I would like to document every step of my immigration to Canada. I am American (Dayment), married to a Canadian (Sean), and we have always lived in the US, as Sean had permanent residence in the US since before we met. We have been together sixteen years, ten of those married, as we begin our process to apply for Sponsorship to Canada. Tons of information comes from the Canadian Immigration Club. If you are immigrating to Canada, I highly recommend you join their mailing list. I plan to keep this page updated throughout our application process, until I am a Permanent Resident of Canada. |
| 05-25-05 What happens after the passport request Next step - mail passport via FedEx with return FedEx envelope so it should only take a couple weeks to get it back, instead of three-four weeks. Once I get my passport back it will have some sort of page attached, and I take my passport to the border to land. BUT! When I land, that means I LAND. Like I'm MOVING THERE. But I'm not, so I need to bring that Goods to Follow list, which is that list telling them every single thing I'm bringing up/importing at a later date. So I told Sean to go ahead and write down everything that's in the garage and outside this weekend - that's his assignment while I'm partying in Van. Turns out he needs a day just to figure out which computer parts don't work and dispose of them - this is going to be a slow process - I can already tell). Man, this list is gonna SUCK - it's a list of EVERYTHING WE OWN - with its VALUE calculated. By the time I get my passport back I hope to have the Goods to Follow List done (we also have to write the serial numbers of all electronics AND I have to get all this paperwork from Honda USA to import my car). I also need to bring VERY SPECIFIC pictures of my face for them to put on my Green Card. THEN. After I do this I can leave Canada (drive back to Seattle), but they will only send that finished green card to a Canadian Address (we'll use our cousin's address). Thankfully we live close to the border so it's easier to go up there to land and leave again to pack! That green card can also take some weeks to arrive. In that time we should be seriously hitting the books trying to get jobs and a place to live for three cats and a giant fish tank. OH MY GOD THE FISH TANK. WITH THE FISH. IN THE TANK. AND THE JOBS. So by the time we could seriously move, you know, into a house that's waiting for us up there (and by house I mean apartment since Van prices are higher than here if you can believe that) it may be August. Sean says beginning of August. I say end of August - which is - MY BIRTHDAY! A great time for another August Everything Party! With a Twist! We're leaving! My point is - Estella? Can you visit in August sometime? I promise I'll try to have an official party date for you as soon as I possibly can. Because you and my boss really want to know. But my boss for other reasons. ("Congratulations! So when are you leaving?" Yeah. There's that stress, too.) Oh, and more fun! I take the green card, once it shows up at the Canadian address, to the place (Canadian Immigration e-mail list? Help me out here?) to get my SIN card (Canada's Social Security) and get a SIN number that I can use to legally get a job. There are usually some delays there and you can't collect a paycheck until you have it. It just means that my first paycheck could be a whopper with many weeks' pay on it. After three months I am covered by Canada's health care. (Edited here, because I rambled on about a baby and fertility etc.) I gazelled out to Sean's car at 6:30 pm last night - stuck the letter against his driver's side window, and my eyes welled up as I watched his face reading the letter from the Canadian Consulate. Then he got out of the car and we hugged in the front yard, crying. It was a movie scene. F--K ISN'T THIS THE SCARIEST S--T? scd. P.S. You're all invited to the Going Away Party, whether it's at our house or Neumo's niteclub, BTW. • link 05-24-05 After months of absolutely no information... The passport request arrived in yesterday's mail. Here is when the chaos begins. 