Sugar and Spice in the middle of the Great White North!
Hello there, dear reader! I hope that this is but the first of many visits you make to this blog, and that you find it entertaining and informative, encouraging and relatable, and so much more. It’s my dear wish that you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them, so without further ado…
Originally posted on August 28, 2019
In Fin, Part I, I left off with getting approved for my permanent residency on July 30, 2019. I figured that would mean that the PR card would be showing up in the mail right after the approval letter.
Things are never quite that simple. My letter told me to contact IRCC via phone to set up an interview time at a facility “near me” if I didn’t want to do the interview when crossing back in from the States. I called, and the automated voice message menu directed me to send an email to [insert series of letters, dots, and dashes here] with my full name, date of birth, case number, application number, blood type, number of freckles… ok, not the last two, but a load of information in any case. All I could think (as I am having to play the recording several times to take down all of the information) was, “Wouldn’t this have been easier to put down on the letter INSTEAD of having us all call this number?” I sent the email with its myriad bits of information, receiving an auto response that I could be waiting up to 30 calendar days to hear back from them.
A few weeks passed, and then last week, I finally got the email giving me an appointment in Saskatoon for today, August 28th, at 1pm. I made the arrangements, and this morning after classes and getting everything ready to go, we set out for the city. For those of you who are not familiar with Saskatchewan, Saskatoon is about 2 1/2 hours from where I live. We got to the city early and stretched at Walmart.
That was a mistake. That particular Walmart parking lot was having construction done, and it took almost 20 minutes to get out of it. We got to the IRCC building with a few minutes to spare, but nowhere to park. Devon let me off, and I got into the waiting room. He and Mia had to park about 2 city blocks away, pay, and walk to us. We waited in there with loads of other people for an hour before my name was called– they overbooked for the day. The lady who helped me was very nice, and said that I was processed quicker than pretty much anyone she’d ever seen. About 5 minutes, a few questions, stamps, and signatures later, and it became official:
I AM A PERMANENT RESIDENT OF CANADA!!
Originally posted on July 30, 2019
Nothing exciting ever happens on a Tuesday. It’s not the beginning of the week, so dreaded by those Monday-Friday workers; neither is it the middle or end of the week, celebrated by the same folks. There was no reason to expect anything special to happen today at all, apart from likely regretting staying up too late playing theHunter: Call of the Wild.
My general feeling toward the day can be summed up by the Tenth Doctor: “There’s loads of boring stuff [in time]. Like Sundays, and Tuesdays, and Thursday afternoons.” That’s why it was such a surprise when I checked my permanent residency application status out of the blue and saw this:
That’s right, folks– after gathering photos, documents, text messages, seemingly endless and repetitive forms, and sending them in (along with about CA$1100 in fees), getting fingerprinted and photographed by immigration, and spending more money (although less so in Canada than the US$500+ it would have been with the one doctor in about five states!) for medical tests (which were fortunately fairly easy, but took about a half day), this girl is now– FINALLY– a Canadian Permanent Resident, in less than 5 1/2 months from the application date!!
Now, I am just waiting for my actual Permanent Resident Card, and it will be official!
Originally posted on July 12, 2019
Well, that was unexpected. Although Mia’s proof of citizenship went through more rapidly than anticipated, I had no real reason to expect my PR application to hustle through. Usually, if the government tells a person a timeline for something, it is pretty well on point. If they say “Estimated Processing Time: 12 months”, it’s been my (typical) experience that it will be just about 12 months on the nose.
I guess Canada’s immigration and citizenship department likes to buck the trend, and that is 100% fine with me ^_^
For no real reason, I decided to check my email late last night. Here, amidst the usual set of junk emails promising excellent mortgage rates, inheritances from sub-Saharan princes, and unsolicited sales pitches, I found an email from CIC. Upon opening it, I was greeted with, “The processing of your application for permanent residence in Canada is almost complete.”
Someone pinch me.
I was hoping it wouldn’t take all 12 months, but to have it “almost complete” in about five is a dream! In fairness, the word “almost” could mean any length of time, but I highly doubt they would say it if I was only halfway through the process– and if they intend to go for the full 12, I’m just shy of halfway. In any case, the rest of the letter indicated that they needed me to fill out a one-page form to verify my address and send that in, along with two more photos (I’m anticipating a scrapbook after all of the photos I’ve sent them– 20 of Devon and I together to prove our relationship, and this will make SIX passport-style photos of me), and a copy of the photo page of my passport.
