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

[nezya]

This is so great!

Thank you!!

Can anyone shed some light on which package / where we should include our testimonials and relationship essays? We have about 20 testimonials but not too sure where we should include them in the package!

Any help is appreciated


Nick

I had 2 envelopes of proof of relationships. Proof of relationship A includes (joint banks accounts, rental receipts with our name, health insurance, car registry/insurance). Proof of relationship B includes (receipts of gifts from sponsor/from principal, our pictures chronological order, invitation of weddings from our friends and his family, letter from friends and family about our relationship notarized).

 

[mikeymyke]

I have almost 400 pics, 4x6 size, loose photos, any idea on how I should store and organize them? I plan on doing them in chronological order, separate each batch of photos as "First visit 2012-2013, second visit 2013-2014, wedding, vietnam trip 2013, honeymoon #1, honeymoon #2, wedding studio pics".

Funny thing was today, I was at Staples to photocopy all my relationship proofs, I photocopied everything from love letters, the envelopes they came in, receipts of the wedding, plane tickets, etc. I printed them all on 11x17 size paper, tried to cram as much stuff as I can onto one sheet, and I got about 80+ pages total. After that, I knew I had 400 pics so I decide to google, "pelipeli canadavisa organize" to see what advice he has for organization so I can buy the necessary supplies

I don't think I can use the expanding envelope because my application will probably be at least 6-8 inches thick, should I put them in a box?

 

[Graihn]

I have almost 400 pics, 4x6 size, loose photos, any idea on how I should store and organize them? I plan on doing them in chronological order, separate each batch of photos as "First visit 2012-2013, second visit 2013-2014, wedding, vietnam trip 2013, honeymoon #1, honeymoon #2, wedding studio pics".

Funny thing was today, I was at Staples to photocopy all my relationship proofs, I photocopied everything from love letters, the envelopes they came in, receipts of the wedding, plane tickets, etc. I printed them all on 11x17 size paper, tried to cram as much stuff as I can onto one sheet, and I got about 80+ pages total. After that, I knew I had 400 pics so I decide to google, "pelipeli canadavisa organize" to see what advice he has for organization so I can buy the necessary supplies

I don't think I can use the expanding envelope because my application will probably be at least 6-8 inches thick, should I put them in a box?

My advise is don't include 400 photos if you have a strong case to begin with.

 

[Rob_TO]

My advise is don't include 400 photos if you have a strong case to begin with.

Ya I agree. From each occasion, a couple pics will do. They don't need to see 20 pics of the 2 of you in the same place from different angles! For the wedding there will be some extra pics, concentrated on you with the various family/friends that attended.

For a basic straightforward app, around 50 pics should be more than enough.

 

[Graihn]

Ya I agree. From each occasion, a couple pics will do. They don't need to see 20 pics of the 2 of you in the same place from different angles! For the wedding there will be some extra pics, concentrated on you with the various family/friends that attended.

For a basic straightforward app, around 50 pics should be more than enough.

Hear ye, hear ye

 

[Gumby749]

Wow, very organized. How much did it weight when all was done? Ours came in at 3 kg.

 

[nezya]

Wow, very organized. How much did it weight when all was done? Ours came in at 3 kg.

Ours was very very simple. I organized it on my own with 40 photos, not much proofs and ours is under a common-law relationship and it was approved. I'm saying it's not the quantity but the quality. Just make it direct and simple and very precise.

 

[Ponga]

Ours was very very simple. I organized it on my own with 40 photos, not much proofs and ours is under a common-law relationship and it was approved. I'm saying it's not the quantity but the quality. Just make it direct and simple and very precise.

The real issue is the fear that if you don't give them `all you got', there's a chance that they won't believe us.

In hindsight...I'm sure I sent wayyyyy too much in the way of proof, but since an Inlander has no rights for an appeal, it seemed like a logical decision.
At the time.

 

[mikeymyke]

I think my application will be around 12 pounds. My proofs are as follows:

80 - 11x17 photocopied sheets of relationship evidence, (love letters from each other, photos of us when we were young, envelopes used to send gifts, birthday cards, portraits my wife drew of me, receipts of all hotel stays, wedding cards sent by my parents and family, all tickets used to enter temples, boats, pagodas, flight tickets for all our trips, receipts for all wedding related stuff such as decorations, wedding sweets, restaurant, receipts for our two honeymoons, air plane tickets for both honeymoons, etc etc etc)

8 - support letters, from 2 of my wife's friends from France, 1 from her cousin from France, 1 from her oldest sister, 1 from her best friend, 1 from another friend, 2 from both her parents

100 - screenshots of Skype webcam, took 1 screenshot per week even though we talk everyday, and I saved a screenshot everyday

200 - pages of chat history Yahoo! and Viber, took only 1-2 pages of chats per day we talked using IM.

