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China News Digest - Canadian Regional Services
(Bo Xiong)
---------------
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 14:41:59 -0400
Reply-To: Yao Li
Sender: China-Net
From: Yao Li
Subject: FCSSC News Release 5-14 Mon. Oct. 11
Comments: To: china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu
To: Multiple recipients of list CHINA-NT
Status: R
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# FCSSC News Release 5-14 Mon. Oct. 11, 1993 #
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Table of Contents
============================================================================
1. How to Apply for Independent Immigration to Canada
2. Leisure Reading: What to Do With All Those "Free" Soaps When Travelling
=============================================================================
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1. How to Apply for Independent Immigration to Canada
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From: Si Yi xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.ca Fri Oct 8 18:58:21 1993
Since the Canadian government passed a new immigration act which opens the
green lights to people with high education background in last February
(1993), many Mainland students here have been heard of their successful
stories in applying for independent immigration to Canada. The time of the
whole procedure is much shorter than those similar cases in previous years,
and the shortest one was said about two months (from submitting the
application forms to obtaining the P.R. papers).
The following is an outline of the application process and some tips based
on some successful applicants' experience. Please note that many of those
tips are based on un-convinced rumours and individual experiences, bias and
mistakes may be included.
INTRODUCTION
As required by the Canadian Immigration Law, the whole process of the
independent application for immigration to Canada should be processed by a
Canadian Immigration Office which is located OUTSIDE of Canada. For Mainland
students who are in Canada, the best places to go is the Canadian Embassy
and those Canadian Consulates in the United States.
As many of us know, the independent immigration applicant is scored by
credits in terms of the educational background, working experience, language
ability, etc. For example, if the applicant got a job offered by a Canadian
employer, he may get 10 points. Usually, if the applicant can reach 70
points, his/her chance of getting the P.R. paper is 99% high.
Among the recent successful applicants, most of them are still PhDs
candidates (not get PhD yet). This seems to be the most noticeable
difference compared to those previous cases. It is said that the new credit
list gives 10 points to those who have two years working experience in
Canada. Since many PhD candidates have been doing T.A. or R.A. on campus, it
is said that the immigration officials may have taken this as an equity of
that crucial two year Canadian experience. Nevertheless, there are also some
successful stories from applicants who have just finished their master
programs.
Many people are questioning the importance of hiring an immigration officer.
According to those successful applicants, this is a half/half situation. The
whole impression is that an immigration lawyer may provide some valuable
information, such as the changes in credits, or they may help you to prepare
your documentation in a more professional way. Usually, if you only ask them
to assist you to prepare your documents, you may end up paying around
$1,000. But if you want to leave everything to them, the fee may vary from
$3,000 to $10,000, depending on where you are, how desperately you want to
success, etc. But the most important thing is your own background. Since
half of the successful applicants have done the business on their own, it is
up to you to make your own decision. At least one thing worth trying:
shopping around, talking to various immigration lawyers, and making your
deal.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 1 Apply for Immigration Application Forms
-----------------------------------------------
First of all, you should go to local libraries (e.g. the university ones) to
ask for the most update address of those Canadian Consulates in the United
States. Then you can send a letter to inquire for application forms.
[TIPS]
The letter can be very brief, but should indicate how many dependents in you
family who are also interested in applying, e.g. wife, two kids, etc.
You can send such letters to a number of those Consulates, if you want to
shop around. Since the following immigration interview is also held in those
Consulates, many applicants found it was CHEAPER to apply to the Consulate
which was nearer to Canadian boarder, such as those located in Detroit,
Buffalo, Boston, Washington, DC, etc. Someone suggested it might be QUICKER
to apply in the Consulate as far as in Atlanta. You can try so if you don't
care about the travel fee.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 2 Fill in the Application Forms
-----------------------------------------------
The form itself is quite brief and straight forward, but you are required to
submit a number of documents FOR EACH MEMBER IN YOUR FAMILY. The most
important ones include:
(1) Birth Date Certificate
(2) Criminal Clearance Certificate (both in China and in Canada)
(3) Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
You are asked to submit only the copies of those documents, but you are
required to bring the ORIGINALs when you go to the interview.
[TIPS]
According to some applicants' experience, the most important and tricky part
of the whole process is to provide one or two REFERENCE LETTERS which can
show the CONSISTENCY in your educational background and working experience
(e.g. you are highly unlikely to apply for immigration as a skilled cook
while your undergraduate degree is in civil engineering). These letters
should also be written in a way to convince the immigration officials that
your ability of finding a stable job in Canada is promising. For example,
you can ask the dean/chairperson here to write a letter to explain the
promising job market in your study field.
These reference letters should be written on papers with OFFICIAL headings.
