Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[francohoosier]

Yes, but in the case I was referring to, the OP had thought that their application for outland spousal sponsorship would give them implied status and enable them to continue working as a temporary foreign worker.

Thanks for your input, but I'm well aware that you cannot be grandfathered status when you apply outland. What I meant was "are you grandfathered your current status while you apply to change conditions of stay (aka worker to visitor via Vegreville)?" Logic would lead me to believe you are, since while applying to renew the same status through the same process, you keep your current one. Basically as long as I haven't received either a new visitor's status w/ new expiration date or a rejection letter, I would tend to believe I still have the right to work. This is essentially the dilemma.

 

[sparkle]

sparkle: Can you please add my details to the spreadsheet? Other than "application sent" date, nothing is filled in. Also, my name is in red. What does that mean?

App. Filed.......: 10Feb2011
File Transfer...: 24Mar2011
Med's Done....: 24Jan2011

Thanks!

Hello destanova,

I updated your details on the spreadsheet. Red means waiting on sponsorship approval. We didn't hear from you at all about your approval or any update until now, and therefore I had it blank. Thank you for letting us know about your progress ! Good luck and hope to hear from you regularly

 

[eletyl]

francohoosier: you have to have applied for another work permit to retain implied status of your previous one. See page 37:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/fw/fw01-eng.pdf

"Work without a work permit R186(u)—Implied status
R186(u) allows for persons to continue working under the conditions of an expired work permit, as long as they applied for a new work permit before the original work permit expired and have remained in Canada. Once the decision has been made, the client will either have to leave Canada or will continue as a worker who holds a valid work permit."

 

[eletyl]

francohoosier: if you are in Canada now, I'd highly recommend calling CIC on this: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/index.asp#callcentre

I tried a few weeks ago in regards to my own implied status (worker to visitor), and I got ahold of a real live person in under 5 minutes.

(they won't speak to you about your PR application or your file, but they WILL give you general, sound advice)

 

[amaranth]

In process 6/29/2011
Please update my timeline

Thanks

Was this an ecas update? Or did you send an inquiry?

Either way... YAY for tiny movement in the December group... ANYTHING is good news these days! ;D

 

[melyn2223]

It was an ecas update

 

[Rinnerz]

I had another false positive from the eCAS Tracker this morning. I logged in, and nothing had changed except my mailing address was gone. Probably another eCAS glitch...

Meanwhile, since Buffalo keeps conveniently losing records of emails we send, we also faxed a copy of my certificate to them yesterday evening, and FedEx'd another one (two actually, color copies) today. They should get the FedEx copies tomorrow morning. Hopefully, they'll "have records" of at least 1 of the 3 versions we've sent, and end this nonsense soon.

 

[karish1978]

My lawyers just sent me an email saying that The sponsor ship has been approved. The letter is dated June 24 2011. It says the file has been transfered to Buffalo. How long will it take till i can see the status on the immigration site?

She also added that as my husband is just on work permit in us and hold's an indian nationality, the buffalo consulate might not be the right jurisdiction.....but he has been there for so many years now...Any input on this.

For everyone with nightmares about the boreder. I initally lived with my husband after marriage for 3 mths. I came to canada and when i tried to return at the border it was a night mare..and i was refused. I know fly out of pearson and take a letter from my lawyer which shows my ties to toronto...Y do things have to be so tough....

 

[sparkle]

Hi karish1978,

I am in a very similar situation to yours. My husband is on H1B in US, and is of Indian nationality. However, Buffalo is right place to file for his PR, because sometimes they ask for interviews, and if your husband files via India, he may have to go there in case an interview is requested. Also, for passport stamping, he can't just send his passport to New Delhi office while living here. So you are good there.

Also, I am a PR in Canada, and my file has been in Buffalo since January. I cannot live in US, but I do go visit him every weekend (he doesn't live too far from here...but unfortunately in a different country). On weekends, I just tell them honestly everytime that I am going to visit my husband, and he plans to move to Canada and that I will be returning Monday morning. It would be good to have the sponsorship approval letter just in case they ask you for a proof of your application being in process.
I have never lived in US with him, and have a residence here since 8 years.

Hope this helps. Also, congrats on the sponsorship approval. I will update on the spreadsheet soon.

 

[karish1978]

Thanks for the reply Sparke. I am a Canadian Citizen here myself. I am honestly petrified of the border now. And its always a stress going to the airport...they really scare you. I am pregnant now and expecting out first in November. God Willing things move fast andhe is here soon.

