September 24^th:

After I returned from the Philippines I completed the application forms to sponsor Arlyn as an "Immigrant of the Family Class". I was advised both before my trip and again after my return that Arlyn would have to stay in the Philippines while the application was being processed and that it would take anywhere from 6 months to a year for my application to be processed and permission granted for Arlyn to emigrate to Canada.

The son of a friend of mine is a lawyer specializing in immigration cases and my friend suggested I talk to him before I submitted my application. I arranged a meeting with David Thomas and met with him on August 28^th, just two days before he was due to travel to Manila and Korea on business. He recommended that I withhold submitting my application until he had a chance to meet with the Visa Authorities at the Canadian Embassy in Manila. He hoped that he could convince them to grant Arlyn a Visitor Visa so she could join me in Canada and then I would apply to sponsor her.

Unfortunately the Canadian Embassy confirmed what they had already told me and advised that there was a 90% probability that the Visitor Visa would be denied. They recommended that Arlyn remain in the Philippines until the application had been fully processed. Due to a long history of applicants from the Philippines, Immigration Canada has decided that this was the procedure to be followed for all applicants. This is apparently necessary in order for the officials to conduct a thorough search into the immigrating applicant’s background. In the past many applicants have entered Canada under false pretenses and when their ineligibility to immigrate was subsequently determined through the background check, the Canadian Authorities have had great difficulty deporting such individuals. We found ourselves caught in bureaucratic procedures and policies that appeared next to impossible to circumvent.

Meanwhile Arlyn had consulted with Benjie dela Cruz, a Travel Agent/Immigration Consultant from Manila, and on September 13^th they called me to discuss our application. Based on his experience with many clients he had assisted to emigrate to Canada, he explained that:

1. Immigration Canada would definitely not allow Arlyn to come to Canada on a Visitor Visa while the application is being processed. She should stay in the Philippines until she is granted permission to come to Canada.
2. Two to three months after the application is submitted Immigration Canada will advise if the application is approved in principle.
3. After the application is approved in principle, Arlyn will be contacted by the Canadian Embassy in Manila and she will be requested to complete forms, attend interviews, and have a medical examination. A security check will also be conducted on her and her background will be checked.
4. The consultant will assist Arlyn in completing the documents and he will also help process the documents and assure they are delivered to the Canadian authorities at the Embassy.

October 10^th:

Arlyn traveled to Manila to update her passport to her married name. She attended a seminar with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Commission on Filipinos Overseas.  She was quizzed about when and how we met, how long have we known each other, have I been married before and if not – why, and other matters to assure that everything is legitimate. She had to provide them with copies of my letters to her and copies of our wedding photographs.

October 21^st:

On October 21, 1997 I contacted Immigration Canada in Vancouver. They checked the computer database and advised that the application had not been assigned a client number. They advised that it usually takes 2-3 months for them to determine the applicant's eligibility to sponsor the immigrant. If the applicant is deemed eligible the application is "approved in principle" whereupon it is assigned a client number and I would be advised accordingly in writing. I was told to check back in two weeks. They also confirmed that once the application is approved in principle it is sent to the embassy in Manila for further processing.

Hurry up and Wait!

October 28^th:

I checked with the Visa Credit Card Centre to get an update on the balance on my account which would indicate whether Immigration Canada had charged the application fees against my account. The balance indicated that this had in fact been done which meant, at the very least, that they had received the application and were beginning to process it.

October 29^th:

I checked with Immigration Canada in Vancouver but they indicated that if the application fee had just been cashed it means that they are starting to look at it and that it would be processed within 2-3 months. The agent suggested that I check back in a couple of weeks.

Hurry up and Wait!

November 12^th:

On November 12, 1997 I phoned Immigration Canada in Vancouver to check up on the application. I was advised that the office in Mississauga, Ontario received the application on October 1^st and that it was approved in principle on October 30^th. The application had been forwarded to the Visa Office in Manila for further processing. I will be receiving written conformation of this and the Manila office will send Arlyn an Immigration Application for Permanent Residence and other requirements to attend to.

November 14^th:

When I returned from my trip on August 17^th I showed the pictures of Margie (who caught Arlyn’s bouquet after the wedding) to my friend Rene and he began to correspond with her by e-mail not really believing that anything would come of it. Margie is a wonderful person and Rene needs someone special to love. Over the past 3 months they have fallen in love just the way Arlyn and I did. They exchange e-mail daily and phone weekly and Rene is now planning to travel to the Philippines to meet Margie in May of next year and if Arlyn is not already here, you can bet that I’ll be joining him.

