Miat

Hi;

I am asking for information for a friend of mine.

She is
sponsoring her husband (US citizen) for Canadian residency; does anyone
know if it is possible for him to work while his application is in
process? Can he apply for a work permit? How about NAFTA, does that
help?

If not, how long does it take until CIC tells the spouse that he
can work?

Thanks in advance for your help-

miat

Pmm

HI Miat

"miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Hi;
    > I am asking for information for a friend of mine.
    > She is
    > sponsoring her husband (US citizen) for Canadian residency; does anyone
    > know if it is possible for him to work while his application is in
    > process? Can he apply for a work permit? How about NAFTA, does that
    > help?
    > If not, how long does it take until CIC tells the spouse that he
    > can work?
    > Thanks in advance for your help-
    > miat
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Assuming that the spouse being sponsored is in Canada, he will not be able
to work until he receives the Approval in Principle, about 7/8 months
(relatively speaking, who knows the exact time frame these days) from the
date of the application. Nafta does not matter unless, he applies for a
work permit outside Canada and the job and his qualifications meet the Nafta
criteria.

PMM

Miat

Thanks for your reply, Pmm. I guess she'll have to keep supporting him
until then.

-miat

Originally posted by Pmm
    > HI Miat

    > "miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > new-
s:"]news:1312756.1079565697@british-
expats.com[/url]...
    > > Hi;
    > > I am asking for information
for a friend of mine.
    > > She is
    > > sponsoring her
husband (US citizen) for Canadian residency; does anyone
    > >
know if it is possible for him to work while his application is in

    > > process? Can he apply for a work permit? How about NAFTA, does
that
    > > help?
    > > If not, how long does it take until
CIC tells the spouse that he
    > > can work?
    > > Thanks
in advance for your help-
    > > miat
    > > --
    > Posted via
http://britishexpats.com/http://britishexpats.com

    > Assuming that the spouse being sponsored is in Canada, he will not be
able
    > to work until he receives the Approval in Principle, about 7/8
months
    > (relatively speaking, who knows the exact time frame these
days) from the
    > date of the application. Nafta does not matter unless,
he applies for a
    > work permit outside Canada and the job and his
qualifications meet the Nafta
    > criteria.
    >
PMM

Kandice

WRONG! it does not take 7/8 months...if you checked the website of CIC they
will tell you its 159 days...which in my understanding is 5months :)

"miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Thanks for your reply, Pmm. I guess she'll have to keep supporting him
    > until then.
    > -miat
    > Originally posted by Pmm
    > > HI Miat
    > >
    > > "miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > > new-
    > s:"]news:1312756.1079565697@british-
    > expats.com[/url]...
    > > > Hi;
    > > > I am asking for information
    > for a friend of mine.
    > > > She is
    > > > sponsoring her
    > husband (US citizen) for Canadian residency; does anyone
    > > >
    > know if it is possible for him to work while his application is in
    > > > process? Can he apply for a work permit? How about NAFTA, does
    > that
    > > > help?
    > > > If not, how long does it take until
    > CIC tells the spouse that he
    > > > can work?
    > > > Thanks
    > in advance for your help-
    > > > miat
    > > > --
    > >
    > > Posted via
    > http://britishexpats.com/http://britishexpats.com
    > >
    > > Assuming that the spouse being sponsored is in Canada, he will not be
    > able
    > > to work until he receives the Approval in Principle, about 7/8
    > months
    > > (relatively speaking, who knows the exact time frame these
    > days) from the
    > > date of the application. Nafta does not matter unless,
    > he applies for a
    > > work permit outside Canada and the job and his
    > qualifications meet the Nafta
    > > criteria.
    > >
    > PMM
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

WebCrawler

Kandice --

PMM did say "relatively speaking, who knows the exact time frame these days"
So he is giving an approximation - he never said it will take *exactly* 7
months.
2 months more or less is no big deal when it comes to immigration matters.
Some people may get it in 5 months, and some in 7.
You are being unnecessarily picky.

