- Apr 6, 2015
- 19
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- CPC-Ottawa
- NOC Code......
- 2263
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- December 24, 2014
- Doc's Request.
- June 02, 2015 (MR, RPRF, & PCC for Spouse)
- Nomination.....
- N/A
- AOR Received.
- PER - March 22, 2015
- IELTS Request
- Sent w/Application: L-8.5, R-9.0, W-9.0, S-8.5
- File Transfer...
- N/A
- Med's Request
- June 02, 2015
- Med's Done....
- June 19, 2015; TLU (Medical results have been received): July 20, 2015
- Interview........
- N/A
- Passport Req..
- Not Required as I was a US Citizen
- VISA ISSUED...
- COPR Issued Jan 07, 2016 - Arrived in Mail Jan 21, 2016
- LANDED..........
- June 19, 2016 - FINALLY - HURRAY!!!!
This is really a post to create a place where I could post this long response without cluttering up another post on another topic. There was some surprise that someone who is a US Citizen would be trying to get PR to move to Canada. This response was meant to help explain some of my thinking about why I would choose to move to Canada.
I don't want to bash my own home country because I do still love my country and I plan to keep dual citizenship even if I eventually become a Canadian Citizen. I just don't like the direction it has taken in some ways. It isn't just political dissatisfaction but rather I fear that the great democracy that it once was is slowly being eroded into nothing more than an oligarchy. That said, I instead will focus on all of the good things about Canada and why it is superior in many ways not just to the US but also to many other industrialized countries out there. I could go on and on but just try to keep the following novel short I will only touch on a few issues here below.
Let's start with the obvious universal healthcare. While Canada is not the only industrialized country out there that has healthcare for its people, this is something we lack in the US. In fact the US is the only country that doesn't have it. Don't fool yourself about “Obamacare” either because it actually made things worse, not better. The US spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country. Even though more is spent on it, our health outcomes are not better. Canada has a higher life expectancy than the US. It isn't, as most people call it, “free" healthcare as nothing is free and it is paid for with tax dollars, but at least the tax dollars are being used for the people in that way. In Canada at least you don't have to die because you can't afford the healthcare you might need.
Canada is a much more tolerant society. This should be of great interest to those PR applicants who are from varying backgrounds. If Toronto is your destination, know that 48% of the population there is composed of immigrants of varying ethnicities. The CIC Newsletter from canadavisa.com does talk about the tolerance of the country here: http://www.cicnews.com/2015/04/canada-ranked-globally-opportunity-standout-results-tolerance-immigrants-044961.html You can note that in this article it also talks about how out of 133 countries, Canada Ranked #1 by the social progress index. Check out the article. Where our rights are slowly being eroded in the US, they are still very strong (personal rights, freedom & choice) in Canada.
I have seen it first-hand though. My wife is Mexican-American and 66% Native American (Mexican Native) and as such has a dark complexion. I am on the other side of the spectrum, very fair skinned. We have traveled all over the US and some places are great. Some places are very intolerant and we have gotten looks and/or heard negativity. Not once anywhere I have been in Canada have we ever even gotten a second glance.
Their high tolerance also probably exists because Canada is also highly educated. In fact they are the most educated per-capita in the world. More than 50% of the population has a post-secondary education. Also mentioned above this is because there is greater access to the education. Cost of secondary education there is way lower than in the US. Plus, unless you are destitute you don't qualify for grants in the US. In Canada your family can earn more and you can still get assistance. The high tolerance and education probably lend to the very true stereotype of the friendly Canadian. In my personal experience they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. It isn't just quantity of education but also quality where Canada excels. The ranking fluctuates as it does for most countries, but Canada consistently is ranked in the top 10 of all countries in the areas of math, science and reading.
Canada over all has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. It is certainly way lower than in the US. Toronto, for example has an extremely low rate despite the fact that it is the 5th largest city by population in all of North America. It holds the reputation of one of the safest cities in North America.
Canada has a more stable economy than the US. This is probably due to policies its country continues to maintain to regulate Banks and ensure protection of its people. In the US we have let the obscenely wealthy people write our laws to their benefit such that the middle class is disappearing and the rich are just getting richer. Plus, Canada doesn't meddle as much in world affairs and takes a more peaceful approach. They just don't waste millions of dollars on foreign wars like the US does. Instead they use their money on things like their own infrastructure, education of society, healthcare for the people etc, etc.
