Need help sorting this out.

[Sllim87]

So to explain my situation I think i need to lay out where i stand. My wife and I wish to immigrate to Canada(Obviously) but the paperwork just seems so impenetrable and I am having trouble making sense of it all.

So to start off ill state that my Wife and I are both US citizens, my wife also posses Canadian citizenship, but she was born abroad(Her father was born in Ontario and immigrated to the US), we've been married since last October but we have been together for 4 years. We want to go through the sponsorship process but we are both living in the US right now. a lot of the questions on the paperwork seem to deal with things that only pertain to Canadians born in country who have me their spouse outside of Canada. We also don't know what forms we need and what information they want from us. Maybe im dumb or something but the paperwork just seems very uninformative and confusing. Any help anyone could provide would be awesome.

 

[scylla]

Start by reading the very first thread here. I think you'll find this information very helpful.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

 

[amikety]

My wife and I wish to immigrate to Canada(Obviously)

You'd be surprised at the number of people that come here looking for help immigrating to a country other than Canada!

This is a link to Guide 3999, sponsorship of a spouse living outside Canada. It's long, but very helpful and includes all the correct forms (at the moment).

 

[rundung]

You'd be surprised at the number of people that come here looking for help immigrating to a country other than Canada!

This is a link to Guide 3999, sponsorship of a spouse living outside Canada. It's long, but very helpful and includes all the correct forms (at the moment).

This girl is a trip! LOLOL

 

[truesmile]

LMAO!

This is a link to Guide 3999 . . .

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

... and also to ALL the forms. Think of the Sponsorship forms as the ones the Canadian Citizen member of the couple completes, and the Immigration forms as the ones the non-citizen (or non-PR) member of the couple completes.

 

[Sllim87]

hahah very true.


that form 3999 is immensely helpful. why is the website so poorly laid out...that stuff should link right from the applications page!

 

[amikety]

Ya know, it would've helped if I actually put the link in my post. Oh well.... I shall blame my studies!

There is this page too: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp (lookie, a link this time! ) This is the same as truesmile posted. Just proving I haven't entirely lost my mind.

It has your country guide as well. Guide 3900 is linked there too. It's the sponsor's guide whereas 3999 is the applicant's guide.

Sponsor = Canadian
applicant = non-Canadian

 

[skas13]

It's daunting, and for the first month I was so lost. But I printed everything out, read through the guide first before doing anything else, and then eventually it all started to make sense. I also found working from the document checklist very helpful. It gives you a birds eye view of everything you will need.
Also check out the country specific guide, in your case it will be USA. You'll have separate instructions there that you will need to complete.
Good luck, it will all come together. I just mailed ours yesterday and 3 months ago I thought I would never get this done!

 

[Sllim87]

I went ahead and printed everything out. its a lot easier to make sense of it in tangible form. we have filled out the majority of the paperwork now. I guess i still need to do the physical / police report but were off to a start. If i have any more questions ill be visiting this space. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Sweden]

a piece of advice: get the police check started right away, because it takes time to get them back. Once you have them, they need to reach CIC within 3 months of being issued, so make sure you time your application right, but typically that's the one document that takes time to get.
But leave the medicals for the last moment - you want to do them as close to the sending date as possible, as they expire within a year. So leave it out ( phone a doctor on CIC list in your area to enquire if they have a waiting list etc so you're prepared), and once you have almost everything together, and you're getting ready to send your application, do the medicals. Like this, they are less likely to expire and it will save you time and get your PR issued faster ( otherwise CIC will either have to ask for a re-medicals, OR extension of the current one, and that delays for a good 6 weeks most of the time).

Good luck,
Sweden