Thread for people using the Guatemala Office

[felicity01]

that is exactly what our AOR said. Our new thing was a two page list with things checked off. We have to send passport, his daughters' original birth certificate, proof of payment for our PR fee, additional proof (pictures of wedding ceremony), and clarification of his relationship with mother of his daughters.
Other offices seem to go very fast after this but Guatemala seems to take forever after they get the passport. So I was really excited when I got the request for passport but now I'm rethinking and realizing it may be another year. I hope that yours will go really quick. I know there was someone on here that once they asked for the passport they were processed within a few months. Hope that happens to both of us!

hello Javier Nica
THe only fast case I have seen happening is Osiris's they both were so lucky
Good luck to you too

 

[javiernica]

hello Javier Nica
THe only fast case I have seen happening is Osiris's they both were so lucky
Good luck to you too

I know when I saw how fast theirs was I was hoping ours would even be close to that. i would be even happy with a year wait. I guess we are at the mercy of immigration and the Guatemala office.

 

[jrdrisco]

I saw one poster state that 'they know 30% of sponsorships from guatemala are processed in 7 months." Has anyone had an application processed in that period of time recently?

From what I have read, the Guatemala Visa office is at present having the largest delays of any office in the Americas. Only two visa officers responsible for a large area, but also I've heard a number of complaints.

Myself I'm a new CSIC member with an interest in this area as my parents spend winters in Costa Rica and it is never a good day when you have to explain to a client about how slow a visa office is.

As most of you here know, contacting local MPs are unlikely to make any change in the situation. It is the CIC department that needs to dedicate more resources, or take other measures so that applicants applying through Guatemala receive the same level of service as they could expect anywhere else.

I've been asked to submit a formal complaint on behalf of one client on account of their experience. If there is anyone with guatemala visa office horror story sent to the appropriate officials then send me a private message.

And, if there is anyone needing a certified immigration consultant, almost all my clients are family class sponsorships and it is certain that I will be Costa Rica and probably Guatemala in December. muchos gracias.

Jonathon Driscoll
islandimmigration.ca

 

[MrsCasanova]

I saw one poster state that 'they know 30% of sponsorships from guatemala are processed in 7 months." Has anyone had an application processed in that period of time recently?

From what I have read, the Guatemala Visa office is at present having the largest delays of any office in the Americas. Only two visa officers responsible for a large area, but also I've heard a number of complaints.

Myself I'm a new CSIC member with an interest in this area as my parents spend winters in Costa Rica and it is never a good day when you have to explain to a client about how slow a visa office is.

As most of you here know, contacting local MPs are unlikely to make any change in the situation. It is the CIC department that needs to dedicate more resources, or take other measures so that applicants applying through Guatemala receive the same level of service as they could expect anywhere else.

I've been asked to submit a formal complaint on behalf of one client on account of their experience. If there is anyone with guatemala visa office horror story sent to the appropriate officials then send me a private message.

And, if there is anyone needing a certified immigration consultant, almost all my clients are family class sponsorships and it is certain that I will be Costa Rica and probably Guatemala in December. muchos gracias.

Jonathon Driscoll
islandimmigration.ca

im sorry but this post makes me angry for several reasons.

You claim to be a good immigration consultant, however if you are so good, why are you asking us for timeline info? Also, telling us you are new doesn't give you a high trust value.

ALso, contacting your MP DOES help. My MP has saved our case, as the RCMP lost our criminal record check and immigration did not follow up with them. By following up with immigration, our MP pushed them to contact the RCMP and find out what was taking so long. Not only that, but I had my MP contact immigration in Guatamala a second time, and they informed by MP that my husband had to re do his medicals, however they only send out correspondance once a month and my husbands correspondance wouldnt be sent for another month cause that months papers just left the buidling. My MP told them we would send a pre paid envelope to be couriered to him, which we did. Doing so allowed us to save over a month, as he did his medicals last week rather than in april or may (whenever he would have recieved correspondance).

So dont tell ME or any of us that the MP does nothing. That is you simply trying to gain clients, and obviously you do not have your clients best interest in mind. My lawyer works WITH the MP for us, not against us.

Please do not spam our forum trying to get clients, obviously you are new and do not have anything useful to add.

