Summary
Applied: November 22nd 2018
Received: November 22nd 2018
Co-op Work Permit Received by Flagpoling: February 5th 2019
Flagpoling Location: Queenston Lewiston Bridge
Hi everyone,
I am a first year university student enrolled in a program where co-op experience is mandatory.
My first work term was supposed to start early in January, which meant I was supposed to have my co-op work permit by then.
However I was in the process of waiting for my extended study permit to arrive and ultimately submitted my co-op work permit application late in November, after receiving my renewed study permit.
At that time the processing time for co-op work permits weren't overly long, which made me think I would be receiving it around late December.
However it never came by the time I needed it. I nevertheless started work but at the end of my fourth day, I was told by my school to stop until my permit arrived. To earn a co-op credit at my school, a student must work for 12 weeks at the very least, which meant I had to receive my permit no later than early February.
Waiting for endless hours and checking my application status every 5 minutes, I spent 3 weeks at home in constant panic, and I'll never forget the absolute hopelessness I felt during that time.
I did everything I could, and when I say everything I mean it. I contacted everyone who I thought could help me even for a second but it didn't do much help.
I even contacted my local MP and although the MP office was kind enough to call the IRCC on my behalf, I could not have my application expedited because it was under the normal processing time.
I spent the whole day refreshing my account page but things just worsened by the increasing estimated processing time.
I cannot thank my company enough--it was easier for them to fire me and look for other applicants who were still looking for a co-op job, but they decided to wait for my permit to arrive.
I hope you can guess how much that helped me and at the same time fueled my anxiety.
During the last week before losing my chance to work, I decided to flagpole. I had already been reading many reviews about flagpoling and decided to head to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara.
I got on the Greyhound bus at 6:30AM and arrived by 8:00AM. When I got to the Canadian end, a kind person helped me by directing me to the U.S. side of the bridge and told me to get a slip from the U.S. officers. After coming back with the document, I handed it over to a Canadian officer but was shocked when he told me there were too many people waiting in the office and I had to come some other day. He said he understood the fact that I came on time but his superintendent was unwilling to take any more applications that day.
I left the bridge and hopped into a random taxi that was parked in front of a hotel. The driver knew I was trying to flagpole, and he took me to the Queenston Lewiston bridge and even crossed the border with me. After flagpoling, he dropped me off to the border office and told me to call him back after I got my permit.
As I entered the office at around 9:00AM, I was surprised by the quiet atmosphere and there were five to six people seated, waiting for the processing of their own application. I talked to the officer that I needed my co-op work permit and after an hour, everything was done.
At that time I couldn't process the fact that what had drained all the energy out of me for 3 weeks was over in a single hour.
I want to give my thanks to the taxi driver who despite the seriousness of border systems helped me fight through it. Without him this would have been impossible.
I just finished my second day of work and decided to leave this review here because during my wait, a lot of the reviews you guys left did wonders for me. I hope this can save someone else in desperate need.
Applied: November 22nd 2018
Received: November 22nd 2018
Co-op Work Permit Received by Flagpoling: February 5th 2019
Flagpoling Location: Queenston Lewiston Bridge
*
Hi everyone,
I am a first year university student enrolled in a program where co-op experience is mandatory.
My first work term was supposed to start early in January, which meant I was supposed to have my co-op work permit by then.
However I was in the process of waiting for my extended study permit to arrive and ultimately submitted my co-op work permit application late in November, after receiving my renewed study permit.
At that time the processing time for co-op work permits weren't overly long, which made me think I would be receiving it around late December.
However it never came by the time I needed it. I nevertheless started work but at the end of my fourth day, I was told by my school to stop until my permit arrived. To earn a co-op credit at my school, a student must work for 12 weeks at the very least, which meant I had to receive my permit no later than early February.
Waiting for endless hours and checking my application status every 5 minutes, I spent 3 weeks at home in constant panic, and I'll never forget the absolute hopelessness I felt during that time.
I did everything I could, and when I say everything I mean it. I contacted everyone who I thought could help me even for a second but it didn't do much help.
I even contacted my local MP and although the MP office was kind enough to call the IRCC on my behalf, I could not have my application expedited because it was under the normal processing time.
I spent the whole day refreshing my account page but things just worsened by the increasing estimated processing time.
I cannot thank my company enough--it was easier for them to fire me and look for other applicants who were still looking for a co-op job, but they decided to wait for my permit to arrive.
I hope you can guess how much that helped me and at the same time fueled my anxiety.
During the last week before losing my chance to work, I decided to flagpole. I had already been reading many reviews about flagpoling and decided to head to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara.
I got on the Greyhound bus at 6:30AM and arrived by 8:00AM. When I got to the Canadian end, a kind person helped me by directing me to the U.S. side of the bridge and told me to get a slip from the U.S. officers. After coming back with the document, I handed it over to a Canadian officer but was shocked when he told me there were too many people waiting in the office and I had to come some other day. He said he understood the fact that I came on time but his superintendent was unwilling to take any more applications that day.
I left the bridge and hopped into a random taxi that was parked in front of a hotel. The driver knew I was trying to flagpole, and he took me to the Queenston Lewiston bridge and even crossed the border with me. After flagpoling, he dropped me off to the border office and told me to call him back after I got my permit.
As I entered the office at around 9:00AM, I was surprised by the quiet atmosphere and there were five to six people seated, waiting for the processing of their own application. I talked to the officer that I needed my co-op work permit and after an hour, everything was done.
At that time I couldn't process the fact that what had drained all the energy out of me for 3 weeks was over in a single hour.
I want to give my thanks to the taxi driver who despite the seriousness of border systems helped me fight through it. Without him this would have been impossible.
I just finished my second day of work and decided to leave this review here because during my wait, a lot of the reviews you guys left did wonders for me. I hope this can save someone else in desperate need.
