Very unsure of proper timeline...

[veedub272]

Hi I am a Canadian and I am sponsoring my Japanese GF under common law staus. I hired a law firm in Monteal to assist (I think we all know who, look up...).
I was pretty much ready to submit myself last October and they had me redo everything on thier forms (that were 2008, while mine were 2010, this was the first set back). They were hired for a different reason but that is another story.
I left for Japan thinking that they would be submitting the paperwork to Mississauga in early March but was very surprised to find that they didnt do so until May (the second set back). I asked about FOSS notes for her (needed for the real reason they were hired) and they had forgot about then completely (another set back)! Of course we all know that March of last year saw the big earthquake in Japan and I convinced her and her mother to come back for a couple weeks just to let things settle in Japan. We then had to deal with Immigration ourselves in Vancouver knowing nothing about her FOSS notes as they were not ordered in a timely manner (we were simply very lucky that she was able to come into Canada).
I recieved an email from the law firm stating on July 15th that my part of the application was approved and it was being sent to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo for "Finalization". I was also told in that email that it takes aprox. 6 months in Tokyo and in 2 to 4 months time I should expect the AOR. It also states this on the CIC website. So at that point we were assuming that her application should be done by late December. I booked my flight for Jan 10th and we changed her flight (back in July and at our expense) so that we would both come back together in Feb, giving plenty of extra time just in case.  Last Friday (the 28th) I got the AOR and was confused as to what it really meant. I sent an email the the firm to ask if it would be just another few months as we thought or if it would be another 6 months from the date of the AOR? They said another 6 months from the AOR date. The problem is that they never told us that and it is not clear as to that way on the CIC site either. I called CIC yesterday and the officer said they have no information as towhat a Visa office outside of Canada is doing so agian there is no clear information.
So to sum it up. We thought it was to be subbmitted in March and made her return flight accordingly with extra time. We had to change the flight (at our expense) because it was not submitted until May thinking that it would be late December and now we have to change it again (at our expense) to a date that we dont evnen know about. The status page says Tokyo recived the application on June 22 and started processing on October 28th. They have now requested her passport (this is a good thing I think from what I have read here) but I am confused by all these different dates and by the fact that everyone, including CIC seems to be saying a different thing about the time line now. We cannot extend her flight past April 20th and will have to purchase a whol new ticket after paying twice to extend the current one and if there is another 6 months yet then it wil be so close that I am not sure about the flight date.
Sorry for the long winded post here but I thought I should properly explain our situation in order to hopefully get a good answer.
Thank you in advance for your reply.   

[veedub272]

Sorry I forgot to ask the question clearly. I need to know what the timeline for the AOR is. Does the AOR come 2 to 4 months within the 6 months period as it seems to be indicating on the CIC website, by the original email sent by the firm as well being confirmed by the CIC officer that I spoke to yesterday (even though he could not confirm what the Visa office outside Canada is doing so he was not 100% sure)? Or is it another 6 months from October when the Tokyo Embassy started processing? Or 6 months from the AOR date as indicated from the email I recieved from the firm last Friday?
Thanks again.
 

[CharlieD10]

The AOR, if one is issued, is supposed to be sent to the client within 60 days of the visa office receiving the file, so it would be 2-4 months within the 6 months Tokyo takes to process the application.

In any event, you're worrying unnecessarily, I think, because now that her PP has been requested, you're all done except for the landing.  There's a user here, uccemebug, you can try asking him/looking up his posts to see how long it took Tokyo to return his wife's passport with visa, she was also in Canada when hers was requested, and they sent it to Tokyo, had it returned and landed via flagpoling at an American/Canadian border. Their application was done in April 2011.

[veedub272]

Hi Charlie, thanks so much for that.
So you agree that it should still be closer the end of December giving that it was recieved in June or would you think it would likely be around the end of April given that they started to prsecc the app. in late October?
I agree with you that I feel it is close to the end. Guess I am just frustrated at how it all went down. But the main concern is when to book her return flight (and if we change it to April then to change mine as well to reflect that). It just keeps getting extended and costing more money (and I miss her alot, skype is so 2D, I need to be with her again ).
Seems like I can no longer really trust what I am hearing from the "official sources". So I thought I might get other opinions from those who have gone through a similar situation.

[CharlieD10]

I think it should be closer to the end of December.  That "In process" update, followed by the passport request is an excellent sign.  When it says "in process" it doesn't mean they just started working on it, it means they are going to finalise it (go figure!).

[veedub272]

I see, that sounds good however I think I might have typed it wrong. So perhaps it still will be April then.
This is a copy and paste of the Status page:


We received your application for permanent residence on June 22, 2011.
 
We started processing your application on October 28, 2011.
 
Medical results have been received.


Also she is still in Japan and I am here in Canada.
Again, thanks so much, getting perspective from those who have been through it before is very much invaluable!

[CharlieD10]

Ahh, I thought she was visiting in Canada with you and had to go back home for some reason!

Nope, I'll take bets on her being here by December.  In process+meds received+passport request = visa in passport soon when it comes to Tokyo.  Uccemebug's wife had her visa issued within a day of them receiving her passport, and they had it back in hand in Canada about 10 days later.  If your wife has already submitted hers, it won't be long till she gets it back and is Canada-bound.

Good luck!

[veedub272]

Wow Charlie you made my night! I will be telling her to send her pasport ASAP. If we got a result back soone rthan later it would be great news.
Thanks again for your input.
I will update what I find out as it might be helpful to others as well.
Cheers