October 11th 2017 - Citizenship Applicants under 3/5 rule

[paritosh]

Its very strange people from Sept are waiting and they are issuing AOR to new applicants. They have to treat first come first basis so seniors can feel good that their files are good and nothing missing on forms

 

[wwe]

Hello,
My application reahedon Oct 16. Still no AOR.
How should know if they are returing back my application due to incomplteness?

 

[uncomfortable]

I had more than 95 trips to the US in the last 2 years. It was gonna make my application really lengthy if i mention all . So I mentioned latest entry and in the ‘reason section’ I explained that i have crossed border many times and returned on the same day.

I have made 78 entries in my physical presence calculator. If you have the dates and everything, why not doing it? It would have taken you maybe a couple of hours, but it would have saved you a lot of hassle after that.

 

[uncomfortable]

I live super close to the border and have crossed 150+ times - I AM NOT going to try and figure all of them out. It would be impossible. I am writing and explanation letter and giving them permission to check my record.

You should be able to get the US crossings via the DHS website, and you could in theory get the list of Canadian crossings via an ATIP request to the CBSA, although they advise not to do it, at least while the application is in process. But if you do it before, it should be ok.
It would be a lot of work, but it would not be impossible. I would do it, because at the end of the day they will pull the records and most likely ask you to account for it. The less you give them chances to have doubts and ask questions, the smoother your application is going to be.

 

[thebassi35]

I have made 78 entries in my physical presence calculator. If you have the dates and everything, why not doing it? It would have taken you maybe a couple of hours, but it would have saved you a lot of hassle after that.

If i knew they were mandatory I would have done it.doesn’t matter 95 or 1000 but i was thinking that day trips don’t count towards absences. So i mentioned just one and explained all other trips in that.

 

[thebassi35]

If i knew they were mandatory I would have done it.doesn’t matter 95 or 1000 but i was thinking that day trips don’t count towards absences. So i mentioned just one and explained all other trips in that.

Plus I didn’t have all the dates because you do not get your passport stamped everytime you cross border

 

[razerblade]

Plus I didn’t have all the dates because you do not get your passport stamped everytime you cross border

If you travelled on a US visa, you can use the following link to instantly retrieve your travel records. They have been quite accurate in the last few years.

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/

 

[thebassi35]

They shouldn’t ask for day trips as they don’t count towards absene.Doesn’t make any sense

 

[razerblade]

They shouldn’t ask for day trips as they don’t count towards absene.Doesn’t make any sense

They want to know everything you've been doing during your eligibility period. Makes sense they're giving us Citizenship. In the interview, they will most likely ask you why you made so many trips down to the States.

 

[OsamaR]

Its very strange people from Sept are waiting and they are issuing AOR to new applicants. They have to treat first come first basis so seniors can feel good that their files are good and nothing missing on forms

It could be also so many of these applicant are not updating their records in here !

 

[egghead]

You should be able to get the US crossings via the DHS website, and you could in theory get the list of Canadian crossings via an ATIP request to the CBSA, although they advise not to do it, at least while the application is in process. But if you do it before, it should be ok.
It would be a lot of work, but it would not be impossible. I would do it, because at the end of the day they will pull the records and most likely ask you to account for it. The less you give them chances to have doubts and ask questions, the smoother your application is going to be.

I am an American, so they do not track my entries. They are pretty explicit about not asking for the Canadian report if you are applying, so not sure I want to do that. Besides, who knows how long that would take, i.e. delaying my application. Also, we have lived here since 1999. I am in NEXUS as trusted traveler. We aren't an unknown commodity and the day trips are easily explained - gas, groceries, children right across the border, grandchild, post office box, etc.

 

[spyfy]

They shouldn’t ask for day trips as they don’t count towards absene.Doesn’t make any sense

It makes perfect sense. Often the day you leave Canada is not recorded. Either because you left via air or because that day the US border officer didn't feel like scanning your document. So IRCC might see only this in your CBSA record:

- Entered Canada on 2016-10-06
- Entered Canada on 2017-09-23

Without any entries in between. So how could IRCC tell if you were out of Canada just for the day on 2017-09-23 or if you actually were out of Canada from 2017-04-20 until 2017-09-23? That is exactly why you need to declare that day trip to the states on 2017-09-23. Because that way they can make sense of entry dates.

IRCC doesn't invent forms and rules to harass you. They ask for that info for a specific reason. As much as I understand that the long processing times are frustrating, it is kind of annoying that people here who are neither lawyers nor IRCC employees seem to know better what IRCC should ask for and what they shouldn't ask for.

 

[spyfy]

I am an American, so they do not track my entries. They are pretty explicit about not asking for the Canadian report if you are applying, so not sure I want to do that. Besides, who knows how long that would take, i.e. delaying my application. Also, we have lived here since 1999. I am in NEXUS as trusted traveler. We aren't an unknown commodity and the day trips are easily explained - gas, groceries, children right across the border, grandchild, post office box, etc.

The reason why they advise against asking for the CBSA record (which takes 30 days to receive btw) is just because they don't want that all hundred thousands of people who apply for citizenship also ask the CBSA for their record and therefore producing an overload. Asking for the CBSA record will not negatively affect your application (apart from the fact that you have to wait 30 days before you receive it and then can apply).

It's correct that they don't track your entries to the US, but they track your entries to Canada so based on that data you could list all day trips.

You can, of course, ask IRCC to figure it out themselves. But that's exactly the kind of stuff that delays your application. Do the work for them or they will do the work for you - over months.

 

[spyfy]

Hello,
My application reahedon Oct 16. Still no AOR.
How should know if they are returing back my application due to incomplteness?

"Still no AOR" after 15 days? I've said that many times before: Normally AOR takes weeks/a month. Just because some people received AOR very fast, everyone is freaking out. Gotta love this forum sometimes

 

[Najimi]

"Still no AOR" after 15 days? I've said that many times before: Normally AOR takes weeks/a month. Just because some people received AOR very fast, everyone is freaking out. Gotta love this forum sometimes

I am facing the same problem. My application was delivered on 13of October, still not received AOR. So, you mean that after a month we can call and ask Sedney Office about our applications? I am not sure whether the phone representatives will be able to provide details because applications information is enter into computer after AOR.