Questions re: USA to Canada Skilled Worker Visa

[csosnowy]

Hello,

I'm American applying for the Canadian Skilled Worker Permanent Residency visa (I do not have a job lined up but have work experience in one of the Skill Level A occupations). I have been getting all of my information from the official immigration site (this forum won't let me post the url, but it's the CIC website), which is fairly straightforward but not great on the details. On this side of the border, the consulate in Buffalo (link from the CIC website) has some slightly different information than CIC, such as:

1. Provide a copy of my passport as well as my partner, but the document checklist says that only the primary applicant needs to send a copy. This one is obviously no big deal but confusing nonetheless.

2. There is a section on the Buffalo website entitled "supporting documents." These include birth certificates, education documents, documents in support of work experience (but no details on what these consist of), a statement of unencumbered funds, and police reports. None of these are listed in the checklist or indicated on the application. I know there are some documents they don't want you to send until later stages. Should I provide everything I can or just follow the specifications on the checklist/forms? I obviously don't want to delay the application because I left something out. But I'll be delaying it by gathering the rest of this information now.

3. do you know the minimum of unencumbered funds we need for our application to be accepted? this is also not specified on the form, although i have read that we will need $10,000 in order to enter the country but do we need to have that amount now?

4. Neither the visa offices nor the consulate will accept phone calls, I emailed the consulate, then received an email back that they don't answer questions over e-mail either (which leads me to wonder why they give you the option at all). Short of traveling to Buffalo (from NYC), if we went into the NYC visa office, could we speak to someone in person about these questions?

Thank you for any advice you can offer!

Collette Sosnowy

[Snodge]

well since no one else is chiming in, I'll give it a go.

My wife (primary applicant) and I are in the final stages of getting our skilled worker visa. Just had our med checks done, got out final police checks, and are about to send it all in. It's been 18 months for us, we applied under the old rules and so I think things are a bit diffent for a new SW applicant. From what i understand you need less suporting documents at first, then you'll be asked for more later.

specifics:

1. and 2. It seems perhaps you're looking at the checklist for applicants under the old rules in Buffalo. When we did our app. the CIC site said to follow the requirements of the specific consulate you'd be applying to, for us Buffalo. Do you even send the app to Buffalo under the "streamlined" system now in effect?

3. this one's easy as it's on a form right in front of me: $13,486 CAD for a family of two. For us they want to see it with the original app. and now with the finalization and then again when we "land" in Cananda. Not sure, but the current request for proof of fund might be because it's been over a year since the last one, if you make it through in less than that you might not need to show it again before heading up north.

4. Good luck getting contacted! In our experience they aren't too talkative. Our file was moved from Buffalo to Seattle at one point and we sent multiple e-mails trying to confirm it got there ok and eventually (one month or more?) got a reply that yes they had it, but no more details, then when we were considering moving to France for a year (wife is French) to wait for our visa we sent another message asking if that would effect our application. No answer for 5 months then suddenly about three weeks ago they called to ask if we were still wanting to move to Canada and let us know that after a bit of paperwork everything would go quickly from here.

So my advice would be to follow the instructions from CIC and if they point you to another checklist (check the dates on the form or checklist and compare them with when they implemented the new rules, Feb '08 I think) then follow that. Keep plugging away and don't get discouraged if you don't hear much from them.

[csosnowy]

Thank you so much for your advice! I was aware that there were changes in the rules since Feb 2008 but I wasn't sure if that would make it longer or shorter than before. As we are required to send it to Canada (not Buffalo), I will just stick with that list and assume that, for now, less is better. They actually don't require proof of funds at this point. You're just supposed to fill a number in the box. We're also getting started on the criminal checks. Besides the FBI, I am aware that we need to get police checks from every state we've lived in since age 18 (I think these are the current rules). Any chance there's a central place to get these or do we really have to go through the tedious task and expense of getting them all? (probably yes, I assume)

Good luck getting yours finalized and I'd love to hear how you like Canada once you get there!

best,
Collette

[Snodge]

Collete,

Glad I could help, I know how the uncertainties plague your mind at this point. I'm not sure if I screwed up the first time, but with the original application I only did an FBI check. Then when we got the latest request they wanted each state I've lived in, which meant writing to each state. I'd recomend calling around to get the best price on fingerprinting. Here in Portland most police agencies do it and charge about $15 per card but I happened upon a county sheriff that would do it for $15 for the first and $3.50 for each addtional. they also used the electronic method which is more accurate and cleaner: no ink!

