Some update from me. During the interview we discussed the discrepancies in my travel history which could have affected my presence. I already knew about these issues before the interview and already had completed the recalculation (pushing my presence dangerously close to 1095), but I got issued 520 form requiring full travel history evidence. The case officer was kind enough to provide me with CBSA entry records and requested US I-94 (the "Travel History" on their website). I provided it in 2 days and got email confirmation that everything is fine (Claude told me it will take 3-6 months). Now waiting for LPP to clear in the tracker and the ceremony in 4-10 weeks.
So, if you have LPP long wait, it is very likely they are checking your travel history. So be proactive here to be sure you are fine. If you found discrepancies, I recommend sending them through WebForm immediately. You would need to redo the official presence
https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/ calculator + attach full evidence. It is very likely that this will speed things up.
There are of course instances with language (new proof request) and prohibitions, but I think for vast majority of people travel history is the main reason for the wait.
The discrepancies I had (~4-5 of all my trips) are actually a serious offense "on paper". You MUST admit your mistake - they have your entry records. There is absolutely no room to play any games - there is a 5 year ban if they see you try to misrepresent anything. I admitted my mistakes and they gave me opportunity to fix them.
1. Request CBSA exit/entry records ASAP. I was told it takes months, so I never did that. It was my mistake
2. Download I-94 for US records
3. Search all your emails, chats with relatives about all your trips, messages like "at the airport", "just landed", "waiting for boarding" helped my find a trip that was booked by my travel agency and I had no record for in any of my emails
4. For all trips, collect ALL evidence (including hotel bookings, taxi/uber trips, literally anything that proves your departure date - the entry date is easy to prove - they just use their CBSA extract). There are forum threads here saying that credit card statements could also work.
There is a chance that you'd think "I will just withdraw" after you get this request, if your travel history gets dangerously close to 1095 days. Don't do it. This stays on the record and could be interpreted as admission of guilt (Claude research of this forum and the internet).
In retrospect (for those who have not applied yet):
- Do everything above BEFORE you apply
- Store all your boarding passes and all travel evidence diligently in digital form.
- Check your travel history 5 more times, with various people who might know about your travel.
- Attach CBSA/I-94 with application if you have extensive travel. They don't have Canada exit records, so it's better that you are proactive here.
- Leave good buffer. Ideally 20-50 days, depending on how often you travel. It's very personal, but I recommend a buffer of at least 1 day per trip + 2 durations of your average trip. All depends on how organized you are and how many trips you made. You know yourself better.
- And the biggest learning: it's been 7 months since my test and more than 11 months since I applied. If I waited for CBSA records (30 days to few months) before I signed the application, I would have not been in this situation and I would have been a citizen by now probably, like most in my cohort.
- There is no rush. By applying later (with full CBSA evidence on hand), you actually SAVE time avoiding this LPP wait.
Good luck everyone waiting here!
Everything above is just my opinion, nothing is official.