Immigration JOURNEY TO ALBERTA canada...

Time is like a river...

2011-09-13T12:21:00.002-06:00

Saw this on CanadaVisa forum and really liked. Credits to Qorax.

Time is like a river...
You can't touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.

Enjoy every moment of life...
-Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest...

...
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no -it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful -it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit -full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season; and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer, and fulfillment of your fall.

Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches;
and better times are sure to come sooner or later...
...
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling.
And even more beautiful, is to know that you are the reason behind it!
Qorax

Hello! I am back, but just for this post.

2011-04-23T22:40:00.006-06:00

It's been a long time I have come to this blog or posted anything on it. I got my US GC two months after I became Canadian PR. Two weeks after that, we went home for two months. It was the best trip we ever had. We came back, got a new place to live (still have not bought a home), got promoted at work and became a Manager and things are going well. After talking to several people including well wishers online, we got the clear impression that we should settle in the US. I always loved Canada and it was a very hard decision for me. I hope I will not regret it. It also seemed like my wife would prefer the US over Canada, but she was not vocal about it. That made my decision a little easier.

I am sorry if I have not replied to your comments/questions. I will keep this blog live/open, so people can benefit from it even though information here may be outdated.

I will not be updating this blog anymore. Thanks again and all the best to all of you and great success whatever you decide to do and wherever you decide to settle.

Take care!

I Love Alberta!

2010-01-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

SIN Card

2010-01-26T18:37:00.001-07:00

Alberta Health Card

2010-01-26T18:36:00.001-07:00

2009-12-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

PR cards arrived to us in Utah!

2009-12-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Today (12/28/2009), we received our Canadian PR cards in hand. It was mailed from Calgary on December 23, 2009 via UPS Express, but the package got delayed due to "Export Hold", whatever that is. This was made possible by my good friend, P. S. in New York and his relative, R. D., in Alberta. I would like to thank both of you from the bottom of my heart for doing this for me (if you are reading this message).

The PR cards and other documents (SIN, Health, Bank) arrived to my friend's relatives address in Calgary without any issues even though there was a small error on the zip code (one alphabet was typed wrong, should have been T, but was written P). He mailed everything together to me in the U.S.

We landed on Nov 15 and PR cards for the wife and kids arrived to Calgary on Dec 14 and mine arrived to Calgary on Dec 21. My card was mailed by the office a week later than rest of the family, but I have no idea why. The cards were mailed from Sydney, NS. It feels great to have the cards in our hands. I feel very fortunate and free. Now, I need to start looking for a job in Alberta.

Happy New Year 2010 to all of you!

2009-11-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Coming Back into the United States

2009-11-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

My experience entering the United States from Canada without H1B visa stamp

Let me start with my situation a little bit. I came to the US in 1998 with one-year student visa to study English language. I completed my English course, but I loved living in the US, so decided to pursue Bachelor’s degree. My F-1 visa got expired, but all I needed is a new I-20 to continue staying in the US as my original I-94 had expiration date D/S (duration of study). So, I got a new I-20 and stayed back here. Changed program/major and got another I-20. Changed college and got new I-20. Finished the degree and got new I-20 for OPT. Joined graduate school and got another new I-20. So I probably have more than 30 I-20s. In the beginning of year 2007, I got a job offer while I was doing second master’s degree. Applied for change of status (F1 to H1B) on the first week of April, and started working for my current company on Oct 1, 2007 while still completing my master’s degree which I finished in December 07.

I have never left the US since I came into this country in 1998 until I went to Canada as a PR on Nov 15, 2009. I never had any visa stamp in my passport other than the 1st one-year student visa. I am currently using my 3rd passport. This passport has only Canadian PR visa, nothing else.

