BOGOTA Visa Office 2012 applicants

[jcb]

you are either surprised, thrilled or excited ?
anyways, you are welcome


wow
1 [wou] Show IPA Informal.
interjection
1.
(an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, or the like): Wow! Look at that!
verb (used with object)
2.
to gain an enthusiastic response from; thrill.
noun
3.
an extraordinary success: His act is a real wow.
4.
excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like: a car that will add some wow to your life.
Origin:
1890–95; perhaps identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration

 

[julycathe]

You are so kind! ;D :-* lol

 

[CVK]

Guys,

My wife and I (sponsor) have been through bogota because my wife is from medellin. It took us about 9 months. If you have any questions, I will gladly help you out.

Good luck !

Hello

We would like to get some advice on which way to go for our immigration process. Im a Colombian female married to a Canadian citizen.

We have been in a relationship for almost two years. We have been physically together for most of that time in Colombia and other countries. We applied in July last year for a visitor visa but it got denied. The officer said I didnt have enough ties to my country and not enough money. Now were married and have tons of proof of our relationship being genuine; our families have met. Im not a criminal, Im healthy and have no family members inadmissible. My husband is soon returning to Canada to get a job and everything we need to live there.

We are almost ready to apply but we dont know which way to go. PR seems like it is a very long time -a year and a half but it seems to be the best way to ensure that I get my citizenship. Can I visit Canada after my sponsor gets approved? Because we dont want to be apart for a year and a half. The other option is a student visa which should take only a couple of months and after I finish school, Ive read you can do the transition to a PR.

Has anybody tried the student visa transition to PR? What is the best way to do it? Is it a smooth process? Should we apply for both processes?

We only want to do this once. Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you

CVK

 

[ccunnington]

Hello

We would like to get some advice on which way to go for our immigration process. Im a Colombian female married to a Canadian citizen.

We have been in a relationship for almost two years. We have been physically together for most of that time in Colombia and other countries. We applied in July last year for a visitor visa but it got denied. The officer said I didnt have enough ties to my country and not enough money. Now were married and have tons of proof of our relationship being genuine; our families have met. Im not a criminal, Im healthy and have no family members inadmissible. My husband is soon returning to Canada to get a job and everything we need to live there.

We are almost ready to apply but we dont know which way to go. PR seems like it is a very long time -a year and a half but it seems to be the best way to ensure that I get my citizenship. Can I visit Canada after my sponsor gets approved? Because we dont want to be apart for a year and a half. The other option is a student visa which should take only a couple of months and after I finish school, Ive read you can do the transition to a PR.

Has anybody tried the student visa transition to PR? What is the best way to do it? Is it a smooth process? Should we apply for both processes?

We only want to do this once. Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you

CVK

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Basically once you're married to a Canadian, the chances of you getting any type of temporary resident visa....tourist, student or work....are about zero. You can try applying again once your sponsor has been approved, but if I were you, i'd save your money and just wait out the immigration process. While the website says processing times for Bogota are 17 months, straightforward cases are generally processed in about 10 months for permanent residency. Straightforward cases mean that you have no dependent children, you don't have a refused refugee claim, or have been ordered to leave Canada in the past, and of course no criminal records!

My wife and I tried to get her a visa, as you did, but it was refused. So my recommendation would be to put together a good application for your residency, make sure you include lots of proof of relationship, lots of photos etc, and just wait out the process. As long as its straightforward, you should be finished the process in about 12-13 months!

 

[doorsopen]

Hello

Has anybody tried the student visa transition to PR? What is the best way to do it? Is it a smooth process? Should we apply for both processes?

We applied for the student visa and got rejected. We then decided to get married and apply for PR status.

 

[jcb]

Welcome to the forum and I agree 110 % with ccunnington's reply
Because you are married to a Canadian citizen and have a visa refused previously.....only a Family Class sponsorship option would work !
Your husband can come to visit you in Colombia, while you are waiting for a process to finish or both can travel to a third country and have a nice vacation together there (Panama, Cuba, Mexico, etc.. (as long as you still have your passport)

 

[doorsopen]

I've visited my wife 4 times since we got married. We visit family and then visit a different area of Colombia. In total I've been to Colombia 10 times now.

