US outland applicants' thread :)

[Evadyrrehs]

Congrats on the extension!
We're probably going to do mine this weekend. I wanted to wait to see if we would hear anything from CIC at the end of this month, but so far nothing. My status expires June 8th and we'll probably do it online, as that's how we did it last time. I like the piece of mind knowing it's submitted instantly.

I'll probably just ask for 6 months this time since that would make the extension until December. And that would be the 15 month mark in my PR application if it goes that long.

Thanks Leah and good luck for your extension too! I think the online way is at about 68 days right now so you`ll have a good solid few months before you get the decision anyhow. Hopefully PR will happen way before that! 8)

 

[Ineffable]

Yes it was just a straight forward normal visitor extension for my US spouse.. Yes the site recommends to apply 30 days prior to your visitor status expiring, and so I like to comply with what they recommend personally although many here do not.. It is faster processing if you do an online extension, but for us it was easier to go old school mail.. You have implied status regardless of which way you submit the forms, and the mail method buys you more time together in case of bad news, although a longer time living under more unknown's I guess. My wife arrived here on Sept 13/2014 and her 6 months was up on March 13/2015. We send out the extension and they had it in their mail room early Feb and we just heard back yesterday.. The processing times are very long as you can see on the website for paper application visitor extensions from inside Canada.

Here's the wait times : http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/temp.asp

Technically we should still be waiting to hear back from them as it states they are working on apps from Jan 27 and we didn't have ours there till Feb 4 8)

Thank you!

 

[lleahdoll]

Thanks Leah and good luck for your extension too! I think the online way is at about 68 days right now so you`ll have a good solid few months before you get the decision anyhow. Hopefully PR will happen way before that! 8)

thank you!!
yeah I really hope we hear something in June. Also, my medical expires at the end of July and I don't want to have to re-do them.

 

[BeShoo]

After waiting for over 6 months since SA (11/17/2014), today my common law partner got an email from the Ottawa VO requesting "Stat Dec of Common-Law IMM5409: A signed and completed Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union form (IMM 5409) bearing original signatures This must be received at this office by: 2015/06/26"

Yeah, they might as well just ask for the thing in the first place if they want it, not say you don't need it and then ask for it. We didn't send it in. We followed the guide.

They asked for it to get a visitor's extension, so we sent it in, notarized and everything. Then, later, they emailed a request for one for the PR application. We sent a camera phone picture of the notarized form and told them we had already sent it to Vegreville. We didn't want to spend money on another solemn declaration. It seemed they accepted that.

 

[BeShoo]

I'll probably just ask for 6 months this time since that would make the extension until December. And that would be the 15 month mark in my PR application if it goes that long.

Just ask for a year. If they think that's too long, they'll give you a shorter time. Our last one we asked for another year and they gave us 6 months which turned out to be more than we needed.

 

[lleahdoll]

Just ask for a year. If they think that's too long, they'll give you a shorter time. Our last one we asked for another year and they gave us 6 months which turned out to be more than we needed.

Yeah I thought of just asking for a year but I don't need it and I think 6 months will seem reasonable in their eyes since Ottawa processing times are 16 months atm.

 

[VAtoBC]

My spouse just received an email from CPC-Ottawa requesting her FBI check results, which we submitted in January the day after we got the email confirming SA and file transfer from Mississauga to Ottawa. I have made multiple attempts to contact them via the Call Centre and my call is NEVER put through to an agent. I sent an email attaching a scanned copy of the original a couple weeks ago, to which I received an automated response showing that requests for document receipt is one of MANY things to which they do NOT respond. Application for FBI check was submitted last August, document received by us mid-November. We held off sending it until we got SA and file transfer to Ottawa so it wouldn't get lost, UPS confirmed they received it in January, and STILL they lose it and there seems to be no way to communicate with them. I am so frustrated I could scream/cry. This means our move will likely be delayed until this time next year, or later, if we have to start over. I've used up almost all my allowed days to stay with my spouse in the USA for this year. I think it's appalling incompetence on the part of CIC. Any point in contacting my MP's office to have their staff look into it?

 

[jesmithers]

My spouse just received an email from CPC-Ottawa requesting her FBI check results, which we submitted in January the day after we got the email confirming SA and file transfer from Mississauga to Ottawa. I have made multiple attempts to contact them via the Call Centre and my call is NEVER put through to an agent. I sent an email attaching a scanned copy of the original a couple weeks ago, to which I received an automated response showing that requests for document receipt is one of MANY things to which they do NOT respond. Application for FBI check was submitted last August, document received by us mid-November. We held off sending it until we got SA and file transfer to Ottawa so it wouldn't get lost, UPS confirmed they received it in January, and STILL they lose it and there seems to be no way to communicate with them. I am so frustrated I could scream/cry. This means our move will likely be delayed until this time next year, or later, if we have to start over. I've used up almost all my allowed days to stay with my spouse in the USA for this year. I think it's appalling incompetence on the part of CIC. Any point in contacting my MP's office to have their staff look into it?

