US outland applicants' thread :)

[computergeek]

On Saturday Feb 9th (yes, on a saturday!) we received a communication requesting additional documents (which we expected) and these two paragraphs were among the list od requested info:

<b>Ø Paragraph 130(1)(b) states that, subject to subsections (2) and (3), a sponsor, for the purpose of sponsoring a foreign national who makes an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the family class must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who resides in Canada.

Based on the information you have provided, I am not satisfied that your sponsor resides in Canada from the day on which the application was filed up to now. Accordingly you may not meet the requirements of paragraph 130(1)(b) and section 120 of the Regulations.
</b>

The sponsor lives in the US with the applicant and before submitting our application we made sure that a Canadian citizen living abroad is allowed to sponsor (and in fact, Sponsorship was approved). My concern is that the agent completely disregarded the following paragraph that is right below the one he/she quoted, and that is also part of the regulation, as follows:

Paragraph 130(2), a sponsor who is a Canadian citizen and does not reside in Canada may sponsor an application referred to in subsection (1) by their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child who has no dependent children if the sponsor will reside in Canada when the applicant becomes a permanent resident.

Are we missing something here? Has any other applicant whose sponsor is living outside Canada experienced this same situation? Please note that this is NOT a request from CIC to prove that the sponsor will move to Canada but rather a statement saying that it is assumed that sponsors outside Canada cannot sponsor (even when born citizens and never having sponsored before).

I'd have fun responding to that letter:

Dear XXX:

I am in receipt of your correspondence dated February 1, 2013. After reviewing it I am unclear as to why you bothered to send it, as it is certainly not germane to my application. Instead, the relevant section of the regulations that is relevant is Section 130(2) which states: ...

Of course, I understand that you may choose to cling to your inappropriate interpretation of the regulations. Please be advised that I stand ready to file an application for leave and judicial review in the Federal Court of Canada - and I have no doubt that I will be successful obtaining JR for such an obviously incorrect application of the relevant law. Indeed, I'd be surprised if Justice Canada opposed such an application. This would certainly inconvenience me, but it would create an indelible stain upon your own reputation as an immigration officer - nobody likes to see their name in a formal written legal opinion being excoriated for a simple and blatant misapplication of the relevant law.

Naturally, I hope you will reconsider your position. To assist you in reaching the correct decision I am enclosing additional information documenting my plans to return to Canada once you have offered permanent residency to my partner.

Warmest Regards,

"Someone you don't want to piss off"

 

[Spoken05]

Quick question,

Does anyone have the link that shows the % of how many cases were completed in a certain amount of months?

I remeber seeing it somehwere on this board but can no longer find it?

It would be grately appreciated!

 

[computergeek]

Quick question,

Does anyone have the link that shows the % of how many cases were completed in a certain amount of months?

I remeber seeing it somehwere on this board but can no longer find it?

It would be grately appreciated!

http://www.data.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=5175A6F0-1&xsl=datacataloguerecord&metaxsl=datacataloguerecord&formid=427337D0-7C36-4FED-8428-C6A63F8C19B3

 

[parker24]

This whole importing your car thing is going to make me go bald very quickly : :-X ???

 

[Spoken05]

http://www.data.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=5175A6F0-1&xsl=datacataloguerecord&metaxsl=datacataloguerecord&formid=427337D0-7C36-4FED-8428-C6A63F8C19B3

Thank you!!!

Can someone explain what "X % of cases were completed within X months or less"

Can someone explain what it means for CPP Ottawa office?

 

[computergeek]

Thank you!!!

Can someone explain what "X % of cases were completed within X months or less"

Can someone explain what it means for CPP Ottawa office?

As I understand it, when they finish a case, they look at how long it was in the visa office and then note that information for statistical purposes.

My application was sent to Ottawa on 21 June 2012. I'm not sure exactly when they received it (probably the next day) but they didn't do anything with it until early September 2012. They transferred it to LA on 13 September 2012 for visa issuance ("RFV"). LA sent the PPR on 26 September and completed the file (printed the COPR) on 9 October 2012. I'm not sure if that processing time would be Ottawa's or LA's, but I'm guessing the latter. In either case, the time to process is from when Ottawa received it (so 22 June 2012). That means it took 4 months to process. When they release the Q4 update (April 2013) that case will be included in the statistics as a 4 month case.

So when they produce these numbers they just look at the results for the previous 12 months:

# of months to account for 20% of applications
# of months to account for 30% of applications (which includes the 20%)
etc

The open data also shows trends, so you can see when processing times are going up or down over the course of the past several years.

Ottawa's data is a bit suspect - they only had around 200 cases total as of the end of September 30, 2012. That's nothing compared to the 1800 cases Buffalo logged for the same period - even though Buffalo closed at the end of MAY - when Ottawa took over. But that's consistent with what we've seen. Ottawa has been ramping up. By the end of 2013 they'll likely be moving through files as fast as Buffalo was in its heyday. Perhaps faster with some of the automation changes that have been going on inside CIC.

