Spousal Sponsorship Application Questions

[Tiernan26]

Hello everyone, my wife and I have been living in Canada for a little over a year now. I'm a US citizen and she is a Canadian Citizen. We've been working on our spousal sponsorship application, but in filling the forms out we got hung up on a few issues we had with how to fill them out. I've also got a few other questions which I'll list with them. I know this is unofficial but I've been trying to get ahold of the immigration support line for weeks and it's always "All our lines are currently busy, please try again later." So I'm coming here in the hopes we can get our questions answered before I have to start getting fingerprints and the like redone.

1.The immigration office we mail our form too is... ? I've seen on here Vegreville, but some confirmation would be splendid.

2. My wife still has her maiden name on her travel documents, and she's worried she needs to get them renewed with her married name before we copy them for the application. Do we need to update her passport with her married name now, or can it wait until she actually needs it for traveling?

3.On the generic application for for Canada, it states to list your dependents, including your spouse. Do I need to include my wife even though she's the Canadian Citizen, and technically at the moment I'm depending on her?

4.On the sponsorship evaluation section, my wife wonders if she needs to give income information for 1 year ago from the day we're filling out the forms, or if it's "January to January?" She also does not have access to pay stubs of her last job.

5.On the Schedule A - Background Declaration Personal History, again the dates listed are they up to the present date or "today's date?"

6. Now, I've already had my medical exam, the doctor's office presumably forwarded the report to immigration already. Are the receipts enough to include in my application?

7. Related to the above, the doctor's office also took 3 of the "immigration" photographs. In the application it asks for 2 "immigration" photographs, so do I need to include 2 more, or are the ones the doctor used enough?

8. Can I attend university online from my home country (USA) while I'm waiting for my application without any negative repercussions?

9. Can I work online from a company based in my home country (USA) while I'm waiting for my application without any negative repercussions?

10. I am an "unskilled worker" as far as immigration is concerned, so am I still able to apply for work permit with my application, or do I just need to wait for my permanent residence to go through?

11. Do I need to renew my visitor visa again before I send my application in? It expires on Nov. 31 2012, and I would like to have my application mailed by the end of this month (September). I know I'll have implied status, but on reading a bit here, there were some suggestions about renewing visitor visa beforehand.

12. Should be the last question for now: If my wife and I move before we hear anything back from immigration, all I have to do is update my address on the cic website, is this correct? If not what steps do I need to take to ensure that they can find me in order to answer my application?

I think that's everything. Thank you ahead of time for any help anyone can give. I'd really like to get this figured out without the use of an expensive lawyer and within the next couple of weeks as we're expecting our first baby in November. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can stop worrying and the sooner I can start working to better support my family.

Thanks again, I'll check for updates often.

 

[Creampop]

Being that your a US citizen it would be much faster to apply Out-land 15 months on average to PR verses In-land 19 Months to PR plus any delays either way also with Out-land you are free to cross the border, you have a right to appeal. with In-land there is no right to appeal and you can not leave Canada or you risk the application being denied and having to start the process over again.

But to answer your questions... Yes for In-land you mail to Vegreville. It wouldn't hurt to change her things over but I don't think it would be absolutely necessary, you have the marriage certificate to show your married... You do not include your wife as a dependent but you do include her as your wife only dependents that are not PR's or Citizens should be included. She should just send in option C from last year tho the spousal sponsorship waive financial income limits as long as she is not in bankruptcy or on social assistance. yes up to today's date. The doctor should have given you the medical form to send in with the application. Include 2 more photos. Working and Studying online should not be a problem I have read alot of people have done it.I'm sure someone else may have better details on that subject. Applying for a work permit thru the In-land process will take you aprox. 11 months to obtain once you receive an AIP. (this is why most people just do Out-land cus in 15 months you can work and you will have your PR in hand) You only get implied status once you apply for an extension to your visitors visa, if this extension is denied you must leave Canada and as said above your application will then be denied. Just because your married to a Canadian doesn't mean you will get the extension your a visitor they expect a visitor to leave at some point... if you have already had a extension or 2 they may not give you another. Yes just make sure your address is always current with CIC change it online and mail them a letter with your UCI number on it if you received a visitors record when coming into Canada you can use the UCI number on it if not you will have to wait for an AOR for the UCI so they can match the letter with the application.

 

[Tiernan26]

Thanks for the reply.
I did not even realize outland application was possible for me.

