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[AYA4887]

It's really tough to deal with for my wife and I. It looks like it'll take 12+ months for us. She wanted to come to Canada to meet my parents before we got married but her TRV was rejected twice, we we got married without my parents having ever met her in person. And now we're waiting for a process which, sometimes, feels artificially long.

Just above they were talking about ordering the visa officer notes to know more about why the process is taking so long, to get some insight into an otherwise opaque process. I did this for the TRV, and the document was automatically generated one or two days after I had requested, and sent to me after 31 days exactly (one day after the allowed limit). It had been sitting on a shelf - not a real shelf mind you, a digital shelf, for almost a month. So in some way or another, the system is intentionally designed to be slow, as if to mock the user.

And now I'm in Canada, my wife is 12 timezones away and we're just hoping to be reunited, both of us terrified because even though our application is super simple with no real red flags, there's no way to know what the visa officer will think. And I'm just thinking this process is robbing us of maybe 2%, maybe 3-5% of the time we wish we could have together in our lifetimes. Maybe there's a good explanation somewhere for why it's okay for applicants from India and some other countries to be processed extremely fast and for Russians to have to wait over a year, but without any explanation it just feels unfair.

Maybe I'm being overly dramatic forgive me.

You're not being dramatic, I can be dramatic. It's hard to be away from you're spouse. It's especially harder because our timelines are unknown. Before I met my husband my mother was my bestfriend. It was her dream to have grandchildren. But we unfortunately lost her through cancer. Now that I'm married, it is my husband and my dream to have children. But I refuse to be pregnant without my mom or my husband by my side. As a woman, time is ticking. It's so hard to accept that our lives are in the hands of these visa officers. Our life is put on hold because of them. So much money and time off of work has been put in this relationship because travelling halfway ac4the world is the only way to be with my husband. Like you, we had 2 rejected TRVs. But all we have is hope.

 

[AYA4887]

Our application how now been 15 months. My husband is American. Some have said fast for Americans. Has not been for us. The whole thing just pisses me off. This is our 3rd application since 2007 and it will be our last. VERY LONG STORY LOL. I could write a book about this..

I feel like we all can write a book about our experiences. After this is all and done, I never want to hear the word immigration in my life again. This whole process takes a toll on your life. And depression sucks!

 

[AYA4887]

We used to live in Estonia.

That's where my husband is right now and I'm heading back in a couple of weeks.

 

[Bynming]

You're not being dramatic, I can be dramatic. It's hard to be away from you're spouse. It's especially harder because our timelines are unknown. Before I met my husband my mother was my bestfriend. It was her dream to have grandchildren. But we unfortunately lost her through cancer. Now that I'm married, it is my husband and my dream to have children. But I refuse to be pregnant without my mom or my husband by my side. As a woman, time is ticking. It's so hard to accept that our lives are in the hands of these visa officers. Our life is put on hold because of them. So much money and time off of work has been put in this relationship because travelling halfway ac4the world is the only way to be with my husband. Like you, we had 2 rejected TRVs. But all we have is hope.

It's the only way. It's quite nightmarish right now but one day when you do have children you'll have a lot to tell them about the obstacles you had to face to be together. As much as I respect any couple who's able to make it work and to raise their kids in a loving family, there's a form of extra determination that shows from this stuff we're going through. At least I like to think of it like that.

Part of my story is just the administrative cluster**** that happened when we were gathering the documents to get married in Russia. It incredibly hard for us because of other people's incompetence, first by a Russian consul here in Montreal who was not familiar with one of the official stamps Canada's foreign affairs department (a huge part of his job), and then once again by a Russian translator, who made two typos on a document (my name and city of birth). The trip was booked, I had my visa, the flights to the honeymoon and the 12 nights at the resort were all booked and paid for. But looming over or heads, a messed up translation threatened to prevent us having a wedding date in time and we would have had to reschedule months later, after my visa to Russia had expired. We ended up solving it but it was an exceedingly complicated process involving giving my wife power of attorney and hiring a guy to Russian guy in Montreal who had ties with the Montreal consulate and knew how to get things done, and then sending that paper in the mail with our fingers crossed that it wouldn't get lost. It was an absolute rollercoaster. When she finally managed to officially register our marriage, it was a huge relief. She now likes to jokingly say, when one of us worries about this whole thing "it would have been easier if you had found a local honey".

