How I organized our applcation and a summary of all helpful tips I have learned

[G.Ysabelle]

i'm sorry but CIC guide is not that helpful at all....their manuals are vague!!!! they will never put something clear black or white because they will always need an escape gate in case u should be approved but u r not or u had no chance but u were approved....u need to read everything many times and also have feedback from other people (forums, professionals, etc) to understand exactly where u r situated; also, all the questions in all the forms r trying to be as general as possible, but u cannot fit everyone in the same group!!!! hence u need to explain each different situation and how can u explain it better than with writing extra pages and providing actual proofs!!! if CIC does not want lots of proofs they will clearly say but from what i know they all the time say: provide any extra evidence which u think it proves the relationship genuine, so here it's our own judgement; also, i read many times that u call once and one officer says one thing and u call again and another says another thing; at the end, u'll just consider the thing which will make u feel good and encourage u, it's ok but the CIC person on the phone is not the officer studying ur file; and each officer is different and each visa office has different way

i know from my own experience for other visas that just providing minimum documentation with everything required at minimum too, will not mean approval at all; I'm not saying that providing hundreds of similar photos or chat logs will automatically give you a visa either; so to everyone preparing the application, if u feel like showing more would help go for it!!! at the end, if an officer is satisfied only with ur answers and looking at one photo they will just not look at the rest; but if they r not satisfied at least the "extra" proofs will be there to help and avoid suspicions, interview etc!!!!! sending more does not mean that they r forced to read it

i also agree with pelipeli, canadianwoman, tink when u sponsor someone from a poor country, with problems, war, etc u need to double-proof ur relationship - there is always the doubt that the applicant will do anything possible to leave that country!! at the end the fact that she sent 400 pages and she is helping so many members on how to organize them it's really something to admire, u don't need to discourage her; and if u'll read other posts u'll see that her application is average size (there were others with 800 pages!!!!!!!!) so really it's all about ur case and how much makes u comfortable

the main point, no matter how much or how little u sent, u don;t just throw it in there; u explain the proofs, u go through the proofs, u explain why u included them, what;s the reason of showing that, etc....and peli did such a nice job with that; i'm sure that any officer will enjoy going through her file, and be impressed of her organizational skills

WOW I 100% agreed with you missmini.... two thumbs up to pelipeli!!!

[pelipeli]

WOW I 100% agreed with you missmini.... two thumbs up to pelipeli!!!

why thank you so much Ysabelle

[pelipeli]

Hi! CPC-M received our application today, Jan 25, 2012. Its official, waiting time begins NOW!  

[itscoezy]

Thank you so much for writing this!! This is awesome!!
How many letters of support did you include from friends/family?  Also, how many did you get certified??

Thanks so much!

P.S for the person who called CIC to check... I called CIC FOUR times to ask if I would qualify for Common law even if my SO was still legally married (going through a divorce) or if I would have to wait to start the "common law countdown" AFTER his divorce was complete and 3 reps told me I had to live with him for a year AFTER his divorce was complete.... In actuality I found out I can apply as soon as we've lived together for 1 year.
These CIC reps are not all-knowing.  Just do what you feel is right for your application.

Goodluck everyone!!

[pelipeli]

Thank you so much for writing this!! This is awesome!!
How many letters of support did you include from friends/family?  Also, how many did you get certified??

Thanks so much!

P.S for the person who called CIC to check... I called CIC FOUR times to ask if I would qualify for Common law even if my SO was still legally married (going through a divorce) or if I would have to wait to start the "common law countdown" AFTER his divorce was complete and 3 reps told me I had to live with him for a year AFTER his divorce was complete.... In actuality I found out I can apply as soon as we've lived together for 1 year.
These CIC reps are not all-knowing.  Just do what you feel is right for your application.

Goodluck everyone!!

        Thank you so much.. I did not include a letter of support from my family since we felt it was not necessary, we sent in many photos (on several family occasions and our wedding photos) that we were with each others families and countless relatives, we thought that would suffice for letters of support. (to prove that families know and approve of the rel'p) . As to certifying documents, we didn't have any certified docs, we sent original docs for the gov't papers, and for proof of rel'p, we sent scanned photos, love letters, but we explained we kept originals for sentimental value purposes, and we indicated that we will send originals should they feel the need to see it. (i hope not)

        However, we did have 3 letters of support, not for the proof of rel'p but as support for "how you plan to support yourself" coz i just arrived here in CND two weeks ago, and im still looking for a job, so no option c. our letters indicate that our parents would help us financially if ever we need it. And one letter form my cousin with whom im staying with at the moment that they will let me stay rent free until i am financially ready to rent my own place.

Goodluck on your app =)

[missmini]

Thank you so much for writing this!! This is awesome!!
How many letters of support did you include from friends/family?  Also, how many did you get certified??

Thanks so much!