15 - pages of Facebook wall posts, one post shows our friends comments when we said we were in a relationship, met for first time, engaged, wedding day, honeymoon trip, Vietnam trip, also showed 1 page of mine and her "About" page to show that we changed our status to Married since Dec 30, 2012, and we added each other's family members as our in-laws. We only used 15 pages, but each page shows all the comments friends/family wrote for each big moment in our life, and I thought it was redundant to show every single thing we posted, so I only showed the important events such as married, in relationship, etc.

400 - 4x6 photos, I separated the pics so that they're in groups, held together by simple binder clips (worked nicely). The groups are, Vietnam visit #1, Vietnam trip 2013, Vietnam Visit #2, Honeymoon #1, Honeymoon #2, Trip with my family #1, Trip with my family #2, wedding day, wedding studio days. I put them in chronological order, wrote dates on the back (took me forever) and who was in the pics. Hardest part was figuring out the dates as my pics dont have timestamps.

Notes:

-The biggest # of photos was "wedding day", around 50, because it's the most important day to the VO (I feel), and I want to make sure it's detailed as possible. I know VOs will look to make sure I have done all the things that are expected in a traditional Vietnamese wedding, so I took pics of every situation that they would look for, such as exchanging of gifts, praying at altar of grandparents, serving tea to family members, street procession, etc. I also made sure the pics show my ENTIRE family as well as her ENTIRE family in attendance, as I know VO's dont like when family members are absent at weddings.

-The biggest pain in the butt was putting dates on 400 pics, but it was made easier when I just go on my computer and hover my mouse over the pic to see when it was "created"

-On the 80 - 11x17 sheets, I wrote with red pen (because it's easier to see), on all the sheets indicating what they were (receipts for hotel, wedding, etc)

-We also will send an original of BOTH our wedding invitations, one is written in Vietnamese, other in English (hand-drawn by my wife, with Superman/Spiderman theme, just for fun).

-We have 3 wedding studio albums, wedding DVD, wedding guestbook, lucky money deposit box, and a scrapbook made, but I can't scan them, so I decide to take a photo of each of them, and printed them out, and wrote on the back what they were.

-Printed copies of my life insurance listing her as beneficiary for $500K, receipts of money I sent to her for support

I know you guys might feel this is overkill, but bear in mind, my wife is Vietnamese, our VO is Singapore, the processing times went from 15 to 26 months in just 5 years, we absolutely DO NOT want an interview, and want to have a strong application to prevent it. As you know, Vietnam is a country known for many marriage fraud cases, and if she was an American, I wouldn't have to print nearly close to 10% of what I'm printing now. I even told my wife not to apply for a TRV because if it's refused, we have to indicate that on one of the forms, which could delay our case, and if you look, you will see a refusal of TRV is considered a red flag question, among other questions such as have you ever been in jail, refugee, etc. So I told my wife not to even try for a TRV, but instead I will visit her instead.

I feel we have a pretty strong case, we are only 3 years age difference, we waited a year after proposal to get married, we have same education, we can speak same language, we both communicate everyday, wife has never attempted to come to Canada and has no family there, my entire family (parents, sister, brothers, grandma, stepdad's sister, 2 family friends) came all the way from Canada to be at the wedding, also my wife's entire family and relatives attended. We have MANY pics of my family and her family having dinner together, and many more pics of my wife taking trips with me and my parents.

It took me a long time to create all this evidence, but I only get to apply for my wife once, and I only want to do it once, and do it really really good the first time.

They don't need to see 20 pics of the 2 of you in the same place from different angles! For the wedding there will be some extra pics, concentrated on you with the various family/friends that attended.

I sent them just one pic a day, or per occasion we are together. ex) If on one day, we go out for breakfast, I take a pic. On that same day, we go watch a movie, I take a pic. On that same day, I go to eat dinner with her family, I take a pic. If on the next day, we simply just go to the mall and that's it, I just take one pic of that whole day. But when we go on our across-Vietnam trip or on honeymoons, I take multiple pics to show that we really were in those locations. I take pics in front of famous landmarks or places that are a true telltale sign that we really were at those locations.

My advise is don't include 400 photos if you have a strong case to begin with.

That's easy to say if you're applying from a visa-exempt country, we are talking about Vietnam here, which by the way, was added to a list of countries requiring biometric data from visitors, and those countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria. If you're part of this very exclusive club, I'm sure I know what the Canadian government feels about people from these countries, so it's my job to convince the government to allow my wife who is a citizen of this fine group of countries, to allow her into the country. And I hope I'm able to do so by giving the strongest possible PR application I can give.

