relationship evidence question & others

[bunny82]

Hi guys. Starting the process of sponsoring my American husband to come to Canada. For the evidence part in regards to conversation proof, in what form would they like this? 95% of our chats have all been thru Facebook Messenger. As most of you probably know, the entire conversation cannot be seen in the message screen. Do they want entire conversations or just bits from different dates? Should I just take screenshots of some random conversations, and maybe several per month? Not sure exactly what they are looking for and how much. Could I copy and paste in Word so there is more text? Or would that not be good enough.

Also I do not have an income due to a disability (not on disability though as I didn't have enough put into CPP) and may not either once he actually comes over here. I understand that I don't require an income to sponsor my spouse, but I read that I need some form of proof that if need be, someone will be able to help him/us out, for instance, I plan to have my family write a letter of some sort stating this. How should this look, what form should this be in? Something typed up simply stating that they would help if need be, and then sign it after printing out? Just curious.

Also does anyone have contact information for the panel physicians in both Kansas and Missouri? My husband wants to make his medical exam appointment but we don't know who to call. Do you know if it takes a long time to get these appointments? Either state will work as my husband lives right around the state line.

Thank you very much for any information

 

[eminem_n_rihannah99]

Copy and paste all into a file for future use. Then from that file u can take snippets from that....no crazy arguments

U have to show an option C printout

Letter from family saying theyll let u both live with them to get settled in Canada is good

Here's the link to find a panel physician in USAwww.cic.gc.ca › pp-md › pp-list

 

[bunny82]

Ok thank you. I just didn't think copying and pasting would be good enough for them because there is no proof the actual conversations took place and I could change them around as I wish. How many conversation bits would they want?

Speaking of the Option C Printout, I have been calling the CRA for the last two weeks and getting a busy signal. When I tried calling other numbers associated with the CRA, I got the same busy signal or just an automated-only number. I still haven't been able to get the printout for this reason. What exactly is the Option C Printout and how long does it take to get it? I just cannot get a hold of these people.

So letter typed and then signed by family.

Thank you for the link, I appreciate it.

 

[bunny82]

Also is there an expiry date for the medical exam. If he had it soon and then we couldn't apply until September for instance, would it not be accepted? I know that it needs to be in the package with everything else when we send it off. Same with the police check. How old can it be? And is it dated from the time it is processed/sent out, or is it dated from the time it is applied for? Because my husband applied for the police check early (a couple of months ago) and we didn't get it back yet, but when we do, we will be sending off everything. I read somewhere on here that it cannotb e more than 3 months old, but, I guess that is from the date it is sent out. We knew it would take long which is why he applied early.

 

[keesio]

Regarding relationship proof, just snapshots of your messenger chats spread across several dates that span the entire relationship is fine. Take a few screenshots of the chats and print them. A color print would be good if it is not too costly. something like 10-15 pages in total is good.

In regards to financial support - a letter from your family pledging to help out is good. There is no fixed format. Just an honest letter with some details on how they plan to help out (provide a place to stay, give some cash, etc) that is signed and notarized is good.

An Option C printout is basically a CRA Notice of Assessment with some additional information that details regarding any received social assistance (welfare) from the government. I think I called CRA and asked them to send it to me and it took about a month. You can only get an option C for a year where you filed taxes for that year.

Medical results expire in one year from the date they were done. If the medicals are about to expire before CIC is done processing the application, they may choose to extend the expiry date themselves (if they are almost done with processing) or request a new medical exam taken. The FBI letter must be received by CIC (as it when they officially get your application) before it expires. The old expiry date was 3 months from the date on the letter but I think they now use a 6 months period. I'm not sure if this is confirmed but I have heard this a lot recently.

 

[bunny82]

Thanks so much Keesio, you have been very helpful. I was told in the past though, to get about 10 conversations a month. I thought that was a lot, especially since it would be more than a year and a half's worth! So you think about 10-15 pages in total would be sufficient? I just want to make sure I do everything right. And although there is less text I also thought screenshots from my laptop of our FB chats would be best as it's real proof, versus copying and pasting.

How do I get something notarized? Sorry if that is a dumb question.

I did receive social assistance, but for a disability reason. I am still waiting until my old caseworker gets back in her office to mail me a letter confirming that I no longer receive it. I always did up my taxes every year so all should be good. I just cannot get thru to the CRA's office to get the printout, and unsure of how else to get a hold of them. It's always busy every time I call (very odd). I need to call them as well to change my name after my marriage.

Thank you for explaining the expiry dates for the medical exam and police check. He applied for the police check a couple months back and should receive it within a month or two months, and all should be fine as it will be pretty fresh when we send it off. As for the medical, he will be calling tomorrow to see what available appointments there are. We have fingers crossed that it won't take long.

 

[Morganhannah]

I found that calling CRA in the morning right before hey opened I started dialing. I just kept calling until I got someone. It took a few times but finally got it!

 

[keesio]

I was told in the past though, to get about 10 conversations a month. I thought that was a lot, especially since it would be more than a year and a half's worth! So you think about 10-15 pages in total would be sufficient? I just want to make sure I do everything right. And although there is less text I also thought screenshots from my laptop of our FB chats would be best as it's real proof, versus copying and pasting.

I guess if the rest of your evidence is weak, you can include more. But note that CIC doesn't really put too much weight on chat messages. People tend to overdo it and send hundreds of pages which CIC just ends up shredding without reading it. I personally think 10-15 pages is fine. If you want to send more, go ahead. But keep it under 50 max.

