US outland applicants' thread :)

[MasterDen]

Hello Everyone,

Anyone know if it's ok to send this application in a box? There's just too much paper for an envelope.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Hello Everyone,

Anyone know if it's ok to send this application in a box? There's just too much paper for an envelope.

yes, that's fine. however, i'd highly recommend scaling it back a bit if you have that much. us/canadian applications have a lower threshold for proving the relationship. it's certainly not necessary to send an excessive amount of pictures or chat/text logs. in this case, more is less. it's about quality over quantity. either way, it can be sent in a box rather than an envelope.

 

[Roadtorusso]

Did you include a cover letter with your application? I've done a table of contents, even though I know they are going to re-organize - just not sure if I should include a cover letter as well...

 

[MasterDen]

Thanks for the responses! I do have a table of contents and a cover letter. My case is a little difficult.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Did you include a cover letter with your application?

cover letters are not necessary. i did not include one and had no issue.

 

[ryanntheredhead]

Hi Everyone ! First time posting --- after months and months of preparing we are finally almost there. I am applying under Spousal Sponsorship through Common Law. I just have a few minor questions so please if anyone has any advice it would be amazing (I'm terrified of messing this up or making a mistake that will cost us my PR!).

questions:
1. (number 7 on Appendix A Doc Checklist- Immigrant) Identity and Civil Status Docs - it says I need to "provide proof of that relationship". It clearly states in like 3 other places that I need to supply proof there as well. Under the section of "Identity and Civil Status Docs"- which type of evidence needs to go under this area? We don't have any official documents "proving" our common law? So I am wondering what needs to go here-

2. How do you think I should go about labeling every little thing - cards, boarding tickets, tickets to events, notes etc. --- individual cover letters? Individual envelopes, etc. ??

At this moment I am mostly concerned about my first question--- thank you very much in advance!!!

Reading back over that part of the checklist, I'm a bit confused now too but I'm pretty sure that's where I put our declaration of common law form. (You can find that form online and get it notarized and that is your official proof of your relationship). That form gives you the space to say when your relationship began. As for proof of your relationship, it asks in multiple places to provide proof so I would just say refer to the proof enclosed at the end of the package. And that's where I put our plane tickets, pictures, passport stamps of travel together, and whatever else. You don't need to include all of that in multiple places. Just say all the proof is in the PA's application.

As for labeling, I just printed out plane tickets and wrote right on the piece of paper. I photocopied our passports with the stamps to prove we traveled together and wrote in the destination because I mentioned our travel together earlier in the app. I printed two photos per page and wrote in the margins what the event was and the names of anyone else in the picture that wasn't us and our relationship to that person. I don't think you need to separate out everything or put cover letters. They'll find it if it's in there.

 

[Stevin]

generally, for visa exempt applicants from the us, ottawa does not send anything by email. the applicant will receive the COPR letter in regular mail and nothing else regarding the decision. generally it can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks, depending on where it's being mailed to from ottawa. it arrives in regular mail in a brown envelope. generally, for us citizens being processing in ottawa, DM means either the COPR was mailed that day or the day after.

This is great info. My husband is from MA, USA. Background check is in process. What can we expect next? Will he have to drive to the border to submit his passport? My apologies, I am totally clueless as what to expect next for US citizens. He is here is Alberta with me, btw.

 

[Jli]

This is great info. My husband is from MA, USA. Background check is in process. What can we expect next? Will he have to drive to the border to submit his passport? My apologies, I am totally clueless as what to expect next for US citizens. He is here is Alberta with me, btw.

No need to submit passport, since USA is a visa exempt country.

If your spouse has nothing on his FBI record (no arrest), your application should take around 5-6 months to be processed.

 

[CDNPR2014]

This is great info. My husband is from MA, USA. Background check is in process. What can we expect next? Will he have to drive to the border to submit his passport? My apologies, I am totally clueless as what to expect next for US citizens. He is here is Alberta with me, btw.

nice to meet another new englander! i'm from CT, lived in MA for a while!

usually, then next step after the file goes to "in process" is either additional document requests or a passport request. like the other poster said, us is visa exempt, which most likely means he will be waived the passport request. it's not guaranteed, so if he does receive a passport request, he will need to send a copy of his passport to the visa office. once the application is finalized, his status will change to decision made and his approval paper, known as the COPR, will be mailed to him at the address in the application. it can take 1-4 weeks to receive it, depending on how long the mail service takes.

 

[Stevin]

No need to submit passport, since USA is a visa exempt country.

If your spouse has nothing on his FBI record (no arrest), your application should take around 5-6 months to be processed.

Thanks for the reply. He has no criminal history. We submitted on Aug 9, background check is in process. So it should not be too long now. Thank you again for the response.

 

[Stevin]

nice to meet another new englander! i'm from CT, lived in MA for a while!

usually, then next step after the file goes to "in process" is either additional document requests or a passport request. like the other poster said, us is visa exempt, which most likely means he will be waived the passport request. it's not guaranteed, so if he does receive a passport request, he will need to send a copy of his passport to the visa office. once the application is finalized, his status will change to decision made and his approval paper, known as the COPR, will be mailed to him at the address in the application. it can take 1-4 weeks to receive it, depending on how long the mail service takes.

That is great news. He is from MA, lived in RI most of his life. I love RI. He certainly misses all the history there too. Alberta has very little history. Nothing like New England. We go back about 2x a year. Under different circumstances, I would have moved there in a heartbeat. Absolutely love New England.

 

[Jli]

I have a question for those of you who already received a copr by mail.

I received mine today, but it is nowhere said that I need to bring two pictures with me. I also don't have a sheet with the specs for the photographies..... is it normal ?? I don't need pictures with me ?

Waiting for your answers, thank you !

 

[CDNPR2014]

I have a question for those of you who already received a copr by mail.

I received mine today, but it is nowhere said that I need to bring two pictures with me. I also don't have a sheet with the specs for the photographies..... is it normal ?? I don't need pictures with me ?

Waiting for your answers, thank you !

yes this is normal. you don't need pictures. i'm assuming you already sent pictures with your application. those are the pictures used.

all that is needed for landing is your passport and COPR.

 

[Jli]

yes this is normal. you don't need pictures. i'm assuming you already sent pictures with your application. those are the pictures used.

all that is needed for landing is your passport and COPR.

This is GREAT news !! Thank you so much !

 

[MasterDen]

Alright, here we go! All sent!

I wanted to just thank the people on this thread for posting their experiences and answering questions. It was a tremendous help in the process. It took a while, but we finally got everything submitted. Hopefully I can share my success story with all of you one day.