So, as of this morning, David's flight is booked. We've been over the airport maps together (fortunately, I'm familiar with all the airports he's going through - which is only four, not eight like last summer when I went, thank goodness), I've scheduled time off for the first week he's here, we've gotten forms for medical coverage that can be sent off as soon as he's here and signs them... I'm not sure what else needs to be done! As an obsessive clean-freak, I guess that gives me not-quite three weeks to worry about whether my house is clean enough and yell at the dog every time he leaves dog food crumbs on the carpet.
I'll have to ponder what direction this blog will take now that we no longer have Immigration Canada to contend with...
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
Almost done!
Thursday, January 28, after 22 months apart and 17 1/2 months in process, David got an email saying that his visa was ready to be issued. The visa office in Accra only issues visas on Monday, so we had to wait four days to finish this thing off. Today, he left the Canadian High Commission with his entry visa in his passport, and his Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR). He is now legally allowed into Canada!
It seems a little anticlimatic to have it end this way; after everything we had to put into this process, David simply submitted his passport, waited for a few hours, and then got what he needed. You would think that after all the difficulty and hoops we had to jump through, Immigration Canada could at least throw a bit of a party or print their visa on gold foil or something. Never-the-less, we are not going to complain. David finally has what he needs to join me in Canada, and this whole nightmare will be able to begin to fade into the past.
After shopping around for airfares, we think we've found the best one and are just waiting to confirm with the travel agent and pay for it. I found some crazy routes and prices (last night, I found a round trip for $8500, if you're looking to spend that much on a flight), but we're going to go with the travel agent who's always managed to get me out of travel troubles in the past (putting in another plug for Golden Rule Travel here - awesome agents to work with and they always get me a cheaper flight and better route than anything I can find online). David will have an ideal route, and it should be as comfortable and easy for him as a trip of that length can be. Unless something comes up with that airfare, he will be arriving in Canada (Calgary, AB) in the late morning of February 22 to officially "land," before a short flight further north to where we'll pick him up.
The only thing left in this process is for him to go through the landing interview. When I flew through Calgary in August, I had time to go to the Immigration section in the airport there and talk with an official. They'll be asking David a few questions to confirm the information in his file, have him sign the COPR in their presence, then get his address in order to issue his Permanent Residence Card. The official I talked to said it should take ten or fifteen minutes and then David will be good to go!
I know we won't be at the end of the paperwork (SIN, medical, resumes, applications, bank account, driver's license, etc, etc), but we won't have any more paperwork for Immigration Canada... until we start in on the citizenship process. :D
I'll post updates on his airfare, traveling, and landing as they happen! Thank you so much for everyone who has prayed for and helped us (emotionally and physically) in the last almost two years. A huge thanks to Al Payne at Sukh Dhaliwal's office in Surrey - I honestly think his inquiries had something to do with our application moving along the last several months, plus just having access to information on our file was so wonderful. Having the support of family, friends, and friends of friends that we sometimes didn't even know, has really been what's gotten us through the rough and lonely times. We're looking forward to having a couple months to reforge our bond and refigure out how a marriage where we actually live together works before Baby comes and our world explodes. And I say that with completely joyful expectation.
It seems a little anticlimatic to have it end this way; after everything we had to put into this process, David simply submitted his passport, waited for a few hours, and then got what he needed. You would think that after all the difficulty and hoops we had to jump through, Immigration Canada could at least throw a bit of a party or print their visa on gold foil or something. Never-the-less, we are not going to complain. David finally has what he needs to join me in Canada, and this whole nightmare will be able to begin to fade into the past.
After shopping around for airfares, we think we've found the best one and are just waiting to confirm with the travel agent and pay for it. I found some crazy routes and prices (last night, I found a round trip for $8500, if you're looking to spend that much on a flight), but we're going to go with the travel agent who's always managed to get me out of travel troubles in the past (putting in another plug for Golden Rule Travel here - awesome agents to work with and they always get me a cheaper flight and better route than anything I can find online). David will have an ideal route, and it should be as comfortable and easy for him as a trip of that length can be. Unless something comes up with that airfare, he will be arriving in Canada (Calgary, AB) in the late morning of February 22 to officially "land," before a short flight further north to where we'll pick him up.
