Need step by step website or should I just hire a lawyer?

[CaliforniaWifey]

I'm college educated, but really not patient person. I cannot STAND filling out form after form and searching on various websites for tips on what I need to do.. my question is:

1) Is there a "secret" website with easy step by step process to sponsor my American husband?

2) Is hiring a lawyer overkill or is it really the only way to do it without spending months and months on the application?

I'm a very DIY and stubborn person.. hiring a lawyer for something that should be cut and dry (we have wedding photos, joint tax filing, joint lease for 6 years, and 2 children together)

Just sayin'.. I'm considering a lawyer now but am reluctant given that I don't have any reason to need one.

 

[Ponga]

1. Yes there is...and you're already here.

2. Yes it is, but it takes patience and attention to detail.


It all boils down to whether or not you want to spend the money...or simply change your attitude/mindset regarding this stage in your lives.

 

[krishnalynn]

I'm college educated, but really not patient person. I cannot STAND filling out form after form and searching on various websites for tips on what I need to do..

LOL I have a feeling you're going to hate this whole process. It requires a ton of patience and lots of hours and hours filling out forms, getting things notarized, and sorting through evidence documents. If you really hate that stuff and don't have the time, do a lawyer. I only got the patience to deal with completing my application when I lost my job for a bit and had nothing else to do.

 

[scylla]

1) Unfortunately no such site exists.
2) It's really a matter of opinion. I think it's overkill - but it depends how much you hate filling out forms and reading instructions. It certainly shouldn't take months and months to complete the application unless you're doing something very wrong. But you do need to set a number of days (or several hours across a number of days / weeks) aside to read through the instructions and forms in detail. So I guess it's a matter of whether you're ready to do that. For the record, I'm not a fan of forms and generally don't read instructions. However I made an exception when I was sponsoring my husband since it was important to get this right the first time. At that time, I was working 90 hour weeks, completing my MBA part time and getting around 4 hours of sleep or less a night. But I sucked it up and made it work.

 

[krishnalynn]

Yeah, its not going to be months straight of work. I bet mine took like 40 hours total?

 

[Masriixo]

I'm the same way as you! A friend of mine paid over $3,500 for a lawyer that literally did nothing. I'm too cheap to pay someone to do something that I could even though it would take forever and I might pull my hair lol.

What I did was download all the files and save them as this

1_IMM3400_document checklist or whatever the form number and title was.

I put them in two folders, on for me (I'm sponsoring my husband) and then the forms my husband had to fill out.

On CIC there is an "overview" tab that takes you through each form and tells you exactly what you should put for question 1 question 2 and so on.

It took time. Probably 2 days. Anything that I didn't have or needed to get I would make a checklist. (If they asked for additional information on our wedding day etc)

Drink coffee, take breaks. You can do it.

 

[CaliforniaWifey]

WOW thanks for all the responses ;D

OK, this is actually reassuring. I was expecting more intimidating replies however you guys seem to have figured it out and I'm sure I have it in me too.

For the past few months, I've allocated 30 minutes "here and there" and have a few PDFs filled out.. but am still disorganized.

Yeah $3500 for a lawyer to babysit me and force me to do it is way more expensive than just taking a few days off work and figuring it out. OK.. thanks guys!

 

[Ponga]

Make sure to check the CIC website the day that you plan to mail in the package, because they seem to update some of the forms without telling anyone.

If they receive an outdated form, they've been known to send everything back (in some cases).

Good luck!

 

[Buletruck]

Calm blue ocean.....calm blue ocean......

It does seem really daunting at first, but it's not too bad once you figure it out.

Start with inland (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp) or outland (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp). Inland has the benefit of the OWP, but the process is long.....and with no patience, that might strike a nerve with you at some point. Inland takes less time, and has appeal rights that inland doesn't, but there is the risk you could be separated until the process is complete (not likely with a US passport, but you never know).

Get the county specific guide (this details the forms and information required for the principal applicant....your husband, to fill out). Use the guide as a checklist.

If they don't already have it, get the kids their Canadian documents (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/citizen/CIT0001E-2.pdf) while you wait for the FBI clearance.

Make the photocopies of passports and pictures (don't go crazy, that'll be half your frustration). We kept responses to questions short and to the point and avoided long stories about "my cousin's nephews sister and her dogs and the beach with us" stories etc to prove anything.

Be prepared for a whole lot of nothing from CIC (but then again, no news is good news) as far as help of insight. You'll get an e-mail or two telling you where they are as far as sponsor applications, receipt of applications and the "oh yeah, you need to send us this in 30 days" notifications. Avoid long winded stories that make it hard to remember details (in case they ask in an interview)....cut to the chase.

Gather the information before hand.....print the form and do rough copies of the details. Then sit down and type the answers in the forms....takes about 4 hours.

Separate the sponsors application, the principal applicant forms and supporting documents into separate envelope/folders and mail them all together.

Sit back and wait....that's all you can do.

My two cents

 

[etienbjel]

Get a quotation from a lawyer and you'll make up your mind pretty quickly. Expect to spend between $2000 and $5000 in addition to the cost of the application.

 

[Aquakitty]

It's really not that bad. Just follow the guide carefully. Pretty much any question you have has already been answered here at some point (hint: type this into Google - site:http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/family-class-sponsorship-b5.0/ type question here ) and if you can't find an answer, just post here. Someone is always chomping at the bit to answer them ;D

 

[truesmile]

You have already nibbled on a good point. Even with a lawyer, YOU STILL have to fill out the forms, and the lawyer is NOT going to babysit you doing that. The lawyer will simply check your work, AND possibly give you incorrect advice along the way.

 

[DanOCan]

Echoing what others have said. If you have a straightforward application then a lawyer is a waste of money. The guides and the checklists are the step-by-step instructions you seek and they are pretty clear. It's just a matter of paying attention to detail and following the instructions. Getting the information together is what takes the most time, the actual filling in the forms isn't that bad. Be sure to do the forms on a computer -- no problems with the agent reading handwriting and certain forms offer a validate function which generates a barcode that you use as the first page to aid them in inputting the data. Keep copies of everything.

 

[krishnalynn]

Another thing I did to organize files was to have three folders "completed" "in progress" and "not started" so I knew what I needed to work on. Once I completed the super easy basic info ones it was a lot less intimidating to fill out the few files left. The ones I left for last were the Spousal Questionnaire and the Background info one with all the tables (can't remember the name) since I had to check those over so many times. Then I printed every form out and let them sit on my kitchen table so I could check them over a few days and find all my little mistakes. If I wasn't sure what a question meant I looked it up on the forum. I also filled out the ones for my spouse (he was working full-time with no time) so it made it much easier to just have me doing it. I kept a box with all evidence docs I could throw in there and sorted it all out and made table of contents when I collected every piece of evidence.

Oh man, I do not miss doing that. I guess I prefer waiting, haha.

 

[countrygal]

I did not hire a lawyer. I find it to be a big waste of money unless of course your case is very complicated which to me I don't think it is. From start to finish(organizing,filling out forms, printing documents, getting translations etc etc...it took me a total of 4 months from start to finish)

You can do it!!!! At first it can very intimidating but once you get the ball rolling it is pretty easy just a lot of work.

Feel free to inbox me if you have any questions....I have examples of my application if you need a reference.