We spent our last night in a hotel in Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Coutts, AB/ Sweet Grass, MT. We left hotel about 8:30AM and arrived to Sweet Grass port of entry (US port of entry) about 9:45AM. Approached to the gate and rolled the window down. The officer asked me where we are going. I said Utah. He asked why. I said I work and live in Utah. He asked me to see our passports. I handed him 4 passports (two of them were US passports). He started flipping through the passports of me and my wife. He did not see any visa and any stamp other than the Canadian PR visa and COPR document attached to them. Then he asked me what my status in the US. I said H1B and my wife is in H4 and I handed him both of our current I-94s. Then he asked me how long we were in Canada. I said 5 days. He asked when I came to the US. I said about 12 years ago. He asked me what visa I came in with. I said student visa. He asked me if I have the older passports with that visa stamp. I gave him the old passports of me and my wife. He scanned the older visas and I think he also scanned the kids US passports too. Then the officer chatted with another office for a few seconds and only thing I heard is that he said “I am aware of it”. I am not sure what he was aware of it. I had not shown my travel documents/advanced paroles until this time. The office came out of the booth with our passports and I-94s and asked me to drive slowly to the parking lot with his being close to my window. He showed me where to park. He asked me to turn off the engine and give him the car key. I asked me and my wife to come out of the car and also to pull the kids out as he said it is going to take a while and we need to talk. He then took us inside the building. He grabbed the folder that had all the documents including my old I-20s and Advanced Parole documents. When we got inside, a lady asked me to move forward to the counter and asked me to take off my coat. She also handed me a basket and asked me to drop my wallet, cell phone in it. She kept my coat, wallet and cell phone and asked me to sit down on a bench. The officer who came inside with us handed the passports, my document folder and the car key to another officer. Three officers gathered and started talking and going through every page of passports of me and my wife including the old ones. They also started flipping through the folder documents and saw our advanced parole documents. Then the two officers left and only one started going through the passports and documents. He then asked me to come forward and gave me kids US passports and the car key back. Then he pointed to the AP document and said, so you guys have these documents then. I said yes, but I wanted to use automatic visa revalidation (AVR) instead of AP as I had not been outside the US for more than 30 days and I was in Canada. He asked how long I was in Canada for. I said 5 days. He asked where I visited. I said Calgary, Edmonton, and Banff. He asked where we stayed. I said in a hotel. He asked me if we have the hotel receipt. Good thing my wife had it and we gave him that. After that he said, as you have the AP, you need to use it. He did not mention anything about AVR as I don’t think he knew what I was talking about. Then he said he is going to do the necessary paper works and let us go. He went in an office with all of the documents and came back in about 30 minutes. He asked me to come forward to give finger prints (all 10 fingers). He also took a photo. He did the same thing for my wife. I think we also had to sign something, but I do not remember. He also asked what I do in Utah. I told him the job title. He asked me when I was going to get my US GC. I said I have no idea. I told him that the US GC takes a long time and we cannot predict the time frame. He then said, looks like either you are doing the Canadian PR process or you have already completed it. I said yes we have Canadian PR. That was the reason we went to Canada. He looked at my old passport visa and said you have never left the country since you came in 1998. I said yes I have not left the country until we went to Canada a few days ago.
He printed new I-94s. He stamped the AP documents and kept one copy of it. He made a mistake when he wrote the dates in new I-94s and I told him the I-94’s expiration date should match with my H1B approval document. But he said, he does not know much about these kinds of things as they normally do not handle the cases like mine in that port of entry. He said all he can do is put the date matching with the date of AP document. He asked me to go to USCIS in Salt Lake Utah and talk to an officer there and make whatever changes needed. He gave me all of our documents back. The lady who took my coat, wallet and cell phone was nowhere to be found. Finally, she showed up and gave my stuff back. We left the office about 11AM. They made me feel like I was a criminal. Not a single person ever smiled at us. On the other hand, Canadian side was 20 times friendlier than the US side and they smiled at us all the time.

2009-11-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

My landing experience as Canadian PR

2009-11-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, I am back in the US after a week long vacation/landing to Alberta. We visited Lethbridge, Calgary, Banff, Red Deer and Edmonton. We fell in love with Banff and for a bigger city, we liked Edmonton than Calgary. One thing we were shocked to learn that Alberta was much more expensive than where we live in the US (Utah). For example, 24 bottles of water cost us $6.99 in Calgary when we can buy the same size of water for $3.99 in Utah and sometime $3.25 when it is on sale. Restaurant foods were double the price of what we pay here in Utah. For those of you who have lived in bigger and expensive cities like New York and San Francisco, it may not feel very expensive though.

