rae_and_scott

OP, Check out this thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/256864-going-to-canada/page__p__3947833entry3947833

I'd also like to point out that Canada does not have a fiance category of visas like the US K1. In order to do a spousal visa you will have to be just that -- a spouse (get married, then do the immigration paperwork).

I used www.immigration.ca/forum to help with my husband's application for Canadian Permanent residency.

Not as lively as VJ but it worked for me.

Yep, that's what I used as well, and IMO it's much better than roadtocanada (simply b/c it's more active).

Yup, read up on the links Kathryn provided. All the info is there and it's pretty straight-forward. We found it much easier to navigate than the US process.

As others have suggested, you might want to consider staying in the US till you can gain citizenship. I know you said you want to move this summer, and of course not everyone wants to naturalize, but it will certainly make your life easier should you ever decide to move back to the States.

What you want to do is apply 'Outland' vs. 'Inland' (apply while you are both in the US). It is in fact much faster. My process actually took only 3 months (though I think I just got lucky; that was super fast). I had figured it would take about 6. Whereas applying inland takes approximately 18 months.

Hi Coralie. I don't know the answers to all of your questions (I'm not sure if you need to tell Canada that you are leaving), but as for visiting family in Canada, once you have your Green Card in hand, this will not be a problem, and you will not need a visitor's visa. Info found here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp#exemptions

Many people do not require a visa to visit Canada. These include:

persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence

Actually, I didn't intend to single you out, Sapphire.

And someone else said, 'I wouldn't even send them a thank you card' to Rhianne but I would actually disagree with that as well. If you send them a thank you card for coming to the wedding, they will appreciate it and since they even asked you what you'd like, maybe they'll see the thank-you and say, 'oh! we need to get their gift!'. I mean, maybe not, but it's still nice to send the thank you and be the bigger person.

Yes, I absolutely agree it's courteous to give a gift. But some of the statements here, 'what is wrong with people' for not giving a gift, I just don't happen to agree with that. I had some friends who traveled to our wedding and couldn't afford a gift on top of that. But it meant far more to me that they were there, and I didn't care that they didn't give us a gift. Again, this is just my personal opinion.

But they do have 1 year to give you something still, so IMHO hinting at it would be inappropriate.

Actually, as far as 'proper' wedding etiquette goes, people have up to 1 year past the date of your wedding to give a gift. So 2 months is not rude. I personally think hinting would be rude. To be honest, I think couples shouldn't expect gifts or money for their weddings. You never know people's situations or what they can afford. And even if they can afford it, well, they still are not required to give you a gift. Just my 2c.

I heard there were vaginas and pies somewhere here.

Live streaming video can be watched on CTV's website:

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/

(not sure if you need to be in Canada for this to work though.)

I didn't read anything after that initial post by Nessa. I agree with the characterization that it was a heartless and insensitive thing to say but am skeptical that the poster who said that was banned for merely saying that. That just doesn't sound like William or Charles. It must have escalated beyond that, no?

It wasn't said she was banned; she was suspended. Which, I sadly feel, was spurred by my getting involved and prodding William33 as to why his questions had any relevancy (because they didn't; it's clear he was stepping in *B/C* he and Charles are friends IRL). Either way, her suspension was completely uncalled for.

Captain Ewok, with all due respect, as I know you wanted this thread back to its original topic, but as this conversation has continued I'd like to voice my opinion -- please take this comment coming from someone who was once an active member and now rarely posts. I respect VJ for the information it can provide for those of us who have gone through US immigration and have found it to be extremely valuable, but the moderation team should be *respected* members, IMO. There are certainly more members besides just Mox who disagree with Charles being a mod and the way he interacts with other members. Just because we aren't actively hitting the report button doesn't mean there is just one person with an axe to grind. This is supposed to be an open, welcome forum, where people can find help. Depending on the thread one is in, it doesn't always feel that way.

Actually, I would like to clarify, are you simply looking for a way to visit your husband? Because you are allowed to do that no matter what. Just bring plenty of ties to Canada (proof like a job letter, lease, the sort of thing that shows you will be returning to Canada and not staying in the US).

Can anyone recommend a good cross-border accountant in the Vancouver area?

Thanks in advance.

My concerns? I don't have any concerns, or any issue. You asked STP how she knew Ovaltine was a she. I simply asked you why that mattered. I'm not sure why that concerns Ewok, or the others you CCed.

Were you trying to threaten me? I don't get it.

STP is not at issue here, someone else is. Balance your comments carefully here.....

