US outland applicants' thread :)

[keesio]

Under the "Minimum residency obligations".

"If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years

you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident."

So basically they are asking that you can prove you will stay in Canada for approx 2 years within 5 years of becoming a PR? Or you'll have to wait for 2 years, then you'll be eligible to apply for the PR card?

This is just your standard PR residency obligation that everyone has. Note that if you are abroad with a Canadian Citizen spouse, then that day = a day living in Canada.

 

[jjoon]

It is documented under CIC's documentation for Permanent Residency Obligation:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

See under:

"OPTION 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day that you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada provided that the person you accompanied is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 19 years of age)."

This applies to PR residency but NOT towards residency for citizenship.

Thanks a bunch keesio! +1

 

[Roni07]

Sponsor: If you had previous marriages or common law relationships, photocopy the following documents.
-Proof that you are separated (tax forms, legal document) if you are are separated.
-Divorce Certificate if you are divorced.

I have a legal separation agreement, stamped by the court a while back.
The divorce paperwork has been signed and filed in court however it takes time to get processed and stamped, then 30 days after I can obtain a divorce certificate. Can I still marry in the US and submit immigration paperwork to start the process with just enclosing the legal separation agreement ? OR
do I have to wait until I obtain a divorce certificate, then get married then submit immigration paperwork to start process ? Can someone clarify ?

 

[Alurra71]

Sponsor: If you had previous marriages or common law relationships, photocopy the following documents.
-Proof that you are separated (tax forms, legal document) if you are are separated.
-Divorce Certificate if you are divorced.

I have a legal separation agreement, stamped by the court a while back.
The divorce paperwork has been signed and filed in court however it takes time to get processed and stamped, then 30 days after I can obtain a divorce certificate. Can I still marry in the US and submit immigration paperwork to start the process with just enclosing the legal separation agreement ? OR
do I have to wait until I obtain a divorce certificate, then get married then submit immigration paperwork to start process ? Can someone clarify ?

You can not get legally married until you are legally divorced. So the answer is no, you can't get married in the US and submit spousal immigration forms. After your divorce is finalized then you can get married again.

 

[kittyandpipit]

I wrote Ottawa a few weeks ago to see if we had to update my husbands medical as it expires in two weeks...

I haven't heard back yet....is it something they would contact me for?

its been so long! I don't understand why they aren't requesting anything or asking for an interview.

 

[missmatalini]

I wrote Ottawa a few weeks ago to see if we had to update my husbands medical as it expires in two weeks...

I haven't heard back yet....is it something they would contact me for?

its been so long! I don't understand why they aren't requesting anything or asking for an interview.

I wrote to Ottawa as well almost a week and a half ago and no response yet.

 

[Phett001]

US outland application now at LA office?!

Hello Everyone!
I am apologizing in advance for this very long post. I am at my wits end and need advice/guidance!

My Boyfriend (Canadian Citizen) sponsored me (US Citizen) under Family Class Conjugal. We NOW know that conjugal is very hard to prove...but we did this all without a lawyer and didn't know at the time.

June 2013: We submit our application. We submitted it with help from a multi-cultural center in Kenora, Ontario. We picked the Seattle VO since we took the outland applicant path. (I got a TRV valid over a year so I could be with him while we waited)

July 2013: We get an email from Ottawa stating my boyfriend is approved to be a sponsor. Then we see online that the Detroit and Seattle offices had closed that January. We were furious that no one told us and that those VO were still an option on the application! I sent a frantic email wondering where our application was and got a short reply stating it was in Ottawa Case Processing Pilot (processing time= 12months.)

January 2014: We FINALLY are contacted with information about our application. Ottawa emails us stating that they have concerns that we don't meet requirements for conjugal or common law. They also state they do not believe my boyfriend and I are in a genuine relationship because they see no intent from us to get married. They give us 60 days to send in more ‘proof' of our relationship. They ask for evidence like shared property (impossible since I don't have an Ontario ID to put my name on cars or our house) or joint checking accounts (which we opened and sent proof of.) We sent the large packet of more proof to Ottawa with signature-verified delivery.

...The only thing the CIC online status check says is that our application was received June 2013...

June 2014: I check processing time for Ottawa; it was bumped to 15 months. I email anyways asking for any information on our application. I receive no reply.

August 2014: I email Ottawa again, sending my plea for more information to 2 different email addresses. Ten days later, I receive this reply...

