ladycam72

I am a US Citizen and I am planning to marry a Canadian Citizen. I am wanting to move there to live with him. He wants to get married in Winnipeg, but I would like to get married in Jamaica too. What is the easiest and fastest way to get started? What are the steps that I would need in order to make this a very happy union soon? I would appreciate some very helpful advice and thank-your time and consideration.

Ladycam72

Renee

Congratulations on your engagement.

Here's the link to the CIC page for family immigration...
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/sponsor/index.html. That should get you
started. There are many topics on this newsgroup with some great advice if
you search for them.

Renee

--
Inland Spouse Timeline so far:
19 Feb 2003: Moved to Calgary from U.S. on 6 month TRV
12 May 2003: Did medicals in Calgary
20 June 2003: Applied for TRV extension
5 July 2003: Wedding Date
17 July 2003: CIC received inland spouse PR application
15 Aug 2003: Received 6 month TRV extension
20 Aug 2003: CIC request for work history dates (which were sent with
application)
21 Aug 2003: CIC received work history reply by overnight post
"ladycam72" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I am a US Citizen and I am planning to marry a Canadian Citizen. I am
    > wanting to move there to live with him. He wants to get married in
    > Winnipeg, but I would like to get married in Jamaica too. What is the
    > easiest and fastest way to get started? What are the steps that I would
    > need in order to make this a very happy union soon? I would appreciate
    > some very helpful advice and thank-your time and consideration.
    > Ladycam72
    > --
    > ladycam72
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Http://Www.Iamnotamerican.Com

ladycam72 ([email protected]) said:

    > I am a US Citizen and I am planning to marry a Canadian Citizen. I am
    > wanting to move there to live with him. He wants to get married in
    > Winnipeg, but I would like to get married in Jamaica too. What is the
    > easiest and fastest way to get started? What are the steps that I would
    > need in order to make this a very happy union soon?
Well, first up, you should agree on where you're going to get married.
Arguing over the location of nuptials is not a good start. :-)

Secondly, go to the CIC web site to read about spousal sponsorship.
There's information there about costs, requirements etc.

Congratulation and good luck.

--
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Remove 'really' from Email address to reply.

ladycam72

Thank-you Renee for your timeline that is quick. Not trying to be nosey but how much did it all cost if you dont mind telling me?....... congratulations on your marriage(married on my birthday!!!). Do you know if I can get the TRV from online? If I am going to Winnipeg will I need medicals also? Since you have married you are still a US citizen right? until you become a Canadian Citizen?

Thank-you again for your help and time
Ladycam72

Renee

Hi again,

My timeline is okay...but I don't have Approval in Principle yet. It looks
like I have a lot of steps done, but some of that is TRV related. The PR
application process doesn't start until July 17, so I've got a lot more
waiting to do!

Yes, I am a U.S. Citizen. I made the decision to move to Calgary with my
then-fiance on February 19, 2003. He is a Canadian Citizen. We'd been
maintaining a long distance romance for several months, and we didn't want
to be apart anymore. We knew that we couldn't apply for permanent residency
in the spousal category until after our planned July 5 wedding, but I was
able to get a six-month Temporary Resident Visa so we could at least finally
live together.

I received my TRV at Calgary International Airport. You can't get one
online. You have to be present at an immigration port of entry, and you
have to be able to prove several things, including that you have adequate
funding to support yourself in Canada and that you have the means to leave
at the end of your visa. You can then apply to extend the TRV like I did,
but for the purposes of your original one, you need to show that you can
leave. I was honest and told them that we had been planning our wedding
since August 2002 (we had several fiance visits on record). I also replied
to their questions that I had given up my apartment and sold my car, but I
had my mother and sister in Virginia who could give me a place to stay if
necessary.

One other thing about the TRV - they are not usually valid for multiple
entries, so if you leave the country, you have to go through the process
again, and you are not guaranteed re-entry. Once you apply for inland
spousal PR (if you choose inland as opposed to overseas), the same concerns
about re-entry apply. One of the criteria for allowing inland spousal
applications is that you must be living together in Canada. If you leave,
that criteria is not met. I haven't tried visiting the U.S. because my PR
is too important to me, and it won't take that long to finalize.