The only thing left in this process is for him to go through the landing interview. When I flew through Calgary in August, I had time to go to the Immigration section in the airport there and talk with an official. They'll be asking David a few questions to confirm the information in his file, have him sign the COPR in their presence, then get his address in order to issue his Permanent Residence Card. The official I talked to said it should take ten or fifteen minutes and then David will be good to go!
I know we won't be at the end of the paperwork (SIN, medical, resumes, applications, bank account, driver's license, etc, etc), but we won't have any more paperwork for Immigration Canada... until we start in on the citizenship process. :D
I'll post updates on his airfare, traveling, and landing as they happen! Thank you so much for everyone who has prayed for and helped us (emotionally and physically) in the last almost two years. A huge thanks to Al Payne at Sukh Dhaliwal's office in Surrey - I honestly think his inquiries had something to do with our application moving along the last several months, plus just having access to information on our file was so wonderful. Having the support of family, friends, and friends of friends that we sometimes didn't even know, has really been what's gotten us through the rough and lonely times. We're looking forward to having a couple months to reforge our bond and refigure out how a marriage where we actually live together works before Baby comes and our world explodes. And I say that with completely joyful expectation.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
More good news...
Little baby steps... slowly, but surely things are moving forward. Which is SO much better than those eight months when nothing happened.
I just got off the phone with Al at Sukh Dhaliwal's office again. What a blessing to have found someone who genuinely cares about our file and is willing to go through so much trouble to get information for us! It keeps me believing that there are some people involved in politics who still have a heart.
The documents David dropped off at the visa office on December 21 have been received and a positive decision was made on December 31 in regard to those. Now, Accra is just waiting on the medical results in order to make a final decision. David has already been told, unofficially, by the staff who did his and the kids' medicals that everything looks good, so we're really not expecting any issues on that point. It looks like it's just a matter of the visa office receiving the results and officially processing whatever needs to processed so they can send out a letter with the decision. We're holding our breath that the medicals will be received within the next week - that seems to be a realistic expectation. Hopefully my next post, within a couple weeks, will be that David has finally been invited to come get his visa and traveling documents!
A funny: when David was at the High Commission to drop off his documents in December, it also happened to be a day they were handing out visas. David talked to a guy who had just received his. He looked at the simple little stamp in his passport and said, "This is it?!" Yes, all the expense, waiting, anxiety, rushing to get documents in order, and more painful waiting is all for a stamp. I'm thinking we might have to get David's laminated and framed....
I just got off the phone with Al at Sukh Dhaliwal's office again. What a blessing to have found someone who genuinely cares about our file and is willing to go through so much trouble to get information for us! It keeps me believing that there are some people involved in politics who still have a heart.
The documents David dropped off at the visa office on December 21 have been received and a positive decision was made on December 31 in regard to those. Now, Accra is just waiting on the medical results in order to make a final decision. David has already been told, unofficially, by the staff who did his and the kids' medicals that everything looks good, so we're really not expecting any issues on that point. It looks like it's just a matter of the visa office receiving the results and officially processing whatever needs to processed so they can send out a letter with the decision. We're holding our breath that the medicals will be received within the next week - that seems to be a realistic expectation. Hopefully my next post, within a couple weeks, will be that David has finally been invited to come get his visa and traveling documents!
A funny: when David was at the High Commission to drop off his documents in December, it also happened to be a day they were handing out visas. David talked to a guy who had just received his. He looked at the simple little stamp in his passport and said, "This is it?!" Yes, all the expense, waiting, anxiety, rushing to get documents in order, and more painful waiting is all for a stamp. I'm thinking we might have to get David's laminated and framed....
Monday, 21 December 2009
All is well...
Well, as "well" as it can be considering that we're facing yet another Christmas on two separate continents, complete with missing each other through family time and that general, romantic holiday spirit. Not complaining... this should be the last one!
Despite various potential obstacles being thrown our way, David and the kids were able to get their medicals done successfully last Thursday. The clinic staff isn't allowed to give them the results, but David was told that everything looks good. We weren't particularily worried, but it's good to have some verbal assurance. Blood and x-ray results are supposed to be back to the clinic for tomorrow, and the doctor said the whole package should be sent to the CIC medical processing centre in France on Wednesday. From there, everything will be analysed and entered into the CIC database, and the reports sent to the Accra visa office. We're not really sure how long that will take, since it's unclear how much of a delay the holidays will cause, but this is the last step (barring something unexpected coming up) and it seems reasonable to expect to hear something from Accra by the end of January - hopefully a request for David to come get his visa and traveling papers.
