SENKA

I am curious how would one handle travel out of country if green card is about to expire and  while waiting for citizenship process to be completed. Thanks for all the input. 

Thanks Ant. My passport arrived yesterday by Fedex. They also returned all original documents in excellent condition. Great service by Passport Canada!

Now, I can plan my trip to Europe.

Senka

We got ours, very easy to fill in. Just few basic questions, it took me less than 5 minutes to complete.

I couriered my passport renewal application to QC, and they received it on March 03. They charged my credit card on March 10, and I haven't heard from them since. So I keep wondering if everything is o.k. with my application, I've read they are very picky about photos. I know that Cnaada Passport website states it can take up to 4 weeks to get a new passport, but according to posts on VJ, last year it used to take only about 2 weeks on average. Has anyone applied recently, and how long it took? If there is a problem with the application, how long it takes for them to send notification?

Thanks

The anser is no. You can not import a leased vehicle. In fact, even if you purchased vehicle it has to be paid off completely before you can import it in the States. I moved here in 2006 and still had a big chunk of payments on my car at the time. I had to come up with money to pay it off. They asked the letter from the bank at the border to confirm that the car is paid off. I hope it helps.

On the Canada Passport Website it states that it can take up to 4 weeks, but from what I was reading on VJ it should take less than that. I courierd my application via DHL and they received it on March 03. They charged my card on March 10th, and now I am waiting to see when I will receive the passport and if everything is going to go smoothly. Make sure that your photos are done to CDN specifications, I've read that they are very picky about that. I will post new information once I have it.

Hi Senka,

(Hey, I remember you from the I-751 boards awhile ago...)

Likewise, I ran into the same situation awhile ago too, when I had to renew my Canadian passport (due to I-751 delays and in needing an I-551 stamp in it) and had to get it updated with my married name, and had to apply with a "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship Card" too.

And yes, I understand about your worries about the Citizenship Card being lost/damaged/stolen, etc., as likewise I have the same worries too.The cost for a replacement isn't that bad though ($75 CDN according to here...http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/certif.asp), but it would be very troublesome and time-consuming to replace such if lost. Lol...It could be worse...To replace a lost US Citizenship Certificate costs $350+ and gosh knows how many months in having to deal with the USCIS again, and hence I have not applied for a US Passport yet..(but that's another story). And I don't even know how to replace my original birth certificate from some other birth country, if that were to go missing (but that's another story). I admit, I wonder what would happen if I lost all of documents....It would be an international nightmare!

So instead of sending my Canadian passport application and documents (citizenship certificate, marriage certificate, passport photos, etc.) by mail, I opted to go to Canada apply in-person at a Passport Canada office in St. Catherines, Ontario (you can probably find one closer to you are in Canada). I got the Citizenship Card, and other documents, back the same day (they just had a quick look at it, and gave it back to be right on the spot). And I got my Canadian Passport in 2 weeks by courier/DHL, sent to my US address with no problems. So if I were you, instead of sending the certificate/card by mail, I would encourage you to epply for your Canadian passport in-person instead of by mail, as it would be the safest way that your documents wouldn't get lost, and you can get your passport back pretty quickly too.

So yeah, the bottom line: Guard all your Citiizenship Certificate with your life...Apply for your Canadian passport in-person instead. Don't rely on the mail....But if you do have to send it by mail and have no other choice, make sure you make extra copies of everything before you send it off, and make sure that you have some sort of tracking system for such too (courier would be the way to go here...I would recommend DHL...because Passport Canada uses DHL as their main courier service to the USA).

Hope this helps. Good luck in getting your passport and good luck with the rest of your journey too.

Ant

P.S. If you are applying for a Canadian passport, make sure that your passport photos meet Canadian specifications, and not US ones (lol..they are picky about this...). Don't forget about the guarrantor and references for your Canadian passport application too....

Thanks Ant, and thans to everyone else who replied. I really appreciate everyone's ideas and help. Unfortunately, I can't apply in person as my passport expired months ago, so I can't travel. I have the package ready and will be sending it via DHL. That was a great idea to use the same courier company that Passport Canada uses, and their price quote was better than UPS or Fedex.

I hope to get my new passport back within a month as I am planning a trip to Europe at the end of April.

Thanks again!

Senka

Hello,

I am ready to send my CDN passport renewal application to Quebec, and am really, really nervous about sending my original "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship Card". Could anyone share their experiences about sending valuable documents by mail, and what is the safest way to do it? I am thinking about UPS or Fedex overnight, but still worry about it.

I can't do the simplified renewal since I am changing my last name to my married name.

Thank you.

Hi SENKA,

Worry no more - renewing your passport is quite easy. If you didn't have to worry about the name change you could just fill in the form, send the photos and the fees and it would be renewed based upon your existing passport http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/ren.aspx?lang=eng. You will be able to use this process for your next passport.

Since you need to change your name you will need to fill out the regular application: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/ren.aspx?lang=eng . You need to submit one of your marriage certificate or a legal name change document, not both. Not everyone changes their name through marriage so they would have a legal name change document. Since you changed your name through marriage your marriage certificate is the form that indicates the change so that is all you would need to use.

Your guarantor can now be any Canadian citizen who holds a valid passport, has known you for at least 2 years and lives in Canada, the US or Bermuda. Family members count. I sent my application form and documents to my Dad to sign as my guarantor and he mailed them back to me. It was very straigtforward (except having to deal with the USPS who 'lost' the documents sent registered mail for nearly a month!) .