While we were there, we applied for SIN, and Health Cards. We also opened a bank account in the Royal Bank of Canada. The account was NOT free. We have to pay $4 per month maintenance fee. We had to open a bank account before we could apply for the Health Cards as we had to show the proof of address for that. I tried to get Alberta driver license too, but I had to give up my Utah license for that and I did not do that. There were long waits for both SIN and health cards. We had to go to two different placed and we spent about 2 hours in each place.

Let's talk about the landing. We got to Coutts, AB on Nov 15 about 12:45PM and we were out by 1:30PM. The landing process itself was very easy. At the port of entry, I had to roll my car window down and talk to an officer.
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit sir?
Me: We are landing as permanent residents.
Officer: How many people in the vehicle?
Me: 4
Officer: Can I see the passports and PR documents?
Me: They are in the bag in the back of my car. If you want, I can come out of the car and pull them out.
Officer: No need to do that and he gave me a yellow piece of paper and asked me to park on the left parking lot and go to the immigration desk.
Me: Do I put the paper in my car?
Officer: No, you take that to the immigration desk.
Me: Thank you sir!

Parked the car and went in and headed to the immigration desk. There were three officers and two of them were doing nothing. A lady office asked me if she could help us.
Officer: Can I help you?
Me: Gave the yellow paper and told her that we are there to land as PRs.
Officer: Give me your passports.
Me: Here they are.
Officer: Other documents?
Me: What other documents?
Officer: The COPRs?
Me: Oh, I am sorry. I totally forgot to give you the main documents.
Officer: No problem, glad you have them.
Officer: Are you the father of the both children?
Me: Yes, I am.
Officer: Are you going to sign the COPR documents for them as they are obviously younger than 14 years old.
Me: If that is how it works, then I will sign.
Officer: Have a sit and we will call you later.

She started doing some paper works. Called me to sign my COPR and kids COPRs. She asked me to check all the spellings etc on the COPR documents. She asked my wife to come forward and sign the COPR as well. She asked me to mailing address to mail the PR cards and I gave her the address. She asked me a phone number too, and I gave my friend's relatives phone number. The officer also asked me to take a photo for me as she did not like my PR photo as it did not have white background. A male officer took the photo. He printed it right away. She asked me if I wanted to look at the photo and see I like it. I made the face that I did not like the photo very much. She told me that if I am not happy with the photo, she is more than happy to make the male office take the photo until I am satisfied. She said, the photo will stay on my PR card for 5 years and she wants me to be happy with my photo. She also said that the photo meets the CIC requirements, but she wants me to be happy with the photo. I said, if it meets the requirements, then I do not care. So she went ahead with the photo and gave me 3 extra photos to keep. If I had to go through this in the USCIS port of entry, they would have deported me from right there. Canadian Officers were too nice.

After that, she stapled the COPR documents in the passports and asked us to come forward. She explained the residency rules and where to apply for SIN etc. Then she said, congratulations and welcome to Canada. No questions about the fund at all. She pointed us to go to the Traffic and Custom desk. There was another sweet lady waiting for me. She looked at the goods accompanying and goods follow lists. Started filling out some things on the forms. She asked, if I am bringing in a car to Canada and I said in the future and the car is listed on the goods to follow list. She asked what I am driving right now. I said a rental vehicle that is in the parking lot. There were no more questions about the vehicle or goods to follow list. She asked me if I was a US citizen. I said no. She asked me my citizenship and I told her Nepal and she spelled it to make sure she was right. I said yes, She was done with the paper work and gave me a copy of it and said congratulations and welcome to Canada.

Then I asked her about the money as I was carrying a cashier's check of US$20K. I asked her if I need to do some paper work for the money, she said we will fill out a form for you. Then she did. I also said we have some cash too, she said, don't worry about it. Then we said, thank you and headed to Lethbridge.

When we came back after 5 days in Canada, the experience in the US border was not too pleasant. I will explain it on my next post.

2009-10-29T22:42:00.000-06:00

Received passports back with Canadian PR visa

2009-10-29T22:40:00.000-06:00

Today (Oct 29, 2009), we received our passports back with Canadian PR visas in them. This is indeed a very happy day for me and my family. Thanks Canada!