01-24-05 Well I guess that ends that: (via e-mail) Dear Ms. Dayment, I have sent off to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo your case disposition which at this time is - purged, this case has been destroyed due to the case being over ten years old. I'm sorry but we are unable to send any case information to you or the consulate. You can see the letter that I sent to the consulate stating the same thing to them (see attachment sent with this e-mail, you will need MS Word to open it). If you have any questions you can contact the Justice Court Clerks Office at phone number: 702-455-4436. Thanks, David Loyd-LOA II Las Vegas Justice Court-Criminal Records The letter he attached (which he sent to the Consulate): 1/24/2005 To: Canadian Consulate Immigration Regional Program GR 3000 HSBC Center Buffalo, NY 14203-2884 REQUEST FOR COURT RECORDS – CRIMINAL RECORDS CASE NUMER: 90F00244A DEFENDANT NAME: CULVER, ------------- aka DAYMENT, -------------------- Your request for Criminal(s) records has been received. The record(s) you requested are no longer available. In accordance with records destruction rules established by the Nevada Supreme Court, the record has been destroyed. Pursuant to NRS 239.110(10), the Supreme Court has created a “Local Courts Records Retention Manual,” and this manual states the following standard: “Docket containing entries on papers filed, court actions, judgments, etc. in criminal cases.” have a retention period of ten (10) years after case is closed. We are sorry we could not assist you. If you have further questions, please contact the Las Vegas Justice Court Clerk’s Office at 702-455-4436. By: ___________________________________ David Loyd-DEPUTY CLERK • link (Looks like my rap sheet won't help me after all.) 01-23-05 Again, I'm just going to cut-and-paste the e-mail I sent out: UPDATE My files can not be found at Clark County District Court or Las Vegas Municipal Court, as they *are* able to look up my name. So that narrows it down to Clark County Justice Court, who are the ones, sadly, who must have the case number to retrieve my files. My attorney from 1990? He's not dead! He's in Virginia. We had a lovely phone conversation this morning. He also gave me a LOT of advice. 1. He believes that we would have, in fact, gone to Clark County Justice Court - the very ones who can't locate my file unless I give them my case number. 2. If I contact Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, they should have a case number because it's assigned at the time of my arrest. 3. If the FBI simply has "Felony" written on my file, then something's wrong. It should state the information about my court proceedings and would have stated that the record became a misdemeanor. 4. Once I give my case number to Justice Court, I should make sure that they also copy and send it to CJIS Records at the FBI to update my FBI file. 5. Or, I can pay $30 to have my records sealed, and since there have been no further arrests, even the FBI wouldn't list any of it. It would just state "no record." So. I contacted the FBI and they verified that my records are not properly updated, by the fault of Clark County Justice Court. They don't show the misdemeanor because they never received that information way back then. I found out how to order my "rap sheet" (sheesh!) from the LVMPD. It's $14 with a notarized letter of request. Should take two weeks total turn-around time. Once I have that rap sheet, I will have the case number to use with Clark County Justice Court for them to find my archived file, which they will copy for me once I give them about $15 to cover the guessed charges. Another one-week turn-around if I can get Cyndi to walk over to Justice Court and give them $15 cash. I typed and notarized my letter to LVMPD at lunch today. I will mail it in tomorrow's mail (can't do FedEx this week since Sean's working for Shane and it isn't easy for him to go to Kinko's [to use his super-mega-FedEx discount] unless it's late at night, so forget it). So in about three weeks I should have something to send to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo to complete the Request for Information. Keep in mind this looks great on paper (monitor) but we'll see if it really all goes according to plan, and everyone complies with what they are *supposed* to do. Thankyouverymuch. scd. www.daymented.com P.S. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you didn't get my e-mail two days ago. Which would make this e-mail pretty funny. • link 01-19-05 I'm just going to cut-and-paste the e-mail I sent out today: Ya know, I can never remember who I am sending these updates to, so if you have no idea what I'm talking about, just read and nod along.... The end of December, Sean was approved and our immigration application was sent to Buffalo, where they spend a few months doing security checks on me, my Mom and Dad, step-Mom and step-Dad, and my step-brother Todd. They also verify that we have a "real" relationship, I have no outstanding warrants, I can speak enough English to survive in Canada, I can stomp my age with my hoof, etc. Once this is done, they check my medical exam (already completed and sent to them), make sure we paid the fee, and request my passport. That's when the fun actually begins. There's been another Request for