Immigration Update

Alright, here is the background information:

• I’m a US citizen
• My husband is Canadian
• I want to live in Canada with him
• Immigrating sucks

So after trying every way possible to stay together during my immigration process- I have come to realize that there is no easy way to do so.  Last winter I “moved” here and thought applying for Permanent Residency would be easy/ no big deal.  Wrong.  Came back home with my parents in Illinois. 

I have been researching how to do this crap for a year now, and after coming to Saskatchewan and trying to get a job then apply for PR from within Canada and that FAILING after 12 weeks of waiting, I have accepted the fact that I must return home once again and file from outside of Canada.

I have to fill out a stack of paperwork (which I am 90% done with- yay), provide pictures and any other type of documentation that proves I did not marry my husband for his wealth (ha!) or for a better life in Canada (HAHA!), get an immigrant medical examination in Chicago (checking to see I have all my teeth, am not HIV +, crazy, a TB carrier, an alien, or infected in any other way), pay $1000, and then I’m done!  How easy?!  Then I get to wait 3-11 months for the verdict. 

I feel stupid for not doing this sooner, but honestly- it’s hard and time consuming!  Plus until recently I was thinking it took 2 years to process  and didn’t know where I should be before committing to that, AND if you fill out the forms wrong or forget something you can totally screw yourself over.  AND I didn’t know I had to get a medical examination, didn’t have the money, and we weren’t married until last June and if we were to apply as common law partners before then we really didn’t have enough documentation to prove it (shared bills, bank accounts- you can’t get that stuff in a country where you aren’t a citizen!). 

It has just been so incredibly difficult to get accurate help and get straight answers… so if ANYONE or anyone you know is trying to live or work in Canada feel free to contact me because I will help you!  I feel sorry for anyone else in a similar situation… especially when these Canadians keep shipping their cute hockey players to US schools!  But anyway, if you too are immigrating and have questions or are seeking tips- I would be happy to help.