The biggest challenge in renewing your passport from the US is getting the US photographer to provide the photographs in the correct dimensions. They are different than the US requirements. Print out a copy of the photo requirements and take them to a photo shop rather than something like Walmart's and they should be able to programme the Kodak passport printer to make them to the correct sizes. My photographer just had to trim them up by hand to meet the exterior dimensions but the inside dimensions were fine.

Current processing wait times for mail from the US is about 4 weeks. I suspect you would get it faster than that. I sent off my application via courier and received it back via courier in 10 days, although that was a year ago now.

Good luck - it really isn't a big deal. Read over the new form, gather your documents and you should be fine.

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH Kathryn41! I feel much better now. Thanks for the tip on the photo sizing, I didn't even pay attention to that before. Do you think it is o.k. to send them the original expired 2 year green card as a proof of identification? From what I was reading they require all original documents, and I am nervous sending them my original 10 year green card.

Thanks again, your detailed reply is much appreciated.

Senka

My Canadian passport expired in May, and I keep procrastinating to do a research on how to get a new one. I also have to change my last name, and briefly looked at the form and it says that I need a legal document about name change in addition to the marriage certificate. I never had to do that, as the name was changed through AOS process.

Besides, I know that guarantor could be only people of certain profession, is that still the case? I don't feel like having to call people in Canada and ask for favor, after not keeping in touch for so long.

It almost seems easier to apply for the US citizenship in January and wait for their passport. I am so stressed out about this, don't know where to even start.

Anyone has any advice or suggestion?

Thanks

Congratulations! That's a great news!

Congrats SENKA, I got my 10 yr GC in mail today too

Congratulations to you too another1! I am happy for you!

My husband just called me and said that my GC arrived today in the mail. Finally! Thanks to all of you and your support while waiting for the card.

Good luck to everyone, I hope all of you get your cards soon.

Senka

My husband just called me and said that my Green Card arrived in the mail today, and that all info looks correct too (last time they had my place of birth as unknown, so I had to file I-90).

Good luck to all of you who are waiting for their cards or approval. Also thanks to everyone who helped during this time. I don't know how I would have done it without VJ!

Senka

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone knows if my US husband could apply for Canadian Citizenship if we currently live in the US?

Thanks

Got e-mail card production ordered 12 days ago, but nothing came yet and no new e-mails. People usually get the card within a week. I am still at the same address, and there is no way the card is undeliverable. Gosh, this is sooo frustrating. I am using the last atoms of my strength to be optimistic. I just hope I will not have to file I-90 AGAIN because the card was lost in the mail or something.

Me too, exactly the same situation. Got an e-mail 12 days ago, and nothing in the mail as of today. We are going on vacation on Friday, and have to put a hold on mail delivery until we come back. This makes me nervous, as things can get lost.

I noticed you are from Bosnia, I was also born there but I am a Canadian citizen and lived there before I moved to the US.

Good luck to you, I hope you will get your card soon.

Senka

My approval letter is dated April 07, but no Green card in sight yet. I got i-551 stamp though, and that was sufficient for my employer. I was stressing about it every day, but stopped about a week ago. The letter says it may take up to 60 days, so I guess it is till within the timeframe.

Hi,

Just a quick question.

Can the affidavit be done only by friends or also by family?

Thanks

Emmanuel

Both, we had my father in law sign one, and a friend sign another one.

no.. Bush didn't 'talk funny'.. he doesn't know how to talk, which is different

Wheres the critisism of a dip stick that cant talk without a teleprompter? Fvckin libs!

REPORTED!

Same here, found the green card in the mail right now. YEEEEEEEEAH!

NO, mistakes, the right name and the right category, INCREDIBLE. I was sure they would f$#@k something up on the actual card and I'd have to file I-90, but seems fine. The only thing I'm pissed about is that there's no Barry Obama among the presidents on the back.

Congratulations! That's a great news, I am very happy for you! Go celebrate! And you can show it to the employer too and not have to worry about your status. Too bad about Obama not being on the back. That's awesome there is no mistakes on the card. I hope mine is error free too, last time they put Place of Birth as Unknown, so I had to send it back, that was a pain...

SENKA, thanks, however my passport expired ages ago and I can't renew it quickly either (Russian govt is even slower than USCIS). Screwed.

I think that you can show the letter of approval to your future employer and tell them that the GC is mailed to you and you will bring it as soon as you receive it. I would think they would be o.k. with that. Good Luck!

I just got the e-mail that the card production is ordered dated 05/06. At least they sent me an e-mail.

NOTHING, sakhfkjshkjfhakjfsah. I'm interviewing with a company right now and they're asking for my green card... I know I can have a damn stamp but that's such a pain. WHERE THE HELL IS IT.

I hope you get your GC soon. At least you got an e-mail, I've got nothing after approval letter. This is so frustrating. And, yes, getting stamp is a pain, but perhaps you should book an infopass appointment to be sure you have something to show to future employer. Good thing is that you can, at least in my area (Orange County), get an infopass really fast, sometimes as early as the next day. I had to do it, as my employer had a note that my GC is expiring on 4/25. Your passport must be unexpired.

Good Luck with getting the job too!

I could go pick my GC up, I live a mile from their building. It would save them a stamp.

Gosh, this is sooooooo frustrating... I feel like going there at 5 pm when they get off work and stand by the door and ask everyone coming out if they are the one who is supposed to send us our green cards and why are they not doing it.......

Congratulations!

Still nothing. *sigh*

Me neither...