 

[pelipeli]

Hello hello everyone!!!

So I have been getting some emails , so I know that the thread has been bumped up again,

Thank you to everyone for your kind words, I never have imagined that what I did would still be helping others even after three years. Yay! I'm glad!!

So just a few words / comments for the recent messages in here since I last logged in....

1. To the folks saying quality or quantity, yes you are right. However, quality is subjective. Coming from a non-visa exempt country, I feel like we need to have more proof than those coming from visa exempt countries. Also, each case is unique and if you have a more complicated one, then maybe you need more. That being said, Don't go overboard as well! A wise way to go is to make a draft of your relationship from the time you met, then every year / month after that, select two or three main events that happened which you think contributed to the development of your relationship then use that as a basis of selecting which photos, chat logs, etc , to include. Then you can just say that if they feel they need more then you have more! LOL. But, I would suggest to throw in a couple of "everyday" stuff as well, like just greeting each other good morning , or good night, or just plain conversations, the plain, everyday stuff counts in a good, developed relationship too!

2. Regarding the immigration photos with the DOB and signature at the back: Yes I believe this is a country specific requirement.

3. Paperclips, binders, etc... The reason why I used them? Because I am Obsessive Compulsive with being organized, and there was NOTHING in the guides forbidding the use of these. The only thing I read that they discouraged were stapling and binding. Now, I am talking about the guides and forms from 2011 . It could have changed now and they may discourage it now, but I am 100% sure (I trust in my OC-ness) that at the time I applied, there were no rules against paperclips and binders.

4. There is no "set" way to organize your application, as long as you stick to the rules, and you feel comfortable with the amount of proof you are submitting, you feel confident that there will be no doubt in the IO's minds that your relationship is true and genuine , then you're good. What I suggest is research, research and research more. I spent almost all day in these forums during the time I was putting the application together and I incorporated a blend of organization tips from many forumers as well. Read every word in the guides and your forms a hundred times if you must, make sure everything is complete and put together.

5. Lastly, for those posting their questions to me here, I apologize for not being able to log in as much as I can now.. I have my email address on my signature so feel free and thank you to those who continue to provide answers and suggestions ;D ;D ;D

Good luck everyone!

 

[pelipeli]

Wow, very organized. How much did it weight when all was done? Ours came in at 3 kg.

When I shipped it, it weighed 5 lbs. Ah memories, cant believe it has been more than two years now!

 

[Graihn]

I think my application will be around 12 pounds. My proofs are as follows:

80 - 11x17 photocopied sheets of relationship evidence, (love letters from each other, photos of us when we were young, envelopes used to send gifts, birthday cards, portraits my wife drew of me, receipts of all hotel stays, wedding cards sent by my parents and family, all tickets used to enter temples, boats, pagodas, flight tickets for all our trips, receipts for all wedding related stuff such as decorations, wedding sweets, restaurant, receipts for our two honeymoons, air plane tickets for both honeymoons, etc etc etc)

8 - support letters, from 2 of my wife's friends from France, 1 from her cousin from France, 1 from her oldest sister, 1 from her best friend, 1 from another friend, 2 from both her parents

100 - screenshots of Skype webcam, took 1 screenshot per week even though we talk everyday, and I saved a screenshot everyday

200 - pages of chat history Yahoo! and Viber, took only 1-2 pages of chats per day we talked using IM.

15 - pages of Facebook wall posts, one post shows our friends comments when we said we were in a relationship, met for first time, engaged, wedding day, honeymoon trip, Vietnam trip, also showed 1 page of mine and her "About" page to show that we changed our status to Married since Dec 30, 2012, and we added each other's family members as our in-laws. We only used 15 pages, but each page shows all the comments friends/family wrote for each big moment in our life, and I thought it was redundant to show every single thing we posted, so I only showed the important events such as married, in relationship, etc.

400 - 4x6 photos, I separated the pics so that they're in groups, held together by simple binder clips (worked nicely). The groups are, Vietnam visit #1, Vietnam trip 2013, Vietnam Visit #2, Honeymoon #1, Honeymoon #2, Trip with my family #1, Trip with my family #2, wedding day, wedding studio days. I put them in chronological order, wrote dates on the back (took me forever) and who was in the pics. Hardest part was figuring out the dates as my pics dont have timestamps.

Notes:

-The biggest # of photos was "wedding day", around 50, because it's the most important day to the VO (I feel), and I want to make sure it's detailed as possible. I know VOs will look to make sure I have done all the things that are expected in a traditional Vietnamese wedding, so I took pics of every situation that they would look for, such as exchanging of gifts, praying at altar of grandparents, serving tea to family members, street procession, etc. I also made sure the pics show my ENTIRE family as well as her ENTIRE family in attendance, as I know VO's dont like when family members are absent at weddings.