 

[jrdrisco]

@Casanova I was only offering my own views. Not every immigration consultant deals with every particular visa office on a regular basis and If I read something that sounds questionable I just might ask on a forum or of my colleagues if other can confirm it. CIC no longer post detailed processing times and so it can be more difficult even for a consultant to determine.

Also, I am a new consultant, certified in November, which means I do a lot of extra research and that I handle all aspects of my clients files personally. As the only certified consultant service the province of PEI I provide a service no one else has for my area, a client who doesn't have time to spend hour and hours researching Canada-Guatemala visa issues. If I can't assist then I do what I cant to direct people to someone who is certified and specialized in that area.

Finally,of course there are cases where MPs can help with specific problems, but if there is a broader issue with getting visa's processed at a particular office that should also be addressed. Also, every MP office and case is different and often its very limited what they can do.

Respectfully, my comments were not spam rather part of my research fora client who had trouble with a particular visa office and no substantial help from their MP.

JD

 

[Chot89]

i HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS . So I have been dealing with this office for some months now. I am trying to bring my husband from Panama. When i first sent in the sponsorship forms it took 1 month for approval. I thought things would go quick from there but they did not. The office recieved my husbands PR application on October 22 of last year. I had no updates until now. On March28 2011, (5 months 6 days). My husband recieved a letter stating that he had to send his passport with his photos so that they can stamp his visa in it. we are very excited, considering the fact that everyone including my MP's rep, which was not very helpful, told me that the soones I would hear from guatemala is March of next year. It has already been a year and 3 months since Ive seen my husband. I purchased a one way airplane ticket to panama because I couldnt wait any longer, then this news came in a week later. Good timing huh.

 

[javiernica]

i HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS . So I have been dealing with this office for some months now. I am trying to bring my husband from Panama. When i first sent in the sponsorship forms it took 1 month for approval. I thought things would go quick from there but they did not. The office recieved my husbands PR application on October 22 of last year. I had no updates until now. On March28 2011, (5 months 6 days). My husband recieved a letter stating that he had to send his passport with his photos so that they can stamp his visa in it. we are very excited, considering the fact that everyone including my MP's rep, which was not very helpful, told me that the soones I would hear from guatemala is March of next year. It has already been a year and 3 months since Ive seen my husband. I purchased a one way airplane ticket to panama because I couldnt wait any longer, then this news came in a week later. Good timing huh.

Chot89, I wanted to ask if they directly said that they wanted his passport to stamp for his visa? Guatemala just asked for my husband's as well plus some other information. Plus we filed almost the same time as you did. So I am hoping that they are getting ready to stamp his as well.

 

[PMM]

Hi

I saw one poster state that 'they know 30% of sponsorships from guatemala are processed in 7 months." Has anyone had an application processed in that period of time recently?

From what I have read, the Guatemala Visa office is at present having the largest delays of any office in the Americas. Only two visa officers responsible for a large area, but also I've heard a number of complaints.

Myself I'm a new CSIC member with an interest in this area as my parents spend winters in Costa Rica and it is never a good day when you have to explain to a client about how slow a visa office is.

As most of you here know, contacting local MPs are unlikely to make any change in the situation. It is the CIC department that needs to dedicate more resources, or take other measures so that applicants applying through Guatemala receive the same level of service as they could expect anywhere else.

I've been asked to submit a formal complaint on behalf of one client on account of their experience. If there is anyone with guatemala visa office horror story sent to the appropriate officials then send me a private message.

And, if there is anyone needing a certified immigration consultant, almost all my clients are family class sponsorships and it is certain that I will be Costa Rica and probably Guatemala in December. muchos gracias.

Jonathon Driscoll
islandimmigration.ca

1. According to the Data Set (Data.gc.ca) in 2010 Guatemala City took the following times for spouses, 6 months for 20% 11 months for 50% and 16 months for 80%.
2. Actually there are 3 Canadian based Immigration officers there.

 

[Chot89]

Chot89, I wanted to ask if they directly said that they wanted his passport to stamp for his visa? Guatemala just asked for my husband's as well plus some other information. Plus we filed almost the same time as you did. So I am hoping that they are getting ready to stamp his as well.