2009-10-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Passports are sent to NYC for PR visa

2009-10-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

Today (Oct 21, 2009), four passports were sent for PR visa stamps to New York City where our PR process was finalized.

PPR Documents

2009-10-20T11:27:00.000-06:00

The Brown Envelope I received with my PPR

2009-10-20T09:38:00.001-06:00

I still consider it brown, but you be the judge as I have posted the best photo I can take from my blackberry.

2009-10-19T21:20:00.000-06:00

Finally, the Passport Request has arrived

2009-10-19T21:08:00.000-06:00

Today, Oct 19, received passport request (PPR) from the CIC New York Office. The letter was dated Oct 15 and it was postmarked Oct 16. This is a very special day for me and my family.

I called and asked my wife to check the mailbox while I was still at work. She called me to let me know the good news (in fact she told me that there was nothing at first to check to see how I react). Got home very happy, cleaned up, changed and went along with the family to ColdStone to enjoy the moment with some good ice-creams.

Thanks everybody for your help and prayers.

2009-09-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

e-CAS Updated with Medical Results Received!

2009-09-07T13:37:00.000-06:00

This morning, I checked my application status and the e-CAS message said this, "Medical results have been received". Getting one step closer! I hope there is no issue with the medical results.

They also fixed the error that was in my mailing address. My file is in the New York Office. Thanks NYO people!

Happy Labor's Day to all in the US!

2009-08-03T20:52:00.001-06:00

File Transferred to New York, NY from Buffalo

2009-08-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

This morning (Aug 3, 2009), I checked E-Cas and found out that my file has been transferred to New York. Here is the exact message:

"We started processing your application on June 23, 2009.

We transferred your application to the New York office on July 28, 2009. The New York office may contact you."

They also changed my address which I requested Jul 26, 2009 through an e-mail. But made a small typo mistake. Instead of "North" they have it "Hnorth". I guess I have to e-mail them again.

2009-07-23T20:07:00.000-06:00

Medical Sent and Delivered

2009-07-23T20:01:00.000-06:00

Our medical results including X-rays were mailed to Ottawa on July 22, 2009 via DHL and the package is delivered today (Jul 23) signed by MAILROOM, according to the DHL tracking information. DHL cost was already included in the medical fees, so I did not have to pay any extra for that.

Now waiting for Passport Request (PPR). Hopefully we will receive that in about 2 months, by the end of Sept 09.

2009-07-15T22:16:00.000-06:00

Medicals Done Today

2009-07-15T21:57:00.001-06:00

We did our medicals today (July 15, 2009) in Utah. It cost us $976 (358+358+130+130) for everything (2 adults, 2 children under 4 years old). It started with filling out medical history forms for all of us including the children and then weight and height measurements for all of us including the kids again. Then the nurse took us to a hallway to check our eyes and asked to read some letters. I was having hard time reading some of the small letters. My wife did not have any problem reading everything the nurse asked her to read. Kids did not have to do this step. After that the nurse checked my blood pressure and it was 122/88. I got worried about the numbers, but she told me that the CIC may ask for more tests only if the numbers are higher than 140/90. My wife's blood pressure was 110/66. Kids did not have to do this step as well. My wife and I also had to sign the consent forms for blood work, urine test, and chest x-ray.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, the doctor came in and chatted for a few minutes and started the physical on my son first as he was already sitting on the medical bed. He checked his ears, mouth, eyes with his torch light. Eye checking was kind of long process. He made my son follow the light with his eyes and also checked his eyes making the room dark. After that he asked my boy to lie down and checked his tummy, his hands, knees, and feet. We all had to take off shoes and socks for feet checking. He asked him to bend and touch his toes. He also checked his heart beat and the back. He also looked at his private parts, but did not touch. Same steps were followed for all of us. A few extra things he did to me is he asked me to unbutton and unzip the pants and pull the underwear down, so he can see my private parts. After that he grabbed the balls and asked me to cough. He also pulled my shirt and t-shirt up and checked for moles on the back. He also checked my wife's breasts by sliding his hand underneath the medical gown she was asked to wear few minutes before this procedure.