"Kandice" <> wrote in message
news:Wuk6c.852131$X%5.106503@pd7tw2no...
    > WRONG! it does not take 7/8 months...if you checked the website of CIC
they
    > will tell you its 159 days...which in my understanding is 5months :)
    > "miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > news:...
    > >
    > > Thanks for your reply, Pmm. I guess she'll have to keep supporting him
    > > until then.
    > >
    > > -miat
    > >
    > > Originally posted by Pmm
    > > > HI Miat
    > > >
    > >
    > > > "miat" <member15181@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > > > new-
    > > s:"]news:1312756.1079565697@british-
    > > expats.com[/url]...
    > > > > Hi;
    > > > > I am asking for information
    > > for a friend of mine.
    > > > > She is
    > > > > sponsoring her
    > > husband (US citizen) for Canadian residency; does anyone
    > > > >
    > > know if it is possible for him to work while his application is in
    > >
    > > > > process? Can he apply for a work permit? How about NAFTA, does
    > > that
    > > > > help?
    > > > > If not, how long does it take until
    > > CIC tells the spouse that he
    > > > > can work?
    > > > > Thanks
    > > in advance for your help-
    > > > > miat
    > > > > --
    > > >
    > > > Posted via
    > > http://britishexpats.com/http://britishexpats.com
    > > >
    > >
    > > > Assuming that the spouse being sponsored is in Canada, he will not be
    > > able
    > > > to work until he receives the Approval in Principle, about 7/8
    > > months
    > > > (relatively speaking, who knows the exact time frame these
    > > days) from the
    > > > date of the application. Nafta does not matter unless,
    > > he applies for a
    > > > work permit outside Canada and the job and his
    > > qualifications meet the Nafta
    > > > criteria.
    > > >
    > > PMM
    > >
    > >
    > > --
    > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Andrew Miller

More - timelines reported on CIC website change as workload and flow of
applications change. Today it may be 159 days, next month it may be 259
days - and timelines only refer to cases or stages completed, thus they
cannot and should not in any way be used as a prediction of the timeline for
cases submitted after the date reported by CIC as the date of submission of
applications they currently assess.

Renee

CIC was listing estimates of 216 days for AIP in inland cases as recently as
February. They seem to be making superhuman progress, since they're now
listing much lower estimates so soon after the 216 days. I've seen 156 -
159 day estimates for AIP since my decision was made in February 2004.

I got my AIP and final decision letters at the same time...the decision was
made on February 16, 2004 and CIC received my application on July 18, 2003.
215 days. Within the current estimate at that time of 216 days. There was
nothing out of the ordinary with my case either...very straightforward
application from a U.S. citizen who had only lived in the U.S. I just got
caught up in a backlog that I could do nothing to change.

Besides, even if an applicant gets AIP only after 5 months, they will still
need to apply for a change of temporary status to convert the temporary
resident visa to an open work permit. That's currently listed as taking 37
days from the date of receipt. Add that to the five months, and applying
for a temporary SIN number, and you're over six months to start working
anyway...assuming you even find a job that quickly when you're likely
dealing with having no Canadian references. I had the letter advising me
that my application processing was completed, so I opted to just wait for
the landing interview.

The work permit wouldn't have sped much up in my case, and at this point,
I've already been out of work for a little over one year (I decided to move
to Canada five months before the wedding, and my eligibility to apply for PR
as a sponsored spouse). Another month before I have my PR finalized isn't
going to make that much difference, and the work permit costs more money. I
probably couldn't find a job before my landing interview anyway, so it made
more sense to me to just wait for that.

Since the CIC site warns applicants that CPC Vegreville gets above average
workload in the summer months, I wouldn't be surprised to see inland spouse
cases taking longer again in the near future. I applied in the middle of
last summer, so I was bracing myself for a longer time frame than the 4-5
months that was common for someone with a similar case to mine who was
applying in early 2003.

It'll take as long as the current workload dictates, so it's best to be
prepared financially for the worst case scenario so you're not caught short.
You can't really base the timeline for your case on ones that were submitted
four months ahead of yours. That's just an estimate for the cases they're
currently up to in the queue. A lot can change in their case load. For
example, I've watched the timelines for H&C cases, refugees, and sponsored
parents get progressively longer over the past year. They may decide to
start concentrating on moving some of those through the system quicker in
anticipation of getting high workloads in another inland class during the
summer...and of course, they continue to get those types of applications
constantly, which makes the workload continue to back up. On the other
hand, maybe they received fewer spousal cases for a few weeks in late 2003,
so they'll be able to move more quickly and post better processing dates for
a while. We as applicants can't predict what the staff at Vegreville is
doing or what their current caseload is. Don't assume that because one
person received their PR in a minimal amount of time, that your case will be
the same. It's hard to deal with when you're in the middle of it, but
there's simply nothing we can do but wait and be prepared to support
ourselves in the meantime.

Renee :)