US outland applicants' thread :)

[Amalthea]

Logged in as sponsor (my husband) and as me (PA) and both sections say "Decision Made". So anxious to know what the decision is!

Wow that was fast! CONGRATS!!!!!

 

[Panamai]

Logged in as sponsor (my husband) and as me (PA) and both sections say "Decision Made". So anxious to know what the decision is!

Wait, is your VO Ottawa or Mississauga? Your profile says Ottawa, but the 2015 spreadsheet says Mississauga, so I'm confused. Your DM would make a lot more since if you had Mississauga as your VO.

 

[monstergirly]

Wait, is your VO Ottawa or Mississauga? Your profile says Ottawa, but the 2015 spreadsheet says Mississauga, so I'm confused. Your DM would make a lot more since if you had Mississauga as your VO.

It's Ottawa. I couldn't update the 2015 sheet - the cell is locked. I had originally put Mississauga before I knew the process.

Does anyone know if I'll definitely get an email and not have to wait for something to come in the mail? I also didn't get any sort of notification of the change in ECAS - I just noticed when I randomly checked today.

 

[Evadyrrehs]

The OP removed it in his post but it still shows in your quote of his post - don't forget to edit it out.

Done! Thanks MT 8) Next time I come across someone who leaves info like that up in their post I will remember to edit it out of my quote so as to not perpetrate what I was telling them to fix lol.. I didn't clue in to that, doh! :-[

 

[Mulez]

It's Ottawa. I couldn't update the 2015 sheet - the cell is locked. I had originally put Mississauga before I knew the process.

Does anyone know if I'll definitely get an email and not have to wait for something to come in the mail? I also didn't get any sort of notification of the change in ECAS - I just noticed when I randomly checked today.

Wow your processing time is really fast!!

 

[Evadyrrehs]

DM this morning, yay! 8) Whew! Hopefully it's good news as you never know till it's over.

 

[Mariac819]

Just got a requestrian for additional documents, not sure how we overlooked including a copy of the marriage for my husband the principal applicant.





In order for us to continue the processing of your application, we require

> Marriage Certificate / Licence: Marriage/certificate(s).



Please note:

All documents must be accompanied by English or French translations. When original documents are requested, notarised documents are not acceptable


Am I wrong in assuming I am supposed to send a copy of the marriage certificate? As it does not specifically say send the original . Thanks for any input!

If you forgot to include it that is an easy fix.. dont beat yourself up. just scan it and email them back.


Good thing they aren't losing more documents. I'd hate to see others suffer what I am going through.

 

[madJ]

Hey everyone,

I wasn't sure were to post these questions, I hope it's ok here.

I'm a Canadian citizen and my fiancee is American. We'd originally planned for me to immigrate down there, in fact we've already sent in our application for a US K1 (fiance class) visa, and if all goes well I could get my visa by the end of the year. However, I have an interview for a really good job here in Canada next week. If all goes well and that I am offered this job, we might change our plans, withdraw our US petition, get married, and file for her PR in Canada instead. We've always been long-distance due to jobs/studies, but have managed to visit each other a lot.

Anyway, I am very familiar with the US side of things by now, but I'm a bit lost with the Canadian process and would appreciate if someone could help me out.

1) For outland visas, how long can we expect to wait from submitting the application to PR/entry? I'm seeing anywhere from 6 to 12 months, what are the most recent estimates?
2) I keep seeing something about Mississauga vs Ottawa. I imagine that is the office that processes the petition? Is one faster than the other, and what determines where your file goes? Does the file stay in Canada the whole time or does it get forwarded to a field office in the US at some point?
3) Will the US spouse have to travel to any office in the US for an interview or medical? If yes, at what point in the process does this usually take place?
4) Can the US citizen visit Canada while this process is ongoing? And a related question, say the process take 12 months. Could my (future) spouse move in with me for the last few weeks/months of the process, provided she doesn't work until she receives her PR?

Thanks!! ...If there's a thorough guide somewhere that answers these questions, feel free to point me to it!

 

[Amalthea]

Hey everyone,

I wasn't sure were to post these questions, I hope it's ok here.

I'm a Canadian citizen and my fiancee is American. We'd originally planned for me to immigrate down there, in fact we've already sent in our application for a US K1 (fiance class) visa, and if all goes well I could get my visa by the end of the year. However, I have an interview for a really good job here in Canada next week. If all goes well and that I am offered this job, we might change our plans, withdraw our US petition, get married, and file for her PR in Canada instead. We've always been long-distance due to jobs/studies, but have managed to visit each other a lot.

Anyway, I am very familiar with the US side of things by now, but I'm a bit lost with the Canadian process and would appreciate if someone could help me out.