In other words, there should be some clues on that paper which shows the
address, telephone numbers, etc. of your referees. For example, if you ask
your former boss in the Physics Department of Peking University to write a
reference letter for you, you should insisted on that this letter being
written on an official letter paper used by the secretaries of the
department, i.e. with the address of the Dept. of Physics, Peking University
at the top of that paper.
Someone also suggested to have your Chinese working experience be certified.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 3 Immigration Medical Examination
-----------------------------------------------
When you get the Immigration Medial Examination forms sent by the Consulate,
you had better to call your LOCAL immigration officials to make sure that
your exams will be conducted by an assigned immigration doctor.
As you are not allowed to read your exam results, make sure that your doctor
has followed exactly the steps listed on your exam forms, and included every
reports needed. Because these forms will be sent to a centre in Ottawa first
and then to your immigration officer, it may caused a lot of trouble/delay
if something is missing.
[TIPS]
Someone suggested to have your family doctor to do the exam, since every
licensed doctor is eligible to conduct such kind of tasks, as said on the
exam form. Generally speaking, the nurses of the immigration doctors are
very impatient to foreigners.
According to an immigration lawyer, you must have already reached 60 points
when you are required to do medical exams. This conclusion was supported by
that the valid date of some applicants' P.R. papers were the date on which
the medical forms were issued, even though the applicants got their paper
several months later.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 4 Immigration Interview
-----------------------------------------------
Congratulations!
Of course you have to apply for the U.S. visa to go wherever you have to go.
Of course you won't mind the bad manner of those US immigration officers who
treat all the visa applicants as potential criminals. You can avoid their
long faces by sending your visa applications through the International
Student Office on campus, and before ten days, you can get your visa.
Basically the interview is to provide a chance for the immigration officer
to investigate your personality, your ability of English language
communication, etc. Or s/he may ask you to clarify some details in your
documents. For example, s/he may ask you to explain why your former boss
wrote his reference letter on a blank paper without an official heading.
Then it is time for you to show your knowledge of the culture difference
between West and East.
[TIPS]
Dresses and ties are highly recommended to immigration interviewees. Please
treat it exactly as an important job interview. Of course you don't have to
wear BOSS or CHANNEL to show your seriousness. But you have to do something
to show your respects to your immigration officer.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 5 Wait Wait Wait -- Alas!
-----------------------------------------------
By the end of the interview, even though the immigration officer may inform
you that you have passed the interview, it is highly unlikely that you can
get your P.R. papers right on site. Usually, s/he will ask you to go back to
Canada and wait for about two months.
So be patient! It has never been heard that anyone who failed to get her/his
paper after s/he had passed the interview. The longest waiting time is said
about three months.
The papers usually arrives by the time when you begin to have nightmares
about it. Then you have to apply to go to the U.S. for another time, because
your P.R. papers won't be valid unless it is stamped by a Canadian Customer
Officer at the boarder of Canada.
[FINAL TIPS]
Don't drive too fast when you travel to the U.S. boarder.
------- Wish all the Mainland students success ! --------
[Editor's Note:] To exchange info and have discussion on this matter, you may
use a public list: fcsscd-l which currently has ~400 subscribers nation- and
world-wide.
To sign on this list, send the following command to LISTSERV@VM.UCS.UALBERTA.CA
SUB FCSSCD-L Your Name
Then to post your message, send it to FCSSCD-L@VM.UCS.UALBERTA.CA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Leisure Reading: What to Do With All Those "Free" Soaps When Travelling
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From xxx Wed Oct 6 10:42:02 1993
Attached is some correspondence which actually occurred between a
London hotel's staff and one of its guests. The London hotel
involved submitted this to the Sunday Times. No name was mentioned.
Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my
bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove
the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest
and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from
her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as
you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and
put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your
mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions
from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily.
I hope this is satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Maid -- I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the
little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found
you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet.
I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my
own bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on
the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc.
Please remove them.
S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which
we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in
your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial
was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience.
I didn't remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed
inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did
not object to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me
know if I can of further assistance.
Your regular maid,
Dotty
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this A.M. that you
called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid
service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will
accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any
future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal
attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for
business at 745 AM and don't get back before 530 or 6PM. That's the
reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty.
I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little
bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a
new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my
medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the
bathroom shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little
bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me?
S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your
room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance,
please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you,
Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my
room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and
had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem.
I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids
are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room.
The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my
apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last
night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars
of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I
have 54 bars of soap in here. All I want is my bath size Dial.
Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed.
Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so
I personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and
the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily (sic). I don't know
anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy,
did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays
plus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this
hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size
Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory.
As of today I possess:
- On shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of
4 and 1 stack of 2.
- On Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1
stack of 3.
- On bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1
stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
- Inside medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1
stack of 2.
- In shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.
- On northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.
- On northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are
neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more
than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window
sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap
deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized
Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further
misunderstandings.
S. Berman
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