I can report on the experiences of my spouse and two friends here in Windsor.
All three are atypical, in that they are 1) U.S. citizens married to Canadian citizens, and 2) over the age of 55, and thus exempt from having to take the test or prove proficiency in English or French.
Friend 1 applied last year. Had a number of crossings to the U.S. by car and several international vacation trips. Attached only the documents on the checklist. Approved for citizenship at the interview and took the oath earlier this year. Total processing time: 7 months.
Friend 2 applied in late January 2015. Had numerous (250+) crossings into the U.S. by car. Needed to use time spent in Canada before permanent residence (i.e. informal visitor status...just drove over from the U.S. and lived here) to meet number of days requirement. Included some extra documentation (e.g., utility bills) to prove time in Canada before PR. Approved at interview and oath letter received. From date of application to oath date: 7 months.
Spouse applied in mid-January 2015. Had 90+ crossings into the U.S. by car. Included extra documentation (e.g., CBP entry report from U.S.). Approved at interview and oath letter received. From date of application to oath date: 7 months.
In all three cases the interviews went very smoothly with no questions related to number of days in Canada, and it was more of a document verification (ID, PR card, COPR) session than anything else. So, the whole process was quicker and much less complicated than many of the accounts I’ve read in this forum. Was this because they're Americans...because they're over 55....because it's in Windsor (where crossing the border to shop, etc., is very common)...because the citizenship officer was nice? I don't know.
Also, in these particular cases, whether extra supporting information was or was not included didn't seem to make a difference. On the one hand, it certainly didn't sink the application or make the citizenship officer suspicious (as some have suggested), but, on the other, I saw no evidence that the applications with extra information were processed any differently from the application that had no extra documentation. Again, though, that’s for these particular cases, which are likely not typical.
All three are atypical, in that they are 1) U.S. citizens married to Canadian citizens, and 2) over the age of 55, and thus exempt from having to take the test or prove proficiency in English or French.
Friend 1 applied last year. Had a number of crossings to the U.S. by car and several international vacation trips. Attached only the documents on the checklist. Approved for citizenship at the interview and took the oath earlier this year. Total processing time: 7 months.
Friend 2 applied in late January 2015. Had numerous (250+) crossings into the U.S. by car. Needed to use time spent in Canada before permanent residence (i.e. informal visitor status...just drove over from the U.S. and lived here) to meet number of days requirement. Included some extra documentation (e.g., utility bills) to prove time in Canada before PR. Approved at interview and oath letter received. From date of application to oath date: 7 months.
Spouse applied in mid-January 2015. Had 90+ crossings into the U.S. by car. Included extra documentation (e.g., CBP entry report from U.S.). Approved at interview and oath letter received. From date of application to oath date: 7 months.
In all three cases the interviews went very smoothly with no questions related to number of days in Canada, and it was more of a document verification (ID, PR card, COPR) session than anything else. So, the whole process was quicker and much less complicated than many of the accounts I’ve read in this forum. Was this because they're Americans...because they're over 55....because it's in Windsor (where crossing the border to shop, etc., is very common)...because the citizenship officer was nice? I don't know.
Also, in these particular cases, whether extra supporting information was or was not included didn't seem to make a difference. On the one hand, it certainly didn't sink the application or make the citizenship officer suspicious (as some have suggested), but, on the other, I saw no evidence that the applications with extra information were processed any differently from the application that had no extra documentation. Again, though, that’s for these particular cases, which are likely not typical.
