Rant about IRCC's processing.

[FrostiRose]

So, my wife and I started talking about moving the family to Canada a couple of years ago (my wife and both our kids are all dual Swedish and Canadian citizens). A year ago we looked in to what was required for a family class immigration sponsorship and finally sent my application just after the Christmas holiday. When we started this process I had full confidence in that IRCC would be organized, efficient and smooth to deal with, especially after their overhaul of the whole system in December last year.

Now, almost 10 months in, I'm almost chocked by the complete lack of transparency and processing standardization. And you can't really trust the information in their online system where you're supposed to receive updates and upload documents. Anyone noticed the checkbox 'I want to receive monthly updates about my application' in the online myCIC? Anyone actually ever got any updates?
If now is the better, simplified, more efficient way they process cases, I don't even want to know what they did before...

In January when sending my application, I was expecting a 12 month processing time, but hoping for shorter. Now, I strongly doubt that I will be able to land as a permanent resident within IRCC's posted 12 month time frame. And really, if it ends up being 7 or 14 months in the end is not a whole lot different if you look at it in a bigger perspective. No, what gets me is the complete lack of information (some seem to get more information than others regarding their application though), no way of actually contacting anyone (I don't really count the call centre which is useless, if you actually manage to get through to a human being. I have also had one person tell me an outright lie)

For me, after almost 10 months, the ECAS says:
1. Application received
2. Medical results received

The myCIC accounts has said the same since early March: We are reviewing if you meet the elegibility requirements, and We need more documents.

Ordered GCMS notes that were generated 3 weeks ago. The last update there is from September, where they updated my address to the new one I sent. The last one before that from early April when they acknowledged that they had received the document I sent in February. Other than that, no notes, no progress, everything except medical says NOT STARTED, application located in Mississauga registry and with no officer assigned to the application.

If the whole process was a bit more standardized and transparent, I would have no problem sitting back and relax and let Immigration Canada do their thing. Right now though, it seems like more of a lottery than anything else. Do I think they will make these changes? Sadly no.

Ok. End of rant. Move on.

 

[Hurlabrick]

When we started this process I had full confidence in that IRCC would be organized, efficient and smooth to deal with, especially after their overhaul of the whole system in December last year

Oh you're funny! (Sorry, being ironic!).

You would have thought that as CIC had been doing spousal sponsorship for many years now that they would have got the hang of it by now wouldn't you!

Actually the previous 'pre-December 2016' process was much easier from an applicant's point of view, everything was obtained up front, none of this 'Schedule A and Medical request' nonsense - that just builds in another 'touchpoint' and a slowdown in the process and another chance for the very buggy and flaky MyCIC not to work.

On the upside, FWIW, there is evidence from another forum that Mississauga have 'woken up' in the last couple of days. I know of at least three people who have in the last 2 days received requests for copy passport and 2 x photos - usually the final step before issue of the CoPR.

Best of luck. It will happen, but in their own sweet time I am afraid!

 

[majesty]

So, my wife and I started talking about moving the family to Canada a couple of years ago (my wife and both our kids are all dual Swedish and Canadian citizens). A year ago we looked in to what was required for a family class immigration sponsorship and finally sent my application just after the Christmas holiday. When we started this process I had full confidence in that IRCC would be organized, efficient and smooth to deal with, especially after their overhaul of the whole system in December last year.

Now, almost 10 months in, I'm almost chocked by the complete lack of transparency and processing standardization. And you can't really trust the information in their online system where you're supposed to receive updates and upload documents. Anyone noticed the checkbox 'I want to receive monthly updates about my application' in the online myCIC? Anyone actually ever got any updates?
If now is the better, simplified, more efficient way they process cases, I don't even want to know what they did before...