Or you will...?

Your comment was directed at STP. You asked her how she knew the poster was a she.

Let's not.

I think you were trying to make STP look like she had some ulterior motive, but instead you just look like an a$$, searching for information that doesn't even matter. She made a valid point and you don't like it.

Trying to understand the purpose of this account's resurrection. Read the posts since then..........That should say it all.

But what does understanding it have to do with gender?

When setting up an account, one can indicate many things that may/or may not be true.

Yes, I suppose that's true. But again, why does it matter?

How do you know that the poster is a "she"?

If you click on her profile she is listed as female. Why does it matter?

Anyhoo

According to their website, applications done outside of Canada currently take around 12 months link

...

Depending on your situation, it might be easier to for you to do an application in Canada.

They may say they take that long, but mine took only 3 months (applied July 09, visa in hand early Oct 09). And many I talked with through the immigration.ca forum who were immigrating from the US had similarly short timelines.

Outland is typically much faster than inland. I definitely recommend that route. Also, I had no interview either. It was surprisingly easy compared to US immigration.

I don't know about your friends, but in my case, immigrating to Canada was extremely quick. From start to finish, it took six months. Compared to how long it often takes to immigrate to the U.S., I'd say immigrating to Canada is faster. But then again, that's my experience.

Same here. It took 11 months to get Scott's K1 and less than 3 for me to get my visa to go to Canada.

From my past experience working with Canadian immigration and my personal experiences with US immigration and from this website, the Canadian immigration process is faster, better organized, easier to complete and comply with and cheaper. While there is no fiance visa, there is also no conditional PR status and no removal of conditions. All of the fees are paid at once, no nickel and diming you throughout the process with yet another application and more money. You are allowed to visit in Canada and you can apply either in Canada or from outside of Canada - whatever way you go you are not separated for long periods of time like you are in the American process. You can come and go during the process and won't be 'abandoning' your application if you do so. While the Canadian process does have a financial sponsorship aspect, the requirement is 'waived' for spousal applicants so you don't need to have a minimum income level. As well, you can apply for citizenship after 3 years of Permanent Residency but you can also count up to two years of the time before you became a PR as long as you had legal status in Canada towards that citizenship at a rate of 50% - so you can conceivably get your PR status and only need 2 additional years before you can apply for citizenship. The processing time is about the same for the 'first' level of immigration process if you are going to the States - but for Canada, that is also the complete process.

All very good points.

Interesting. I'm glad I saw this. My husband and I will be moving to Vancouver at the end of this year, and I didn't know we'd have to pay anything for healthcare. I mean, I assumed we'd have to pay for prescriptions, but not for general care. Of course, $96 a month is a lot less than we pay now... but it's $96 a month more than I thought we'd have to pay.

Wow that's crazy. When you saw what was going on, where did you go? Home?

No, I went to work (which was a couple blocks south of the subway station I had come out of, so I was walking against all the people going north, which also felt very strange and wrong). I'm not sure if I could have gone straight home as the subways stopped working shortly after that. And I didn't immediately know what was going on other than that the building was on fire (not that it would actually fall down, that was far beyond my imagination or reason), so it just made sense to go to my office, where they told me what was happening. I went home later that day; after spending some hours at work while the events unfolded, I walked to a friend/coworker's place in the Lower East Side with a few others, where we had lunch and continued to watch the coverage on tv. Then later the subways were back up and I went home.

I'm glad you started this thread. I feel like many places/people barely mark the anniversary anymore, and you could pass the day without even noticing it's 9/11.

I was here in NYC. I was working in Soho, not far from the towers. When I came aboveground from the subway, I saw the first tower on fire. I didn't know what was happening, but saw a lot of people streaming uptown, away from the towers.

I didn't have to watch the coverage on tv; it was right out the window of my office. It was surreal.

A couple days later, I went back to work, just to try to feel some sense of normalcy. I don't know how effective that was though, as that area was cordoned off from the general public. So the streets were ghostly empty, and all covered in dust and ash.

It still makes me very sad and emotional.

I had met Scott but we weren't yet a couple at the time.

Congratulations Sara. As everyone has said, your patience is simply amazing, and I hope the rest of the process goes lightning fast for the two of you.

I would venture to say that is why the U.S. to Canada forums aren't that busy - probably mostly people posting only when they have a problem? Not posting just trying to figure out what the form REALLY means

That is a good point and probably true. But, as I did with our K1 here, I wanted to be able to check other people's timelines, so for that, I wish those other websites were more active!