Hello everyone,
First of all, let me say I am a newbie here, so I'm sorry for any mistakes in advance.
I have been reading posts for the last couple of days online and I have a question regarding physical absence for citizenship purposes.
I know this matter is FAQ, however I can't seem to find something specific for my case. I tried contacting a few citizenship lawyers in Toronto, but they all want to charge me $300+ for a 1 hour 'assessment'. For me that's bull, so I decided to look for info on my own online, and hopefully some of you have a similar case to mine.
Anyhow, here it goes: Basically I have almost 1300 days of basic residence with 900 days of physical presence. Out of the 400 days absent, around 320 I was away doing a co-op (internship) term for my University in Canada. I immigrated to Canada in 2003, became PR in 2005 and from 2003 to 2008 I did Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University in TO. My program had an option for a 5 year program, with a one year of practical experience. I chose to do so because I thought I would be more prepared for the job market as a graduate. So I did find jobs in the USA and in Spain, where I did the 320 days of internship.
A couple of questions:
-If I applied today, I know for a fact that I would be called for an interview with the citizenship judge (since applying with less than 1095 days). First of all, how long could my process delay up to because of this interview? I know it is a tough one to answer, but if I indeed waited for the 1095 days I would have to wait another year or so, so I thought, what the heck, I could try like this right now and will probably hear back the decision of the judge before I could even apply if I follow the 1095 rule.
-Second, and most importantly, I know the citizenship judge would decide on my favor if I fall under one of those "very special circumstances". I've read about people being deployed by a Canadian company temporarily, or doing a study abroad term. I didn't find any info on co-op terms and internship terms abroad. This is my case. The time I spent away was directly related to my life in Canada, in fact the work experience in the USA and Spain is fully recognized by my school in Canada (even my transcripts mention it). Also, I still kept full ties with Canada, since my whole family, including my wife, were all living in Canada, while I stayed away. Ok, long story short, what's your opinion? Do you think I could be convincing to the judge that those days away while in a co-op would count towards my citizenship?
I thought the worse it could happen is that they deny and I am back to square one and have to wait until next year, like I would've done so. Also, I heard that the processing time nowadays is much quicker (my parents and my brother did everything in 6 months).
Alright, that's it. I'd appreciate if anyone could give me their opinion on this matter. I know there is no CORRECT answer to this question, but I'd appreciate if someone with more experience than myself could comment on my case.
I read through literally hundreds of posts before posting mine, hoping to find an answer before 'bothering' you guys.
Anyway, THANK YOU very much for your help in advance.
First of all, let me say I am a newbie here, so I'm sorry for any mistakes in advance.
I have been reading posts for the last couple of days online and I have a question regarding physical absence for citizenship purposes.
I know this matter is FAQ, however I can't seem to find something specific for my case. I tried contacting a few citizenship lawyers in Toronto, but they all want to charge me $300+ for a 1 hour 'assessment'. For me that's bull, so I decided to look for info on my own online, and hopefully some of you have a similar case to mine.
Anyhow, here it goes: Basically I have almost 1300 days of basic residence with 900 days of physical presence. Out of the 400 days absent, around 320 I was away doing a co-op (internship) term for my University in Canada. I immigrated to Canada in 2003, became PR in 2005 and from 2003 to 2008 I did Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University in TO. My program had an option for a 5 year program, with a one year of practical experience. I chose to do so because I thought I would be more prepared for the job market as a graduate. So I did find jobs in the USA and in Spain, where I did the 320 days of internship.
A couple of questions:
-If I applied today, I know for a fact that I would be called for an interview with the citizenship judge (since applying with less than 1095 days). First of all, how long could my process delay up to because of this interview? I know it is a tough one to answer, but if I indeed waited for the 1095 days I would have to wait another year or so, so I thought, what the heck, I could try like this right now and will probably hear back the decision of the judge before I could even apply if I follow the 1095 rule.
-Second, and most importantly, I know the citizenship judge would decide on my favor if I fall under one of those "very special circumstances". I've read about people being deployed by a Canadian company temporarily, or doing a study abroad term. I didn't find any info on co-op terms and internship terms abroad. This is my case. The time I spent away was directly related to my life in Canada, in fact the work experience in the USA and Spain is fully recognized by my school in Canada (even my transcripts mention it). Also, I still kept full ties with Canada, since my whole family, including my wife, were all living in Canada, while I stayed away. Ok, long story short, what's your opinion? Do you think I could be convincing to the judge that those days away while in a co-op would count towards my citizenship?
I thought the worse it could happen is that they deny and I am back to square one and have to wait until next year, like I would've done so. Also, I heard that the processing time nowadays is much quicker (my parents and my brother did everything in 6 months).
Alright, that's it. I'd appreciate if anyone could give me their opinion on this matter. I know there is no CORRECT answer to this question, but I'd appreciate if someone with more experience than myself could comment on my case.
I read through literally hundreds of posts before posting mine, hoping to find an answer before 'bothering' you guys.
Anyway, THANK YOU very much for your help in advance.