Hello Everyone
I'm brand new to this site. Unfortunately, I just found it a few days ago and I've read all the posts from the start of this thread. I can see that we are not the only people that have experienced incredible frustration with the Visa process. I know everybody's case is a little different, but maybe you can share some of your wisdom with us.
I'll give you a little background on us. I am a Canadian Citizen and my Wife is Costa Rican. We were dating for 6 years before we got married in March of 2011. Before, we applied for a Temporary Visa so that she could go to Canada for a visit. We applied 3 times over the 6 years that we were dating. All three times were rejected. She's had a Visitor's Visa to the States for 12 years - but that didn't seem to matter to the Visa Office. I contacted my MP and wrote letters but to no avail. I was told (by immigration "experts") that the only way for her to get accepted was to apply for permanent residency once we were married. That's what we did.
I filled out the forms and submitted all of the required evidence and documents (including the medical exam). I paid the fee in full. Here is a summary of what has transpired since:
July 7th, 2011. The Immigration office in Mississauga got the file.
Sept 16, 2011. Received an acceptance letter for being a sponsor. The file was being forwarded to Guatemala.
Sept 28th, 2011. Recieved an Acknowledgment of Reception e-mail from Guatemala.
Oct 3rd, 2011. Received a Request for her Original Passport and prepaid airway bill - nothing else.
Oct 4th, 2011. Sent it away to Guatemala by DHL.
They requested no other information or documents other than the passport and an airway bill. At the time when we recieved the AOR letter, they suggested that a wait time would be 12-18 months. It has only been one week since the time they sent the AOR to the time they requested the passport. All that I have read on this thread seems to suggest that the request of her passport means that a decision will be made relatively soon (I hope). The note on eCAS about her application status is "application received".
But, we're worried. This seems too fast. Maybe they will hold her passport for a long time (months and months) like I have seen with others here. Could it be that we may receive another quick rejection? If it's not a rejection, does anybody have an idea of how long they will keep her passport? Is there another reason why Guatemala may have requested her passport?
Any help would be appreciated.
