Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[Lilac6]

Hi Lilac - we are applying as common law and the applicant is non US-cit/res on work visa. May we ask what type of support have you submitted as proof for common-law relationship? We are just hoping that an interview could be waived too! Best of luck with your app!

Hi Fanatics, these are what we included:

- proof of visits to each other/travels together on 6 occasions, such as flight and accomodation statements, also email between us related to these travels
- joint bank account details
- my partner's extended medical plan with my name as common law partner
- joint cell phone account statements
- statutory declaration of common law union, notarized (just used IMM5409)
- 2 statutory declarations from firends (we drafted letters for them and they took it to notary public/lawyer. The emphasis of the letter is about how and how long they've known us, especially as an ongoing co-habiting couple for longer than the previous 12 months!)
- another letter from a church minister we know quite well, similar content as above - couldn't dare asking him to go to notary public to give oath, but thought it maynot harm including it even unnotarized.
- about 25 photoes of us together, explaining when, with whoelse, who took them, etc
- copies of emails exchanged during the period before we started living together - now, we had pages after pages of them and we probably could have sent the selected ones, but in the end sent most of them anyway, just avoidng the really embarrasing ones. I also included a print screen of my email inbox and hoped IO wouldn't really bother reading the actual mails.   
- cards and letters from friends and families addressed to us

That's about it; we didn't have joint house or utility bills which would have been useful too. 

I also wrote a few pages of history of our relationship, how we met, hor our relationship developed and decided to live together by myself moving to Canada, and also how the relationship has strengthened after we started living together too, including mentioning here and there of meeting each others' family and expanding our social circle as couple.

Hope this may be of some help. Good luck!

[minna]

Hi all,

I am a dual american/canadian citizen and am sponsoring my American common-law partner.  We met in Florida in 2002, and have been living together since 2003 - we want to move to Vancouver to be closer to my family since I just found out I am pregnant.  Our only concern is timing of everything as I don't want to have to move across the continent while hugely pregnant, not to mention there will be a 90 day waiting period to regain my BC Health Plan coverage. But if not we will just stay here to have our baby, and add him or her to my partner's application - this is what I was advised by a lawyer.

We are just at the beginning stages of everything. We are putting together our paperwork and we just sent off his fingerprints to the FBI figuring we had a couple of months to get everything else together.  I notice from reading here that we may have less time than expected!! Better get moving, then!!

[heatherusa]

Hi all,

I am a dual american/canadian citizen and am sponsoring my American common-law partner.  We met in Florida in 2002, and have been living together since 2003 - we want to move to Vancouver to be closer to my family since I just found out I am pregnant.  Our only concern is timing of everything as I don't want to have to move across the continent while hugely pregnant, not to mention there will be a 90 day waiting period to regain my BC Health Plan coverage. But if not we will just stay here to have our baby, and add him or her to my partner's application - this is what I was advised by a lawyer.

We are just at the beginning stages of everything. We are putting together our paperwork and we just sent off his fingerprints to the FBI figuring we had a couple of months to get everything else together.  I notice from reading here that we may have less time than expected!! Better get moving, then!!

If you are Cdn by birth you don't need to add the baby to the application - they will be Cdn by birth to you. 

[dhdesigns]

Been following the March thread and just saw this one. Just got the AOR letter yesterday and now Ecas works for applicant and it says:
"We started processing your application on May 25, 2010"

Patiently waiting for the next correspondence!

[minna]

If you are Cdn by birth you don't need to add the baby to the application - they will be Cdn by birth to you. 

Ah, sadly, no. i was born to Canadian parents in London, England. So, unfortunately my baby will not be canadian if is not born in Canada. This change in the rules went into effect last year. I figure it is not worth worrying about right now as I my family in Vancouver will take us in if my partner is approved when I am too pregnant to be able to find a job, but early enough to be able to apply for BC medical services plan, or we will wait and have the baby here, and then travel to land in Canada. Adding the baby will only be a matter of sending the birth certificate and the medical exam (Or so I hope!)

[alisa]

I just got email from Buffalo for passport request!!! I'm so happy now. My case is 94 days in total from the day I sent application to CPC-M.

Good luck for you all that still waiting from Buffalo

[AllisonVSC]

Excellent news, Alisa. I'm glad to see Buffalo is still managing to get some apps approved in about 3 months! Are you planning to go to Buffalo in person or mail your PP?

[alisa]

Excellent news, Alisa. I'm glad to see Buffalo is still managing to get some apps approved in about 3 months! Are you planning to go to Buffalo in person or mail your PP?

Thanks Allison. I'm happy to see Buffalo application is moving well too.

I would like to go to Buffalo in a person in order to save time but I just noticed that to submit passport in a person, you only can do it Tue-Thu morning. So I have to check with my husband for his schedule. I see they request 3 more recent photos, do you know if they have to be the same photos we submitted with the application or I can take new photo?

[the-fanatics]

Lilac - Thanks for sharing!! Our only concern is that we don't have joint lease/bank account but a joint auto insurance, bills to the same address and letters from friends/famiilies. Hopefully that'll work with CIC!! We'll try to get the statutory declaration of common law union done soon so we can send it to buffalo after CIC-M has transferred our file.

[AllisonVSC]

Thanks Allison. I'm happy to see Buffalo application is moving well too.

I would like to go to Buffalo in a person in order to save time but I just noticed that to submit passport in a person, you only can do it Tue-Thu morning. So I have to check with my husband for his schedule. I see they request 3 more recent photos, do you know if they have to be the same photos we submitted with the application or I can take new photo?

Same photo format, passport type, but they do not have to be exactly the same as before. You can submit new ones.

[mrsprogram]

I just got email from Buffalo for passport request!!! I'm so happy now. My case is 94 days in total from the day I sent application to CPC-M.

Good luck for you all that still waiting from Buffalo

Congrats! 

[sbwv09]

YAY alisa!!! Here's to hoping ours is that fast

[Lilac6]

Lilac - Thanks for sharing!! Our only concern is that we don't have joint lease/bank account but a joint auto insurance, bills to the same address and letters from friends/famiilies. Hopefully that'll work with CIC!! We'll try to get the statutory declaration of common law union done soon so we can send it to buffalo after CIC-M has transferred our file.

Sounds good, you sound well prepared. Hopefully we'll hear good news from you in several months.

[Lilac6]

I just got email from Buffalo for passport request!!! I'm so happy now. My case is 94 days in total from the day I sent application to CPC-M.

Good luck for you all that still waiting from Buffalo

Congratulations Alisa!!
You started the thread and became the first to arrive, well done 

[journeyman]

CONGRATULATIONS ALISA.    Hope it's good luck for all of us.