After that he took us to the lab and where the lady gave me a bottle and cleaner for urine. After the urine is collected, she drew blood and took me to X-ray area where one-view chest X-ray was taken. After these, I took care the kids and my wife followed the same steps. The whole process took about two hours. We were there at about 9:30AM and we were out by 11:30AM. After that we went for a good lunch to celebrate the completion of the medicals. Thanks.

2009-07-02T18:45:00.000-06:00

AOR/Medical Request Here

2009-07-02T18:41:00.000-06:00

Today, I received the AOR and Medical request from CIC Buffalo. The package was post marked on Jun 29 and received on July 2, 2009. I could not find when the letter was printed. Now time to call the panel doctor and set up an appointment. It's a happy day!

2009-05-08T20:45:00.001-06:00

Cashier's Check Has Been Cleared (CIC Fees)

2009-05-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

I called my bank earlier this evening and I have been told that my check has been cashed/cleared on May 7th (yesterday). My package was received by CIC Buffalo on April 23rd (second time). I know I will have to wait 2-3 months to receive the AOR and medical request, but I am glad to know that the application package is not coming back anymore.

2009-04-23T20:59:00.000-06:00

CIC Buffalo Received My Application Again

2009-04-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Buffalo Office received my application today (again). The USPS tracking confirmed that and here is the exact message:

Label/Receipt Number: EB76 3243 ... ..
Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:42 AM on April 23, 2009 in BUFFALO, NY 14203 to CANADIAN CONSULATE . The item was signed for by M. O.

I hope and pray that my application will not be returned this time.

2009-04-22T21:28:00.000-06:00

Resent the Application to CIC Buffalo

2009-04-22T21:10:00.000-06:00

I resent the application to CIC Buffalo this afternoon after correcting two mistakes. Paid $17.50 and I have been told that the package will get there tomorrow before 12PM. We had forgotten to write 'present' in two places on my wife's form (IMM 0008 Schedule 1, #11 Personal History and #15 Addresses). The first one was under the 'Personal History' (#11) where we are supposed to list all the activities since turning 18 years old without leaving any gaps. For the most recent activity, we needed to write the start date and the end date. As the most recent activity being current or on going, there is obviously no end date for it. So, the end date should be 'present' or 'to date'. But it seems like the CIC people prefer 'present' as the instruction they have sent me asked for 'present' to be written. The second one was under the 'Addresses' section. We put the start date for our current place/address, but not the end date, which should have been 'present' as we are still living there. The form does not let you type texts (just numbers), so I left those blanks hoping to write 'present' later, but totally forgot about those. We checked the forms several times, but we looked at the information like DOB, passport number, signature and date next to the signature. Hope this time my application will be accepted and I do not need lose any more time, money and sleep. Thanks.

Happy Earth Day to all of you and please enjoy the earth day photo above. This time, I did not add Alberta related photo.

2009-04-21T19:46:00.000-06:00

CIC Buffalo Returned My Application Package

2009-04-21T19:37:00.000-06:00

My worst fear came true this evening. My application package has been returned by the CIC Buffalo people. The reason was, we forgot to write "PRESENT" in two places on my wife's forms (current address and personal history). I could not believe that I overlooked those when I had written 'Present' on my forms. I wasted 2 weeks of time and $17.50 for postage.

I think I will be sending the application back again tomorrow. One problem is that my home country police certificate expired yesterday (was issued Jan 20, 2009). I hope they would not make me request a new police certificate or return my application again because of that. I guess life is all about making mistakes and learning from them.

2009-04-08T20:49:00.001-06:00

The Application Has Finally Reached to Buffalo

2009-04-08T20:32:00.000-06:00

This afternoon, I received an message in my e-mail box letting me know that my application package has been delivered to the CIC Buffalo Office. Here is the exact message:

"Your item was delivered at 11:00 AM on April 8, 2009 in BUFFALO, NY 14203 to CANADIAN CONSULATE . The item was signed for by R MACIEJEWSKI."