Information. Unfortunately I have a petty larceny misdemeanor* from January 1990 on my record (I was 19). But when I was arrested, it was a Felony Embezzlement charge. Now - according the Nevada background check, I have No Record (because my plea bargain said if I have no more arrests in 3 years, my record is cleared). BUT - my FBI background check shows a felony arrest in 1990. (*voiding sales from May Company department store with my supervisor - if the losses at the time of arrest are over $100, it's a felony. My one and only court case was a plea bargain that dropped it to the misdemeanor with a $300 fine. Someday I will tell you about my night in a Las Vegas holding cell.) (No I won't.) I have no paperwork to show the transition from felony to misdemeanor, and Canada needs proof that it did, in fact, go down to a misdemeanor. SO! I call Clark County (Nevada), then another person in Clark County, etc. etc. Someone finally tells me that my records are mine, so I can have them for free, I just need to type a letter with every bit of info that I need and they will copy it for me, and mail it back. Although, arrest records from before 1991 are not on computers. They are in boxes in archives. Remember, my arrest was 1990. I FedEx my request for my records with another pre-paid FedEx envelope addressed to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo and cross my fingers. For over two weeks. Today I called and after MUCH run-around, I discover that my request is at the wrong floor of the SAME BUILDING. Just sittin' around. And I have to make multiple long-distance phone calls just to get them to route the damn thing (my FedEx envelopes) one floor down. Because you know District Court is not the same as Justice Court DUH you should know that if you're an architectural receptionist and barista and blogger and knitter.... Then someone says I have to pay a per-sheet fee now. It's isn't free after all. "How much?" "Thirty cents per page" "Can you bill me?" "No, we won't process the request until its paid for." "How do I know how many pages it is?" "You will have to guess." "Can you help me guess?" "Maybe 8 dollars, maybe 10" "Can I read you my Visa number?" "We don't have that capability here" "How do I pay you?" "You'll have to come in" "I'm in Seattle" "You'll have to FedEx us a check" "For a guessed amount? Hmmm... This really SUCKS." I finally call my old friend Cyndi, who JUST SO HAPPENS to work at Clark County (in another capacity, but good enough!) She is now being told that I need my record number, and they have NO WAY of finding my record in the archives without it (not social security number, not date of birth). I don't know what my record number was - I don't think I ever did. Hell, I've never even seen what my mug shot looks like (and I hope I never do). Cyndi looked up my attorney's name (Zervis?) and he's not listed. I am RIPPING MY HAIR OUT here. Cyndi has multiple e-mails and phone calls going on at her end and I am just sitting here waiting for someone to tell me how I can get my arrest/court record to Canada. So far, there's no way. Doesn't that seem silly?!? So here we sit. Canada needs proof that I'm not a felon. Clark County, Nevada needs a record number from my arrest in 1990 to prove that I'm not a felon. You know those moments in your life where you think "This is going to come back to haunt me" well here we are. Everybody rub the Buddha and hope that Cyndi meets someone nice at the County Justice office who says "Okay let's figure this out" and she can save the day. I will keep you all posted (unless you reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject line). HA! scd. • link P.S. Thanks to all of my friends and family who e-mailed me back with positive words. I love you guys. 10-06-04
• link 09-22-04
THIS SUCKER'S ALMOST IN THE MAIL, PEOPLE. Are you as freaked out as I am?!??! • link 08-15-04 Immigration Medical Exam
Next steps: filling out all of the final forms, and mailing it in with the $$$$$$$$. We still have not been paid for the car, even though the auction ended July 19. Yes we are nervous. • link 08-07-04
07-15-04
• link 07-12-04 Today I:
July 11, 2004 This weekend I:
July 2004 The first few things I need to do:
June 2004 Printed all of the applications for Sponsorship to Canada (from abroad) from Canada's Immigration website. I spent a few days reading every single word, and highlighting important information. I also began a list of all the items and information that we will need to compile. I then made a chart with the order in which we will begin the process. I also posted a donation button for PayPal on my personal website. I will use those donations for the pre-application spending (see above). |