David was at the visa office today to drop off the updated documents that were requested with his medicals. We were fortunate not to hit any delays with those documents either - the Ghana Police Department first gave David December 31 as the earliest they could get his background check done. A few extra dollars in the hand of a friend bumped it up a couple weeks, hehe. In all, it took six days from the time David received the correspondence from the visa office to get everything done and together. I'm just hoping Immigration responds in kind.
For anybody wondering about baby news: Everything seems to be well. I had my ultrasound a couple weeks ago - Baby has all its parts and is moving around. We're waiting until he/she comes out to find out whether this is a son or a daughter. I'm doing well; tired, but feeling good for the most part. And isn't being 'tired' a permanent state for the next 20 years anways? I have another doctor's appointment in early January; I'll get to hear what the doctor thinks of the ultrasound results then. Baby has been doing somersaults and tap-dancing, getting more and more active for longer periods. I've also been able to feel the occasional kick on the outside. We're just hoping David gets here before he misses too much more.
This will probably be the last update for 2009; I don't forsee anything happening Immigration- or Baby-wise in the next couple weeks. So Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year to all. May 2010 prove to be as bright as it's looking right now!
Despite various potential obstacles being thrown our way, David and the kids were able to get their medicals done successfully last Thursday. The clinic staff isn't allowed to give them the results, but David was told that everything looks good. We weren't particularily worried, but it's good to have some verbal assurance. Blood and x-ray results are supposed to be back to the clinic for tomorrow, and the doctor said the whole package should be sent to the CIC medical processing centre in France on Wednesday. From there, everything will be analysed and entered into the CIC database, and the reports sent to the Accra visa office. We're not really sure how long that will take, since it's unclear how much of a delay the holidays will cause, but this is the last step (barring something unexpected coming up) and it seems reasonable to expect to hear something from Accra by the end of January - hopefully a request for David to come get his visa and traveling papers.
David was at the visa office today to drop off the updated documents that were requested with his medicals. We were fortunate not to hit any delays with those documents either - the Ghana Police Department first gave David December 31 as the earliest they could get his background check done. A few extra dollars in the hand of a friend bumped it up a couple weeks, hehe. In all, it took six days from the time David received the correspondence from the visa office to get everything done and together. I'm just hoping Immigration responds in kind.
For anybody wondering about baby news: Everything seems to be well. I had my ultrasound a couple weeks ago - Baby has all its parts and is moving around. We're waiting until he/she comes out to find out whether this is a son or a daughter. I'm doing well; tired, but feeling good for the most part. And isn't being 'tired' a permanent state for the next 20 years anways? I have another doctor's appointment in early January; I'll get to hear what the doctor thinks of the ultrasound results then. Baby has been doing somersaults and tap-dancing, getting more and more active for longer periods. I've also been able to feel the occasional kick on the outside. We're just hoping David gets here before he misses too much more.
This will probably be the last update for 2009; I don't forsee anything happening Immigration- or Baby-wise in the next couple weeks. So Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year to all. May 2010 prove to be as bright as it's looking right now!
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Step-by-Step
We're finally moving forward with this thing! And finally having something to do other than sit and wait.
David, at long last, received his medical redo forms today. With those in hand, and the other preliminary inquiring he's done, we're hoping to have everything that the visa office requested submitted to them by Monday, December 21. For a few days, I hadn't thought we would get anything done before Christmas, but it's looking like all our documents should be ready and waiting when the Immigration staff get back from their holidays. Hopefully there won't be too much of a delay and David will be able to get his visa by the end of January.
Not too much of an update, but it's something. I'm excited, anyways!
David, at long last, received his medical redo forms today. With those in hand, and the other preliminary inquiring he's done, we're hoping to have everything that the visa office requested submitted to them by Monday, December 21. For a few days, I hadn't thought we would get anything done before Christmas, but it's looking like all our documents should be ready and waiting when the Immigration staff get back from their holidays. Hopefully there won't be too much of a delay and David will be able to get his visa by the end of January.
Not too much of an update, but it's something. I'm excited, anyways!
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
More good news!