P.S for the person who called CIC to check... I called CIC FOUR times to ask if I would qualify for Common law even if my SO was still legally married (going through a divorce) or if I would have to wait to start the "common law countdown" AFTER his divorce was complete and 3 reps told me I had to live with him for a year AFTER his divorce was complete.... In actuality I found out I can apply as soon as we've lived together for 1 year.
These CIC reps are not all-knowing.  Just do what you feel is right for your application.

Goodluck everyone!!

hi itscoezy pelipeli applies under spouse category and for that u don't need any letters; for sure if u have any, it's good u r applying as common-law and for that u need at least 2 notarized letters if u have 3 it's ok just remember that the notarized letters need to be notarized by the one signing not by u (u can go with them) and also it's better to have letters from both sides of the family/friends urs and his; i also included some support letters for my return to Canada but that u don't need if the sponsor is already living in Canada good luck!

[rhenanjay]

ano po ilalagay sa national identity document? ung passprt number dn ba?

[pelipeli]

ano po ilalagay sa national identity document? ung passprt number dn ba?

hi, wala tayong national identitity doc, just leave it blank =)

[rhenanjay]

hi, wala tayong national identitity doc, just leave it blank =)

hello po, nasa canada po ung wife ko, kapag po ba imamail ko ung mga immigration forms together with the supporting documents, dapat po ba sundin ung nasa guide na 9"x12" na size ng envelope? hindi ba niya pwedeng buksan un kapag natanggap na niya?

[canadiangirl78]

You did an awesome job

I'm stressed out now though because I stapled and didn't put the barcode at the top. And my packet was not nearly as comprehensive.

[Deficient]

That application is a thing of beauty. Well done.

Lots of handy tips in here too that I wish I had seen before sending my application

The part about photos is particularly good - I think having several photos to a page, in a logical order and captioned would be much easier for a visa officer to follow than having photo after photo with stuff written on the backs of them. Wish I had known that doing the photo prints yourself that way could be an option... However, the cost of proper prints wasn't a problem for me anyway as I just used all those introductory free printing offers that are available in the UK, you can get hundreds of photos done for no more than the cost of the postage this way (a tip for those who'd prefer to send in actual prints rather than photo sheets, I guess).

Great thread - good job!

[pelipeli]

hello po, nasa canada po ung wife ko, kapag po ba imamail ko ung mga immigration forms together with the supporting documents, dapat po ba sundin ung nasa guide na 9"x12" na size ng envelope? hindi ba niya pwedeng buksan un kapag natanggap na niya?

hi, i was wrong with leaving the nat'l identity doc blank, put N/A. hehe.
no you dont have to follow per se the instructions in sending the docs to ur wife, and she can open it of course and she can do anything with it, reorganize it, add some proofs or something. many forumers here who are sponsors who had their spouses send the forms and docs to them did the final organization before sending off the application to CPC-M. what's impt is the final outcome when CPC opens your app package as a whole

[pelipeli]

That application is a thing of beauty. Well done.

Lots of handy tips in here too that I wish I had seen before sending my application

The part about photos is particularly good - I think having several photos to a page, in a logical order and captioned would be much easier for a visa officer to follow than having photo after photo with stuff written on the backs of them. Wish I had known that doing the photo prints yourself that way could be an option... However, the cost of proper prints wasn't a problem for me anyway as I just used all those introductory free printing offers that are available in the UK, you can get hundreds of photos done for no more than the cost of the postage this way (a tip for those who'd prefer to send in actual prints rather than photo sheets, I guess).

Great thread - good job!

hi, thank you for appreciating. about the photos, yes some VO's allow printing them the way i did but ive heard some VO specify also that they need to be printed one by one. i was also hesitant at doing it that way at first but i asked around and read around until i was convinced that it was alright

wow that's great having promos like that. we dont have it back in the Philippines I guess so it would really have cost us so much .

[Fencesitter]

Would it be okay to paste photos onto an A4 paper with captions?  I also plan to put information on the back of each photo, just to be on the safe side.  The cost of printing photos is pretty cheap where I live, so that's not an issue.

As for the supporting documents, or proof of relationship, is it okay to duplicate these for the sponsored person and sponsor forms where it asks to provide additional proof?  The country specific guide checklists says to include proof of relationship, but so does the sponsor checklist, so I am a bit confused...

Thanks and also great post!!  Your hard work will help so many people!  A true Canadian!

FS

[rhenanjay]

hi, i was wrong with leaving the nat'l identity doc blank, put N/A. hehe.
no you dont have to follow per se the instructions in sending the docs to ur wife, and she can open it of course and she can do anything with it, reorganize it, add some proofs or something. many forumers here who are sponsors who had their spouses send the forms and docs to them did the final organization before sending off the application to CPC-M. what's impt is the final outcome when CPC opens your app package as a whole

ok thnx,, eh ung proof of income po ng sponsor, pwede bang ung T4 lang ang ipakita ?