From: ccohendy@questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Claude Cohendy)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.canada,can.general
Subject: Re: The visas arrived today! (Rich Wales)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 17:36:06 PDT
Organization: Questor|Free Usenet News|Vancouver, BC: +1 604 681 0670

wales@cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) writes:

=> For those of you have have been following my Canadian immigration quest,
=> I am pleased to announce that our visas arrived today (Tue. 28th).
=> 
=> Interestingly, the envelope (BIG, 12x15 inch size) appears to have been
=> sent via ordinary first class mail -- not certified or registered.  It
=> was delivered with the rest of our mail for the day, and got a bit crum-
=> pled from being jammed into our apartment mailbox.  In one corner was an
=> ink-stamped "CERTIFIED MAIL #" and a handwritten number (I assume this
=> was put on at the consulate), but there was no US Postal Service "certi-
=> fied mail" sticker, and the letter carrier did not bring it to our door
=> for a signature.  I guess it's possible someone in the L.A. consulate's
=> mail room goofed.  In any case, it arrived, so I'm not too worried.
=> 
=> Each visa (one for myself, my wife, and our baby girl) is a four-part,
=> legal-size (8.5x14 inch) form with interleaved carbons.  They are all
=> labelled "IMMIGRANT VISA AND RECORD OF LANDING", except for the second
=> part, which is simply labelled "RECORD OF LANDING".  The second part is
=> engraved and printed in multicolored ink, in a manner similar to paper
=> currency, and presumably for the same reason (i.e., to discourage coun-
=> terfeiting or alterations).  I gather that, once we arrive, we will keep
=> the colored copies as proof of our status in the country; one person has
=> told me he was advised to keep it in a safe place and take a photocopy
=> of the form with him when he travelled abroad.
=> 
=> In addition to various identifying info, the form includes a question
=> regarding whether one has ever been convicted of a crime, refused admis-
=> sion to Canada, or required to leave Canada, with space for initials.  I
=> assume we'll be asked to confirm that the answer to this question is
=> still "no" when we show up at the border.
=> 
=> There is a space for "conditions of landing imposed".  For an immigrant
=> who has something like a pre-approved job offer, I assume this space is
=> used to indicate that he/she must move to such-and-so place, take such-
=> and-so job, etc.  In our case, this space is blank on all our visas; I
=> applied as an independent applicant without a pre-approved job offer.
=> This also presumably means I can tell a prospective employer that he
=> does not need to obtain permission from a Canada Employment Centre (form
=> EMP-2151) in order to hire me -- since I have already managed to obtain
=> permanent resident status on my own.
=> 
=> The visas are also marked with expiry dates for "medical validity" and
=> "visa validity".  These correspond to the one-year anniversary of the
=> date we had our medical exams (2 June 1992).  We have to show up for
=> immigration by 2 June 1993.
=> 
=> Along with the visas were several pamphlets and flyers, including:
=> 
=> ==> A letter from the consulate describing the visa, and advising us of
=>     immunization requirements for school children in Ontario and New
=>     Brunswick;
=> 
=> ==> "Settling in Canada" (general importation/customs info);
=> 
=> ==> A sheet about "returning resident permits" to document our intent to
=>     remain resident in Canada should we decide to travel abroad after
=>     immigrating;
=> 
=> ==> Information about importation of motor vehicles from the US to Can-
=>     ada (I've been in touch with Transport Canada in Ottawa on this sub-
=>     ject already, and the stuff the consulate sent us with the visas is
=>     slightly out of date, though not seriously so);
=> 
=> ==> A form to fill out and present at the border to permit importation
=>     of our car.
=> 
=> As I indicated before, we were provisionally told we would be accepted
=> when we had our interview at the consulate last January -- but it's a
=> relief to actually have the visas in hand.
=> 
=> Now all I need to do is get a job. :-}
=> 
=> --
=> Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department
=> 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (310) 825-5683

Congratulations! Enjoy the beaver steak in maple syrup and other local 
specialties... Anyway, glad to hear you are through with that paperwork, 
probably have a bit more though (S.I.N., driver's license etc...)
Good luck in Canada.
Claude 
PS: and thanks again for the other info you sent me...

--
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.canada,can.general