Letter of Invitation for a Canadian temporary resident visa

My wife and I have invited our parents who live in Cuba to visit us in Toronto, Canada.

One of the supporting documents of the Application for Temporary Resident Visa is the Letter of Invitation.

The Letter of Invitation is written and signed by a person residing in Canada as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen, and it basically extends an invitation for the person abroad to visit him/her in Canada.

There is no formal template for this letter of invitation, but I wanted to share the one my wife and I used before to invite our parents. It has worked for us; hopefully it will help others.

Notice that this is just a template and you will need to adjust it to your particular case. Also, keep in mind that I am not a lawyer or an immigration specialist. This post should not be taken as advice on the matter. If you use the info here, you do it at your own risk.  

Finally, if this article was useful, I would kindly ask you to share it by clicking the Google Plus (G+) button at the beginning of this post.

Toronto, May 6th, 2016

Immigration Department 

Embassy of Canada in Havana 

Subject: Letter of Invitation

To Whom It May Concern: 

I, Cristopher Columbus, Canadian Citizen with Passport No. XXXXXXXX and residence at ____________________, Toronto, ON, Canada; wish to invite my father Mr. Dominic Columbus to visit me for a period of 3 months staying at my home.

My father is a Cuban citizen with ID. No. YYYYYYYYYYY and Passport No. ZZZZZZZ; with permanent residence at ___________________, Havana City, Cuba.

I hereby guarantee and assume all costs that may be incurred by my father’s visit such as plane tickets, travel insurance, accommodation, maintenance, and any other costs, so that he will be of no burden to the government of Canada.

I’m employed (full time) as Naval Engineer at Voyage Inc. since April 15th, 2008. 

My wife, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, is also employed full time as Sales Representative at Best Boats Inc. since February 31st, 2011.

We have the financial means to take care of my father during his visit to Canada; the corresponding documents will be enclosed with the application. 

There are no intentions for my father to stay permanently in Canada.

If you have any concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at +1 (647) 000-0000 or by email at cristopher.columbus@email.com.

Sincerely yours,

________________________
Cristopher Columbus

Multiple Entries to the US with the same I-94 Form: Just for Canadian Residents

I am a Permanent Resident of Canada (Landed Immigrant) and I got a B-2 Visitor Visa which I used in order to travel to the United States of America for 15 days.

I crossed the border at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls. In the American side of the bridge there is a US Point of Entry, in which I was requested for my papers. I presented my Cuban Passport with a one time B-2 Visitor Visa to the American Officer controlling the crossing. The officer kept my passport and redirected me to one office located just a few meters further.

I waited for 40 minutes and I was called for an interview with another officer. He asked for the purpose of the trip, the intended duration of the stay, my destinations within the States, the means of returning back (flight and bus tickets) [1], my relation to the people I was visiting in the US, and things like that.

The officer issued an I-94 Form, that he stapled onto my passport. I paid a $6.00 USD fee for the I-94 Form and my passport was returned to me. - Make sure you have exactly $6.00 USD (cash) if you want to get this done quickly. You can pay with credit card as well, but it takes more time-

The I-94 Form was issued for 6 moths, meaning that I was permitted to stay in the US until the expiry date, 6 months later.

In my way back to Canada I crossed the Rainbow Bridge again (in the opposite direction). This time I was stopped by a Canadian Custom Officer. She asked for my papers: I gave her my passport and my Canadian Resident Card [2]. She asked pretty much the same questions that the American Officer did, and she also inquired about any merchandize that I was bringing from the US.

I was expecting her to remove the I-94 from the passport, but she didn’t. Usually, you need to surrender your I-94 when leaving the US, but it seems that Canadian Residents can use the same I-94 Form (if not expired) to re-entry to the US multiple times. It seems that you can do this regardless of the validity of your Visa: the only thing taken into consideration is that the I-94 Form has to be valid.

Looking for extra validation of my theory I found this post. I am extracting the main juice below:

You don't have to get a new I-94 every time
you enter the USA. How do I know ?, because
I've being traveling to the USA for the past
4.5 years and using the same I-94 until its
expiry date. In fact the INS officer told me
that I did not have to turn in the I-94 if I
intent to enter the USA prior to the expiry
date.

I also talked to a few friends who confirmed that they used the I-94 Form to re-enter the US from Canada, even after their visa was expired. 

I looked furthermore to validate this theory and I found out that:

If taking short trips (30 days or less) to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands during the course of your visit to the U.S., hold onto your I-94 or I-94 (W); it should only be turned in when you leave the U.S. to return home. [U.S. Department of State]

After this, I was pretty confident of my theory and I went to the US a second time. This time I crossed the border at the Peace Bridge. I was not expecting any problems: my visa was expired, but my I-94 was not. You know what? I did have a problem…

The American officer told me that they allow most people visiting the US to re-enter by just using the I-94 (if not expired). The problem in my case is that I am a Cuban national. Cubans (among other nationalities) are taken especial care by the US government. That meant that I was not able to use my I-94 Form to re-enter the US.

I was very disappointed, but the American officer wanted to support my case. She noticed that I made an honest mistake. So, she took my finger prints, made me fill some forms and with that, she supported my case with her superiors. Not even her immediate superior was able to allow me enter the US. So, the whole process took like 3 hours and of course, I lost my bus and the plane.

After all this, they gave me a waiver, which is a one time permit to enter the US without a visa. I was glad at this point, because those Americans officers helped me while they were enforcing the law. They removed the original 6 months I-94 from my passport, and they re-issued a new one for just one week (I was going this time for the weekend; so it was good enough for me).

