GCMS shows 'Security Screening' and waiting... - let's gather here!

[jinbar]

We applied for Canadian permanent residence in 2023.
At first, everything seemed to move pretty quickly. This was our timeline:

20.08.2023 — Submitted / Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR)
16.09.2023 — Medical passed
03.10.2023 — Biometrics passed and completed in GCKey
28.11.2023 — Background check changed to “In Progress” in the tracker
15.04.2024 — CBSA records: A34 Comprehensive Security Screening — “In Progress”
And then… nothing.

Months turned into years.
Meanwhile, real life didn’t stop. Our children got older. School years passed. Birthdays came and went. Things that were supposed to be temporary slowly became our normal life.
I think people who have been stuck in a long immigration process understand this strange feeling. You’re not exactly waiting every day anymore, because you still work, raise your kids, travel, make plans, and live your life.
But somewhere in the background, there is always that unfinished application.

In progress.

Years of waiting, uncertainty, hope, frustration, and all the emotions that came with it eventually found their way into words.
Those words became a song.

IN PROGRESS — LORQAI

I wanted to share this here because I suspect people who have lived through a long immigration process will understand those words in a way most listeners probably won’t.
For those who have been waiting a long time too:

At what point did you stop putting your life on hold and simply start living while you wait?

totally resonates with us, we applied in Feb 2022 ... still waiting on extensive security screening, it's very hard to keep your life on hold for almost 5 years now

May I ask why u have not consider writ of mandamus at this point? And if you have already, what was the outcome?

I'm in contact with a lawyer and local MP they both advised to wait a bit longer... I think once we pass the 5 years (which is approaching) we will do it

 

[NoWayThisIsHappening]

Hi folks!

New to this thread. Has anyone here had experience writing a demand/pre-mandamus letter themselves, without a lawyer? If so, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience - how complicated it was, the outcome, and anything else that might be helpful or insightful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pouria1989]

Hi folks!

New to this thread. Has anyone here had experience writing a demand/pre-mandamus letter themselves, without a lawyer? If so, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience - how complicated it was, the outcome, and anything else that might be helpful or insightful.

Thanks in advance!

Yeah I tried that via webform and got a generic response. From what i know they wont take you seriously unless the letter comes from a lawyers office.

 

[Lenny712]

totally resonates with us, we applied in Feb 2022 ... still waiting on extensive security screening, it's very hard to keep your life on hold for almost 5 years now

I'm in contact with a lawyer and local MP they both advised to wait a bit longer... I think once we pass the 5 years (which is approaching) we will do it

A lawyer advising you to wait to pass 5 years? for what reason? It is obviously a very unreasonable delay past 3 years

 

[NoWayThisIsHappening]

A lawyer advising you to wait to pass 5 years? for what reason? It is obviously a very unreasonable delay past 3 years

Right? I would question a lawyer's qualifications if I was told something like this

 

[jinbar]

A lawyer advising you to wait to pass 5 years? for what reason? It is obviously a very unreasonable delay past 3 years

He says it's not guaranteed to work... the application has been pending since Feb 2022 , security screening since Sep 2023

 

[jmdbsa]

Hi folks!

New to this thread. Has anyone here had experience writing a demand/pre-mandamus letter themselves, without a lawyer? If so, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience - how complicated it was, the outcome, and anything else that might be helpful or insightful.

Thanks in advance!

You can write a pre-mandamus letter without lawyer, just state you case and say it's unreasonable delay if no u will take mandamus. (but it's almost not hopeful) if u wrt mandamus, the key is the test of unreasonable delay.
----
unreasonable delay depends on the case by case (every case has a unique timeline), it is not too relevant about years of waiting. for example, if a delay is 5 years with clear explanation. It's still deemed reasonable. The unreasonable delay only happens by
- on the surface, the processing time is longer than the conventional processing time (each program has compelety different processing time)
- the applicant has zero responsibility/attribution for the delay
- the respondent does not provide convincing reasons to explain the delay.
-----
The court broadly acknowledges that
- security screening will make the processing (for each program) longer,
- but the unreasonable delay is highly specific from the court view.
- no unified view of how long the delay is unreasonable for security screening. As for security screening, some are quick, some can take several years.
- From the court record decision the unreasonable delay is not clearly set, it's highly discretionary

 

[NoWayThisIsHappening]

You can write a pre-mandamus letter without lawyer, just state you case and say it's unreasonable delay if no u will take mandamus. (but it's almost not hopeful) if u wrt mandamus, the key is the test of unreasonable delay.
----
unreasonable delay depends on the case by case (every case has a unique timeline), it is not too relevant about years of waiting. for example, if a delay is 5 years with clear explanation. It's still deemed reasonable. The unreasonable delay only happens by
- on the surface, the processing time is longer than the conventional processing time (each program has compelety different processing time)
- the applicant has zero responsibility/attribution for the delay
- the respondent does not provide convincing reasons to explain the delay.
-----
The court broadly acknowledges that
- security screening will make the processing (for each program) longer,
- but the unreasonable delay is highly specific from the court view.
- no unified view of how long the delay is unreasonable for security screening. As for security screening, some are quick, some can take several years.
- From the court record decision the unreasonable delay is not clearly set, it's highly discretionary

Thank you for the provided information. I’m well aware of all that tho and was looking to see if there was anyone here that could speak from their own experience writing a demand letter with no lawyer involved.

 

[katezhu]

Thank you for the provided information. I’m well aware of all that tho and was looking to see if there was anyone here that could speak from their own experience writing a demand letter with no lawyer involved.

Lots of people wrote demand letter by themselves in this forum.

 

[NoWayThisIsHappening]

Lots of people wrote demand letter by themselves in this forum.

Well, that's very encouraging to hear lol. Still waiting to see if anyone could share their experience

 

[Lenny712]

He says it's not guaranteed to work... the application has been pending since Feb 2022 , security screening since Sep 2023

Of course it’s not guaranteed , mandamus never is. But that doesn’t mean waiting until the five-year mark will somehow give you a better chance. If there’s no serious security concern or other valid explanation for the delay, you can already make a strong argument that a delay of this length is unreasonable, i'd consider finding another lawyer.