Dear Applicant,

Please note your application for permanent residency was referred to the visa office in Los Angeles. Please contact the visa office in Los Angeles for any questions or concerns related to your application.

Kind regards,
Case Processing Centre - Ottawa

In shock, I forward my email and the message from Ottawa to the Los Angeles email address... three days later they reply with just this...

The File is in queue for review by the Immigration Officer.

Sincerely,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada

What does that mean?! We have waited almost 16 months now! And the wait time for the LA office is 26 months! We have no idea how long our application has been at LA or if the 16 months we waited so far is part of or added on top of the 26 months for LA... I don't want to email anymore and pester them because I know that can be detrimental for your application. And all this time, the CIC status check only states my application was received in June 2013 and our medicals were received. That is all it says. What do we do?

 

[kittyandpipit]

I feel for you... We applied in Oct 2013 outland US...

We received sponsorship quickly and have not heard from them ever. We requested our notes and our file was also transferred to LA in may with no real reason listed. They've never answered our emails.

Have you requested your notes? It's helpful for some people. Not so much for us.

 

[Phett001]

I haven't officially requested the notes...I asked for them in my emails. Then I found out there is a form you have to fill out and send in...

It's good to know we aren't the only ones in the same boat....in regards to no information about the application.

 

[kittyandpipit]

I agree...it is good to know there are more people out there waiting...

What about the medicals, did you guys have to redo them or were they extended...or do you not know?

 

[hobbes23]

....since you have been married over 2 years and have a child, you won't have the "condition 51", which means you must cohabitate with your wife for 2 years after approval. So this means, you can technically "land" as a pr, and she can stay in the the US to finish her studies. Note that any time you spend living apart from her will not be counted toward your permanent residency requirements. To avoid this, you can "land" as a pr in canada, then you guys can go back to the us together until you are ready to settle in canada. As long as you are living together, it counts toward PR, no matter where in the world you are. ...

Thanks for this info.
Question about the above....
Per CIC (... english/department/media/backgrounders/2012/2012-10-26a.asp) the conditional approval, "appl[ies] to spouses, common-law or conjugal partners in a relationship of two years or less with their sponsor and who have no children in common with their sponsor at the time they submit their sponsorship application"

So if we have been a relationship for >2 years but not married for 2 years at the time of application it would NOT be conditional, correct????

Thanks for all of the info.

 

[hobbes23]

...
It also will definitely affect when I land - if this is true then the sooner the better, we can just pop up to Vancouver from SF for a weekend of fun (and LANDING!) while we are in San Francisco - then our time here while he is on a 3 month consulting gig will count for my pR right?

So this is correct, right?

We can just cross over together once to land once we are approved and that will be our official landing? Can I do it as the PR applicant alone or should I have my spousal sponsor land with me?

 

[keesio]

Thanks for this info.
Question about the above....
Per CIC (... english/department/media/backgrounders/2012/2012-10-26a.asp) the conditional approval, "appl[ies] to spouses, common-law or conjugal partners in a relationship of two years or less with their sponsor and who have no children in common with their sponsor at the time they submit their sponsorship application"

So if we have been a relationship for >2 years but not married for 2 years at the time of application it would NOT be conditional, correct????

Thanks for all of the info.

You need to be married (or have common-law status) for 2+ years at the time the application is submitted. For example, I had been dating my now wife for over 2 years when I submitted the application to sponsor her but she got Condition 51 because we were only married for a few months.

 

[keesio]

I haven't officially requested the notes...I asked for them in my emails. Then I found out there is a form you have to fill out and send in...

It's good to know we aren't the only ones in the same boat....in regards to no information about the application.

Sorry to hear for the transfer. I'm afraid applications transferred to LA/NY have a very long timeline. They are for applications from the US which have big "red flags". It is 99.9999% likely that your big red flag is applying as conjugal. It is very very difficult to apply under conjugal, especially from a developed western country and most especially from the USA.

 

[hobbes23]

You need to be married (or have common-law status) for 2+ years at the time the application is submitted. For example, I had been dating my now wife for over 2 years when I submitted the application to sponsor her but she got Condition 51 because we were only married for a few months.

OK, thanks for that info.

On this last page of this thread, it said that the Conditional PR approval for spouses makes it so that days living together outside of Canada don't count towards PR requirements. I haven't seen this anywhere on the CIC. Is that true or not?