US outland applicants' thread :)

[Mariac819]

im here because my wife lives here otherwise I would never come to this cold country with its stupid laws,,,
im not interested in citizenship here and actually im having second thoughts about getting the PR..i brought up the citizenship issue as another stupid law of them,,,
ohhh youre just happy with the love of your life,,, :-* :-* :-* :-* i better stop before ........

lol ... smh

 

[IvanP]

If I were submitting an application now with a channeler-issued background check, I would simultaneously order a check directly from the FBI and put a Post-It note on the channeler-issued background check stating that a) I was told on the phone that FBI checks from channelers would be acceptable and b) I'd also ordered a check directly from the FBI just to be safe and would be happy to submit the FBI-issued background check as soon as it's received, if necessary.

That way, if you get a visa officer who emails you to say he/she wants a "real" FBI background check (despite what CIC told you on the phone), you'll have the real background check in hand and can courier it to CPP-Ott without having to order it. If you don't have the "real" FBI background check in hand, you run the risk of adding 12 weeks to the middle of your wait time (plus however long it takes for CPP-Ott's internal mail department to get your express-couriered package to the visa officer who has your file).

I say this because I don't think you can generally trust what the agents say on the phone (the people in call centers aren't the same people who are processing applications), and an extra background check is cheap insurance to avoid delays.

 

[saria1]

If I were submitting an application now with a channeler-issued background check, I would simultaneously order a check directly from the FBI and put a Post-It note on the channeler-issued background check stating that a) I was told on the phone that FBI checks from channelers would be acceptable and b) I'd also ordered a check directly from the FBI just to be safe and would be happy to submit the FBI-issued background check as soon as it's received, if necessary.

That way, if you get a visa officer who emails you to say he/she wants a "real" FBI background check (despite what CIC told you on the phone), you'll have the real background check in hand and can courier it to CPP-Ott without having to order it. If you don't have the "real" FBI background check in hand, you run the risk of adding 12 weeks to the middle of your wait time (plus however long it takes for CPP-Ott's internal mail department to get your express-couriered package to the visa officer who has your file).

I say this because I don't think you can generally trust what the agents say on the phone (the people in call centers aren't the same people who are processing applications), and an extra background check is cheap insurance to avoid delays.

Ivan, thank you!

 

[Mariac819]

If I were submitting an application now with a channeler-issued background check, I would simultaneously order a check directly from the FBI and put a Post-It note on the channeler-issued background check stating that a) I was told on the phone that FBI checks from channelers would be acceptable and b) I'd also ordered a check directly from the FBI just to be safe and would be happy to submit the FBI-issued background check as soon as it's received, if necessary.

That way, if you get a visa officer who emails you to say he/she wants a "real" FBI background check (despite what CIC told you on the phone), you'll have the real background check in hand and can courier it to CPP-Ott without having to order it. If you don't have the "real" FBI background check in hand, you run the risk of adding 12 weeks to the middle of your wait time (plus however long it takes for CPP-Ott's internal mail department to get your express-couriered package to the visa officer who has your file).

I say this because I don't think you can generally trust what the agents say on the phone (the people in call centers aren't the same people who are processing applications), and an extra background check is cheap insurance to avoid delays.

Exactly what Keesio said!

I agree about not trusting CIC's call agents. They are very lost at times.

However, they (OP) had called CJIS for advice and I would trust them even less lol

By far this is the best route if you already submitted a channeler copy.

 

[IvanP]

Exactly what Keesio said!

I agree about not trusting CIC's call agents. They are very lost at times.

However, hey had called CJIS for advice and I would trust them even less lol

By far this is the best route of you already submitted a channeler copy.

I also suspect a Post-It on the channeler background check would make it less likely that the entire application would get kicked back to you, which is a much worse outcome than having just to provide a "real" background check upon request. Having to resubmit means medicals are more likely to expire, you'll have to fill out new versions of forms in order to resubmit (cheap to do, but a pain), etc.

The channeler issue has been out there for a long time and it would be really nice if CIC provided a clear yes or no on the subject, in writing on their website, and in plain English (and French! says the Québec resident in me...).

 

[keesio]

The channeler issue has been out there for a long time and it would be really nice if CIC provided a clear yes or no on the subject, in writing on their website, and in plain English (and French! says the Québec resident in me...).

+1.

Actually there are many things CIC can clear up.