November 19^th

On Tuesday, November 18^th I received a letter from Immigration Canada confirming that my application had been approved in principle and that it had been forwarded to Manila for further processing. On Wednesday, November 19^th at 11:00 PM Arlyn phoned me and told me she had received the application forms from Immigration Canada and that she would be arranging time off to travel to Manila to meet with Benjie, the immigration consultant, and with the Canadian Embassy.

November 29, 1997:

On Thursday November 27^th Arlyn traveled to Manila to meet with Benjie. She completed her Immigration Application for Permanent Residence form and on the 28^th she had her medical examination. They called me to ask a few questions about my educational background for her application. Arlyn also had to apply for a document confirming her single status prior to our marriage. Benjie advised that Arlyn should be able to come to Canada in about 3 months after the application is submitted.

Hurry up and Wait!

December 2^nd

Arlyn checked with the doctor on the results of her medical examination. Everything is fine.

December 14^th

Arlyn will travel once again to Manila on December 18^th to pick up the "Single Status" form and submit it with her application to the Canadian Embassy.

December 18^th

Arlyn called me after returning from her trip to Manila, she was very concerned about how to answer the question on the application which asked how we met. When she attended the seminar with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Commission on Filipinos Overseas she had been frightened by notices on the walls warning against "Mail Order Bride" agencies. Believing that the authorities would think we met in this manner, she told the them we had met a year earlier in Angeles while I was on a business trip.

Now she was concerned that she would have to repeat this story on the application and was concerned that the Canadian Authorities would check into my passport and realize that I hadn't been issued a passport until June 1997.

I explained that lying on the Immigration Application was the worst thing she could do. I told her to be honest, to tell the authorities how we had met, and if the Canadian authorities checked we would explain why she had made up the story she told to the Department of Foreign Affairs authorities.

My lawyer advised that the Canadian Authorities would very likely not check with the Department of Foreign Affairs Office.

December 20^th

My friend Rene has decided to reschedule his trip to the Philippines to early January.

January 3^rd

Arlyn has called the immigration consultant and explained to him how to answer the troubling question about how we met and asked him to submit the application as soon as possible. I am concerned because we haven't paid him his fees yet and do not want him to delay submitting the application. She will check with him once again to find out the status of the application.

January 6^th

Arlyn checked with the immigration consultant and he has submitted the application. The embassy requires a copy of Arlyn's Baptismal Certificate. She must go to Porac to obtain a copy and she will send it by bus to Benjie.

January 10^th

Today is Arlyn's birthday. When we talked Arlyn told me she picked up her Baptismal Certificate on the 9^th but her name was mis-spelled on the certificate. She has to go to a lawyer to obtain an affidavit correcting the spelling before she sends the certificate to the Immigration Consultant.

January 15^th

On January 13^th my friend Rene arrived in the Philippines to meet Margie. He'll be spending almost two weeks there. Arlyn and Margie traveled to Manila to meet him at the airport.

Arlyn advised that the Baptismal Certificate has been sent to Benjie who will send it to the Canadian Visa Office.

January 20^th

On January 19^th Arlyn received a letter dated January 13/98 from the Canadian Consulate acknowledging receipt of her application.  The letter indicates that it will take up to 4 months for the application to be processed and she will receive a registered letter indicating if the application is accepted, rejected, or whether more information will be required. We hope that the application can be processed more quickly.

MARCH 1998

March 7^th

Arlyn still has received no news from the Canadian Visa Office in Manila.  Benjie is going to check with the authorities to see how the processing of the application is going.
 

March 30^th

On March 13th Arlyn received word from the Canadian Visa Office in Manila that her application to emigrate to Canada had been approved. She will be arriving in her new country on April 17th. The long frustrating wait is over at last!

April 17^th

On Friday April 17^th Arlyn finally arrived in Canada, her new home. Aunt Helen, my friend Rene and I met her at the airport. The plane landed at 9:18 AM and at 9:55 she passed through the arrivals gate after passing through immigration and customs with no problems whatsoever.

The long painful wait is now truly over for the both of us. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives, new lives for both of us.

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