 

[simb]

Earlier My ecas was not working and today I logged in my ecas using my sponsor's information and found little weird thing..
it says In Process under Sponsorship Application Status and Application Received under Permanent Residence Application Status

weird thing is it was decision made under sponsorship application status ... shouldnt it be In process under permanent residence application status ?

does that mean they are again checking my sponsor's eligibility ??
or due to their software changes in ecas they messed up the info?


ps. I have Interview in april

 

[cempjwi]

I'd have fun responding to that letter:

Dear XXX:

I am in receipt of your correspondence dated February 1, 2013. After reviewing it I am unclear as to why you bothered to send it, as it is certainly not germane to my application. Instead, the relevant section of the regulations that is relevant is Section 130(2) which states: ...

Of course, I understand that you may choose to cling to your inappropriate interpretation of the regulations. Please be advised that I stand ready to file an application for leave and judicial review in the Federal Court of Canada - and I have no doubt that I will be successful obtaining JR for such an obviously incorrect application of the relevant law. Indeed, I'd be surprised if Justice Canada opposed such an application. This would certainly inconvenience me, but it would create an indelible stain upon your own reputation as an immigration officer - nobody likes to see their name in a formal written legal opinion being excoriated for a simple and blatant misapplication of the relevant law.

Naturally, I hope you will reconsider your position. To assist you in reaching the correct decision I am enclosing additional information documenting my plans to return to Canada once you have offered permanent residency to my partner.

Warmest Regards,

"Someone you don't want to piss off"

As tempting as it sounds...

 

[libellula]

Hello everyone! 8)
I have a question about exiting and entering....
I have been visisting my husband in Canada and am leaving to go to the states before my visitor time is up.
I will return in a month,do I need to declare myself as a visitor?
I figured as long as I am leaving before the time is up and returning again,it shouldnt be a problem??

 

[computergeek]

As tempting as it sounds...

It's not far off from what you need to tell the VO - I didn't say anything that isn't true and I've been surprised how slapping someone when they're being stupid often gets them pissed and THEN gets them to think.

Visa officers make mistakes and misapply the law. It happens. It happened to me. There's no reason you should tolerate it. In fact, what you might consider is sending your response to the program manager, since this is a blatant misapplication of the law.

 

[cempjwi]

It's not far off from what you need to tell the VO - I didn't say anything that isn't true and I've been surprised how slapping someone when they're being stupid often gets them pissed and THEN gets them to think.

Visa officers make mistakes and misapply the law. It happens. It happened to me. There's no reason you should tolerate it. In fact, what you might consider is sending your response to the program manager, since this is a blatant misapplication of the law.

Thanks. I feel you. Not our first time at the rodeo either. How would I get to the program manager?

 

[ALLY06]

We received AOR today!!! My hubby just forwarded me the e-mail

 

[computergeek]

Thanks. I feel you. Not our first time at the rodeo either. How would I get to the program manager?

I think you write "Attention: Immigration Program Manager" on the envelope; I'd also send it via courier because that's more likely to garner attention. I've never done this personally, but I do know people who have reported doing so successfully.

And if they refused you, you would win. Further, their conduct being entirely unreasonable could lead to an awarding of costs (unusual in immigration cases, but I've read several that have resulted in awards of costs).

 

[cempjwi]

I think you write "Attention: Immigration Program Manager" on the envelope; I'd also send it via courier because that's more likely to garner attention. I've never done this personally, but I do know people who have reported doing so successfully.

And if they refused you, you would win. Further, their conduct being entirely unreasonable could lead to an awarding of costs (unusual in immigration cases, but I've read several that have resulted in awards of costs).

We honestly think it was a mistake when the agent keyed in the codes to generate the additional docs request email; we received it on a saturday so we are thinking the agent was NOT in a good mood or rushing through cases to leave early. We are sure he is trying to ask for something else. Part of the docs we were requested will take about 30 days; however, we will reply to the other requests including his reference to paragraph 130(1)(b) and we will point him to the correct subsection of paragraph 130 - which is 130(2). Then if he does not realize his mistake we will take further action.

 

[JMStargazer]

Got my PPR today! Woohoo!

Copypasta from CPP Ottawa thread:

And now I have a question I'm sure has been answered before.

Ottawa has requested:
Ø Provide evidence of adequate financial arrangements for care and support (not involving social assistance) that are in place for yourself in Canada. This may include, but is not limited to, paystubs, employment letters, and tax documents including the most recent notice of assessment (NOA) for both you and your sponsor.

I can't work yet since my NAFTA visa was only good for one employer, and my husband is self-employed but only gets sporadic gigs due to the seasonal ebb and flow of the film industry. He is about to sit for a union permitee exam soon, which should lead to more steady work. His folks send us money to help out when the gigs are sparse, which is really kind. I may have a job lined up though; I recently had a fantastic interview for an office manager job (within walking distance of our house!) in anticipation of my PR being granted soon. I think I may be hired for this job, the owner was really excited to talk to me...funny thing: his wife's an immigration lawyer, can you believe it?!

In the meantime though, what do I send them? Just my husband's most recent invoices and a letter explaining our situation? I feel like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football, hoping that Lucy doesn't snatch it away at the last second.