They explicitly told me to surrender this new I-94 Form to the Canadian custom officer in my way back to Canada. I did that of course. Note that you have to advise the Canadian officer to remove the I-94 from your passport. The Canadian officer does not remove it if you don’t ask.

So, the conclusion if that you can use the I-94 Form (if not expired) to re-enter the US from Canada, but this does NOT apply to nationals of Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Sudan. This list could change at any moment. 

Disclaimer: This is based on my own experience as a Permanent Resident of Canada. You should not consider this a legal advice or whatsoever.

Just one more thing, after all this hassle I got a new B2-Visitor Visa to enter the US. So, I will be going soon to the States. This time I don’t expect any problems :-)

If you find this post informational, please, share it with others: just click the Google+ button at the start of this article.

[1] I was traveling from Toronto to Buffalo by land; passing though Niagara Falls. Then, I was traveling from Buffalo to Miami by air. I used that route backwards in my way back.

[2] Don’t forget your Canadian Resident Card. You need it to re-enter Canada.

How to apply for US visitor visa from Canada?

I immigrated to Canada under the Federal Skilled Worker Program on February 26th, 2010. This program granted me with permanent residency since the day I landed.

I wanted to visit the United States of America; but as a Canadian Resident (not yet a citizen) I was required to get a US visitor visa.

Merely 20 months after my relocation to Canada I applied for a visitor visa and I got it. I was granted a single entry visa which I used to visit Florida during Christmas time in 2011.

A few months later I applied again for a visitor visa and I got another single entry visa. This time I went to visit New York City on July 2012.

Both times I got a single entry visa. I think this had to do with the fact that I am of Cuban birth and you know, the governments of Cuba and the US have kept some animosity for more than half a century. I think most people actually get a multi entry visa, but this was not my case.

I have to say I was lucky: The Americans not only granted me 2 single entry visas, but on top of that they allowed me to enter the US once without a visa. Yes, you heard right, without a visa. This was quite an exceptional situation and I don't think they do it often. Read the whole story here.

Time has passed and I no longer require a visa to visit the US, because I am now a Canadian Citizen. Nonetheless, I got married and my wife is also a Cuban immigrant. At this time she is a Canadian Resident and because of that she requires a visitor visa to enter the US.

So, she applied for a visitor visa and she got it on March 2016. She was luckier than me. She got a multi entry visa valid for 10 years!

Enough of blah, blah, blah. The purpose of this article is to share my experiences in this regard. I would love if you show your appreciation by clicking the Google Plus (G+)  button at the beginning of this post.

Now, for the real stuff keep reading...

Visitor Visas allow you to enter the US temporarily: that’s why they are called nonimmigrant visas. These visas come in two flavors:

• Business Visitor Visas (B-1)
• Pleasure, Tourism, Medical Treatment - Visitor Visas (B-2)

In my case, I applied for a B-2 visa, since the purpose of my visit to the US was mainly recreational.

Step 1: You need to fill an Online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application, Form DS-160. Don’t let the name scare you. You simply go to this website and fill in the information required as you go. There is a lot of information that you need to provide.  If you need to stop one day, then you can resume the filling process at the next day.

In this step you will be asked to upload a recent digital picture(s) of the applicant(s). For information about the photo requirements go here. When I filled my own applications I got my photos taken at Blacks. Blacks went out of business recently, so my wife took her pictures at a Walmart in Toronto.

It is important to get a digital picture and a printed picture. The digital picture will be given to you in a CD and the printed picture, well, in paper. Make sure you ask for both the "digital picture" and the "printed picture".

When you complete your DS-160 application online you will be given a confirmation page. You have to print that confirmation page and present it at the time of the interview. The confirmation page contains a bar code that should be legible; so make sure you have a good printer at hand.

Important: you need to complete step 1 before proceeding to step 2.

Step 2: You need to pay a fee for your visa application and then you have to schedule an appointment for your visa interview.  The fee for a B-2 visa is $160 USD. To fulfill this step you need to login (register) at this website: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv

Once logged into your account, you will need to provide some basic information and then, you should be able to pay your visa fee online[1] (Paypal, Credit Card) and schedule the interview (you have to choose date, time and place[2]). 

[1] It is not mandatory to pay online; for a full list of fee payment options consult this URL: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv/information/fee

[2] The visa interview can be scheduled in any of the following US Consulates: Calgary, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, and Toronto or in the US Embassy in Ottawa. For addresses click the following link: https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/.

You will be asked to print a receipt after you have completed the fee payment. Make sure you print this receipt, since you will have to present it at the time of the interview.

When you complete step 2, the website will give you the option to print a Confirmation and Instructions document. Print it, since I was asked for it the day of the interview.

What do you need to bring the day of the interview?

• A passport valid for at least 6 month beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the US.
• Your Canadian Permanent Resident card.
• The confirmation page with the bar code (step 1).
• The receipt of your visa fee payment (step 2).
• The Confirmation and Instructions (step 2). 
• One 5 x 5 cm (or 2" x 2") color photo taken within the last 6 months (this is the "printed" photo I was talking about earlier)
• All the documents you think might support your case (in my case I gathered my work contract, bank statements, pay stubs, Option "C" Printout)

Important, make sure you read carefully the Confirmation and Instructions document. It contains all the required documents that you must bring with you the day of the interview. Don't rely on the information of this blog, since it might go outdated at anytime.

Ah, make sure you don't bring your cellphone, music player or any other electric device to the interview. You won't be allowed to enter the Consular Section with them. You will have to leave them outside of the facility, they won't hold them for you.

Take a look at the existing comments: there’s a lot of useful information in there that complements what I have written in the body of this post.

Please, note that I am a regular person, not an immigration or legal adviser. I am only posting here the facts about my own experience.

Good luck!