Guys, I could be a Canadian permanent resident by the end of the summer.
Originally posted on June 12, 2019
Yesterday (June 11), I checked my email on a whim and found a new one from CIC. As it had been a week since the exam, I opened it right away, hoping that it wouldn’t say that I needed to redo one. Instead, it told me that they hadn’t gotten my Medical Exam results yet, and that they needed either the results or proof that I had in fact done the exam. Fortunately, I’ve learned to keep pretty much everything, and I had scanned the receipts that same day, just in case. I just sent them an email with the images attached, and sat back, hoping not to hear that I needed to go back to Regina for more tests.
To recap, the exam is threefold: an office exam, which checks blood pressure, height, weight, vision, the sound of the lungs and heart, and your guts (I’m guessing to see if they feel any suspicious masses in there); a chest x-ray, which makes sure you don’t have Tuberculosis; and a blood/urine test, probably checking for STDs and other major issues. It was a fairly painless process, even with a blood draw, so I was really hoping that it would continue to be so with the results.
A lot rides on the Medical Exam. If you don’t pass, you don’t get approved for your permanent residency. In case you don’t remember from the last post, there are three things that can make you fail the Medical Exam: 1) having an active disease that is a threat to other Canadians (TB, active syphilis, HIV/AIDS, etc.), 2) having a condition that could pose a danger to others (certain extreme mental health issues like schizophrenia), or 3) having a condition that would be overly taxing on the healthcare system of Canada (over CA$20k/5 years). The last one is waived if you are sponsored by a spouse or family member, so I really only had to be concerned about the first two– and I was 99.99% sure that there was nothing to worry about on those accounts.
Still, until the Yea-and-Amen conclusive answer, there is always a concern.
Well, on a whim, I checked my case tracker tonight, and there– under the “Review of medical results” heading– were the words I was so anxious to read:
“June 12, 2019 You passed the medical exam.”
So simply put, but to great effect!! I can now rest easy that the only hurdle I had conceived bore even a possibility is now cleared. From here on out, unless they ask for an interview or (as inconceivable as it sounds) more documents, I am done with everything that I was responsible for.
And now, we just wait…
Originally posted on June 4, 2019
It finally happened today: I had my immigration health exam, which (unless they say otherwise) might be the last part of the permanent residency process that is dependent on my action. It’s a relief to have it done, although I can’t truly rest easy about it until a couple of weeks have passed without a phone call about abnormal results.
Still, as far as the process goes, it was fairly painless. We showed up early for the doctor and got everything done and taken care of in short order: forms to fill out, weigh in, height measured, blood pressure taken (121/85!), the easiest eye exam ever (a chart maybe 3 feet away with my glasses on), lungs and heart listened to, and a couple of other things. It took maybe a half hour altogether.
Next, we went to the radiologist for a chest x-ray. Super easy. Deep breaths and stand still.
The last part was lab work. It’s literally my least favourite part of doctor appointments. We got there and waited for my turn. Amazingly, the phlebotomist hit the vein the first time easily and practically painlessly. They took two vials of blood (it looked like it was going to be several vials at first!) and a UA sample, and my exam stuff was officially done in about an hour and a half.
Now we wait and see if there is any progress. If I haven’t had a phone call by about the 20th, I’m good to go. If they do call me, it might mean that I have to redo a test, or do more testing. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen, and things are just all set to go.
Originally posted on April 19, 2019
Since I know there are folks that are keeping tabs on our progress (whether it is to know how to be praying for us, how we could use help, or so on), here is an update on where we stand today, April 19th, 2019:
THE CHECKLIST
Completed
* Application for Mia’s proof of citizenship sent in with all fees
* Application for my permanent residency sent in will all fees
* Devon approved as my sponsor
* Biometrics done and sent in <–They were received!!
Due by the End of May
* Health Exam (appointment to be made soon)
In Process
* Eligibility Review
* Background Check
* Application Review
Not Processing Yet/Not Requested
* Additional Documents (not requested at this time)
* Interview (not requested at this time)
Time Remaining (ESTIMATED): 10 Months
So, we are on a roll ^_^
Originally posted on April 14, 2019
I’m a little behind on posting this (two days, so nothing huge), but I was able to go do my biometrics. In the last installment (can I call it that?), I told you that I received a notice that I needed to get my health exam done. Because of the nearest location– SEATTLE, which is about 5 hours away– being extremely booked and expensive, I emailed CIC for an extension. I also got an email telling me that they need my biometrics. If you don’t already know, “biometrics” is just a fancy term for getting your photo and fingerprints. It sounds like they are going to do something really intense, but it is pretty well painless, apart from the CA$85 and the time it takes to get it done. Easy peasy.