1) For outland visas, how long can we expect to wait from submitting the application to PR/entry? I'm seeing anywhere from 6 to 12 months, what are the most recent estimates?
2) I keep seeing something about Mississauga vs Ottawa. I imagine that is the office that processes the petition? Is one faster than the other, and what determines where your file goes? Does the file stay in Canada the whole time or does it get forwarded to a field office in the US at some point?
3) Will the US spouse have to travel to any office in the US for an interview or medical? If yes, at what point in the process does this usually take place?
4) Can the US citizen visit Canada while this process is ongoing? And a related question, say the process take 12 months. Could my (future) spouse move in with me for the last few weeks/months of the process, provided she doesn't work until she receives her PR?

Thanks!! ...If there's a thorough guide somewhere that answers these questions, feel free to point me to it!

I'm no expert but I will answer to what I know and can attest to;

1) Currently apps are being approved in 8.5 months. Most we have seen in the last few years at Ottawa is 10 (other than apps that have had additional dox requested, or interviews). It slowed down certainly from last year's 4-6 months, i'd say 7-10 is reasonable, but just an estimation for the Summer.

2) All spousal sponsorship applications are mailed to Mississauga. They process the first half, the sponsor half, which takes about 1-3 months. The wait times fluctuate, they are posted online and are updated weekly. For whatever reason, a very small # of applications are then held at Mississauga instead of being forwarded on and immediately approved. This is great! But we have no idea as to why, it seems they pick a few routine/basic apps from Visa Offices that have very long waits. Americans applications are forwarded to Ottawa VO normally. The only reason your app would be forwarded to LA or NY is if there was a ton of red flags, issues, custody battles w/ accompanying children sort of stuff. If your app is routine it will definitely go to Ottawa instead.

3) You partner will need to do their medical exam before applying. They will also need to include a police clearance check from every country they have lived in for more than 6 months. Keep in mind that wait times from the FBI for CJIS/background checks are currently 3-4 months. They are good for 6 months once you receive them and need to be in CIC's hands before that 6mos is up, so if that fits in with your timeframe I would get fingerprints and order them now. Interviews are almost always waived for Americans. If you have a solid application with no big red flags, I would not worry about having to attend an interview in Seattle or New York etc.. US citizens have it pretty easily comparably, and even in the spotting marriage fraud guide from CIC they say things like "The US is a safe country, marriage fraud is unlikely as there is no economic advantage to gain" etc..

4) Yes if you apply Outland your partner will have the ability to freely travel. She can only "visit" but lots of us have come up here to live until the process is done, but you have to convince the border you're just visiting so pack light. US citizens are granted 6 mos upon crossing the border for our visitor status, (unless they stamp an end date on your passport), and you can easily apply to extend it if you're going to apply/have applied for Spousal Sponsorship. You should apply within 30 days of it expiring, as you have implied status once you apply until they make a decision Personally I did what you're suggesting, and I stayed in the US and worked, until I couldn't stand to be away from my partner anymore and came up towards the end to stay with him as a visitor.

 

[Amalthea]

Oops I forgot to include the Ottawa spreadsheet with the answer to #1.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq6VF-LGjkR9dGNpLUxQZ1Z0Mm80aE5ZWDBvWklEQUE#gid=0

This will show exactly how long Ottawa took and is taking to process apps, you'll notice the fluctuations, but currently taking 8.5 mos

 

[madJ]

Thank you so much for the very helpful and detailed answer! That is very good to know about the FBI clearance, I will make sure to get that done ASAP if we decide to file.

 

[Amalthea]

Also if your partner plans on changing their name, it'll be easier to do it before you start everything. You could also do it after, but PR cards take awhile to get, etc.. It's pretty fast to change your name in the states. SS card, then driver's licence, etc. Easy peasy!

 

[rockgurl1965]

Mississauga just received our immigration package, Praise God!!. Now the real waiting begins.

 

[BeShoo]

3) Will the US spouse have to travel to any office in the US for an interview or medical? If yes, at what point in the process does this usually take place?

I've been told that something like 1% of U.S. applicants, maybe even less, have to do interviews.

Oh, and essentially, the main "field office in the U.S." is now in Ottawa. That was put in place as a pilot project when the Buffalo office was closed due to government cost-cutting a couple of years ago.

 

[deweysmith]

How long does eCAS usually say "In Process?" I got a request for my CSQ and a 30-day window to supply it or notify them it's coming, and I thought that was a little fast considering Ottawa has only had my file for a few days and I didn't think it would change from "Application Received" for a while since Ottawa's wait time is sitting pretty at 16 months…