USA work history & Interview

[cic8888]

hi all,
I did my test at Montreal and got 20/20. (questions are very very simple - most online exams are enough).

and at the interview (all interview officers are really nice - 4 of them - smiling and joking to all applicants).
on my turn of interview, she asked basic questions and while she is checking my passport stamps (I had 11 travel in last 4 years) - out of 11 entries she was putting a TICK mark dates for only 3 entries in the online calculator we submitted)
she saw that I was in USA on work visa and then she stopped verifying stamps and started questions about how long was I there and why I moved here etc. she didn't check the online calculator days after. at the end, she said if your application is good we will let you know in 2-4 months OR we will contact you if we need more documents
now my questions are
1. do officers check all stamps for all applicants? or do they just check few stamps randomly to see if they are ok?
2. what are my post RQ chances? (because she didn't check all stamps - though all are in tact with CBSA records)
3. what are standard response times for Montreal - for RQ as well as Oath letter

thanks

 

[sweetakash]

hi all,
I did my test at Montreal and got 20/20. (questions are very very simple - most online exams are enough).

and at the interview (all interview officers are really nice - 4 of them - smiling and joking to all applicants).
on my turn of interview, she asked basic questions and while she is checking my passport stamps (I had 11 travel in last 4 years) - out of 11 entries she was putting a TICK mark dates for only 3 entries in the online calculator we submitted)
she saw that I was in USA on work visa and then she stopped verifying stamps and started questions about how long was I there and why I moved here etc. she didn't check the online calculator days after. at the end, she said if your application is good we will let you know in 2-4 months OR we will contact you if we need more documents
now my questions are
1. do officers check all stamps for all applicants? or do they just check few stamps randomly to see if they are ok?
2. what are my post RQ chances? (because she didn't check all stamps - though all are in tact with CBSA records)
3. what are standard response times for Montreal - for RQ as well as Oath letter

thanks

I went through similar situation. Scored 20/20 then met citizenship officer.
She was thoroughly checking the accuracy of absences declared on residence calculator by verifying them against the entry/exit stamps on passport.
While doing that, I also told her that if she has any doubts, I have boarding passes of all my travels and provide it if needed, to which see said we will see if that will be required.
As all my entry/exit stamps were clear, she was satisfied. Then she found couple of stamps which were not on the residence calculator. I had enough proofs to prove those day trip stamps to US (CBSA entry/exit report and Canada Custom Duty paid receipts) and it helped bacause she took photocopies of those documents.
Then she arrived at a USA-L1 visa on my old passport which had validity running into my residency period. She asked me about my work connections to US, in fact I also had a work number in application which was a US number. But I had enough proofs of me being in Canada all the time and I told her that although the company I work for once had an opportunity for me to work in US and so they sponsored me for it, but then that opportunity never materialized and so although the visa is there on my passport, I have never travel to US on that Visa. Although, for a consultant who travels a lot, I have a strong track record for working with my current company for 11 years and past 6 years out of it in Canada, so it was quite convincing for the citizenship officer.
Answers to your questions are ...

1. do officers check all stamps for all applicants? or do they just check few stamps randomly to see if they are ok?
Citizenship officer check all the stamps thoroughly, although it depends on each officer, but it is not safe to assume that they are casual about stamps checking.

2. what are my post RQ chances? (because she didn't check all stamps - though all are in tact with CBSA records)
If you are sure that you provided the officer with satisfying answers to her queries about US Visa, you are likely to get through.

3. what are standard response times for Montreal - for RQ as well as Oath letter
Montreal is little slower, but again it depends on case to case basis. Keep an eye on the timelines of the candidates from Montreal who applied for citizenship at around same time. Your application, if not RQ-ed, should follow the same timeline plus/minus 30 days (generally). RQ usually sets a case off the timeline comparison method of prediction.
All the best!!!

 

[SherifEF]

@sweetakash,
May I know your office who's handling your application? Based on your timeline, I do not think you are Montreal office.

 

[sweetakash]

@ sweetakash,
May I know your office who's handling your application? Based on your timeline, I do not think you are Montreal office.

My office was Mississauga.

 

[SherifEF]

Thanks for your quick response.
I live in Montreal, and I am going to relocate this week to Oakville -GTA. I should apply by May 1st 2015. Do you think my office will be Mississauga too ? By another word, Do I have the choice to chose my office that will handle my application?

 

[Ronaldo Da Lima 89]

CIC8888 - prepare yourself for the RQ. Most probably you will get one.


Sherif: you cant choose which local office. CIC sends your application to the local office near your residence. In your case, your local office will be in Ontario when you move to Oakville.

 

[sweetakash]

Thanks for your quick response.
I live in Montreal, and I am going to relocate this week to Oakville -GTA. I should apply by May 1st 2015. Do you think my office will be Mississauga too ? By another word, Do I have the choice to chose my office that will handle my application?

You do not have a choice to select your local office, but if you live in Oakville, your possibilities of getting Mississauga office are higher, unless CIC comes up with any workload distribution strategy and change some local office allocation rules (You can understand that May-2015 is still far away to predict anything positively).
Cheers!!!

 

[cic8888]

Thanks sweetakash n others! I will keep u posted on my case