Well, it should have been, anyway.
Dad, Mia, and I drove up to Yakima, because that is the nearest USCIS facility where I could get it done (and yes, I hear the hecklers– Mia did a great job driving). The way it is set up is that you arrange an appointment online, print out the forms from CIC and the appointment information, take it to the location you will be getting it done at, and do it. It’s simple to do. The forms you are sent from CIC have a QR code embedded in them that should (here it is again: should) be scanned by the technician and it fills in all of the information that they need. I went in with all of my forms (I have pretty much gotten to the point where I carry all of my paperwork with me whenever I go somewhere that might need them) and it was going well until the QR scan. The form didn’t autofill on the screen, which is weird. The lady that was administering the appointment filled things out from the printed form I had, took a picture, and then had me do the fingerprints. Evidently, the computer usually asks for a signature after that, but it didn’t. At that point, the technician expressed that she was concerned, so she would call CIC.
I sat in the waiting area with dad and Mia, waiting for an update. I won’t quite do the whole play-by-play, but suffice to say that after an hour and a half of waiting, watching people go in and get it done, and phone calls, we had no answers. We didn’t know (and still don’t as of the date of this writing) if the biometrics were received or not, and the 24-hour number listed actually must go to an office that has hours of operation, because the automated voice informed the tech that they were closed. After all that, she and her supervisor decided to cover the bases and run the biometrics a second time. Same story– QR code doesn’t read as expected, photo, fingerprint scans, no signature.
So what does it all mean? It means that I get to call CIC tomorrow and check to make sure that they were received. If so, awesome. If not, I get to try again… which is frustrating, but at least it is just as far as Yakima. Update pending…
Originally published on March 26, 2019
Today it was confirmed: WE ARE OFFICIALLY IN PROGRESS!!
Devon received two emails from CIC (the Canadian Immigration Centre) that said they were 1) processing his application to sponsor me, and 2) they had approved it. We weren’t expecting him to be denied, but still– it’s good to have it confirmed as being a go.
I have been trying to link my application with an account I created on the CIC website for the better part of the past month, to no avail until today. I have been itching to get them linked so that I could keep tabs on the progress of the application. I still have had no emails or mail communication on the process of my application or on Mia’s– the latter of which I find amusing, as they supposedly mailed a processing letter to my parents’ house in Oregon back at the end of January, and Devon already received her Proof of Citizenship Certificate back in Saskatchewan. The website login will give me a direct line to up-to-date information about the processing of my application.
Once it successfully linked up, I was able to see not only the progress of the application, but also the possible/likely stages that it will go through, as well as what they will require from me. I will (for sure, from what I’ve read) have to have a health exam (yay…) and give them my “biometrics”– fingerprints and photos (which cost CA$85 to do). I might have to do an interview (or a few) and submit more documents (though the mind boggles what more I could possibly send them on that score).
So, where are we at in the process? In the past month, they have approved Devon as my sponsor, and they are processing the application itself. What comes next? Probably the health exam and/or the biometrics. At least I will probably be in Canada by that point; the closest place I can get a health exam with one of their panel-approved physicians is in Seattle… not exactly close to us here. Estimated time to the end of the process? 11 months. At least we have one month done so far…
UPDATE: I literally published this note and opened my email to see a new message from CIC– they sent me the form to do the medical exam. SOOOO… that either means that I will have to scoot up to Seattle in the next month (if they have an opening), or I will be back in Saskatchewan (where they have two panel-approved physicians in Regina and two in Saskatoon). Prayers, please– I will have to pay for the exam out-of-pocket, and it probably won’t be cheap 😐
But HEY! They are progressing with it!
Originally posted on March 15, 2019.
Today’s update: although my application for permanent residency was sent in about a month ago, it hasn’t been listed online.
Even though we haven’t heard anything about my status, we did hear about Mia’s Proof of Citizenship application. WAAAAAY ahead of time, too (it was only sent in in January, and it takes up to five months to process on average)! Mia’s Citizenship Certificate for Canada is on it’s way to Devon’s address right now.
One down– it makes me hopeful that maybe mine will process rapidly too (a girl can hope!)