I grew up my whole life in the US and we were propagandized our whole lives to believe that we were the best nation in the world and that we are the best at everything. We are good at a lot of things and do excel in many ways. However, we could use improvement in a lot of areas too. A lot of our people are so brainwashed by this philosophy that even to suggest that maybe we could do something better is just considered being unpatriotic. In all, I like the peaceful and more socially advanced mindset of Canada. I simply think I would feel more at home in such a society. I am not obviously naïve enough to blindly believe that there aren't problems in Canada. It has its own issues just like there are different issues everywhere, but ultimately I think that for myself, I would be much happier in Canada.
I don't want to bash my own home country because I do still love my country and I plan to keep dual citizenship even if I eventually become a Canadian Citizen. I just don't like the direction it has taken in some ways. It isn't just political dissatisfaction but rather I fear that the great democracy that it once was is slowly being eroded into nothing more than an oligarchy. That said, I instead will focus on all of the good things about Canada and why it is superior in many ways not just to the US but also to many other industrialized countries out there. I could go on and on but just try to keep the following novel short I will only touch on a few issues here below.
Let's start with the obvious universal healthcare. While Canada is not the only industrialized country out there that has healthcare for its people, this is something we lack in the US. In fact the US is the only country that doesn't have it. Don't fool yourself about “Obamacare” either because it actually made things worse, not better. The US spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country. Even though more is spent on it, our health outcomes are not better. Canada has a higher life expectancy than the US. It isn't, as most people call it, “free" healthcare as nothing is free and it is paid for with tax dollars, but at least the tax dollars are being used for the people in that way. In Canada at least you don't have to die because you can't afford the healthcare you might need.
Canada is a much more tolerant society. This should be of great interest to those PR applicants who are from varying backgrounds. If Toronto is your destination, know that 48% of the population there is composed of immigrants of varying ethnicities. The CIC Newsletter from canadavisa.com does talk about the tolerance of the country here: http://www.cicnews.com/2015/04/canada-ranked-globally-opportunity-standout-results-tolerance-immigrants-044961.html You can note that in this article it also talks about how out of 133 countries, Canada Ranked #1 by the social progress index. Check out the article. Where our rights are slowly being eroded in the US, they are still very strong (personal rights, freedom & choice) in Canada.
I have seen it first-hand though. My wife is Mexican-American and 66% Native American (Mexican Native) and as such has a dark complexion. I am on the other side of the spectrum, very fair skinned. We have traveled all over the US and some places are great. Some places are very intolerant and we have gotten looks and/or heard negativity. Not once anywhere I have been in Canada have we ever even gotten a second glance.
Their high tolerance also probably exists because Canada is also highly educated. In fact they are the most educated per-capita in the world. More than 50% of the population has a post-secondary education. Also mentioned above this is because there is greater access to the education. Cost of secondary education there is way lower than in the US. Plus, unless you are destitute you don't qualify for grants in the US. In Canada your family can earn more and you can still get assistance. The high tolerance and education probably lend to the very true stereotype of the friendly Canadian. In my personal experience they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. It isn't just quantity of education but also quality where Canada excels. The ranking fluctuates as it does for most countries, but Canada consistently is ranked in the top 10 of all countries in the areas of math, science and reading.
Canada over all has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. It is certainly way lower than in the US. Toronto, for example has an extremely low rate despite the fact that it is the 5th largest city by population in all of North America. It holds the reputation of one of the safest cities in North America.
Canada has a more stable economy than the US. This is probably due to policies its country continues to maintain to regulate Banks and ensure protection of its people. In the US we have let the obscenely wealthy people write our laws to their benefit such that the middle class is disappearing and the rich are just getting richer. Plus, Canada doesn't meddle as much in world affairs and takes a more peaceful approach. They just don't waste millions of dollars on foreign wars like the US does. Instead they use their money on things like their own infrastructure, education of society, healthcare for the people etc, etc.
I grew up my whole life in the US and we were propagandized our whole lives to believe that we were the best nation in the world and that we are the best at everything. We are good at a lot of things and do excel in many ways. However, we could use improvement in a lot of areas too. A lot of our people are so brainwashed by this philosophy that even to suggest that maybe we could do something better is just considered being unpatriotic. In all, I like the peaceful and more socially advanced mindset of Canada. I simply think I would feel more at home in such a society. I am not obviously naïve enough to blindly believe that there aren't problems in Canada. It has its own issues just like there are different issues everywhere, but ultimately I think that for myself, I would be much happier in Canada.
That is a crazy long wait! You could have a young child (6 years old) grow up and move away in that time. No wonder many give up and/or look elsewhere. I don't know if you are familiar with this meme...& not to make light of the horrible situation but:
