US outland applicants' thread :)

[sid4ever2009]

Very good answer, thank you Mr.


I appreciate your links to GC.

 

[cempjwi]

Hi all,

I just noticed this thread and thought I would introduce myself. I am a Canadian citizen living in the U.S. with my husband, but hoping to move home to Canada. We submitted documents for me to sponsor my husband at the beginning of the month and received our AOR by email today. We will have been married for 14 years next month, so I'm fairly certain there won't be any questions about the genuineness of our relationship, but I'm still nervous about the process.

I saw in another thread that I should have put on the form that we wanted to withdraw our application if my sponsorship is denied. How often does that happen? Should I try and change it or best to just leave it alone and hope for the best?

Anyhow, glad to have company during the wait! Fingers crossed for all of us.

Did your AOR say that you have me the requirements to sponsor? Sponsorship AOR's usually tell you if you were qualified or not.

 

[Florida Bear]

Just curious, how many people have had to attend an interview and how many have had theirs waived?

I have read on this board that there is a little more leniency for US/Canadian couples, but recently have run across quite a few who had to attend an interview. Doesn't really matter either way, but for sake of time and travel of course would like to skip it.

 

[ExiledCanadian]

Did your AOR say that you have me the requirements to sponsor? Sponsorship AOR's usually tell you if you were qualified or not.

No, the email just acknowledged that the application was received.

I can't imagine why I wouldn't meet the requirements, except that I currently live in the U.S. and will need to re-establish myself in Canada. I'm just paranoid that something will go wrong and I'll not only have my application denied, but that I'll lose all the money we paid in advance.

 

[keesio]

Just curious, how many people have had to attend an interview and how many have had theirs waived?

I have read on this board that there is a little more leniency for US/Canadian couples, but recently have run across quite a few who had to attend an interview. Doesn't really matter either way, but for sake of time and travel of course would like to skip it.

For a US application: If you have a straightforward, complete application with no "red flags", I think it is very very unlikely that you will need an interview. Even if there are some small "red flags", they will usually just ask for more information via e-mail. I would imagine there has to be something very suspicious to need an interview.

What were the issues with the few couples who needed one?

 

[cempjwi]

No, the email just acknowledged that the application was received.

I can't imagine why I wouldn't meet the requirements, except that I currently live in the U.S. and will need to re-establish myself in Canada. I'm just paranoid that something will go wrong and I'll not only have my application denied, but that I'll lose all the money we paid in advance.

My spouse was living in the US (and had been most of his life) when he sponsored me (he was born Canadian, US Citizen and I am neither). He had no issues sponsoring me. We had to prove he was returning to Canada (which he did with me when I landed and here we are together in Canada now). You will be fine!

 

[cempjwi]

For a US application: If you have a straightforward, complete application with no "red flags", I think it is very very unlikely that you will need an interview. Even if there are some small "red flags", they will usually just ask for more information via e-mail. I would imagine there has to be something very suspicious to need an interview.

What were the issues with the few couples who needed one?

In a context of marriage fraud, the most logical explanation I find regarding CIC being more lenient on applicants from the US is that US citizens usually will not want to move to Canada to attempt to better their standard of living (yet they might move to Canada looking to obtain free health care - there are TV documentaries about that!).

 

[Ambber29]

how long it takes from "In process" to "Decision Made"
been 10 days since it says in process

any comments plzz

 

[keesio]

how long it takes from "In process" to "Decision Made"
been 10 days since it says in process

any comments plzz

It is completely variable. If you sent in a complete application with no red flags, it *should* be quick. But there is no guarantee. Some people go straight to "Decision Made" from "Application received". Others, go to "In Process" and can get stuck there for months. There really is no standard....

Sorry.

 

[katzenbaum]

We just got our COPR letter, applied in December of last year, yay! We did not have to do an interview, but the agent did give me a very hard time about proving that I really would return to Canada to live since I had been living in the US for so long (over 20 years). I sent a ton of documents showing I had a firm job offer and all that, but since I was going to be working for an American company in Canada, they felt that was a red flag that I wasn't really going to be living in Canada (?!?). But they finally approved the file anyway, whew! He will be landing (driving down to the border and flagpoling) next week.

 

[ExiledCanadian]

We just got our COPR letter, applied in December of last year, yay!

Congratulations!

 

[Florida Bear]

For a US application: If you have a straightforward, complete application with no "red flags", I think it is very very unlikely that you will need an interview. Even if there are some small "red flags", they will usually just ask for more information via e-mail. I would imagine there has to be something very suspicious to need an interview.

What were the issues with the few couples who needed one?

Thank you! I'm not sure what the issues were with the other applicants. Just saw they had an interview is all. Mine is pretty straight forward, only thing which isn't the usual is we're a same sex couple. He's Canadian, I'm Amurrican..lol But even with that I'm hoping we don't need an interview. God knows I included enough photos of us and wrote a really great development of relationship paper and double checked everything about 100 times..lol So hoping for the best

 

[computergeek]

Thank you! I'm not sure what the issues were with the other applicants. Just saw they had an interview is all. Mine is pretty straight forward, only thing which isn't the usual is we're a same sex couple. He's Canadian, I'm Amurrican..lol But even with that I'm hoping we don't need an interview. God knows I included enough photos of us and wrote a really great development of relationship paper and double checked everything about 100 times..lol So hoping for the best

CIC doesn't treat same sex couples any differently than opposite sex couples. As a factor, that doesn't trigger any sort of red flag.

 

[Florida Bear]

CIC doesn't treat same sex couples any differently than opposite sex couples. As a factor, that doesn't trigger any sort of red flag.

YAY!! Thank you! That is another reason I love Canada so much.

 

[computergeek]

YAY!! Thank you! That is another reason I love Canada so much.

While you might not have noticed, the US no longer discriminates against same sex couples with respect to immigration either - indeed, the first green card granted was to a same sex couple in Florida. Not that Canada isn't a great country, but the US has made some progress.