By the way, the package was supposed to be there yesterday (April 7th) before 12PM, but that did not happen. I was informed by the USPS website and the lady at the local post office that if I pay $17.50, the package will get to its destination the next day before 12PM. I guess the lady and the USPS website lied to me. I called 1-800 number and complained about it and the lady on the phone told me that she has no idea on why it took an extra day for my package to be delivered, but she said, if I go to the local post office and complained and fill out a form, they will refund the money and let me know what happened.

Anyway, the package is already there and that's the most important thing. So, I am not going to waste my time and their time at the post office. One thing I learned from this experience is that don't wait until the last minute (if there is a deadline) hoping that the package will get there the day they said it will get there. Now, all I want is the CIC Buffalo to not send my package back and send me the AOR and medical request in next two months. Everybody, wish me luck. Thanks.

2009-04-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

Finally, Mailed the Package to CIC Buffalo

2009-04-06T20:33:00.000-06:00

I mailed our application package to the CIC Buffalo this afternoon at 1:04PM MST. They will receive it tomorrow before 12NOON. It cost me $17.50 for that, which comes with a tracking number and signature confirmation. It feels great to be able to send the application package after almost 2 months from the date I received the nomination (Feb 10, 2009). Now, I hope and pray that they will not send my package back to me for something that I forgot to do or something very minor that they could ask me to send instead of them sending the whole package back. As far as I know I have included everything they have asked for.

If I remember correctly, I had to sign at least 3 places or it could have been 4 places. My wife had to sign 2 places. I have included 16 photos (4 for each person) and a Cashier's Check of US$1190 for 2 adults and 2 kids.

Two things I am a little bit worried about are:

1) The photos do not have solid white backgrounds (one instruction says it has to be white and another instruction says it can be light-colored background, so not sure what they really want).

2) I did not attach the cashier's check and photo envelopes the way they wanted me to(their instruction did not make sense to me and did not seem practical). I did not staple them even though "the helpful hints" clearly said to staple them with the generic form's first and second pages respectively. Instead, I used a paperclip to attach the check and I used two paperclips to attach the photo envelopes. I attached the check on the top of the generic form and the photo envelopes at the bottom of the same page. As soon as they open the envelope, they will see both the check and photos. I also placed "the checklist" on the top of my application covering the check and photos, but it is stapled separately. Now wait for the AOR and medical instructions.

Came home from work this evening and went out to have some good ice cream with the family to celebrate the sending of the application package. We will have a bigger celebration when we get the AOR and medical request and even bigger than that when they request our passports for PR visas.

2009-04-04T19:13:00.000-06:00

Everything is READY to be mailed on Monday

2009-04-04T18:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (Friday), I visited the CIC Buffalo website and downloaded all the CIC forms. Checked the dates when they were updated to see if I can use the old forms that I filled out when I sent my application to the AINP office. The two forms were updated recently, so I decided to use them instead the old ones. I had to update one of those forms for my wife as well. I completely filled them out and printed while I was at work and brought home. This morning, woke up at 7:45AM and took shower and ate breakfast and signed and dated all the forms. For the end dates for some of the things like current address and current job, wrote "Present". I heard that CIC does not like when you left a date field empty. Asked the wife to sign and date her forms. She made a mistake when entering the date when she signed one of her forms. The format of the date was changed and she did not realize that (year was first instead of day). I did not have an extra copy and my printer at home was not working. I needed to go to my work place to pick up my PNP certificate as it was left there and I forgot to bring it with me last night. I decided to print the page where she made mistake again at my work place.

I went to my work place around 10:00AM and picked up the PNP Certificate. I also printed a couple of things when I was there including my wife’s form. I went to the Springville Wal-mart. They have America First Credit Union branch that opens on Saturdays. Asked a teller to create a Cashier's check of $1190 ($465+$645+$130+$130) in the name of Canadian Consulate General. He did that and I asked if there is somebody who could notarize my documents. He said he is a public notary and he will be able to do so. Went in to his office and he looked at my documents and asked me if I have the originals with me. I said no and he said he needs to looks at the originals. Anyway, he also learned that I needed to notarize birth and marriage certificates too and he said he cannot notarize them as they are considered the public documents and I need to get originals of them. Anyway, my luck did not favor this time as the guy who notarized my documents when I needed them to send to the AINP was not there. That time, he did not even look at my originals and notarized all, including birth and marriage certificates. When I was in the Wal-mart, I printed some photos too which I had created using a free software. You can print eight photos (35mm x 45mm) on 4 x 6 photo paper. I also picked up a box of small envelops that I needed to put photos of me and my family members before sending those photos to the CIC Buffalo. I heard that I need to send 4 photos of each person.

