Afternoon everyone!
I cannot express how frustrated and helpless I feel right now. I'm so tired to a point that I'm writing this post to vent my feelings. So, here's my story...
I came to Canada in
Dec 2016 on a
Student Permit (for a full 2-year course). Received my first ever
PGWP in
Aug 2018 that
expired in
Aug 2021. Then, I got lucky; Public Policy was introduced, and I got my
Original PGWP extended from
Sep 2021 to
Mar 2023.
Everything went well until Mar 2023. I wasn't sure if I was gonna get Lucky again, so I decided to apply for an open-work permit. I applied for an
Open Work Permit in
Feb 2023, and today, it's been
8 months and 4 days since. I'm still waiting for a response on my application.
I called IRCC, after I had passed the estimated processing time. At that time, the April 6th Public Policy was announced, and that was the first thing I asked the rep: my eligibility to extend under the new policy. They answered, "
NO", because one can only get Public Policy extension ONCE on their PGWP - 2023 would've been my second. As a result, I did not qualify. After a lot of back and forth, at my humble request to do something, they had left a note on my application (stating the time was past the estimation).
I called IRCC again, after 20 days, to follow-up on
that note, and they replied, "
We haven't heard anything yet", and suggested I wait a little longer. I was fully paranoid, and requested them to add a second note, on the same call. *Apparently, once they leave a note, they aren't allowed to add another note for the next 60 days. So, I called them after 60 days, the first rep worried me to death by saying, "
you might not be eligible for an open work permit", and added, "
you can choose to wait, but the outcome might not be positive", I freaked out and decided never to call IRCC again EVER. Although, I gathered some courage, and did some research. I found the
link that assures my eligibility to get an open-work permit. So, I call IRCC yet once again, after a week of my last conversation. I explain this rep everything and was reassured about my eligibility for an open-work permit. Besides that, I also got the same rep to add my 2nd note (the one after 60 days of first note). All in all, here I am... feeling trapped in Canada.
I had planned summer visit to my friends and family in Chicago, Florida, and San Francisco - ended up cancelling all the flights with merely any credit or refund. Especially now, I'm desperate for the outcome of my application because, my grandma isn't keeping well, and I wanna see her before I lose her. I've worked very hard to build a life here for myself, and it hurts to think that the only option that's left now, is to leave everything behind, if I wanna see my grandma. I wish IRCC gave an alternative for travelling while one is on an "
Implied Status". I truly hope the status comes thru asap.
Meanwhile, my employer has applied for an LMIA to support my Permanent Resident application. They've done the job posting and have interviewed eligible candidates for about 2 months. Unfortunately, the ones that my employer was interested in were on Work Permits. I guess, that's lucky for me, but seems unfair. What if my employer had found a citizen or PR? Would it imply to fire me as a desire to replace a foreign worker - funny how system works. I can't seem to see a clear line anymore between how much is genuine or pretend.
Anyway, please let me know if there's anyone who'd applied for a work permit, inside Canada on Feb 12th, 2023, or before, and is still waiting while feeling anxious.
