A few Canadian Immigration questions:

[Skye]

I have a few questions as I tried most of today to get thru to the CIC call centre and to no avail. (I am applying for my Belarussian husband to immigrate to Canada)

1) Can I just apply as a sponsor first? From what I read my husbands application for immigration and my sponsorship forms have to go in together.

2) We will be sending in for a visitor visa even though my sponsorship has not been sent in, as this will likely be rejected, will there be any type of penalty time we have to wait before reapplying?  I realize it says if anything has changed reapply, and I will have my sponsorship approved before we reapply next. However my hubby is really concerned that there may be a penalty.

3)  I definitely meet the requirements to be a sponsor according to everything I have read, however, tbh, my bank account is almost in the red, is there any chance they can ask to see my bank account?   (please say NO)  lol  I know they can ask for his bank info, but hopefully not mine.

BCKev told me the good news that "For a spouse in family class, the sponsorship application gets processed pretty fast, about 40 days or so."  However, if we have to send in all of the forms, we are still waiting for FBI forms that take three months to come from the states as he lived there for a while.

Thank you for your feedback!

Skye

[WestCoast]

Hi Skye
1) Not sure what you mean about everything going in together?

2) There's not a specified penalty for a rejected visitor's visa.  They say reapply if anything changes and people do all the time.  The best thing to do is make sure all papers are in order and all questions answered.  If rejected try to correct what is said to be wrong however don't be surprised if what is said to be wrong isn't wrong.  For instance if the reason for rejection is given as "don't think applicant will return home" yet your hubby has all the given all the right reasons to return home.  This is a typical CIC response and really it is difficult to correct.  Generally what happens is 8 or 10 months later you try again to get a visitor's visa and have reworded the application and maybe you will get a positive response or maybe they'll say no again.  I really think it just depends on the agent you get and how that agent's day is going.  I should also point out a theory of some lawyers I know. Asians specifically Chinese and Indians have no trouble getting visitor's visas for Canada and lots of these visitors regularly overstay or violate the terms of the visa in some way.  Yet other Chinese and Indians still have no problems getting a visitor's visa.  My lawyer friends have speculated and I believe rightly that since Canada has very strong relationships with China and India in terms of trade and immigration that these countries have a far, far easier time getting various visas than countries like Belarus that have negligible relationships with Canada.

3) You should try as much as possible to have a positive bank balance and to keep as much money as possible in it.  That being said unless you're going through bankruptcy or have a failed financial sponsorship in the past or are currently in prison CIC is going to let you sponsor your husband.  I know of sponsors who were living paycheque to paycheque and they have sponsored their spouse with no problems. 

BCKev's right you may never get a visitor's visa for your husband but the reality is that Canada works hard on getting spouses into the country.  Just make sure all the forms are filled out correctly.  If you have questions ask here.  Also make sure you have multiple copies of everything, CIC has been known to misplace documents.   

[Skye]

Thank you Westcoast for you detailed answers!

When I said "sending everything in together" I was referring to all of the forms we are both required to send in are to be sent together.  (My sponsorship application and his immigration application) I dont have that page open at the moment, but I am sure it stated to complete my forms and send them with the forms he is required to fill in and then send complete package in.

   Thank you again

[BCKev]

How will you be applying for a permanent resident visa: with your husband in Canada or applying from out of Canada?

Assuming that it will be an out of country application:

1. Your sponsorship application, and your husband's visa application are sent in together. Sponsorship application gets processed first, then the visa application is sent to the relevant embassy. I haven't heard of an exception where the sponsorship application is processed separately.

2. I wouldn't worry about a penalty. You have done nothing wrong. You can apply for the permanent resident visa as soon as you are ready.

3. I didn't send any bank information, and it wasn't asked for. To show that I had income, I sent a letter from my employer and copies of T4 slips. They ask for a printout of your last year's tax assessment, but I couldn't get one because I hadn't filed my taxes. It was not a problem, I sent an explanation and the T4's instead.

[Skye]

  

When I send in the package, sponsorship and immigration forms, am I also sending in the request for visitor's visa with that package?  Otherwise since it can take 6 months to 2 years possibly to get him here, I want to at least get him here to visit.  I realize you did state that below, but wanted to make sure you didn't mean my sponsorship app and my husband's immigration application.

Thanks BCKev! 

[BCKev]

Yup, it's late, and I am confused by what you wrote.

In my previous post, I was only talking about the procedure for a permanent resident visa.

For the permanent resident visa, you send your sponsorship application and your husband's application for a permanent resident visa together.

I suggest that if you apply for another visitor's visa (temporary resident visa): do not include this with any of the paperwork for the permanent resident visa.

Looks like you will have to deal with the embassy in Warsaw. That is good news, they are one of the fastest at processing the PR visas. Once you have all the paperwork together, should take about 6 months for a PR visa.

[dbneeley]

Pardon me, since I am not Canadian--but didn't you say before that he had been an overstay in the U.S. previously?

(Perhaps I should add that I practiced immigration law in the U.S. for about a decade--but a long time ago now.)

If so, that could be a negative you'd have to overcome in your visa application for temporary residence if Canada is anything like the U.S. on this. A U.S. visa examiner will look carefully at other visas from anywhere, and find out if they were complied with. If not, that may weigh against him.

Normally, at least in the U.S. practice, that is considered a "rebuttable presumption"--in other words, you emphasize both his ties and reasons for returning to Belarus in a timely fashion, and any reason for the previous overstay that might mitigate it. In doing that, though, you do draw attention to it--but that is often preferable to trying to assume it will not be noticed.

If my memory is correct and he was an overstay in the U.S., it will also be significant to know whether he a) left on his own completely, although after the visa expired; b) was granted voluntary departure by the immigration service in the U.S., or c) was deported. Especially if the latter, he might find a very difficult wall to scale with Canada.

Again, if I am correct in recalling your saying he had been an overstay in the U.S., you may be well advised to consult with a Canadian immigration specialist--at least to get these sorts of questions dealt with. Unfortunately, that will likely be expensive.

David

[Skye]

Thank you DB!

Yes, he did overstay, however he left on his own.

We will definitely be disclosing that information.

 

[Rasputin]

3)  I definitely meet the requirements to be a sponsor according to everything I have read, however, tbh, my bank account is almost in the red, is there any chance they can ask to see my bank account?   (please say NO)  lol  I know they can ask for his bank info, but hopefully not mine.

The others have answered, but the answer is no, they won't ask you for your bank account. All that they want to know is whether you have an undischarged bankruptcy (I believe that is the term they use in the forms). So, if you haven't declared bankruptcy, then neither your bank balance nor your credit rating will play any role in the process 

Unless your husband was some kind of convicted felon somewhere, anywhere, the only real issue will be the following: will you be able to convince them that you have a legitimate relationship? Or, will immigration officials look at your file and come to the conclusion that it is merely a marriage of convenience. That is the question that you must worry about.

[Rasputin]

I suggest that if you apply for another visitor's visa (temporary resident visa): do not include this with any of the paperwork for the permanent resident visa.

I agree. The two are processed separately and sending them together will only confuse matters.