-The biggest pain in the butt was putting dates on 400 pics, but it was made easier when I just go on my computer and hover my mouse over the pic to see when it was "created"

-On the 80 - 11x17 sheets, I wrote with red pen (because it's easier to see), on all the sheets indicating what they were (receipts for hotel, wedding, etc)

-We also will send an original of BOTH our wedding invitations, one is written in Vietnamese, other in English (hand-drawn by my wife, with Superman/Spiderman theme, just for fun).

-We have 3 wedding studio albums, wedding DVD, wedding guestbook, lucky money deposit box, and a scrapbook made, but I can't scan them, so I decide to take a photo of each of them, and printed them out, and wrote on the back what they were.

-Printed copies of my life insurance listing her as beneficiary for $500K, receipts of money I sent to her for support

I know you guys might feel this is overkill, but bear in mind, my wife is Vietnamese, our VO is Singapore, the processing times went from 15 to 26 months in just 5 years, we absolutely DO NOT want an interview, and want to have a strong application to prevent it. As you know, Vietnam is a country known for many marriage fraud cases, and if she was an American, I wouldn't have to print nearly close to 10% of what I'm printing now. I even told my wife not to apply for a TRV because if it's refused, we have to indicate that on one of the forms, which could delay our case, and if you look, you will see a refusal of TRV is considered a red flag question, among other questions such as have you ever been in jail, refugee, etc. So I told my wife not to even try for a TRV, but instead I will visit her instead.

I feel we have a pretty strong case, we are only 3 years age difference, we waited a year after proposal to get married, we have same education, we can speak same language, we both communicate everyday, wife has never attempted to come to Canada and has no family there, my entire family (parents, sister, brothers, grandma, stepdad's sister, 2 family friends) came all the way from Canada to be at the wedding, also my wife's entire family and relatives attended. We have MANY pics of my family and her family having dinner together, and many more pics of my wife taking trips with me and my parents.

It took me a long time to create all this evidence, but I only get to apply for my wife once, and I only want to do it once, and do it really really good the first time.

I sent them just one pic a day, or per occasion we are together. ex) If on one day, we go out for breakfast, I take a pic. On that same day, we go watch a movie, I take a pic. On that same day, I go to eat dinner with her family, I take a pic. If on the next day, we simply just go to the mall and that's it, I just take one pic of that whole day. But when we go on our across-Vietnam trip or on honeymoons, I take multiple pics to show that we really were in those locations. I take pics in front of famous landmarks or places that are a true telltale sign that we really were at those locations.

That's easy to say if you're applying from a visa-exempt country, we are talking about Vietnam here, which by the way, was added to a list of countries requiring biometric data from visitors, and those countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria. If you're part of this very exclusive club, I'm sure I know what the Canadian government feels about people from these countries, so it's my job to convince the government to allow my wife who is a citizen of this fine group of countries, to allow her into the country. And I hope I'm able to do so by giving the strongest possible PR application I can give.

I understand. I also should have included "if you are visa exempt and you don't have an extra scrutinizing VO"
Good luck with ur application!

 

[mikeymyke]

Well, if pelipeli can get her husband a PR visa in just 4 months after sponsor approval with that kind of package, if I make a bigger and more comprehensive package than her as described above, hopefully I can get between 4-6 months after sponsor approval, to get the PR visa for my wife. Once I send off my application, which will be very soon, I'll keep you guys posted

 

[fandv]

I know you guys might feel this is overkill, but bear in mind, my wife is Vietnamese, our VO is Singapore, the processing times went from 15 to 26 months in just 5 years, we absolutely DO NOT want an interview, and want to have a strong application to prevent it.

I don't think what you did was an overkill. That was a job well done!

We did the same thing...(my wife's Indonesian). Our package was 14 pounds.....had roughly 1000 pages in total. It took 1 year and 2 weeks from the time we submitted our application, until my wife got her PPR. It could've been even faster, if our forms didn't mysteriously vanish in transit.

But I think what also helps to strengthen our case is probably the fact that it's a straightforward application, and we don't have any red flags:

- I'm only 2 years older than my wife
- We both speak English and Indonesian
- We're both university educated
- We're both working
- We're both Christians
- This is our first marriage
- We didn't get married too quickly (we got to know each other 20 months prior to our wedding)

Anyways, I wish you all the best with your application.....I'm sure your thorough application will go smoothly =)

 

[gettingcrazy]

Is there a required size for envelops and paper? thanks!