A few more questions regarding your reply though:

1. I was under the impression that if I applied for PR inland, I would have implied status once that application was recieved until I got an answer from immigration. I was also told they can only process 1 application at a time, so if I had an application pending for PR, I could not apply for a visitor extension. I need some clarification on this.

2. Considering I've already gotten my medical report done, even though they did not give me the proper paperwork, could I use the report from in Canada for an outland application?

3. For the outland application, would I have to renew my visitor visa while it was processing since I'm living in Canada? I realize it's faster and being able to cross the border is nice, but I'm scared to death of getting stuck US side when my wife is in Canada with the baby.

Thanks again for the responses and anymore to come.

 

[Creampop]

If they have your application and have acknowledge it then you have implied status but you haven't mailed the application in yet... takes time to get there and prolly 4 to 6 weeks to get and AOR acknowledging they received it... your visa expires Nov 30th it might squeak by... but by doing this you can not leave Canada. the medical papers are pretty much the same it was prolly sent to Vegreville, but you could prolly have Vegreville forward it if you change your mind which way to file. your on a visitors visa so you can't claim to be living in Canada the thing is you are American and we (as Americans) border hop alot I have crossed so many times The IO's and I pretty much know each other, I have 3 red-flags on my passport and get sent in by the IO's in the booths but the ones inside pretty much started waving me thru. Lots of crossing in 13 years and a few IO's with a god complex LOL

did you receive a visitor's record when you entered? how far are you from a border crossing? are the wife and baby in traveling condition? like when it gets closer to time for your visa to expire could you do a trip to the border? just asking these things cus this is how we did it... After we were married (April 7th) I went home waited for the marriage certificate, had my medical. Once I had the certificate my husband drove to buffalo to pick me up we crossed the border on April 19th we told the IO in the booth before he even asked anything that we wanted to inquire about a visitor's record, We went into immigration, you must have your spouse with you they have to acknowledge they are your spouse and that they will support you during your stay. show your marriage certificate and the receipt from the bank or online printout saying the PR fee's have been paid if you have mailed your application in send it by courier you will have that receipt to show as well the will grant you 6 to a year I received 8 months IO said 9 months but once I looked at it in the car it was only 8 but I was happy to get that as 70% of cases are done within 8 months so those odds arn't bad. plus I have family I'd like to visit for holidays my visa good till Dec 19th figured if I havn't heard anything I'd just go home for a visit with hubby and kids and come back with the usual 6 months and the process should be done by then.... keeping my fingers crossed anyways LOL anyways GL whichever way you decide to go! but you can definitely file out-land and still be with your spouse alot of us are doing it!

 

[Tiernan26]

Haven't mailed the application yet, still working on it. Baby is due Nov. 9th. Therein lies the problem, as I don't want to make my wife or the baby travel for a bit, especially after Nov. because of the potential weather problems. As far as outland, it might be worth doing, but the closest family I have is in Colorado, I myself came from South Carolina, and we're in Alberta... so there's no place close that I can cross to and just stay.

Honestly if I can help it I don't want to cross the border again unless I have PR status, I ran into a border agent with a God complex... basically ruined the whole experience for me. As far as the medical I figured I'd double check with the office to make sure they forwarded it on and that all I needed was the receipt.

Anyways, thanks for the reply. I'll update if I run into any more snags.

 

[Tiernan26]

I do have another question.

If I apply inland, how do I go about applying for a work permit as well? I am an unskilled worker, and I am on a visitor visa as I said, so do I have to wait for my PR to be approved and come through, or can I apply to work in the meantime despite being unskilled/no degree?

 

[Creampop]

You print out the work permit application and send it with your PR application but they won't issue a work permit until you are approved for the 1st stage which is approx. 11 months. ok, so baby is due before visa expires... If you decide to go out-land you could apply for an extension saying that your child was just born and you have applied for PR status and would like to have a yr's extension so that you can remain with your wife and child during the process. it says to mail in extension 30 days prior but the baby is due beginning of month as long as they receive it by your exit date you will have implied status until they reach a decision. send something from the hospital showing the baby was born photo copy of the crib card maybe? I am American my kids were born in the states so not sure if they use crib cards or not up here but there has to be something the hospital give you just having a baby as it takes awhile for a birth certificate to come. A letter from your wife saying she will support you during your stay and she needs you help and support with the baby. copy of receipts showing PR fee's paid postage for mailing in he application. Honestly the chances of an American being denied an extension are slim but it's always best to be prepared! GL! and Congrats on the baby! ;D