As the November rains have started, so also has a shower of gloom come upon us. Without going into a lot of detail, it seems that our failure to get Landed Immigrant Status has had a domino effect on our situation; These days, new workers in Canada usually have Permanent Residency (Landed Immigrant status) by the time their first year’s Work Permit is up for renewal. That obviously wasn’t the case for us.
Because our problems with Pam’s fingerprints, I’m now having to do the unusual step of trying to get a renewal of a work permit. We thought this would be a simple rubber stamp on a form at the border or some other office, but at this point, it does not look either simple, or even likely, in that it involves lots of more paperwork, and some other details involving my employer that I’ll leave out for the moment.
At this point, there’s a strong probability that a month from today we’ll both be out of the workforce, back where we began again. Pam is even in the midst of a contract, and will be forced out of it, and this pains her a great deal. While a brand new Work Permit (for Pam, this time) will solve most of our problems for the time being, that will also require processing (about 55 days, our Lawyer reports, and we haven’t even submitted that yet), so there will be an inevitable gap before we can work again. In addition to waiting for this new work permit, we are also waiting for the fingerprints (still barely readable) that we sent to California and Connecticut to be accepted and for them to send us Police Certificates, along with Massachusetts, who for some reason didn’t need fingerprints.
It’s a hell of a way to enter into the Holiday Season, but it’s as if those unreadable prints have thrown us right back to the starting line. That’s not entirely accurate, but it sure feels that way.
I don’t think that words can express our level of frustration and disappointment.
Hi David,
I saw this comic and I thought of your plight.
I hope the bureaucratic wheels turn smoothly for you.
Cheers — Mike
Thanks, Mike.
Although I’m somewhat less concerned about this election, both Pam and I are more than used to the idea that we’ve left for good (if we don’t starve to death, which is, thank goodness, unlikely).
Yesterday, the weekend before the election, Bush was stumping in Nebraska. One wonders just how tough things are for the GOP when he’s relegated to one of the least populous states in the country for the final days of the campaign.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Republicans stay in control of the Senate, and the next 2 years are a complete and utter stalemate (except for Bush making up for 1 veto — against Stem Cell Research) in the first 6 years with a steady stream of them in the next 2. This translates to the political equivalent of the crest of one wave meeting the trough of another: utter equilibrium and (as the popular phrase goes), governmental gridlock. Goodie.
Hi David
Sorry to hear about your frustrating times. I read your blog and then saw your beautiful orchids. Hope there is a flash of colour soon in your situation. Just remember, this time of year, when it is raining in the city it is snowing in the mountains. You should try snowshoeing this winter, its incredible up on Mount Seymour, Cypress and Grouse. An enchanted world.
Regards MJ
Hey there…
Sounds like you guys are going through the same work permit/permanent residency issues as my boyfriend currently is. Thankfully (and hopefully) he’s still at the collecting stages of all the documentation, and won’t have any of the hassle it seems you have had. (His blog is: http://www.goingcanuck.com — He calls himself a refugee of the Bush administration, ha!)
Glad I happened upon your site… I’ll put you on my blogroll! Good luck with it.