Like:
-Outland: yes you can apply outland and still be staying with your spouse in Canada
-US applicants get the application sent to Ottawa by default, not NY/LA
-Timelines for Ottawa are for majority of cases and not reflective of the average application with no-red flags
-Timelines for Ottawa include applicants from various regions and not just US citizens (who are getting fast tracked)
-Of course there is the FBI channeler thing

Clearing starting the above would clear up like 80% of the confusion among US applicants

And one thing that applies to all regions - the very confusing "lonely immigrant" sponsorship rule which I am still confused on.

 

[Mariac819]

The channeler issue has been out there for a long time and it would be really nice if CIC provided a clear yes or no on the subject, in writing on their website, and in plain English (and French! says the Québec resident in me...).

I couldn't agree more, that is why until they do so I just followed the steps on this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp

In French for Ivan hehe

http://www.cic.gc.ca/francais/information/securite/cert-police/amerique-nord/etats-unis.asp

 

[michminn]

WHO CARES about becoming a Citizen or not. I am just happy being with the love of my life. IS that all you are in it for? Citizenship? It sure seems like it.

You can live as a PR and enjoy your life in peace. Citizenship will come with time. I personally am in no rush. I am a USA Citizen, that is enough for me.

Get em' girl raarrrrrrrrrr

 

[Mariac819]

Get em' girl raarrrrrrrrrr

Hehehehe ... BTW - you should be getting SA any minute now!!!!

 

[IvanP]

I couldn't agree more, that is why until they do so I just followed the steps on this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp

In French for Ivan hehe

http://www.cic.gc.ca/francais/information/securite/cert-police/amerique-nord/etats-unis.asp

А по-русски не было??? Just kidding, no Russian needed...

I agree that if you follow those instructions and send your request directly to the FBI address like CIC says, you're going to be good, but if you click on the FBI link CIC provides, the FBI website talks about channelers, and that's where the questions start. CIC should say "no channelers" or "channelers permitted" on its site to eliminate all doubt.

 

[michminn]

Hehehehe ... BTW - you should be getting SA any minute now!!!!

Hopefully soon, I had to resend some things; which I overnighted, 50.00 dollars later we'll see. Hopefully this week.

 

[Mariac819]

А по-русски не было??? Just kidding, no Russian needed...

heheehe

I agree that if you follow those instructions and send your request directly to the FBI address like CIC says, you're going to be good, but if you click on the FBI link CIC provides, the FBI website talks about channelers, and that's where the questions start. CIC should say "no channelers" or "channelers permitted" on its site to eliminate all doubt.

That is true!

 

[natodincan]

Hi everyone,

I am a little confused. What is CJIS?

My husband is American and applying for PR to Canada. We are about to send our application but have been waiting 16 weeks or more for his FBI clearance. They cashed his cheque and the clearance is paid for but we haven't received the clearance in the mail. On top of that my husband is moving out of his apartment and that is the address we asked for the clearance to be sent to.

I have looked everywhere on the FBI website but can't see a contact number that I can call to check on the status. Does anybody know how to contact them for verification?

Also, another question. We have been holding off on the medical in hopes of having my step son and my husband get the clearance done here since its cheaper. My step-son is not available to come to Canada very often so it is not yet done. Can I just send in the app with the missing info and forward it in later? Is there a downside to doing this?

Thanks so much!!

 

[missmatalini]

WHO CARES about becoming a Citizen or not. I am just happy being with the love of my life. IS that all you are in it for? Citizenship? It sure seems like it.

You can live as a PR and enjoy your life in peace. Citizenship will come with time. I personally am in no rush. I am a USA Citizen, that is enough for me.

This!

There's been a lot of talk in my family on if I plan on going for full citizenship or not. I'm on the fence. I don't think it's particularly necessary and I don't want to risk having my US citizenship revoked.

I'm going to be enjoying life as a permanent resident. Why stress about another long paperwork filled process when you're still not even finished with your Permanent Residency process?

 

[rhcohen2014]

This!

There's been a lot of talk in my family on if I plan on going for full citizenship or not. I'm on the fence. I don't think it's particularly necessary and I don't want to risk having my US citizenship revoked.

the US is not going to revoke your citizenship because you chose to become a Canadian citizen. it takes some serious effort on the US's part to revoke citizenship, even if it's requested by the citizen themselves. quite frankly, unless there is criminality issues, I doubt the US grants revocation of citizenship easily because that means that's one less tax payer to pay taxes. Right now, there is a lot of talk about revoking citizenship to avoid taxes, though i think the US will soon (if they haven't already) put a kabash to that and not approve such citizenship revocation applications. No matter where you live, as a US citizen, you will always have to file taxes with the IRS.