In January when sending my application, I was expecting a 12 month processing time, but hoping for shorter. Now, I strongly doubt that I will be able to land as a permanent resident within IRCC's posted 12 month time frame. And really, if it ends up being 7 or 14 months in the end is not a whole lot different if you look at it in a bigger perspective. No, what gets me is the complete lack of information (some seem to get more information than others regarding their application though), no way of actually contacting anyone (I don't really count the call centre which is useless, if you actually manage to get through to a human being. I have also had one person tell me an outright lie)

For me, after almost 10 months, the ECAS says:
1. Application received
2. Medical results received

The myCIC accounts has said the same since early March: We are reviewing if you meet the elegibility requirements, and We need more documents.

Ordered GCMS notes that were generated 3 weeks ago. The last update there is from September, where they updated my address to the new one I sent. The last one before that from early April when they acknowledged that they had received the document I sent in February. Other than that, no notes, no progress, everything except medical says NOT STARTED, application located in Mississauga registry and with no officer assigned to the application.

If the whole process was a bit more standardized and transparent, I would have no problem sitting back and relax and let Immigration Canada do their thing. Right now though, it seems like more of a lottery than anything else. Do I think they will make these changes? Sadly no.

Ok. End of rant. Move on.

OMG, I have been ranting on this forum about the same thing for the past 5 months since it took them 7 weeks to open my file at the
VO while others took just 3 weeks.

Not only I have a problem about the lack of transparency, communication and standardization in the process, but they screwed up on sending out an email to request my partner's RCMP fingerprint certificate which probably caused more delay in processing ... so after that, I became even more paranoid that they were going to miss other things. It will be a miracle if we are finished being processed by January, (we applied Jan 25, 2017). I have just ordered my third set of GCMS notes and hopefully I will get it in the first 2 weeks of November. I am not sure this is a good or a bad thing as it might add more to my frustration if I see again that not much as been done.

I have said on multiple threads here that a first step would be to hire some high school graduate to update GCKey accounts of applicants. No need to pay these people to research customer service. Use the money for this so they can stop having applicants jam their help/info line, bombarding the VO's with emails and causing backlogs at the ATIP office from all the people wanting to order GCMS notes! However, I guess this is too logical a thing to do, so it probably won't happen. All I am left with besides my frustration is the ability to rant on this forum while I wait and wait for news from the VO so my partner and I can get on with our lives.

I hope you receive some good news sooner rather than later and are able to put an end to this seemingly never-ending nightmare of a process and have a nice life with your wife and family which doesn't include having to come here to rant!

 

[Lonelywyf]

We are all fed up with IRC inconsistency. Our Ecas status hasn't been updated since August,2016. We applied in June of that year. Outland.

they just want to keep us apart. Its a Nightmare to deal with Canada immigration.

 

[haXudon]

We are all fed up with IRC inconsistency. Our Ecas status hasn't been updated since August,2016. We applied in June of that year. Outland.

they just want to keep us apart. Its a Nightmare to deal with Canada immigration.

wow your application is more than a year already! do you have like a long travel history or something? or maybe involvement with government or military groups? maybe the relationship is not that straightforward? tell us more about your situation.

 

[Lonelywyf]

I am actually the sponsor..my hubby visited few countries but didn't stay more than a month..we have a "straight application" Married for a long time (5yrs) and have a Canadian child together. Medical, PCC all expired now and no Request for a redo. He has no military background. I don't know why it's taking so long

 

[JulianaAndrew]

I think the lack of information and the poor standardization are key to the frustration we get. I have been sort of lucky, although I don't feel that right now. My application went fast and smoothly at the beginning, until it got to the VO. I know of other applicant through my VO, who got a phone call from the VO the same day of AOR2, to let her know they had gotten the application, and requesting some documents, then shortly after this, on the same day, she got the email asking for these documents (passport photos, police certificate), which I haven't been requested yet, nor the medical exam. 5 weeks after her AOR2, she got the passport request. 5 weeks after my AOR2, nothing at all. We both have very straightforward cases. 2 months within AOR2, she got decision made. The problem here is there's no standard, as it seems like it depends on how lucky you are, if your file happens to land on a good VO officer's desk.
My case is not as frustrating as yours, but it does reflect the lack of standards they handle. I sent an inquiry through the webform to the VO, but they didn't reply, and I don't think they will at all, as it clearly said in there that they may not reply. It's been just three months since they received my app in Mississauga, but in the end, it doesn't really matter that much, 4-5 months being away from my wife without being able to be physically together is too much, it's not quick enough.