Came home and went to Chinese Buffet with the family and on the way back, tried Wells Fargo Bank (where I have accounts too) and this time I had my originals with me. The guy said the samething that he cannot notarize birth and marriage certificates and he also said he cannot even notarize photocopies. He said I need to write a letter and he can notarize the letter, but he cannot stamp anything on my documents. He was worse than the guy I met at the America First earlier. I decided to go to another store branch of America First (located in Macey's Grocery Store) and talked a beautiful and nice lady and she said yes and did not even ask what documents I had or if I have an account with them. She brought her record book, stamps and notarized all the documents. Bless her. Thanks to her that I have everything is ready. All I need to do is arrange them the way the CIC wants them, staple the Cashier's check and photos and they are ready to be mailed on Monday (April 6, 2009).

2009-03-31T22:02:00.000-06:00

Received PCC from Wife's Home Country

2009-03-31T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today is a happy day for us. My wife finally received her Police Clearance Certificate from her home country. She also received her PCC from New York.

Now, we have all the PCCs here. All we need to do is print the CIC forms again with current dates and sign them and include all the supporting documents and send the package to the CIC Buffalo.

We also need to obtain a cashier's check of worth US$1190 (465+465+130+130). Adults $465 per person and children $130 per child. Hopefully! I can mail the package by the end of this week (Saturday, April 4, 2009).

2009-03-30T21:40:00.000-06:00

Utah Police Clearance Picked Up

2009-03-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

Today, my wife and I drove with kids to Taylorsville, Utah and picked up our Utah PCCs. It took us less than 10 minutes in their office and paid $10 each. It is the best looking PCC so far. The worst looking PCC was sent by Alabama.

Still waiting for wife's NY PCC and PCC from her home country. We were expecting them to arrive today, but they did not. Hopefully! tomorrow.

2009-03-28T22:42:00.000-06:00

PCC from Alabama is Here

2009-03-28T22:26:00.000-06:00

I received a mail from Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI). There was a page inside the envelope and it looks like an e-mail header (from, to etc.). It also has my name, social and it says NO IDENT. I am guessing this is the police clearance from Alabama, but it really does not look like it. The page does not even mention Alabama anywhere. Only term they have used is ABI. ABI can be Arizona, Alaska etc. I sent them two fingerprint cards. I wish they had returned one of the cards with the search result stamped on the back (like the FBI and the State of New York). As long as the CIC Buffalo accepts it and does not ask me to get another PCC from Alabama, I am fine with that. Hoping for the best.

Now we need to receive PPC from my wife's home country and her New York PCC. After that, I am ready to send my package. Can't wait to do that.

2009-03-26T19:37:00.000-06:00

Received PCCs from New York and Illinos

2009-03-26T19:22:00.000-06:00

Today, my wife and I received our State Police Certificates from Illinois and I received mine from New York. My wife still needs to get her from New York and I am still waiting for mine from Alabama. I mailed all these requests on March 11. My wife is also waiting for her police certificate from her home country, which should arrive by this Monday. Getting close to being able to send my application package to the CIC Buffalo.

2009-03-24T19:58:00.000-06:00

Faxed a Letter of Intent to Alabama

2009-03-24T19:13:00.000-06:00

This morning, I faxed a letter of intent to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation explaining why I am immigrating to Canada (they wanted to know). I wanted to say a lot of things, but I decided to keep the letter short and make it a little more positive, so I wrote this:

"The reason I would like to immigrate to Canada is for a better future for me and my family. I want to live and raise my children in a country which is peaceful, provides a quality education with an affordable cost, and most of all, provides a better medical care for its citizens with a minimal cost. Canada is the perfect country for me and my family."

I hope the ABI lady is not pissed off with my response and hopefully she will send my background check result soon.