Now, she and I have just started planning a 2-week mini-eurotrip for February-March because it's becoming clear that we won't be able to be apart for a whole year. But at this point it's a huge financial strain and it's just generally really hard to make it work. And all this traveling has been really rough on my career.

 

[amania]

Well I have some results to post which are relevant to anyone who is sponsoring a Russian spouse whose application was sent to Warsaw.

In short, my wife received her COPR today (Picked up her passport from the Moscow VO today).

The time line that took place for us is just that.... the time line it took for our specific case, so please keep that in mind.

I submitted my documents to Mississauga in early June of 2014 and received notice in mid July that I was accepted as a sponsor for my wife.
The application was then submitted directly to Warsaw for secondary processing in early August. I didn't hear anything for a while until they requested a scanned copy of my wifes passport near the end of October. After this, it went quiet again until early January 2015 where they e-mailed my wife with a request for her physical passport. Given that the closest VO was Moscow, we were instructed to submit her passport there. Within 2 days she was sent an email from the visa office that her passport and nagaland state lottery was ready for pick up. In her passport is the visa to land in Canada and her COPR with some instructions.

That's all.

Total processing time (including my evaluation as a sponsor) is just over 7 months.

For the guys whose packages were sent to Moscow first and then re-directed to Warsaw, all I can say is just be patient (I know it's easier said than done). My experience with the Warsaw office has been smooth and fairly quick and I'm ever grateful that the wait period didn't come anywhere close to the suggest Moscow VO timeline - so just hang tight.

Good luck.

I am waiting 5 months waiting impatiently and didn't get any recent update.

 

[Lisaexpat]

That's where my husband is right now and I'm heading back in a couple of weeks.

I loved Estonia but had to leave for various reasons. I am not happy with what is going on with the current government there.

 

[Lisaexpat]

We finally got some update on our case! Our rep let us know Warsaw is requesting our right of landing fee and UK police check. ( We currently residing in the UK) I think it is a good sign! The MP said the eligibility has not started. But I think it has been completed. Why would they ask for landing fee and if eligibility was not completed?

 

[alaria]

We finally got some update on our case! Our rep let us know Warsaw is requesting our right of landing fee and UK police check. ( We currently residing in the UK) I think it is a good sign! The MP said the eligibility has not started. But I think it has been completed. Why would they ask for landing fee and if eligibility was not completed?

Great news!
Wow, I can't believe Warsaw thread has recently become more active than my "February 2019 outland" thread

 

[Lisaexpat]

Great news!
Wow, I can't believe Warsaw thread has recently become more active than my "February 2019 outland" thread

I know right! For months this thread was dead lol

 

[lion.com]

We finally got some update on our case! Our rep let us know Warsaw is requesting our right of landing fee and UK police check. ( We currently residing in the UK) I think it is a good sign! The MP said the eligibility has not started. But I think it has been completed. Why would they ask for landing fee and if eligibility was not completed?

For background check most probably

 

[Bynming]

We finally got some update on our case! Our rep let us know Warsaw is requesting our right of landing fee and UK police check. ( We currently residing in the UK) I think it is a good sign! The MP said the eligibility has not started. But I think it has been completed. Why would they ask for landing fee and if eligibility was not completed?

Very good sign indeed!

 

[Lisaexpat]

Yesterday they also sent us PRE-Arrival letter!
I hope also everyone else sees movement in their cases too. I have noticed CIC processes cases in batches.

 

[mpigeau]

Yesterday they also sent us PRE-Arrival letter!
I hope also everyone else sees movement in their cases too. I have noticed CIC processes cases in batches.

I feel like I'm happier for you right now that I would be for myself lol. You've been wait so pooping long!!!!!

 

[Lisaexpat]

I feel like I'm happier for you right now that I would be for myself lol. You've been wait so pooping long!!!!!

I know right!! I am so happy I can't think straight! Doing the happy dance

 

[AYA4887]

It's true, your MP can help you before 12 months! Within a day I received a status update. Unfortunately, they are taking their sweet ass time with our application. Criminality is in progress still and eligibility and security have not yet started even though according to our gckey account they started eligibility back in January.