How to obtain an “Option C Printout” from the CRA?

When you are sponsoring a family member to come to Canada, you are required to provide an Option C Printout of your last Notice of Assessment for the most recent taxation year.

An Option C Printout is not a Notice of Assessment. An Option C Printout is a document that summarizes your income and deductions for a particular taxation year. It is usually referred to as Proof of income statement (Option ‘C’ Print).

How to obtain an Option C Printout?

This can be done either:

• By Phone or
• Over the Internet (online).

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By Phone

Call Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) at this number: 1 (800) 959-8281. Sometimes the number is busy; in which case try again a few minutes later until you get connected.

You will be listening to an interactive recorded message; hence, a computer will be doing the talking...

Listen carefully and select the option that allows you to get the Option C Printout.

You will need to type these three pieces of information over the phone:

1. Social Insurance Number. 
2. Date of Birth.
3. Amount of Income you reported on Line 150 of your most recent taxation year.

Make sure you have the information above otherwise the computer won’t be able to authenticate you.

Once you finally enter the info, the automatic system (computer) will tell you that you have succeeded, in which case the Option C Printout will be mailed by postal mail to the address you have on record with the CRA.

For instructions about how to update (change) your address with the CRA refer to the following link:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/chngddrss-eng.html

Over the Internet (online)

You need to register online with the My Account service of the CRA. Once you are registered with them, just login and look to the left where you will see the My Account menu. Click the option Proof of income statement (Option ‘C’ Print) which will allow you to print the required document.

The link to register and/or login with My Account is this:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/myaccount/

Below you can see a snapshot of how My Account looks like.

Related Articles:

• Sponsorship Evaluation [IMM 5481] - Net personal income
  
• Proof of medical examination - Medical Report: Client Biodata and Summary (IMM 1017 Form)

Proof of medical examination - Medical Report: Client Biodata and Summary (IMM 1017 Form)

As part of the Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class, the sponsored person and their family members are required to provide “proof” that they have undergone a medical examination.

I am sponsoring my wife to come to Canada, she lives currently in Cuba and I have been living in Toronto for the last 4 years.

When I first heard about this “proof of medical examination”, I asked myself:

• What do they mean by “proof”?
• How can I obtain this “proof”?
• How does this “proof” look like?

For the purpose of sponsoring a Member of the Family Class, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) requires you to mail the IMM 1017 Form as proof that the medical examination took place with an authorized Panel Physician.

In other words, the IMM 1017 Form, also known as Medical Report: Client Biodata and Summary, is the "proof" you are looking for. This form is one page long and you will have to mail the corresponding IMM 1017 Forms not only for the sponsored person, but also for their family members (dependants), if any.

We obtained this form directly from the Panel Physician that examined my wife. We didn’t have to provide a blank form for the doctors to fill. They handled this form to my wife at the end of the medical examination.

This form does not contain the results of the medical results; it’s merely a confirmation that the person in question was examined by an authorized Panel Physician.

Below I have added for reference the IMM 1017 Form that my wife received. I erased all personal data from the form and I also scrambled the barcode. 

I wanted to share this knowledge because the information provided about this topic in the CIC website is quite slim. You should know that I am not a legal or immigration expert. I just want this information to be useful, but you use it at your own risk.

If you think this information was useful, please, consider clicking the Google plus button (G+) at the beginning of this post. Thanks!

Related article: 

• Sponsorship Evaluation [IMM 5481] - Net personal income
• How to obtain an "Option C Printout" for the most recent taxation year?

Sponsorship Evaluation [IMM 5481] - Net personal income

The third question of the Sponsorship Evaluation [IMM 5481] form requires the sponsor net personal income for the 12-month period preceding the date of the application.

First, what is net personal income?

Net personal income is the money that you keep after the taxes have been deducted. Let’s say you make $80 000 a year. That’s your gross income.

After paying your taxes you end up with $57000 ( this number is just an example). This is your net income.

This question is tricky because you have to calculate the net income in the last 12 month: from the current month going back one year.

I’ll give you an example: let’s say you want to send your sponsorship application on October 1st, 2013. Let’s also consider that you were paid bi-weekly. The table below lists all the payments (after taxes) made to you by your employer in the last year.