2009-03-23T20:32:00.000-06:00

Police Certificate from Wife's Home Country

2009-03-23T20:12:00.000-06:00

Just learned that my wife's police certificate from her home country has been picked up by her mother this morning (March 23) and she will mail it to us tomorrow morning. It should be here in 5-7 days. Mother-in-law had applied for the certificate 2 weeks ago. So, they make you wait 2 weeks before you can pick up the certificate.

Today, I also received a letter from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation saying that they need a Letter of Intent from me and the letter has to include "a reason why you are immigrating to Canada". I thought that was pretty funny and made me a little angry too that they need to know a reason why I am moving (I do not even live in Alabama anymore). They are acting like the Canadian Immigration and Citizen people. Anyway, I am going to write a short letter tomorrow morning and fax them tomorrow. Good thing they are accepting fax.

2009-03-21T23:31:00.001-06:00

Timelines: U.S. Visa Holder Category (H1B)

2009-03-21T23:28:00.000-06:00

10OCT08-E-mailed docs for pre-assessment (day/month/year)
17OCT08-Received confirmation e-mail about the documents
10NOV08-Received invitation-letter dated Oct 31, postmarked Nov 3
24NOV08-Mailed full application package to the AINP (via USPS)
28NOV08-AINP received the application package (USPS confirmation)
17DEC08-Received the file number (xxxx-08-43x)
10FEB09-Received nomination-letter dated Jan 20, postmarked Feb 4

10FEB09-Received PCC from my home country (thanks to bro & sis)
17FEB09-Signed, dated and mailed the PN Acknowledgement to AB
17FEB09-Mailed the fingerprints and cover letters to the FBI in WV
28FEB09-I received my FBI fingerprint card back
02MAR09-My wife received her FBI fingerprint card back

11MAR09-Mailed documents for State Police Certificates (AL, NY, IL)
23MAR09-AL sent me a letter and wants to know why I'm immigrating
24MAR09-Faxed a letter of intent with an explanation why I'm moving
26MAR09-My wife and I both received IL and I received my NY PCCs
28MAR09-I received my PCC from Alabama (I hope it is a PCC)
30MAR09-My wife and I picked up Utah PCCs from their office
31MAR09-My wife received her PCCs from her home country and NY

06APR09-Mailed the complete application package to the CIC Buffalo
08APR09-CIC Buffalo received the application package (USPS conf.)
21APR09-Buffalo returned the appl. due to not writing 'present'
22APR09-Resent the application to CIC Buffalo (Happy Earth Day!)
23APR09-Buffalo received the application package signed by M. O.
07MAY09-Cashier's Check cashed/cleared (glad, no package back)
02JUL09-AOR and Medical Request arrived (postmarked June 29)

15JUL09-Medicals done of the entire family in Utah (4 people - $976)
22JUL09-Medical sent to Ottawa via DHL and tracking no. provided
23JUL09-Medical package is delivered and signed by MAILROOM
26JUL09-Change of address requested through an e-mail to Buffalo
28JUL09-My file transferred to New York from Buffalo (e-CAS)
03AUG09-My New Address is showing on e-CAS with a minor typo
10AUG09-Received the letter from Buffalo on file transfer to NYC
11AUG09-Submitted case-specific-enquiry to correct address error
31AUG09-Sent e-mail to NY Office to fix the error in my address
07SEP09-e-CAS updated with medical received and add error fixed
01OCT09-Sent an e-mail requesting Case Status & PPR via e-mail
19OCT09-Received Passport Request, dated 10/15, mailed 10/16
21OCT09-Passports sent to the Consulate General of Canada-NYC
22OCT09-CGC-NYC received the passports signed by D. Chao
28OCT09-CGC-NYC mailed the passports back (per USPS Tracking)
29OCT09-Received passports back with PR visas in them (Hurray!)
15NOV09-Landed and became Canadian PR in Coutts, Alberta POE
19NOV09-Came back into the US using AP via Sweet Grass, MT POE
14DEC09-PR cards arrived for the wife and kids in Calgary
21DEC09-PR card arrived for me in Calgary (was mailed late)
23DEC09-PR cards and other documents mailed from Calgary (UPS)
28DEC09-Package arrived to Utah with PR, SIN, Health & Bank cards