How do I get something notarized?

The letter needs to be signed in front of a notary public. Then the notary public will sign it too and stamp it. The family member signing it needs to bring photo ID to the notary public to validate his/her identity.

Notary public are available everywhere and charge a nominal fee for their services. Just google up "Notary Public <your city>" and you'll get a lot of hits.

I did receive social assistance, but for a disability reason.

I think disability is ok. Not 100% sure though.

 

[eminem_n_rihannah99]

Disability is fine. I asked cic and they told me that.

Along with snap shots I would still compile the contents of your chats into a file that can be saved and stored. This way you don't have to depend on Facebook to save all the history themselves in case CIC requests more proof at a later date.

They see a lot of files and they know a fake chat from a real one I'm sure. I'm sure someone has already invented a fake chat generator I've already seen a fake deportation order generator ...kinda funny. Mail one to someone you hate

 

[Mapleson]

Any evidence could be faked. You could even go as far as changing your system time and sending Messenger IMs. It's the overall total package that's more important than any one source. For my emails, I exported it all to Word, edited out reply to get rid of signatures and attached forwards. I believe a readable package is as important as screen shots. You could combine the two, providing a text transcript and a few screen shots to verify that it's legitimate.

 

[deweysmith]

You can download your entire history on Facebook at https://facebook.com/settings and click on "Download a copy of your Facebook data." Then you can find the chat history with your husband in your archive and pick/print things out from there.

Also, a marriage certificate and photos of the marriage is plenty relationship evidence, IMO, especially for an American. We sent no chat data, only marriage photos and a copy of our marriage certificate.

 

[bunny82]

Thank you all for your answers. I tried the downloading on Facebook and the messages only go back a certain date, and they are all jumbled together, different dates messed all over the place and really hard to read... so I unfortunately don't think I will go that route. It's just very difficult to copy and paste and also take screen shots because going back really far slows my whole computer down and it keeps crashing. It's gonna be really hard to get chat evidence.

I don't want to just use our Marriage Certificate and wedding photos as evidence. I think it's important to have communication evidence and I was told to do this by the lady who is helping me with our application. Problem is it takes weeks for her to get back to me so I'm doing a lot of it on my own and just turning here for most of my questions as she is not around much.

Do I have to put dates and descriptions on the back of photographs that I send?

As for the disability thing, I was previously on social assistance for it, not now, since I am married and now ineligible due to their policies.

Thanks

 

[Majromax]

I don't want to just use our Marriage Certificate and wedding photos as evidence. I think it's important to have communication evidence and I was told to do this by the lady who is helping me with our application. Problem is it takes weeks for her to get back to me so I'm doing a lot of it on my own and just turning here for most of my questions as she is not around much.

I presume you've met in person since you are married. Do you still have evidence of trips you've taken to see each other, such as airline itineraries?

The most important thing agents will want to see in the evidence is a history. Marriages of convenience (which they're interested in finding) are almost by definition short-term affairs. US/Canadian relationships tend to follow a "normal" courtship arc from introduction to dating to marriage; what do you still have from yours?

Do I have to put dates and descriptions on the back of photographs that I send?

It can't hurt. CIC obviously won't know who you and your spouse are on sight. They'll have pictures of the applicant if included in the application, but not the sponsor.

 

[Erdbeerchen]

hi bunny82

I am at the moment also putting together my PR application, I hope I printed the pictures the right way, here`s how I did it: on each sheet of paper I arranged about 4 pictures and under the pictures I wrote when approximately the pictures were taken and where (about 70 pictures all together).
For the chat history I copied the screen and pasted some of our conversations (2 conversations for each month over 2 years) into photoshop and explained in my support letter to cic, that for in case they would need any more evidence I can for sure send more, but for now I thought about 45 pages of chat history would be enough, since 2000 pages would be just too much. I don`t know if that helps and if that is correct, the experts here know for sure the right answer and can for sure provide helpful tips.

Good luck ! *fingers cross* and omg, I`m gonna be more then happy when we finally send our package next week, all I see right now is forms and numbers lol and I`m sure I will be checking everything over and over again to make sure nothing is missing ???

 

[bunny82]

Thanks guys!

Yes Majormax we have been together in person many times, hehe. He comes for visits every 2-3 months. He does have the emails with his airline itineraries. So he could screen-shot those.

What we have from our relationship as evidence is tons of pictures, and tons of chat history. However, getting the chat history won't be the most easy since it's on FB and really crashes the computer when I go back too far. But will see what I can do. There are only some emails as all of our communication as been thru FB messenger.

Erdbeerchen, yay! Happy to hear that you are soon ready to send your application off. We are pretty far from it at the moment, as I still don't even have our Marriage Certificate, hehe. Waiting on that, and his police check, and a few other documents. Also still need to do up a letter from my parents and the immigration consultant I am dealing with takes weeks to get back to me on stuff so kinda stressful. Will probably have things sent off late August or early September. The darn police check takes so long to get back, that is what will hold us back.

So you just did a couple of screenshots per month? That is what I would like to do. I am still waiting to get the ok from my consultant as she is the one doing up my application. Did you do full conversations, or just show one screenshot of a random chat twice for each month? What is a support letter? Something separate that you send on the side? I agree that thousands of pages would be too much. I am not sure what they were thinking at my consultants office when they told me 10 from each month. Holy moly. I am waiting to hear back if I can do a lot less than that.

Good luck!