How to organize such an application

[robertbola]

Hi guys,

Could you guy let me know how people or how you organize your PR application. I have 60 photos I want to send and tons of emails. I just don't know how you just organize it. Do I just put a paper clip? Do I place it in a simple folder? I'm lost...do you know if they have their own folder once they receive it?

Also, my girlfriend lives with me here (outside Canada)...I'm wondering if she types her letter why she wants to sponsor me and writes in a lot of details about us how we met etc etc will that be sent a long with my PR application to the Visa processing office?

Thanks guys. We are hoping to send it out next week. I'll keep you posted.

Paul

 

[graham]

I would be carefull with pictures as they may stick together with heat,mabey paper inbetween each would help,as far as all the other papers I would just put then in a file folder and the entire package in a bubble envelope...just to be safe. Letters from family stating they are aware and support the relationship will always help and pics of you with them if you can,sometimes when a it is being sent a long distance-you can find little bags or silica in new shoes,some food packages and such that keeps moisture from damaging anything-you can always stick one of those in too

 

[mais87]

I put all pictures in a box sometimes in envelopes designating the occasion

i labelled all pictures with dates and names and sometimes of people who are there (pretty repititive) and places

I printed all emails and just stapled together all emails from each email account and facebook too

I also printed out phone bills and stapled it by month and highlighted my husband's phone number whenever i had called him

I put everything into a big envelope and mailed it out, i didn't separate my and my husband's applications but i guess it would have been more organized

i dun think it matters because the person who will check the app will check if u have all forms and will mess it up anyway

 

[Jasmine Hoover]

Yeah! it ends up being a lot of paperwork doesn't it!
We didn't really put in phone bills because we had photos of us on trips, at our wedding etc. But basically the pictures went in an envelope which said 'pictures'. The ID and stuff .. marriage license, tickets, etc went into an envelope called 'documents' and I think maybe on the outside of the envelope it listed what was inside.. just to help them sort through.

Other than that, his part of the application was paper clipped (NO STAPLES ALLOWED) and then mine was paper clipped and that was that! They all went into one big envelope and off they went!

When they sent back his visa, they included our photos so we got those back.

 

[rnbacchus]

Is stapling the applications not allowed? I cannot remember reading this, but the above poster states that they are not?

After getting all our documents together, I think a binder might be the best option to keep everything organized. Is it a bad idea to three-hole punch all our documents (including applications)?

 

[cdarroch]

I wonder if someone might be able to opine on my organization (any opinions, including criticism, will be greatly appreciated):

One big envelope, with a contents list on the front
All IMM forms for both of us in the same envelope
An envelope labeled "Photos" (each photo numbered, dated, and with a brieff explanation of who's in the picture, who took the picture, and what's going on in the photo)
An evelope labeled "Communication Logs" with printouts of emails, chat logs, and screen shots of Skype call logs (no phone bills as we're on pay-as-you-go cell phones while we're here, and we use Skype exclusively when we're not)
An envelope labelled "Receipts"
An envelope labeled "Additional Documents", including:
-letters from family
-essays describing each other in our own words
-printouts of Powerpoint presentations and .jpgs we've produced for each other as gifts
-a copy of our joint apartment lease and rent receipts
mail addressed to the same address for each of us (no utiliy bills as here, they're addressed to "Building Name" rather than "Occupant")
-a written timeline of our relationship, cross-referenced with photos (numbers), emails (page number), chat logs(page number), and receipts (numbered)
-copies of both her University degrees (good way to prove she's not going to get welfare, as both her professions are on Canada's 38 list)


Everything is separate, numbered, and cross-referenced against everything else, to provide a cohesive and easy-to-follow view of 2 people, rather than 1 file.


I have paperclipped all related documents within the same category to each other.

Hopefully, that's making it pretty fool-proof for the cynical, unhappy IO we're likely to get (that's just our luck )

What do you guys think?
Thanks!!

 

[Boncuk]

Perfect well done! Good luck! You sound very organised

 

[MARLENA]

Cdarooch which visa office are you applying????
Good luck!!!

 

[cdarroch]

Thanks guys (or gals as the case may be)!
We're going to try inland via Mississauga. If we went the outland route, the app would be processed in Guatemala... they claim a processing time of 12-17 months, which is about the same as inland - and when someone in Central America quotes you a schedule, you add 50-100% of the time-quote by default (lol). So to avoid the separation, we're going to try inland; time in this case being something of a non-issue.
Hopefully, that is - her TRV application is being processed right now. We're not traveling together; she's going to visit a friend of hers... I can't wait to see the look on her face when I meet her in Canada with a proposal and a nearly-complete set of applications

Good luck to you as well - how far along are you in your processes?

 

[universalmoe]

Hi Cdarooch,

Out of curiosity, how detailed was your 'timeline', and how many pages was it? I'm wondering if you included all dates you met on or only specific ones.

Thanks.

 

[cdarroch]

Hi Universalmoe,


It's just under 4 full pages, as I only had to go through about 18 months of material. I (kind of) broke everything down month-by-month, giving examples of things we've done, supported by evidence. For example, "In June, she organized a surprise birthday party for me (see photos #31-34, email log pages 15-16, and receipt #7 - cake). Later that month, we took our boat out on a sunset cruise (photo #35) and went out for dinner a few times (receipts 8-10 and photos 35, 36).

I'm not sure if it's detailed enough, or a little overwrought, or if such a timeline is necessary or even a good idea - but hopefully, it makes our mountain of evidence easier to follow (and easier to prove) for the IO... think so?

 

[cdarroch]

Oh and I didn't include absolutely -everything-, just the stuff we could easily back up through photos etc. and enough to show that we did some things together every month since we met. Hopefully they don't request more info, but then at least we have stuff held back to provide if they do. Hope that helps - good luck! What all are you including in your application?

 

[cdarroch]

TRIPLE-posting! Oops. I have a question of my own: As sponsor, do I need to submit the medical and criminal checks? Should I have these done (for both of us) and include them with the application when it's sent, or wait until when (if) they request them? Thanks!

 

[MARLENA]

Don't wait until they request them, include them with your application....
Good luck!!!

 

[mitamata]

TRIPLE-posting! Oops. I have a question of my own: As sponsor, do I need to submit the medical and criminal checks? Should I have these done (for both of us) and include them with the application when it's sent, or wait until when (if) they request them? Thanks!

No, the sponsor does not need to do the criminal and medical checks. Don't waste your money. They are however necessary for the applicant (the person you are sponsoring) and SHOULD be included when submiting the application.