Month Number	Month	1st Biweekly Payment	2nd Biweekly Payment	3rd Biweekly Payment
1	October 2012	$2,166.43	$2,166.43	N/A
2	November 2012	$2,166.43	$2,166.43	$2,199.26
3	December 2012	$2,199.26	$2,485.43	N/A
4	January 2013	$2,173.40	$2,173.04	N/A
5	February 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	N/A
6	March 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	N/A
7	April 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	N/A
8	May 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	$2,173.04
9	June 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	N/A
10	July 2013	$2,173.04	$2,173.04	N/A
11	August 2013	$2,207.52	$2,351.59	N/A
12	September 2013	$2,376.59	$2,376.59	N/A

Total: $57,457.92

You will have to sum all the individual payments received in the last year. That is your net personal income.

Finally, the answer to question 3 of the Sponsorship Evaluation looks like this.

Sponsorship Evaluation [IMM 5481] - Net personal income

Note that some people have more than one source of income. Some other people are paid monthly (not bi-weekly). What I am trying to say is that the example above is just that: an example. You will need to adjust things depending on your own situation.

I think this post might give you an idea. If so, please, consider clicking Google+ button at the beginning of this entry.

Related Article:

• Proof of medical examination - Medical Report: Client Biodata and Summary (IMM 1017 Form)
• How to obtain an "Option C Printout" for the most recent taxation year?  

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!

Delphi Developers in Toronto

There are very little opportunities for Delphi developers in Toronto (Canada). The job market for software developers in this area is monopolized by .NET (C#, VB), Java and C++ in a huge percentage. Objective C, Python, PHP, Ruby are more popular than Delphi around here.

I don’t blame the Torontonian companies for deprecating Delphi. It‘s a reality that after the release of Delphi 7, Borland drove “the once most useful and popular IDE of the world” into a dark era.

Nonetheless, there is hope for Delphi. Lately, it has improved quite a bit, catching up to some degree for the time lost in the Borland's apocalypse. Some important milestones archived by Delphi lately:

• Unicode support.
• 64 Bits support.
•  Mufti-platform support (with the introduction of FireMonkey)

Finally, I would like to list a few companies using Delphi these days in Toronto (Greater Toronto Area) :

• Multipost Retail Systems
• Teranet Inc. ( Do Process Software team )
• Healthscreen 
• Embarcadero (Toronto Office)
• RamSoft Inc.
• Ficstar Software
• NUCOMP Systems Ltd.
• Kroll Computer Systems

SERVICE FEE – 7EPMT/WD/TFR@$.150 at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

The other day I was surfing my savings account's details and I noticed a withdrawal of $10.50 (CAD) that I never did. The description was SERVICE FEE - 7EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50 and was done on September 2nd, 2010. See the red rectangle in the picture below:

Going back in time a little bit, I noticed that I also had a SERVICE FEE – 4EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50 on August 2nd, 2010. At that time I was charged with $6.00 (CAD).

I found a pattern in those withdrawals:

1. They apply always on the second day of every month.
2. The amount of the fee is the result of multiplying $1.50 by the number preceding “EPMT” in the description.

See the relation below for a trivial mathematical calculation of the fees:

Description:                                                                Fee value:

SERVICE FEE - 1EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $1.50 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 2EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $3.00 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 3EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $4.50 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 4EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $6.00 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 5EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $7.50 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 6EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>   $9.00 (CAD)

SERVICE FEE - 7EPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50       =>  $10.50 (CAD)

…...............................................................................................

SERVICE FEE - NEPMT/WD/TFR@$1.50      =>  $1.50 * N (CAD)

At this point I decided to go to the nearest branch of the RBC and ask about the reason for those fees. They said I was charged because I had withdrawn money from my “savings account”, which is intended for “saving” and not for “making payments”. So, if you plan to pay for anything, don't use directly your “savings account”, instead use your “checking account”.

Most Canadian institutions do unfair tricks like the one described above to eat your money. Fortunately, I found a bank in Canada (Tangerine) that does not seem to trick you and eat your money. If you are interested, you might take a look at the link below:

How to open a checking account at Tangerine?

Note: I am a client of Tangerine. These guys conduct a very clear business. They don’t trick, they don’t hide stuff and above all, they don’t charge any fees.

Please, if this article was helpful, then share it by clicking the Google Plus (G+) button at the beginning of this post.