After not hearing anything from CIC regarding our file's bring-forward date, which was November 29, I contacted Al from the MP's office to do another inquiry. I appreciate him so much; like I've said many times, he is the only government-connected person (not sure how else to phrase that, hehe) so willing and eager to help, the only one who seems actually concerned about our file, that I've met in this entire ordeal. I'm afraid I would still be despairing of ever hearing anything if I had not been connected with him.
Anyways, he got back to me yesterday with the result of his conversation with the Minister's office. Our file was actually looked at before the bring-forward date, on the 23rd. Everything in the file was approved on that date, and a request and forms sent to David for him to have his expired medicals and police record redone. David has been checking the post office for the forms as he's unable to do the medicals without those specific forms, but so far we have not received them. I think he may go directly to the High Commission later this week to get copies so that we can have the medicals in the system before Christmas. After he has his exam done, the doctor who does it will send the results to a central data-gathering office that will then enter the results into CIC's system and send them to the Accra office. David will have to drop off the receipt from the medical and his new police record at the Canadian visa office. (Tangent: Ironically, since he's dealing with Ghanaian officials to get his police record, that is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest thing to do in this whole process. What's this about African inefficiency?!) After the medical is done and documents dropped off at the visa office, we're back to waiting. Not enjoyable, but something we're pretty good at. There will be a delay because of the Christmas holidays (I think the High Commission was closed for more than two weeks last year over the holidays), but hopefully within a month and a half, David will be able to go get his visa!
Unless something else comes up to delay things, it looks like we're almost done!
Anyways, he got back to me yesterday with the result of his conversation with the Minister's office. Our file was actually looked at before the bring-forward date, on the 23rd. Everything in the file was approved on that date, and a request and forms sent to David for him to have his expired medicals and police record redone. David has been checking the post office for the forms as he's unable to do the medicals without those specific forms, but so far we have not received them. I think he may go directly to the High Commission later this week to get copies so that we can have the medicals in the system before Christmas. After he has his exam done, the doctor who does it will send the results to a central data-gathering office that will then enter the results into CIC's system and send them to the Accra office. David will have to drop off the receipt from the medical and his new police record at the Canadian visa office. (Tangent: Ironically, since he's dealing with Ghanaian officials to get his police record, that is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest thing to do in this whole process. What's this about African inefficiency?!) After the medical is done and documents dropped off at the visa office, we're back to waiting. Not enjoyable, but something we're pretty good at. There will be a delay because of the Christmas holidays (I think the High Commission was closed for more than two weeks last year over the holidays), but hopefully within a month and a half, David will be able to go get his visa!
Unless something else comes up to delay things, it looks like we're almost done!
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
News already!
Yes, updating two days in a row... pretty amazing, I know. Actually, I'm having problems sitting still from excitement. However, I've told a bunch of people about this now, so I'm starting to calm down a little.
I got a call from Al at Sukh Dhaliwal's office this afternoon. I was surprised to hear from him so soon, since I just talked to him yesterday, but, hey! I'm not going to complain! (It's not like anybody else is really good at getting/giving information quickly. Or, at all.) Kudos yet again to those wonderful people! It seems that he had a little chat with someone from "the Minister's office" (I'm assuming the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), and was finally able to get some information about our file! The interview that should have been done to determine the validity of our marriage has been waived - which means we satisfied them of our genuine marriage with the proof offered in the application and since. However, I had thought that's what David's March interview was; I've never heard of someone having two interviews unless there was a refusal and appeal in between, so I have no idea if there was a mistake made in our processing or what happened. Anyways, we don't have to worry about it since they've waived that second interview. Yay! I'm not sure if David could handle the stress of another one like the last one. It also looks like David's security/background check has been completed, which is usually one of the last steps in this process, and CIC seems to have all the information they need. The bring-forward date on our file is now November 29. That's a Sunday, so obviously we're not going to hear anything on that exact day, but I don't think it's unrealistic of us to expect to get some correspondence from CIC the first week of December.
