(U.S.) Thanksgiving in Canada

I had a very enjoyable and relaxing trip to Canada to visit over the long U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. My husband took very good care of me and even booked a very nice suite for us to stay in for my visit. (more about this later as I am dog tired right now and had a return flight back that was 80% turbulent, so no sleeping for me!).

I did, however, remember to pick up my mail, and in that stack was a letter from my husband's MP. The letter reads:

October 9, 2007

The Honourable Diane Finley, P.C., M.P
Minister of Immigration
Journal Tower South
21st Floor
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1A 1L1

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of my constituent, Mr. MXXXX XXXXXX, who approached my office seeking assistance with the sponsorship of his spouse, Ms. SXXXX XXXXXX.

Mr. MXXXX XXXXXX filed an inland Family Class sponsorship on February 11, 2006 to sponsor his spouse. This file was referred from Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta to the local office in Etobicoke, Ontario on November 7, 2006. The local office put the file in queue for review, which is estimated to occur in the final months of 2007.

Due to the amount of time needed to process this inland sponsorship case, the couple has decided to withdraw the sponsorship and move to a different country (see attached letter).

Minister, I am extremely disappointed that my constituent will be leaving Canada because of the time needed to process this inland spousal sponsorship application. You should be aware of this problem. Perhaps adjustments can be made to reduce the processing times of inland spousal sponsorships.

Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.

Yours sincerely,

Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., M.P., Etobicoke North

Gentlemen, start your engines!

I dropped of our U.S. immigration package on Friday, Oct 26, 2007 on its way to the California Service Center. I checked the tracking this morning and found it was delivered this morning and signed for by an L. Franklin. L, whoever you are, I think I love you. So we are on our way.

I also dropped my husband's MP a quick email. He had sent a courtesy copy of a letter he had issued to the Minister of Immigration Canada. Unfortunately, the letter was lost while my husband was back in Canada cleaning out the last of our items from our town home. I requested another copy and received a response from Len, that he would drop one in the mail to my husband's residence in Canada. I will post it after my husband forwards it to me.

Take your vegemite and shove it.

I still have outstanding issues with CIC, namely Moby. But aside from Moby, let me move forward today's issue. I still frequent a certain message board which I found to be helpful when I was attempting to immigrate to Canada. My husband and son are still there after all, and I still have this outstanding refund. More recently, my husband received courtesy copy of a letter issued by his Member of Parliament, the Honourable Roy Cullen, directed to the Minister of Immigration, requesting improvements to the system and not allow overdrawn cases, such as mine. The MP thoughtfully attached a copy of my withdrawal letter for the Minister to reference. Not to mention, I still remember processes and people ask for help, and occasionally I do have an answer. Nonetheless, there are always those rude individuals who like to think they rule the world from their keyboards on those forums just to make everyone else look bad. Guilt by association may definitely apply here.

Here was my post today: Finally started on U.S. immigration

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I arrived back in the U.S. late Sept and started work Oct 1. I love being a productive member of society again. I like that I can walk into the SSN office and get a name change on my card and have the card mailed to me in less than 2 weeks. I love knowing that some Immigration ijit on the other end of the phone can't threaten to deport me (but they are still very rude to me at CIC, but that's another story). I love being able to register my car and go to the doctor and the dentist. I love feeling like a 'real' person again.

Just dropping in to let you know that yesterday, I dropped off that paperwork to start my husband's U.S. immigration paperwork. I am doing the happy dance. A time line tracker for U.S. immigration estimates his file should be adjudicated in May 2008. I am trying not to get my hopes up on that part, but that would be awesome.

Hope everyone here is doing ok!

And here was his/her response:

And its all Canada's fault right? They forced you to take the long immigration route didn't they? All you ever do is post negative stuff so why don't you just leave already! And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!

Sadly, in case the responder hasn't read up, I haven't had too much positive feedback from CIC, which was 99% of any of my topics in my original posts. I haven't found relief in writing letters, seeking assistance from politicians, or any other avenue I had tried. I guess the responder would of been happier if I posted fairy tales and complete fiction, rather that post my own true experiences. But some people are just like that.