The amount of paperwork to get married in Colombia is ridiculous (which you've already done). Then you have to prepare the PR application forms. The expenses add up (application forms, traveling, etc) and the time apart can be stressful. Get used to Skype and try and keep yourself busy. Try and enjoy your final few months of "semi-single" life! I try and mountain bike, snowboard or go out with friends every weekend.

Your application might only take 9 months. Ours would have only taken 10 months, but the embassy screwed up many times and the only way I found out about their screw ups was by emailing them and by the CAIPS notes.

 

[jcb]

Some other family sponsorship categories even has longer waiting time.
When somebody wants to sponsor his/her parents or grandparents--it will take 35 months for this process in Bogota, (others even longer , Caracas=43 months)
It was in the news, that a sponsored principal applicant (father) died while waiting, and then the Visa Office told the dependent applicant (mother), that their case is closed and she needs to start her own application (as a principal applicant)
So much for re-uniting families!
The Bogota office is handling applications from two countries, and the long waiting also very likely caused by the large number of applications and understaffed immigration case workers in the office.

 

[ccunnington]

Some other family sponsorship categories even has longer waiting time.
When somebody wants to sponsor his/her parents or grandparents--it will take 35 months for this process in Bogota, (others even longer , Caracas=43 months)
It was in the news, that a sponsored principal applicant (father) died while waiting, and then the Visa Office told the dependent applicant (mother), that their case is closed and she needs to start her own application (as a principal applicant)
So much for re-uniting families!
The Bogota office is handling applications from two countries, and the long waiting also very likely caused by the large number of applications and understaffed immigration case workers in the office.

As much as we all dislike the long waiting times, I'm sure being a visa officer and processing immigration applications all day long is an arduous and thankless job. I know I wouldn't want to do it! They do the best they can with the tools and staff that they have, i'm sure

 

[jcb]

It would be interesting to know, if the VO employs Canadian office workers or they hired local (Colombian) people?
Probably, because of the "sensitive" nature of the immigration, the sponsorship applications are done by Canadian staff.
If it is, they might have some difficulty to find people who choose to work and live in Bogota !

 

[jcb]

It is start getting a bit cold in Canada now, anybody wants to relocate here, better stay a little bit longer in Colombia !


Tonight's low temperatures ( in degree Celsius)

Toronto -17
Ottawa -28
Montreal -26
Calgary -13
Winnipeg -30

 

[doorsopen]

As much as we all dislike the long waiting times, I'm sure being a visa officer and processing immigration applications all day long is an arduous and thankless job. I know I wouldn't want to do it! They do the best they can with the tools and staff that they have, i'm sure

 

[doorsopen]

It would be interesting to know, if the VO employs Canadian office workers or they hired local (Colombian) people?
Probably, because of the "sensitive" nature of the immigration, the sponsorship applications are done by Canadian staff.
If it is, they might have some difficulty to find people who choose to work and live in Bogota !

It's mainly Colombian staff.

 

[doorsopen]

It is start getting a bit cold in Canada now, anybody wants to relocate here, better stay a little bit longer in Colombia !


Tonight's low temperatures ( in degree Celsius)

Toronto -17
Ottawa -28
Montreal -26
Calgary -13
Winnipeg -30

Yes - hopefully your spouse isn't from a low-elevation area of Colombia and likes the cold!
Vancouver +5 (yes that is a "+" sign). But, if in Vancouver, you'd best be buying your spouse plenty of gortex and hope they will like winter sports...

 

[jcb]

she is from 8500 ft, which is not that low
however, she can not imagine sub-zero temperatures
told her to put a thermometer into the fridge--that is the west-coast (Vancouver) in the winter
then put it into the freezer--that is the east-coast in the winter
there is no way to demonstrate Winnipeg--the freezer is not cold enough !