Moving to Canada

[lightraven]

Hey to all. I had some questions about this process of immigrating to Canada from the US and wondered if I could get some help navigating this site:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html

Or more just getting information. I moved to Canada on October 30, 2021 and married my wife on February 5 of this year. We've been together over two years and put together a packet that contains the pictures of us together this whole time, chat logs and phone records and a few receipts of us meeting in the States before the pandemic closed the borders for what seemed an eternity. We submitted the visitor record/extension request on March 31, 2022 because my six month stay would have expired on April 30. And we still haven’t heard back anything in regards to that. And on May 6, we put in our spousal immigration and permanent resident application and also the work permit application. But I know that was just a little bit ago but it feels like it was a number of lifetimes ago… But what we can’t figure out is a way to check on the progress of any of them.

I’ve tried setting up an gc account and that just keeps bringing me to a page saying that I need to input my social insurance number, which I don’t have one yet. I also didn’t see anywhere that I have a ID/UID either because this is the first time putting in those applications. I’ve found this link:

https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx

But it is asking for an application number and I’m not sure if I can put in IMM1344 that is in regards to the spousal application. More specifically, I’m looking most at this point to check on the work permit which I heard is averaging about one to four months for processing because I have found a number of companies/people that would be willing to hire me at this point given my work history and experience. But when asked if they would be willing to help me in obtaining a closed work permit versus having to go through the open work permit process, they’re not THAT interested… I just can’t seem to find a spot where we can just start to find any information where we can at least start giving people some answers because right now I just feel like I’m in a limbo at the moment and where I’m no longer a part of my own country because I don’t physically reside there anymore and I’m not a part of this one yet because the process takes a while. I get that people say to have patience and to just wait and I don’t mean to sound insensitive or impatient and I’m very appreciative of my wife for taking on the role of supporting us through this time while we try to set up our life together. But I’m just antsy and want to get to work. If I can get that going, we can live with her private insurance for health needs for the moment and all the other things can fall into place in the time that they need to. But the work permit is the one that is really the pivot for so many things for us right now. If anyone has a link or phone number that we could call where we could just check and see where we are in the process, that would be great. Thank you to anyone for any help.

 

[lightraven]

I decided to include the additional questions here because I would basically have to include the above post anyway to explain the backstory that goes along with the concurrent questions. My next question is regarding my vehicle which I outright own from the US. Having come into Canada on October 30 of last year, I drove my car here and basically parked it. We kept the insurance on it for a couple of months but let it lapse because we have been driving my wife's vehicle while here. We were told that you can only drive here for 90 days which doesn't make any sense because I'm legal to visit for up to six months. But, anyway. So now we're at the point where we are wondering how we can go about getting this vehicle legal here. As far as I have been able to tell, once my work permit is cleared, I will be able to convert my US license to a Canadian license. And at that point, I can then turn and register my vehicle here and insure it. But looking online, the process is a bit confusing because some places say that I have to pay taxes on a vehicle that I already own because it is now in Canada and others say that I have to just show proof that I paid them in the states. Does anyone have a link in regards to the process of registering an American vehicle in Canada by an American immigrating here?

 

[Jazzed]

I know its hard but patience is the name of this game. You won't be able to see anything about the Work Permit until you at least you have an AOR letter.
You just put in your application on May 6th just a month now high chance it's not yet checked. AOR letters have been averaging 3 months or more. Be patient.

From IRCC:

If we begin to process your application, we’ll send you an acknowledgement of receipt letter or email with an application number.

We don’t send an acknowledgement of receipt until we have opened your application and checked that it’s complete. There may be a delay between the date we receive your application and the date we open it.

Your application will be returned to you if

it’s incomplete
fees are missing or
it’s received after a program is paused, closed or a cap is reached

 

[YVR123]

OK. You just mailed in the application over a month ago. Even before COVID, AOR (the first email about IRCC getting a complete application package and including your assigned application number) took around 3 months. And OWP about 4 months. Before your application reach AOR, it's not "in the system" and you cannot check it. (except the pre-AOR state that some applications go through which they are assigned a temporary application number that starts with 'AF' instead of 'F')

Now, I heard that it's taking longer than 4 months for OWP. If you feel restless, look into volunteering.

If you cannot get LIMA (which means that only you have the specific skill and experiece for that job and no other Canadian can) from an employer, then you cannot get a closed work permit.

 

[MJSPARV]

Hey to all. I had some questions about this process of immigrating to Canada from the US and wondered if I could get some help navigating this site:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html

Or more just getting information. I moved to Canada on October 30, 2021 and married my wife on February 5 of this year. We've been together over two years and put together a packet that contains the pictures of us together this whole time, chat logs and phone records and a few receipts of us meeting in the States before the pandemic closed the borders for what seemed an eternity. We submitted the visitor record/extension request on March 31, 2022 because my six month stay would have expired on April 30. And we still haven’t heard back anything in regards to that. And on May 6, we put in our spousal immigration and permanent resident application and also the work permit application. But I know that was just a little bit ago but it feels like it was a number of lifetimes ago… But what we can’t figure out is a way to check on the progress of any of them.

I’ve tried setting up an gc account and that just keeps bringing me to a page saying that I need to input my social insurance number, which I don’t have one yet. I also didn’t see anywhere that I have a ID/UID either because this is the first time putting in those applications. I’ve found this link:

https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx

But it is asking for an application number and I’m not sure if I can put in IMM1344 that is in regards to the spousal application. More specifically, I’m looking most at this point to check on the work permit which I heard is averaging about one to four months for processing because I have found a number of companies/people that would be willing to hire me at this point given my work history and experience. But when asked if they would be willing to help me in obtaining a closed work permit versus having to go through the open work permit process, they’re not THAT interested… I just can’t seem to find a spot where we can just start to find any information where we can at least start giving people some answers because right now I just feel like I’m in a limbo at the moment and where I’m no longer a part of my own country because I don’t physically reside there anymore and I’m not a part of this one yet because the process takes a while. I get that people say to have patience and to just wait and I don’t mean to sound insensitive or impatient and I’m very appreciative of my wife for taking on the role of supporting us through this time while we try to set up our life together. But I’m just antsy and want to get to work. If I can get that going, we can live with her private insurance for health needs for the moment and all the other things can fall into place in the time that they need to. But the work permit is the one that is really the pivot for so many things for us right now. If anyone has a link or phone number that we could call where we could just check and see where we are in the process, that would be great. Thank you to anyone for any help.

There's nothing you can really do until you get AOR and have application numbers. Even if you ca IRCC and get through by some miracle, until you have an application number there's really nothing they can tell you. I know it's hard to wait but you submitted a month ago, so just try to be patient