Visa Processing For Lebanese Nationals

[birdwings25]

As some may have noticed:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-04-03.asp

Lebanese do not need to go to Syria, anymore (unless they wish to) for immigration.

Since this announcement came out 40 days ago, I have missed it, and I have just sent the application to sponsor my wife, to Mississisauga, few days ago. I would appreciate any feedback on the following:
- How soon can I change the visa office location?
- How much time is usually wasted in this process?
- Anyone has any experience with the services of the canadian embassy in lebanon, and whether its better, from a processing/service point of view, to stick with the one in Damascus.

Thanks.

[Rasha]

Bird,

you should look for a thread with rorita and Marlena - they are lebanese and in the process as well...and will be able to best answer your questions.

best of luck
t'charafneh

[MARLENA]

Thanks Rasha for referring bird to both of us :0)

My husband file was transferred to Damascus. I didn't bother to notify them since if god forbidden he go through an interview he will be requested to be done in Beirut.
The process time for both is the same...

Good luck!!

[rorita_76]

Thank you Rasha,.... Marlena , boujasim and me are the Lebanese master here...:)
Welcome to this forum birdwings25 , and yessss finally a Lebanese wife being sponsored on this forum.
My file is in Damascus since January 2009, I have a lonnnnnnng story, if you want you can check my old post and feel sorry for me...:) anyway.
As I have read, the Canadian embassy in Beirut has started taking the immigration application since March-31-2009, I don't know how you can transfer your file from consult to other, since in my case I got the order to transfer from the consult in buffalo, and my lawyer did it.
But before you do that, I think you have to take in consideration that, from what I have read (don't recall where, since I surf the internet for more than 7 hour daily..) that they have signed 2 immigration officer from Damascus to come to the embassy in Lebanon and start the work...so it will be lot of work for 2 officer, the Beirut embassy still new in these kind of application, on the other side, Damascus has a very good reputation for being good and fast.
If your wife has been asked for an interview, she will be given the choice to do it in Lebanon or Damascus.
Concerning the time to transfer the file, I am not sure, but for normal procedure, file has been transferred within 1 month or less in most case, except me..:(.
So, from my point of view and bad experience in transferring, I think you should stay with Damascus.
And over that as well, I am not sure if you still can do it, cause as I have read over this forum, you need good reason to be approved to transfer your file.
Good luck, welcome to the long wait, and keep us update, and tell us if we can help you in anything.

[MARLENA]

I have one question in mind.
It's not up to the sponsor or the applicant to choose on the application the destination of the file to be process. I remember when I received my 1st stage approval even after the announcement came out my file still transfered to Damascus instead of Beirut.
I guess you can request your file to be transfer by emailing Damascus but it's not anywhere in the PR application where you have to choose. Right????

[birdwings25]

- Thanks all for the responses and nice to meet you. I looked into this a little more:

- It seems that the new processing center in Lebanon is just for preliminary handling that saves the lebanese the trouble of travelling to Syria. Damascus will remain as the more central processing place. If an interview is required, officials will still come from the Damascus embassy to conduct the interview in Lebanon, plus, they state that there is really no change in processing timelines (in other words, the application is mostly examined in the same earlier location).

[MARLENA]

Bird one question. Where did u retrieve the information???. Is it by calling them or by reading Questions and Answers on the website.
I was reading some threads in this forum the OIC (Officer in charge) are very difficult to deal with, hopefully it has changed.

Good luck!!

[rorita_76]

Hey birdwings25 ,
It seems that you are the one giving us information instead that we do it...:)
as I have understand from your post, the Lebanese people files still  has to go thru Damascus, but Beirut consult do some work so that the Lebanese people don't go to Syria.
Do you think that or did you read, that if a passport is request, does the Beirut embassy stamp it, or we have to go to Damascus...
Can you provide the link you used to find these info about Beirut Consult?

[boujasim]

hola!
u can have the interview in lebanon, BUT if ur applying for quebec it shud be done in syria, coz quebec has a special office in the embajada in damascus.

as for the visa, u can obtain it from lebanon, u dont have to go to syria.

btw iam fine, i just got LOADS of work.

[MARLENA]

Thanks Boujasim for your information and welcome back. Funny I was reading your threads today and wondering if you still anywhere in this planet.

Anything on your case yet? I meant to ask you as well what's the timeline for your application in Damascus.... Is it slow or fast????

Good luck and please keep in touch!!!!

[rorita_76]

Boujasim....I thought that you had your interview and preparing to go to canda and left us here in our pain..:))
So , you think, if God wish, and I gor the PR, I can have the passport stamped in lebanon?
if so, how can I do it, lets say that they call me, and tell me send your passport or send me email and tell me send your passport, what shall I do to have it stamped in lebanon, cause it is a 3 hour to damscus, and between I scare of the road near the border, cause there is always huge car carsh.
Any news about your interview?

[MARLENA]

How much time do they give to prepare yourself to the interview??? Any idea???

[rorita_76]

In the link below:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-04-03.asp

they say:
The visa office in Beirut will receive applications, collect fees, reply to inquiries, provide visas and return other documents to applicants. Two additional locally engaged staff members will be added to accommodate this service expansion.

can we understand from that, if an application is already in process in damscus, they file a passport request, we can drop the passport at the embassy in beirut, and later on collect the passport along with the original of the document submitted to the consult in damscus.
if this is the case, it is a very good news, in case we are approved of course...:))

[boujasim]

iam still on this planet:P
and they will tell you to send ur passport to the embassy in beirut.dont worry.

[Rasha]

boujasim,

you are back!!! :) how are things? any news on your case yet?