US outland applicants' thread :)

[TN_Hibee]

I landed on March 24th and I am still waiting for my PR card.

thanks for the info!

 

[danawhitaker]

does anyone know if the 45 day processing time for the PR card is accurate? Any sample wait times any one could offer would be super.

It's accurate. I waited 50 days. Still waiting for my daughter's because they requested new photos for hers a few days before my card arrived in the mail.

 

[s_saati]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading this thread for a while and it has been incredibly helpful with the whole process. I hope you can help me.

I am Canadian and I live in Canada; my boyfriend is American and lives in the USA. We are applying through family sponsorship under the common-law category.

We submitted our application package (using the new package) on February 13, 2017. I received my sponsor approval on February 24. My boyfriend received an email asking him to link his account about a week later. We waited a few weeks, but did not saw a request to upload the Schedule A/police report in his online account, so we called and were told to upload the documents using the web form. This was done on March 27.

When I log in to the on-line service application status, all I can see is "Decision Made" under sponsorship status and "Application Received" under Permanent residence application status. This has not changed since I received my sponsorship approval on February 24.

On the original email that I received where I was notified that I was approved as a sponsor, the letter said that I would be notified via email when our application was transferred to a visa office, but I never received that email. I am worried that our application is stuck somewhere and is not being processed.

I sent an enquiry via the IRCC Web form about 2 weeks ago, but I did not receive an answer. They do say on their web page that they would not answer if the application was within the normal time frame, so I am hoping this is a sign that everything is going as planned.

I am wondering if I should continue to wait, or try and contact them (difficult right now because I am in the USA until mid June to visit my boyfriend). I know from reading previous posts that the online application status is not always up to date.

Why do you think?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Gladmin]

Question!
Me and my husband do not live together and he's an american citizen. He was born in a refugee camp in thailand and came to the U.S.A without a birth certificate. Our papers was returmed because he could not provide proof of birth certificate. Since he is working and living in the states full time he does not have any kind of government identifications or any leased agreement and in the checklist it was highlighted stating that he need to show proof of rent/leased agreement and proving that we have an address together. My questions is how do we prove any of this when he doesn't live here in canada?

 

[jeff198901]

How long is everyone waiting for medical requests?!

 

[Rsquare]

Question!
Me and my husband do not live together and he's an american citizen. He was born in a refugee camp in thailand and came to the U.S.A without a birth certificate. Our papers was returmed because he could not provide proof of birth certificate. Since he is working and living in the states full time he does not have any kind of government identifications or any leased agreement and in the checklist it was highlighted stating that he need to show proof of rent/leased agreement and proving that we have an address together. My questions is how do we prove any of this when he doesn't live here in canada?

Try to see what people here said...their thoughts may be able to help you re:birth certificate...

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/important-no-birth-certificate-of-applicant-t101115.0.html

All the best.

 

[Rsquare]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading this thread for a while and it has been incredibly helpful with the whole process. I hope you can help me.

I am Canadian and I live in Canada; my boyfriend is American and lives in the USA. We are applying through family sponsorship under the common-law category.

We submitted our application package (using the new package) on February 13, 2017. I received my sponsor approval on February 24. My boyfriend received an email asking him to link his account about a week later. We waited a few weeks, but did not saw a request to upload the Schedule A/police report in his online account, so we called and were told to upload the documents using the web form. This was done on March 27.

When I log in to the on-line service application status, all I can see is "Decision Made" under sponsorship status and "Application Received" under Permanent residence application status. This has not changed since I received my sponsorship approval on February 24.

On the original email that I received where I was notified that I was approved as a sponsor, the letter said that I would be notified via email when our application was transferred to a visa office, but I never received that email. I am worried that our application is stuck somewhere and is not being processed.

I sent an enquiry via the IRCC Web form about 2 weeks ago, but I did not receive an answer. They do say on their web page that they would not answer if the application was within the normal time frame, so I am hoping this is a sign that everything is going as planned.

I am wondering if I should continue to wait, or try and contact them (difficult right now because I am in the USA until mid June to visit my boyfriend). I know from reading previous posts that the online application status is not always up to date.

Why do you think?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Your application is still within the norm (i think). But it wouldn't hurt to call them and ask (that is what I would do).

All the best.

 

[leahbird]

Hi all,

Thanks to those of you who have made this forum such an incredibly helpful resource.

Our application was accepted at the end of March and from what I read in comparison to others, our application is being processed smoothly. I am relieved and shocked (happily so!) to see that US Outland PR applicants (I am the American, my husband the Canadian citizen) are only taking 4-6 months to process. Because we thought it would take a year, I have a question about what they require at the end of the process so we know how to plan.

