back or renew her stay here would be if she wanted to remain here while we applied correct?
Am I missing something obvious or does this check out all boxes needed to make this work.

I'd investigate the 40-day gap first. If it's an issue, the clock may have restarted in mid-May when she returned to Canada, and if that's the case, she'd need to stay until mid-May (not just add 40 days to the time she's been here). Or you could just eliminate all doubt and get married - it's cheap and easy and gets you the result you are looking for without having to jump through the cohabitation hoops.

 

[brucem]

Ok so from my understanding this is the best plan if action. Please tell me if it makes sense.

In February after making sure it's been over a year we have been together, my girlfriend will go back to the states. From there she will send in all the documents( can she send it to Ottawa as I see it has a shorter processing time for part 2?)

She will remain in the states and began working to save up.
I see that the Ottawa office takes 16 months to process part 2 so we figure for the last 6 months she'll come back here to Montreal with her savings as we wait for her to become a resident.
The only reason to travel to the stars and back or renew her stay here would be if she wanted to remain here while we applied correct?
Am I missing something obvious or does this check out all boxes needed to make this work.

If you decide to stay until February then there is a risk that the officer processing your application will see the 40 days in April/May as a break in the relationship and therefore by Feb you would not have completed the 365 days to qualify as common law. I do not have direct experience of this but I am simply going on what others on the forum have posted. She certainly needs to leave Canada at some point in order to negate her lack of legal status at present. That aside if you were to wait until May and then she was to leave and apply OUTLAND then she could remian in the US while the application is processed and visit you when she wants as a visitor. Again there is some that argue that it may cause you problems in your application if you are not living together even after the 365 days, while others have been able to get PR without too much hassle. It really depends on the strength of your evidence that you submit to CIC.

All applications go to Mississagua first and then CIC determine where to send your part of the application. Most US citizens are processed in Ottawa as long as there are no 'red flags' such as non accompanying children, medical problems etc etc. It might be a good idea to check the Ottawa thread as there are lots of US citizens there who can provide better assistance. I would also suggest you read the outland application form on the CIC website to see what you require to do as it can take several months to get all the evidence together and you will have many more questions as you go through the process. Most US citizens are being processed in around 6-8 months, sometimes even quicker so the 16 months is not an accurate figure.

Remember....your girlfriend can only come and visit you if she uses phrases like 'moving' etc it will cause her endless problems at the border. She needs to retain ties to the US during the application process.

 

[IvanP]

Remember....your girlfriend can only come and visit you if she uses phrases like 'moving' etc it will cause her endless problems at the border. She needs to retain ties to the US during the application process.

I forgot to add that you might want to start calling her your partner or your spouse or your wife, not your girlfriend. Family sponsorship works for spouses and partners, not for girlfriends, and you want that wife word to roll naturally right off your tongue if you're ever asked about your relationship...

 

[canuck_in_uk]

In February after making sure it's been over a year we have been together, my girlfriend will go back to the states. From there she will send in all the documents( can she send it to Ottawa as I see it has a shorter processing time for part 2?)

She will remain in the states and began working to save up.
I see that the Ottawa office takes 16 months to process part 2 so we figure for the last 6 months she'll come back here to Montreal with her savings as we wait for her to become a resident.
The only reason to travel to the stars and back or renew her stay here would be if she wanted to remain here while we applied correct?
Am I missing something obvious or does this check out all boxes needed to make this work.

As the others have said, there is a high chance of that 40 day separation being seen as a break in the common-law count. To be safe, you really should wait until May when you have a full continuous year of cohabitation. At this point, your partner should apply to restore her status as a visitor; if they find out she is here illegally, they could kick her out AND slap her with a ban from the country for a year or two.

 

[IvanP]

As the others have said, there is a high chance of that 40 day separation being seen as a break in the common-law count. To be safe, you really should wait until May when you have a full continuous year of cohabitation. At this point, your partner should apply to restore her status as a visitor; if they find out she is here illegally, they could kick her out AND slap her with a ban from the country for a year or two.

I think this is a sound approach. Or just get married (unless there's a legal why they can't), and get their application out the door without any worries about the 40-day gap.

 

[benvandam]

Would it make any difference if her name is on our apartment lease.
So even though she went home we were both still paying for our home. Wouldn't that show continuation of the relationship during the 40 days?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Would it make any difference if her name is on our apartment lease.
So even though she went home we were both still paying for our home. Wouldn't that show continuation of the relationship during the 40 days?

Have a read:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Section 5.35 - What is cohabitation?

Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding based on case law

While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation must be temporary and short.


There isn't much chance of a VO seeing 40 days as a short separation, regardless of your lease or any other documentation.

 

[IvanP]

Have a read:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Section 5.35 - What is cohabitation?

Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding based on case law

While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation must be temporary and short.


There isn't much chance of a VO seeing 40 days as a short separation, regardless of your lease or any other documentation.

A serious illness in the family could easily justify an even longer gap, but if it was just to hang out with family for 40 days, or if the two wanted a little break from each other, then there's definitely a big issue.