I did my medicals as part of the permanent residency process. The
Immigrations Officer told me that I could do them ahead of my application,
and I figured that it would help my timeline if my medicals were already on
file. I had a CIC Client Number on my TRV, and that was referenced on the
medical reports the approved doctor sent.

You will also need criminal clearances from the FBI and the State Police
from every state you lived in. These need to be included with your PR
application, so make sure you give yourself time to get them in the mail.
The CIC states that they are valid for six months, so you don't want to get
them TOO far ahead, but don't wait until a few days before the application
is ready to go either.

Costs...let's see:

1. There was no cost for the intial TRV. It cost me CAD$75 to get the
extension.

2. I paid CAD$150 to the Designated Medical Practitioner for the physical
exam. The chest x-ray was around CAD$38 and the laboratory work was around
CAD$78 for me. Normally you only need a HIV and Syphilis screen at the lab,
but I have three small tattoos, so I required a Hepatitis screen as well and
that raised the cost.

3. We sent CAD$1,525 with the sponsorship forms and application for
permanent residency. This included my right of landing fee (which includes
the fee for the PR card).


As for my citizenship, yes, I remain a U.S. Citizen. When my Canadian
Permanent Residency is granted, I will be a U.S. Citizen and a Canadian PR.
You cannot apply for
Canadian citizenship until you have lived in Canada as a PR for three years.

Both the U.S. and Canada recognize dual citizenship, so even when I have
Canadian citizenship, I will still be a U.S. Citizen as well. You can
renounce your U.S. Citizenship, but that's a very big decision.

Good luck to you!

Renee

--
Inland Spouse Timeline so far:
19 Feb 2003: Moved to Calgary from U.S. on 6 month TRV
12 May 2003: Did medicals in Calgary
20 June 2003: Applied for TRV extension
5 July 2003: Wedding Date
17 July 2003: CIC received inland spouse PR application
15 Aug 2003: Received 6 month TRV extension
20 Aug 2003: CIC request for work history dates (which were sent with
application)
21 Aug 2003: CIC received work history reply by overnight post



"ladycam72" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thank-you Renee for your timeline that is quick. Not trying to be nosey
    > but how much did it all cost if you dont mind telling me?.......
    > congratulations on your marriage(married on my birthday!!!). Do you
    > know if I can get the TRV from online? If I am going to Winnipeg will I
    > need medicals also? Since you have married you are still a US citizen
    > right? until you become a Canadian Citizen?
    > Thank-you again for your help and time
    > Ladycam72
    > Originally posted by Renee
    > > Congratulations on your engagement.
    > >
    > > Here's the link to the CIC page for family immigration...
    > > http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/sponsor/index.html"]http://www.cic-
    > > .gc.ca/english/sponsor/index.html[/url]. That should get you
    > > started. There are many topics on this newsgroup with some great
    > > advice if
    > > you search for them.
    > >
    > > Renee
    > >
    > > --
    > > Inland Spouse Timeline so far:
    > > 19 Feb 2003: Moved to Calgary from U.S. on 6 month TRV
    > > 12 May 2003: Did medicals in Calgary
    > > 20 June 2003: Applied for TRV extension
    > > 5 July 2003: Wedding Date
    > > 17 July 2003: CIC received inland spouse PR application
    > > 15 Aug 2003: Received 6 month TRV extension
    > > 20 Aug 2003: CIC request for work history dates (which were sent with
    > > application)
    > > 21 Aug 2003: CIC received work history reply by overnight post
    > > "ladycam72" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]"]news:939726.106216282-
    > > [email protected][/url]...
    > > > I am a US Citizen and I am planning to marry a Canadian Citizen.
    > > I am
    > > > wanting to move there to live with him. He wants to get married
    > > in
    > > > Winnipeg, but I would like to get married in Jamaica too. What
    > > is the
    > > > easiest and fastest way to get started? What are the steps that
    > > I would
    > > > need in order to make this a very happy union soon? I would
    > > appreciate
    > > > some very helpful advice and thank-your time and
    > > consideration.
    > > > Ladycam72
    > > > --
    > > > ladycam72
    > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com/"]http://britishexpats.-
    > com[/url]
    > --
    > ladycam72
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com