Just wanted to repeat one more question. The sponsor ship that has been approved and the letter is dated June 24 2011. It says the file has been transfered to Buffalo. How long will it take till i can see the status on the immigration that CAS site?

 

[avon]

So I will probably move to be with my family in Toronto. I have a few questions for people that have done this. It is good to hear that people at the borders are good about this from peoples responses.

1) Do people just forward their mail to Canada, or do you inform CIC that you are moving?
2) Getting my car across? Exactly what paperwork do I need to do before going across the border with it. Do I need the title or will a copy of it suffice as my wife has the title with her? Anything else from the DMV here in California.
3) Anybody done the drive from Vancouver to Toronto? Or should I drive across the US? Any good or particularly bad border entry spots, and any good advice to tell the border guards.

I don't expect a passport request before my lease is up, and I think it is time to just make the move. I think I will do it in the next 3 weeks.

 

[doctorkb]

So I will probably move to be with my family to Toronto.

I would advise against using that terminology. You are going to visit your family in Toronto... that's what the border guards want to hear.

1) Do people just forward their mail to Canada, or do you inform CIC that you are moving?

I would suggest forwarding your mail to a family member/friend in the US, or find a PO Box just across the border from where you'll be visiting to rent and have mail forwarded there.

I wouldn't recommend trying to forward mail to Canada, for a couple reasons: 1. I don't think USPS will do it (international mail prices being higher) and 2. it'll take for-freaking-ever to get through the system thanks to our *wonderful* CanadaPost.

2) Getting my car across? Exactly what paperwork do I need to do before going across the border with it. Do I need the title or will a copy of it suffice as my wife has the title with her? Anything else from the DMV here in California.

Well, since you're not "moving" (if you are, you'll likely be denied entry as you don't yet have PR) to Canada, and you're just visiting, I suspect registration and proof of insurance is sufficient. You'll have to take the car back to the US when you land and do the export/import procedure then.

3) Anybody done the drive from Vancouver to Toronto? Or should I drive across the US? Any good or particularly bad border entry spots, and any good advice to tell the border guards.

I have done the drive from Calgary through Brandon, MB on the Trans Canada (Highway 1), just last month. I have also driven I-90 from Davenport IA through to Seattle, also last month. From that experience, I can say that you're more likely to have an enjoyable drive by staying in the US. Not to mention cheaper. Our gas prices here, after conversion to gallons and the exchange rate equate about $5.00 per US gallon. The most expensive I saw in the US was right around $4.00 per gallon.

Furthermore, if you drive from California to Toronto, you can make a diagonal route, rather than an "L"-shaped route, saving time, distance and fuel.

If you go to google maps and get directions from Vancouver to Toronto, you'll find that it routes you through Michigan -- if you stay north of the Great Lakes, you can add another 10-12 hours of driving to your trip, as a minimum.

Also, consider that the Highway 1 (Trans Canada) has a max speed limit of 68 mph (110 km/h), whereas much of the Interstate system had speed limits in excess of 70 mph.

 

[avon]

Thanks doctorkb

So I will probably move to be with my family in Toronto.

I would advise against using that terminology. You are going to visit your family in Toronto... that's what the border guards want to hear.

I believe others on this thread have said that they intended to wait out the time with their families and been up front with the border guards. I remember there was a woman who was going to spend time with her partner in Vancouver, and she just told the border guards as much, and they gave her a 6 month visa. I would have thought the same, but many people appear to be upfront with their intentions. I think it would be hard to hide the fact that my car will be packed with stuff.

Getting my car across? Exactly what paperwork do I need to do before going across the border with it. Do I need the title or will a copy of it suffice as my wife has the title with her? Anything else from the DMV here in California.

"Well, since you're not "moving" (if you are, you'll likely be denied entry as you don't yet have PR) to Canada, and you're just visiting, I suspect registration and proof of insurance is sufficient. You'll have to take the car back to the US when you land and do the export/import procedure then."


I can probably find it by going through, but I thought I would ask here since people are very friendly. So I don't have to return, what are the requirements from the California DMV so I don't have to return. I believe insurance requirements are record of driving from california dmv. I have also applied for working visa, and there is a chance that may come through before my permanent resident visa so I thought I would ask people about the process as some people have had to wait for a few days at the border. I wanted to hear about why they had to wait at the border. Was it because of the registrar of imported vehicles inspection process or something else that had to be set up.