 

[Lonelywyf]

I know how painful it's to stay apart from ur loved one. Mississauga is usually faster in processing the first step but ones the application reaches the VO that is where it slows down. It sits someones desk collecting dust. Each day comes and goes without knowing what's happening to ur file, uncertainty in the horizon.

 

[Oldmacwright]

I wonder how does it stack up in terms of processing speeds against other countries such as Australia and the UK....I know the cost is way cheaper for a PR Visa in Canada compared to those 2 countries which is one positive I guess!

 

[FrostiRose]

I wonder how does it stack up in terms of processing speeds against other countries such as Australia and the UK....I know the cost is way cheaper for a PR Visa in Canada compared to those 2 countries which is one positive I guess!

I have no clue about the UK or Australia, but when my wife applied for permanent residency in Sweden 12 or 13 years ago she had to pay I think around $100, we were both called to an interview at the local immigration office a few weeks later, and after the interview it took another few weeks before she had her visa. Total processing time about 2 months.

 

[KandyK]

I agree with you and the frustration. I came to canada in 2011. Applied for PR. After waiting 2 years. I dot denied in 2013. Could not appeal so it went down the drain. I stayed here on a yearly work permit.

Then met my husband 2013. Got married in 2015. Had q baby in 2016. Applied for PR under spousal March 2017. Landed 7 months later October 2017. (INLAND)

Finally a PR after 6 years in Canada.


It comes but need to suffer first. Its not an easy road. The waiting kills!!!! If some thing doesn't seem right. Just make sure u keep getting at them.

 

[majesty]

I agree with you and the frustration. I came to canada in 2011. Applied for PR. After waiting 2 years. I dot denied in 2013. Could not appeal so it went down the drain. I stayed here on a yearly work permit.

Then met my husband 2013. Got married in 2015. Had q baby in 2016. Applied for PR under spousal March 2017. Landed 7 months later October 2017. (INLAND)

Finally a PR after 6 years in Canada.


It comes but need to suffer first. Its not an easy road. The waiting kills!!!! If some thing doesn't seem right. Just make sure u keep getting at them.

I totally understand, we have a story too.

My partner also has had a difficult time. He came to Canada in 2012 to 2013. He got a job with a company where he was doing a job in his field but as an entry level worker because his foreign credentials aren't recognized here. The company he worked for tried to get him a LMO (LMIA now). Got denied because his NOC classification for his job was not in a high demand category. I consulted with an immigration lawyer and he offered us some options which were long shots and also spousal sponsorship, but saw that for his country at that time, the average was 18 months in processing time, so we decided to try other options. He looked at EE and tried for a period of time to accumulate points and improve his IELTS score but 2 years later, it wasn't looking very optimistic. Finally at the end of 2015, we decided that we would try and collect the evidence we needed to apply common-law for spousal sponsorship. It took us a long time to do that and so finally we got to that stage at the end of 2016, after redoing a few rounds of form updates. It has been such a long road trying to get him to immigrate to Canada. I guess what is another few more months of waiting after 4 years?!

 

[FrostiRose]

I guess what is another few more months of waiting after 4 years?!

Well, not much at all really. But with the complete lack of information, how can you even know that anyone is working on your application? There is one guy at the company I will start working at (once I have my PR...) who took longer than normal going through the same immigration process. Why? The officer responsible for his application left for maternity leave and his case was literally left on her desk. Only after lawyer involvement there was movement in his case.

 

[majesty]

That is crazy and sucks! Once again an example of a lack of accountability in how applications are handled!