Yes I would get an MP involved. There was another member here who's FBI check went missing and had an MP look into it. I'm not sure if it was the MP looking into it that helped but shortly after her appointment she received an email letting her send in a photocopy which I hope you have too.

There are instances where they find it. I say go the MP route! I'm really sorry to hear your dillema

 

[VAtoBC]

Yes I would get an MP involved. There was another member here who's FBI check went missing and had an MP look into it. I'm not sure if it was the MP looking into it that helped but shortly after her appointment she received an email letting her send in a photocopy which I hope you have too.

There are instances where they find it. I say go the MP route! I'm really sorry to hear your dillema

Thanks, jesmithers. My spouse has sent today an email, a FAX, and will courier a hard copy of a scanned copy of the original FBI letter, along with UPS proof of delivery. She will go next week, on her return from a long drive to visit her mother, to the local PD and get her fingerprints re-done and submit ANOTHER request to the FBI, who are taking 4 months to process these days. Checked my local MP's website, and there isn't even contact info listed. He's a lame duck PC who's not running in the next election. He's also a right wing fundamentalist Christian and we're a same-sex married couple, so it's unlikely he'd do anything for us anyway. My spouse lives in an even more conservative district of the Southern US, so no hope of her getting any help from her Member of Congress on anything. Thanks for your sympathy.

 

[Amalthea]

My spouse just received an email from CPC-Ottawa requesting her FBI check results, which we submitted in January the day after we got the email confirming SA and file transfer from Mississauga to Ottawa. I have made multiple attempts to contact them via the Call Centre and my call is NEVER put through to an agent. I sent an email attaching a scanned copy of the original a couple weeks ago, to which I received an automated response showing that requests for document receipt is one of MANY things to which they do NOT respond. Application for FBI check was submitted last August, document received by us mid-November. We held off sending it until we got SA and file transfer to Ottawa so it wouldn't get lost, UPS confirmed they received it in January, and STILL they lose it and there seems to be no way to communicate with them. I am so frustrated I could scream/cry. This means our move will likely be delayed until this time next year, or later, if we have to start over. I've used up almost all my allowed days to stay with my spouse in the USA for this year. I think it's appalling incompetence on the part of CIC. Any point in contacting my MP's office to have their staff look into it?

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. This just happened to Maria, she emailed them several times about it explaining it had been included etc etc.. and didn't hear anything back until maybe two-three weeks later? At which point they said she could send her photocopy "since it appeared she had originally included the FBI check"

So sorry for what you're going through hang tight. Your game plan seems sound.

 

[VAtoBC]

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. This just happened to Maria, she emailed them several times about it explaining it had been included etc etc.. and didn't hear anything back until maybe two-three weeks later? At which point they said she could send her photocopy "since it appeared she had originally included the FBI check"

So sorry for what you're going through hang tight. Your game plan seems sound.

Thanks, amalthea. The email my spouse received today from CPC-Ottawa said they MAY respond to any email from her in TWENTY days! Just in time for summer vacations to start. We are both 66 years old, both will be entirely self-supporting for the rest of our lives, my spouse has Medicare and will get care in Washington state (we will live 5 minutes from the border), and I have been a Canadian taxpayer my entire adult life. Ain't this service grand?! Thanks for your support.

 

[saria1]

VAtoBC, maybe you can order your notes too? At the bottom of the "notes" are "notes" of incoming messages whether via email or regular email. Maybe you can see if the notes have a note about the incoming FBI report. I feel like there is a slacky in Ottawa really messing up lately, and this slacky needs to get a walking slip and be let on their merry little way.

I'm really sorry you're having to go through this. Hopefully it'll be resolved quickly.

 

[VAtoBC]

VAtoBC, maybe you can order your notes too? At the bottom of the "notes" are "notes" of incoming messages whether via email or regular email. Maybe you can see if the notes have a note about the incoming FBI report. I feel like there is a slacky in Ottawa really messing up lately, and this slacky needs to get a walking slip and be let on their merry little way.

I'm really sorry you're having to go through this. Hopefully it'll be resolved quickly.

Thanks, saria1. I fear that making a request under ATIP to get our "notes" would show only that CIC has failed to acknowledge receipt of the FBI document. We have proof of all our attempts to communicate with them via email, FAX and snail mail, and I have submitted a complaint about the Call Centre via the website. I did a Google search, and the CIC was the federal government agency which had the most ATIP requests, as of 2008-2009. They failed to respond to 5% of those requests. Clearly, their efficiency has not improved since that date. It seems so patently unfair that we should have to try to sort through the procedures of one government agency in order to get information from another, which has no right to claim any desire to serve the citizens of this country. These people are messing with our lives. I realize that we'd get better service if we were trying to immigrate from overseas, with no prior connection to Canada, and bringing over a million dollars to invest. So much for "family reunification" being a priority -- what a sick joke!

 

[angel770]

Maybe dumb question here..but do applications for outland for spouses who live in the states go through Ottawa??

 

[BeShoo]

Maybe dumb question here..but do applications for outland for spouses who live in the states go through Ottawa??

Yes, Ottawa normally processes all outland applications from U.S. citizens.