Love_Young said:
Hey RobsLuv, I sent you a PM. Hope you don't mind, I am just more able to describe our personal situation that regarded us applying inland than on here. Thanks.
I'm not offended or frustrated with you for applying inland. As you say, you did your research and - considering your circumstances - you did absolutely the right thing for your situation. The main reason that I discourage US applicants from automatically applying inland (thinking they have to when they are staying in Canada) is that normally US citizens are not documented when they enter Canada. Applying inland without having been given documented temporary status on entry to Canada is disasterous. Someone who can't prove when they entered the country can't prove that they still have legal temporary status - and that means that, after waiting 9-10 months for first stage approval - their case, instead, will be transferred to their local CIC office for processing . . . only because there is no proof included with the application of their status in Canada. Local offices in areas where there is a high influx of immigrants are always very busy - in the greater GTA of Ontario, for example, the wait time for first stage approval on a transferred inland application is about two years. Calgary's wait time is comparable to that, and I expect it's not much less in Vancouver.
Again, the advisability of applying inland vs outland is about a lot of things - the least of which is where the applicant is located (other than the fact that the applicant has to be in Canada to apply inland). But temporary status is HUGE. It's important to remember that this inland spousal process was initially created, I believe, for two reasons: to help streamline spousal sponsorships for applicants who were already in Canada as workers, students, etc., and who'd met someone and married while here . . . and to help identify and process people who have come to Canada in the past and have let their status expire - either because they found themselves in relationship with a Canadian, or for other reasons and then they got into relationship with a Canadian so they wouldn't have to leave. So it's important to work within the parameters of the process - understanding CIC's reasons for having it in the first place - so that applicants don't get backed into a corner regretting having gone that route.
smishsmash said:
Thank you everyone- this does give me some peice of mind! I still can't login to eCas and not sure why...???
@ RobsLuv: in response to what you said :
"Hopefully your spouses have documented temporary status and you included extension applications with the inland PR aps - otherwise, you're going to wait a whole lot longer than 9-10 months for first stage approval."
My husband is canadian, so what do you mean by "documented temporary status" and the extension applications? I have a one year visitor visa- what other extension applications are you referring to?
Sorry - my mistake for not going back and re-reading the original thread to see that the poster was the applicant in both cases. Yesterday was a long day! So let me just clear up any misunderstanding.
What I was referring to was the temporary status given to the foreign national applicant (you) on entry to Canada. It sounds like you were given a one-year visitor permit - so hopefully you knew to include an extension to that visitor permit with your inland PR application so that they will know you're here legally, and you can benefit from "implied status" to remain in Canada, regardless of how long it takes them to get to first stage approval of your PR application. The details about this are included with the inland applicant's guide under Part II, Your Status in Canada. If you have documented temporary status, you can apply to change that status (usually to an open work permit) WITH the inland PR application - as long as both are submitted together and received before your temporary status expires - and that protects you from them thinking (when they finally get around to assessing your PR ap) that you are out of status, and then transferring you to a local office.
You can apply separately from the inland PR ap to keep your visitor status valid - just be sure you include proof that you have submitted a PR application (a copy of the receipt for the PR fees paid and maybe a copy of your proof of receipt of the application at Vegreville should be sufficient). But under that scenario, I don't know how CPC-V knows, when they open your inland PR ap, that you are still in status. The right hand never seems to know what the left is doing.
If you didn't include an extension ap with your inland PR ap, PM me and we'll talk about what you might be able to do to rectify that.