While I am an American citizen, I am living and working abroad in the Persian Gulf, and dealing with immigration while I am there and he is in Canada. I had not planned on quitting my job until Dec. 2017, and relocating until then. What are the steps once the PR is approved and they begin asking for passports, etc. Can I delay landing in Canada until December (say even if the application is approved in August)? Or is there no wiggle room and I must come immediately?

Thank you!

 

[CDNPR2014]

Hi all,

Thanks to those of you who have made this forum such an incredibly helpful resource.

Our application was accepted at the end of March and from what I read in comparison to others, our application is being processed smoothly. I am relieved and shocked (happily so!) to see that US Outland PR applicants (I am the American, my husband the Canadian citizen) are only taking 4-6 months to process. Because we thought it would take a year, I have a question about what they require at the end of the process so we know how to plan.

While I am an American citizen, I am living and working abroad in the Persian Gulf, and dealing with immigration while I am there and he is in Canada. I had not planned on quitting my job until Dec. 2017, and relocating until then. What are the steps once the PR is approved and they begin asking for passports, etc. Can I delay landing in Canada until December (say even if the application is approved in August)? Or is there no wiggle room and I must come immediately?

Thank you!

your approval paper will have a deadline for landing. generally it is the 1 year anniversary date of your medical exam, however there are people who have received less time and more time. it really depends on the timing of your approval, and you won't find out until you actually receive your approval paper (COPR). while you can always ask for an extension, it can be risky. if IRCC doesn't believe you are ready to land, they can reject your application and tell you to reapply when ready to move. we've seen this happen before for us applicants. i would not recommend trying to negotiate the expiration of your COPR.

if you're not ready to move permanently before your approval paper expires, then you can do a "soft landing", where you land as a pr and then leave to tie up loose ends where you live. you will then only be subject to the PR residency obligation which requires you to live in canada for 2 out of 5 years.

all that is required to land is your COPR and passport. if you will be bringing a significant amount of personal goods when you land or after, you will want to fill out the BSF186 declaration form so you can be exempt duty on those items.

 

[leahbird]

Thanks so much for your helpful advice. I will definitely avoid applying for an extension as I cannot wait to leave the Persian Gulf and be with my husband in Canada. The 1-year anniversary of the medical exam would be perfect, but a soft landing option would work too. Your explanation is very clear, can I impose with another question? Because I'm living internationally, I still have things in storage both at my prior residence and at my mother's. Can I list items on the BSF186 declaration form from multiple locations and bring them in separately, or does it have to be all in one go? We've got a complicated situation - hence the urge to simplify and settle down in one place!

 

[CDNPR2014]

Thanks so much for your helpful advice. I will definitely avoid applying for an extension as I cannot wait to leave the Persian Gulf and be with my husband in Canada. The 1-year anniversary of the medical exam would be perfect, but a soft landing option would work too. Your explanation is very clear, can I impose with another question? Because I'm living internationally, I still have things in storage both at my prior residence and at my mother's. Can I list items on the BSF186 declaration form from multiple locations and bring them in separately, or does it have to be all in one go? We've got a complicated situation - hence the urge to simplify and settle down in one place!

if you will be bringing items after landing, then you will want to tick the "goods to follow" box on the form. you won't have to bring in the items all at once or at all. there is no time limit to when you need to bring everything in either. where the items are located is irrelevant to the form itself, so you can list items that are in different locations. what matters the most is that you list the items you think you may be bringing into canada one day, so you won't have to pay duty on them. their location only really matters when you use a shipper to bring everything over - then i'm sure they will need to know where it's coming in from - but that information is provided on the shipping forms. The BSF form is strictly about waiving the duty.

 

[MasterDen]

It's accurate. I waited 50 days. Still waiting for my daughter's because they requested new photos for hers a few days before my card arrived in the mail.

Is this in business days or regular days?

 

[FairyRaichu]

Does anyone else have the Ottawa office? They have only updated the first 2 steps even though I emailed them and they said they received my medical?? Why are they not updating ANYTHING?? the last update the posted was January

 

[BlueGreen]

Does anyone else have the Ottawa office? They have only updated the first 2 steps even though I emailed them and they said they received my medical?? Why are they not updating ANYTHING?? the last update the posted was January

Did you try checking the status through their online tool rather than GCKey? I found out through the online tool that my application is now being processed in Ottawa yesterday, but when I log in through GCKey I do not show this same level of information. Everything in GCKey appears to be the same as it was last week.

 

[FairyRaichu]

Did you try checking the status through their online tool rather than GCKey? I found out through the online tool that my application is now being processed in Ottawa yesterday, but when I log in through GCKey I do not show this same level of information. Everything in GCKey appears to be the same as it was last week.

I only use the online tool. I've tried to create an account for gkey so many times and it "can't find my application" so I gave up