Good luck to you also!

Roger

[csosnowy]

Thanks Roger! I'm not too frustrated yet since we just started the process, but there are so many details! New question (which may not know since you applied through Buffalo and we have to apply directly to Canada): we need to send a bank check or money order with our application, in Canadian currency. We spoke with a bank rep today who told us that any check issued from a US bank will be in US currency and she wasn't sure where we could go. Western Union? The visa office?

Also, have you and your wife considered going before you get the PR and finding work and a temp work visa until you get the PR? We'd like to have a timeline (since we are both very sick of NYC!), even though we don't know how long this will take.

Thanks again,

Collette

[Snodge]

Hmmm, as far as I know we always sent in US $. There always seemed to be two columns of fees, CAD & US equivalent. I'd look again and make sure they're not asking for equivalent US funds? Sorry I can't help with that one; maybe this is an excuse to take a trip accross the border to get a Canadian money order? It never takes much convincing for us to go visit.

We talked a little bit about trying to get a temp work permit but it seemed like to big a hassle to try it. Also, my wife needs her PR for her teaching certification to become valid. From what I've read here on the forum it seems like you will (if your job is on "the list") get a visa in less than 12 months so I don't know if it's worth it. Also not sure how easy it is to get a temp permit unless you're a college kid looking for seasonal work.

roger

[csosnowy]

It's definitely specific about having the check/money order in Canadian currency but I'm looking into getting a bank draft in Canadian currency, which they also accept and seems to be the easiest way. I called a Western Union branch and they told me no, but I have a feeling they just don't want to bother, plus I don't like the idea of giving $1100 to a drug store that handles Western Union! I'm a bit nervous about getting the PR visa, because although my job experience falls under the category of 'college instructor,' I think they want more technical instructors, while I taught undergraduates in the social sciences. I'm not sure how nuanced they get about fitting into those categories. It's interesting that your wife is a teacher. It's one of the careers my boyfriend is considering, although it would require him going back to school, as his undergrad and master's degrees have nothing to do with education. He looked into the certification program at Simon Frasier in Vancouver, which seems to have a lot of country-specific requirement such as 3 semesters of Canadian history! Will you wife have to take any additional courses or will her U.S. certification be enough? Also, I hope you don't mind my asking out of curiousity, but where are you planning to relocate to? Are you currently in Portland, Oregon or Maine (I'm from Maine so I'm curious about that too)?

[Snodge]

Hi again Collette,

Your question about my wife's qualifications is a bit convoluted as she is certified by the French government and teaches here in Portland, Oregon at the French American School. So the BC college of teachers (the regulating body in BC) gave her a provisonal certificate right off the bat. then they required her to take English Comp & Lit classes which she's done. After that she's now certified to teach in French in BC schools; either in the "francophone" schools where they teach in French or in French immersion programs within regular schools. In order to get fully certified she still needs to take a couple Canadian history or Geography classes. I have a feeling it's going fairly easy for use because of the dual language requirements in Canada, because of her experience I'd imagine she'll be in demand.

We're planning on moving to Vancouver Island. We both love outdoor activities like kayaking (which is excellent there) and skiing, which until you've been there and seen the mountains, seems like a crazy notion. Also my brother in law lives in Victoria, so we'll be close to family also.

[csosnowy]

We're planning on moving to Vancouver too, but to the city for now. We were just at Lion's Bay, which is a beautiful area, but didn't have enough time to go to the island. Oddly, having grown up in Maine, I'm not a very good skier, but have wanted to try it on the west coast because I understand it is more powdery than icy.

Thanks so much for all your help! I'd love to hear from you when you get there about how you are settling in and I may have some more questions at some point, if you don't mind.

All the best,

Collette

[csosnowy]

oh, wait, I do have another question! Have you tried to search for real or potential work from where you are or are you planning to do that when you get there? It may be too much of a pipe dream to think that we can do that in addition to getting permanent residency. I'm a graduate student so I only work part time now, but my boyfriend works full time. It would be risky in this economy to leave a job without having at least one lined up, even though we'll have the required savings.