The visa office sends a letter asking for additional documents but if they are satisfied they only ask for the passport, which in my husbands case they only asked for the passport. My lawyer says that whenever this happens it is because there are no more steps to take so they stamp the visa. He told me that as soon as I pay the landing fee he could be getting his passport back about a week or 2 later, latest a month. Hope this helps.

 

[javiernica]

The visa office sends a letter asking for additional documents but if they are satisfied they only ask for the passport, which in my husbands case they only asked for the passport. My lawyer says that whenever this happens it is because there are no more steps to take so they stamp the visa. He told me that as soon as I pay the landing fee he could be getting his passport back about a week or 2 later, latest a month. Hope this helps.

That is great. And yes it did help. We had a few things: his daughters' birth certificates and they wanted to clear up what the relationship was between my husband and his ex. I am hoping that they will look at our documentation and only take a few more months. It is so hard to plan anything when this office takes so long and seems to sometimes ask for the passport and keep it for a long time.

 

[ruby504]

hello
my husband has been in honduras and we have been sponsoring him for almost 2 years, in july it will be two years. They has just on march 25th asked him to send his passport into the office. I am just wondering how long it takes to get the passport with the PR stamp in it back and if we are acutually as close as we think we are to him landing.
also i would like to know about the interveiw is it rare that we were not asked to participate in an interveiw or is that still to come?
and what happens after he gets his passeport back, is there any hidden fees or secret processes they do not tell us about?!?!

 

[xocomil]

My wife is applying for PR status through the London, UK office (as she's British). However, we've just moved to Guatemala and are being asked by the immigration official in London for Police Certificates from Guatemala (my wife and I have spent several years here, on and off).

According to the CIC Guatemala Police Check website, my wife needs a Certificado de Antecedentes Policíacos as well as a Constancia de Carencia de Antecedentes Penales. However, according to the same website to obtain the Certificado de Antecedentes one needs a Cedula. Neither of us are residents here and have no cedula. A woman at the Canadian embassy (consulate side, not visa side) says all she needs is a copy of her passport, but I'd like to be 100% sure, as getting to Guate City is a 3 1/2 hour trip from where we are (and my wife will need to take our 10-month old baby).

Have any non-residents out there gone to get the two forms noted above? If so what did you need to bring, and how long did it take?

Many, many thanks for any/all help!

 

[Chot89]

hello
my husband has been in honduras and we have been sponsoring him for almost 2 years, in july it will be two years. They has just on march 25th asked him to send his passport into the office. I am just wondering how long it takes to get the passport with the PR stamp in it back and if we are acutually as close as we think we are to him landing.
also i would like to know about the interveiw is it rare that we were not asked to participate in an interveiw or is that still to come?
and what happens after he gets his passeport back, is there any hidden fees or secret processes they do not tell us about?!?!

As far as I know, if you dont get asked to go for an interview it is because the office is satisfied with the proof you provided. My husband and I were also not asked to go for an interview. They also didnt ask us for any additional documents.

 

[MrsCasanova]

My wife is applying for PR status through the London, UK office (as she's British). However, we've just moved to Guatemala and are being asked by the immigration official in London for Police Certificates from Guatemala (my wife and I have spent several years here, on and off).

According to the CIC Guatemala Police Check website, my wife needs a Certificado de Antecedentes Policíacos as well as a Constancia de Carencia de Antecedentes Penales. However, according to the same website to obtain the Certificado de Antecedentes one needs a Cedula. Neither of us are residents here and have no cedula. A woman at the Canadian embassy (consulate side, not visa side) says all she needs is a copy of her passport, but I'd like to be 100% sure, as getting to Guate City is a 3 1/2 hour trip from where we are (and my wife will need to take our 10-month old baby).

Have any non-residents out there gone to get the two forms noted above? If so what did you need to bring, and how long did it take?

Many, many thanks for any/all help!

My husband is from Costa Rica, and whenever I need a government issued form or something (i.e. heath care through him, etc.) I just use my passport number and its fine, i'm sure guatamala is the same way

 

[ruby504]

As far as I know, if you dont get asked to go for an interview it is because the office is satisfied with the proof you provided. My husband and I were also not asked to go for an interview. They also didnt ask us for any additional documents.

well they have sent several emails stating that they were satisfied..... and the also told me that it would not take 6 months for him to be here.
I am wondering exactly how long after they ask for the passeport will it be in his hands?