3) I know that a number of people on the site live in Canada but applied outland, how did you handle the mail issue b/c many of the people were commenting on how they were waiting for mail. Did your friends/family package the mail to Canada. I know that the US post office will send mail with change of address to Canada at no extra charge.

Thanks for the input, and appreciate it and I am not sure that I can stay away from my 1 1/2 year old much longer. My wife tells me he needs me, and I have a job, and lmo pending, and permanent residency application pending as well. I do hope that Buffalo speeds things up so these issues become less relevant. I also didn't expect it to take this long, and I know people have said to be patient, but unfortunately these decisions don't involve just me.

 

[doctorkb]

I believe others on this thread have said that they intended to wait out the time with their families and been up front with the border guards. I remember there was a woman who was going to spend time with her partner in Vancouver, and she just told the border guards as much, and they gave her a 6 month visa. I would have thought the same, but many people appear to be upfront with their intentions. I think it would be hard to hide the fact that my car will be packed with stuff.

1. That terminology is still suggesting a "visit" -- not a move.

2. Your car should not be packed with stuff that suggest you're doing any more than visiting.

While you *may* be fine blatantly moving over (including transporting furniture, etc.), you may also get an ornery border guard that will deny you entry. It's your call.

I can probably find it by going through, but I thought I would ask here since people are very friendly. So I don't have to return, what are the requirements from the California DMV so I don't have to return. I believe insurance requirements are record of driving from california dmv. I have also applied for working visa, and there is a chance that may come through before my permanent resident visa so I thought I would ask people about the process as some people have had to wait for a few days at the border. I wanted to hear about why they had to wait at the border. Was it because of the registrar of imported vehicles inspection process or something else that had to be set up.

Sorry, I misunderstood. We won't be dealing with a vehicle, so I haven't paid attention to the details. Also, it depends on the province as for which documents are required to establish the local drivers' license, and I've only looked at BC (and coming from Kentucky).

As far as I know, you can't import the vehicle until you can actually call Canada your residence (i.e. not a "visitor"), nor can you get a Canadian drivers license until you are a "resident".

With regards to the wait -- it depends on your border crossing. I understand the rule-of-law to be that you must apply to export your vehicle, at which point you must wait up to 72 hours to get approval to export before the vehicle can leave the US. Sometimes this happens instantly, sometimes not.

3) I know that a number of people on the site live in Canada but applied outland, how did you handle the mail issue b/c many of the people were commenting on how they were waiting for mail. Did your friends/family package the mail to Canada. I know that the US post office will send mail with change of address to Canada at no extra charge.

My wife's application has her parents' address on it. So far, however, all communication has been by e-mail.

Your forwarding comment is interesting -- there seems to be no option for international forwarding on any of the forms, whether online or the ones you'd take in to the post office. If you do this, please let me know of your success. It is an interesting possibility, also for parcel forwarding!

 

[sparkle]

Thanks for the reply Sparke. I am a Canadian Citizen here myself. I am honestly petrified of the border now. And its always a stress going to the airport...they really scare you. I am pregnant now and expecting out first in November. God Willing things move fast andhe is here soon.

Just wanted to repeat one more question. The sponsor ship that has been approved and the letter is dated June 24 2011. It says the file has been transfered to Buffalo. How long will it take till i can see the status on the immigration that CAS site?

Hi karish1978,

If you are a citizen of canada, you can just go live with your husband in US. You don't need to be living in Canada until his PR is processed. You may have come across a bad officer, but usually they should understand that you both are waiting on his immigration, and since he can't enter Canada (unless he applies for visitor visa and all that) you need to go stay with him temporarily.

If you got your sponsorship approval on June 24, I guess based on the way they are processing the latest file, you should be able to see the e-cas update in about 1-2 weeks from now. That would just say "Application Received" and if you are lucky, you will get more updates. However, do not assume that his file will be processed by November for sure. Also considering, our husbands are on H1B, so I wouldn't be shocked if we get an interview, which delays the file for another 3-4 months. I am not trying to disappoint you, but just want you to be prepared. Ofcourse you always have the option to go live with him for less than 6 months. If you plan to go there, try not to take a lot of stuff with you that shows you are moving for a long time. Another option is, to have your husband move to Canada with you on a visitor visa. The only problem with that is that he won't be able to work, unless he goes for work permit route.

They have been pretty good with the latest files, so hopefully you will be done sooner, and user "palamr" from December group, has the exact same case as yours, he is on H1B and his wife is Canadian citizen who was living with him during the process. He just got his PPR without an interview