I honestly don't even know how the process works in Germany- we haven't looked into it because my husband's German isn't great, so it was a no-brainer to try and stay here instead.
I already consider myself lucky, really, because I've continuously been employed. I don't know how other people deal with the wait, if it's difficult for me already. I think I would be volunteering a lot, too. I just can't sit at home doing nothing. I really do hope they change the rules for future applicants and either speed up the process for approval of the first stage, or allow spouses to get an OWP earlier. It just seems like unnecessary hardship to essentially force the sponsor to have the sole financial responsibility for their family without any other choices, for prolonged periods of time. In today's economy this really isn't feasible for many families, and almost seems like the government is punishing Canadians for marrying a foreigner.
Vinlander, I'm excited to see us moving along in the timeline, since we share the same date and country! Theoretically, we should get AIP at the same time. I'm exited to see if that will be the case or not.
