Preparing for our "journey"...

[shinytreasure 0]

Hi everyone,

My SO and I are just starting to look into the process and gather papers. I am currently waiting on divorce papers to be finalized (it has been a long 10 months of waiting so WE can begin the process of waiting some more).

Clearly I need a divorce certificate to include with our I-129.

At what stage do I need the following:

- police certificate from Colombia (I lived there a while back) -this could take a while...

- my (alien financee) birth certificate

Also, I have been visiting him in the states almost every weekend since Sept 2009, and before that he came to Canada to visit me often. I spent a total of 3-4 weeks over the summer with him and his family in the US. All of this travel has been by car and I have never received any stamp in my passport (either direction). We always cross at the same small POE. Would THEY (the POE) be able to give me a printout of our crossings to use as proof of an ongoing relationship? It would make things much simpler and very obvious.

thanks

[BriCar 0]

Read the guides and the flowcharts on the website. They cover most everything.

Exact records for US / Canada crossings are not critical information. Your own record or log will work.

Good Luck!

[SunDrop 59]

Hi everyone,

My SO and I are just starting to look into the process and gather papers. I am currently waiting on divorce papers to be finalized (it has been a long 10 months of waiting so WE can begin the process of waiting some more).

Clearly I need a divorce certificate to include with our I-129.

At what stage do I need the following:

- police certificate from Colombia (I lived there a while back) -this could take a while...

- my (alien financee) birth certificate

Also, I have been visiting him in the states almost every weekend since Sept 2009, and before that he came to Canada to visit me often. I spent a total of 3-4 weeks over the summer with him and his family in the US. All of this travel has been by car and I have never received any stamp in my passport (either direction). We always cross at the same small POE. Would THEY (the POE) be able to give me a printout of our crossings to use as proof of an ongoing relationship? It would make things much simpler and very obvious.

thanks

I hear ya on the divorce waiting. Luckily mine hasn't taken that long and will be finalised tomorrow (YAY!)

Both the documents you'd need at interview, but are valid for a year from issue. As you'll be interviewing in Montreal, they're backlogged at interview, so I'd give it a couple of months before applying for the police certificate, unless you think it'll take more than 3 or 4 months to come through.

[Carlawarla 1]

Look at a Columbian website to see about the process for police certificates. If you lived there for longer than 6 months, after the age of sixteen you'll need a police clearance. You'll also need a Canadian police clearance that can be obtained from any RCMP, if you don't have a criminal record you can either get that immediately, or perhaps in a week or so, depending on how busy your detachment is. You don't need fingerprints done for the Canada police clearance unless you have a record. If so, then there are other things you must do. Make sure your criminal check done in Canada is a Canada Wide one. (CPIC)

I see that you'll be interviewed in Vancouver, so the time frame that you'll have from start to finish will be MUCH faster than if you were being interviewed in Montreal, so I'd be looking at the Columbia police clearance as soon as you get your divorce papers, or filing the I-129F. The police records are good for one year.

As a Canadian, just declaring the dates you met, without having passport stamps etc. will be okay. Rarely are Canadians given an I-94 or a passport stamp.

I notice you're new, so you might want to check out the Canada Forum here on VJ. Here are a few links you'll also want to check out for procedures and issues as they relate to Canada/US immigration on a marriage or fiance based visa.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=93

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=191858

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/Canada