My topics and my beliefs, even to this minute, are simple: The Canadian Immigration system is seriously broken. Nothing much will be done about this and for one simple reason: the people most directly effected by these problems cannot vote. But the newspaper coverage is there. There are articles all over the place about the problems with the system. Just within the last few days, this article was published about the scam of Canadian immigration. There are many others, if one cares to do a bit of internet surfing.

Today, I have moved on and do my best to boycott Canadian products. Fortunately, I don't see much with the 'made in Canada' label, so it's not that hard. I do, however, have incredible sympathy for any person, regardless of their origin, attempting to start a new life in Canada. whether it be to reunite a family, a refugee, or a skilled worker.

God be with them.

Deportation 101

Stardate 7.18.2007. I noticed before gathering all my forms for my MP meeting that I was missing the one piece of communication I had received from CIC: the letter from November 2006 that advised me that CIC had transferred my file. After ripping through the house a few times, I decide that I should request a copy. I venture forth and prepare myself for the 30 minute hold time with the Call Center.

I finally reach a live body (and I use that term loosely) and go the the game of 20 questions to verify my identity. I inform the agent that I need a copy of the letter from November 2006 that advised my file had been transferred. He pauses for a minute and states, "I see you have no status currently. I will be calling and requesting a deportation order be issued."

I am at first stunned, but having had my fill of completely useless phone conversations with the paper worshiping Canadian government employees, it wears off quickly. I think that visiting my family back in the States would be a good thing for me and I wonder if I can now do this on Canada's dime. After all the fees I have paid, it should at least buy me airfare. I keep these thoughts to myself and respond, "Do what you have to do, but can you mail my copy of the letter please?" He says he will, the adds "Is there anything else I can do for you?" I think this to be an odd question at this moment, but reply, "No, I think you have done enough." and hang up the phone.

I do not know what elicited this action from CIC, or the threat of this action. I have never been rude to these people. I have never sworn at them, although I do think they deserve that and much more. Maybe they are just tired of hearing from me. Regardless, I follow up with Len at the MPs office and advise him of this conversation and his only response is, "Don't travel outside the country. The deportation process is long and it is only after a judge issues the order can you actually be deported, but they can keep you from re entering Canada." Well, thanks Len! That was a comfort. *rolls eyes*

I am secretly wishing that the deportation order process does get underway. I haven't had any substantial communication from CIC since they acknowledged receipt of my application over a year ago. Perhaps if I can stand in front of a judge and point out how utterly ludicrous my situation has become, I can win some sympathy and the judge can order CIC to actually process my application. Perhaps I am just dreaming. I do feel like I have fallen into an episode of The Twilight Zone.

Got to love the politians

Early July 2007 finds me in our Member of Parliament's (MP) office. A MP is an elected official to the lower house of commons, or Canadian House of Commons. For you Americans, it is equal to a U.S. State Representative. I had read that sometimes these officials can be useful in lighting a fire under CIC's arses, so we thought, why not? We don't have much to lose at this point.

My husband and I arrive hopeful as this is our last gasp of air in this process. If this doesn't go well, we might as well pack up and move to Mars. Anyway, our meeting is not with the MP directly, it is with the MP's assistant. I shall call him Len. Now Len, looks to be freshly graduated from high school, but my husband and I sit at his desk, with a copy of our applications, birth certificates, passports, 8x10 color glossies with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one describing what each photo is, etc., and prepare to spill out our sob story. Len nods as he listens. Len tells us he can fax the CIC Etobicoke office and request the status. (He has the direct number to call them, just as he has the fax number, but he chooses the fax.) He informs us that it will take about 2 weeks before the CIC office responds and for us to call him back then.

The 2 week period passes and I call Len. Len confirms that he does have a response from the CIC Etobicoke office and the office says they do have our file and that they currently have a 12 month backlog. Len says "We have to respect that office's time line, so if you don't hear anything, say, by mid November, please call me and let me know. I can't do anything until then."

*sigh* I am completely drained.