Here's what I understand should happen next: Soon after our bring-forward date, Accra makes a *postive* decision, David gets a package in the mail from CIC-Accra with medical re-do forms, goes and gets his medicals done, and leaves the forms with the doctor, who sends them to a CIC office in Paris, France, either via CIC-Accra or directly (Not sure exactly how that works). Medical re-dos are said to get top priority at the processing facility in Paris, so hopefully within three or four weeks of receipt, David's medical information will be entered into the CIC database and an Immigration officer will access and assess them. Everything will be a go, and David will get a long-awaited email to bring his passport and receive his visa on any Monday after the letter is received. He will then have to wait at the High Commission all day (6 to 8 hours seems to be the recent processing times from what I've heard) to receive his traveling documents (I think I've seen a list of what all this includes, but can't think of everything off the top of my head) and a visa-stamped passport. I also forget how long the visa is good for; either three months or six months from the date he receives it. From there, he's free to come to Canada, provided he arrives before his visa expires (trust me, he'll be here ASAP). He will have to go through Customs and a landing interview with Immigration upon arriving in Canada, but I don't think there will be anything to cause problems in the landing interview unless he suddenly forgets his name, age, wife's name, the country she lives in... things like that. In which case, I think they'll probably stick him on the next plane back to Ghana. Hehe. And no, that would not be funny or ironic in the least. Please do not laugh if such a thing happens.
Now, IF everything goes like this (minus the amnesia and being sent back to Ghana), it's very possible that I could leave behind this "single married" status by late January/early February. I hate to get too excited because this whole process has been so unpredictable and delayed. But, yes, I am just a little excited. Having heard SOMETHING after eight months of silence from CIC is incredible. So here's us eagerly waiting for the next three weeks, just IN CASE there isn't a delay and we get something from CIC.
I got a call from Al at Sukh Dhaliwal's office this afternoon. I was surprised to hear from him so soon, since I just talked to him yesterday, but, hey! I'm not going to complain! (It's not like anybody else is really good at getting/giving information quickly. Or, at all.) Kudos yet again to those wonderful people! It seems that he had a little chat with someone from "the Minister's office" (I'm assuming the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), and was finally able to get some information about our file! The interview that should have been done to determine the validity of our marriage has been waived - which means we satisfied them of our genuine marriage with the proof offered in the application and since. However, I had thought that's what David's March interview was; I've never heard of someone having two interviews unless there was a refusal and appeal in between, so I have no idea if there was a mistake made in our processing or what happened. Anyways, we don't have to worry about it since they've waived that second interview. Yay! I'm not sure if David could handle the stress of another one like the last one. It also looks like David's security/background check has been completed, which is usually one of the last steps in this process, and CIC seems to have all the information they need. The bring-forward date on our file is now November 29. That's a Sunday, so obviously we're not going to hear anything on that exact day, but I don't think it's unrealistic of us to expect to get some correspondence from CIC the first week of December.
Here's what I understand should happen next: Soon after our bring-forward date, Accra makes a *postive* decision, David gets a package in the mail from CIC-Accra with medical re-do forms, goes and gets his medicals done, and leaves the forms with the doctor, who sends them to a CIC office in Paris, France, either via CIC-Accra or directly (Not sure exactly how that works). Medical re-dos are said to get top priority at the processing facility in Paris, so hopefully within three or four weeks of receipt, David's medical information will be entered into the CIC database and an Immigration officer will access and assess them. Everything will be a go, and David will get a long-awaited email to bring his passport and receive his visa on any Monday after the letter is received. He will then have to wait at the High Commission all day (6 to 8 hours seems to be the recent processing times from what I've heard) to receive his traveling documents (I think I've seen a list of what all this includes, but can't think of everything off the top of my head) and a visa-stamped passport. I also forget how long the visa is good for; either three months or six months from the date he receives it. From there, he's free to come to Canada, provided he arrives before his visa expires (trust me, he'll be here ASAP). He will have to go through Customs and a landing interview with Immigration upon arriving in Canada, but I don't think there will be anything to cause problems in the landing interview unless he suddenly forgets his name, age, wife's name, the country she lives in... things like that. In which case, I think they'll probably stick him on the next plane back to Ghana. Hehe. And no, that would not be funny or ironic in the least. Please do not laugh if such a thing happens.
Now, IF everything goes like this (minus the amnesia and being sent back to Ghana), it's very possible that I could leave behind this "single married" status by late January/early February. I hate to get too excited because this whole process has been so unpredictable and delayed. But, yes, I am just a little excited. Having heard SOMETHING after eight months of silence from CIC is incredible. So here's us eagerly waiting for the next three weeks, just IN CASE there isn't a delay and we get something from CIC.
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