Applicant from PhD program after 5 Nov, 2011 connect here to get status

[SMike]

May I know what is the title?

Yes, zhanghaizh007. It was something like "Employment verification for Zhang Haizh". I hope that helps.

 

[SMike]

Hi guys, I received pass request from ottawa on March 3. I sent my pass a day after. Today I got the visa and went to the border for landing. The officer first asked for US I-94 and then I told him that I came from the city not from US and he finally consented to do my landing papers. So the rumour that the law has been changed and you cannot land without leaving the country anymore is not true. I think this forum is awesome and it helped me a lot in updating papers and stuff. I hope you all get your visa soon.

Congrats!!!

 

[zhougt]

Hi guys,
I applied on Jan 2013. Till now, 13 months have past but I haven't heard any update (except PER).

I sent an email to CIC this week, and I got a reply as:

"Your file is currently awaiting an assessment by an officer in order to determine if your application meets the requirements under the Federal Skilled Worker Class. No action is needed from your part, at this present time. Please be assured that you will be contacted immediately should further information be required or regarding the next steps in your file."

This is so vague. What does "currently awaiting an assessment" mean? Is my application currently under review? Or they haven't started to review my application yet?

BTW, I have been check this forum from time to time. Could the admin team remove the word "inactive user" on my tracker status? Thanks a lot!

 

[aidina]

Hi guys,
I applied on Jan 2013. Till now, 13 months have past but I haven't heard any update (except PER).

I sent an email to CIC this week, and I got a reply as:

"Your file is currently awaiting an assessment by an officer in order to determine if your application meets the requirements under the Federal Skilled Worker Class. No action is needed from your part, at this present time. Please be assured that you will be contacted immediately should further information be required or regarding the next steps in your file."

This is so vague. What does "currently awaiting an assessment" mean? Is my application currently under review? Or they haven't started to review my application yet?

BTW, I have been check this forum from time to time. Could the admin team remove the word "inactive user" on my tracker status? Thanks a lot!

It is not assessed by the Ottawa yet. It is still in queue.

 

[Master3]

Hi guys, I received pass request from ottawa on March 3. I sent my pass a day after. Today I got the visa and went to the border for landing. The officer first asked for US I-94 and then I told him that I came from the city not from US and he finally consented to do my landing papers. So the rumour that the law has been changed and you cannot land without leaving the country anymore is not true. I think this forum is awesome and it helped me a lot in updating papers and stuff. I hope you all get your visa soon.

Where did you go for landing ?

 

[ryan_glory]

Where did you go for landing ?

I went to the tunnel port in downtown Windsor.

 

[sgtrigger]

Hey sgtrigger,

No, I didn't. I got only POF request prior to the medical request.

Thanks...

 

[pyzdfr]

Hello guys,

I have prepared a sample RA/TA letter for my application. Here it is my sample:

<Date>,

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to verify the employment of Mr. xxx in the department of xxx at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Mr. xxx has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant under my supervision since he joined my research group in September 2011. As a Research Assistant, Mr. xxx has worked 30 hours a week since September 2011 and therefore, the total work experience as a Research Assistant accumulated by Mr. xxx is not less than 3800 hours. He has received funding in the amount of xxx in the first year and xxx in the second and third years for his work as a Research Assistant. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the main source from which I receive my research funding.
As a Research Assistant, Mr. xxx has assisted me in research activities in the area of xxx. The duties of Mr. xxx as a Research Assistant include the followings:
• Plan and conduct scientific research in the area of xxx.
• Prepare literature reviews, compile and analyze results of experiments.
• Assist me to prepare, verify, and publish research results to be published in scholarly journals.
• Present research seminars and supervise undergraduate researchers.
Mr. xxx has also been assigned as a Graduate Teaching Assistant since January 2012. The total work experience as a Teaching Assistant accumulated by Mr. xxx is approximately 360 hours. Mr. xxx received approximately $2400 in the first year, $5500 in the second year, and $3600 in the third year for his teaching assisting duties.
As a Teaching Assistant, Mr. xxx assisted Dr. xxx and Dr. xxx in teaching undergraduate courses. The main duties of Mr. xxx as a Teaching Assistant were as follows:
• Conduct laboratory sessions to supplement lectures.
• Conduct tutorial sessions, and discussion groups.
• Grade homework, quizzes and laboratory reports.
• Making copies, filing, organizing and invigilating study sessions for exams.
• Hold office hours to answer student questions.
Should you have any questions or require further information, please contact me at a@b.c or xxx-xxx-xxx.

<Supervisor’s Name>
<Supervisor’s Title>


As you can see, I have included both RA/TA letters in one letter, which will be signed by my supervisor. However, I am not sure if this is a good idea. So, it is appreciated if you could share your experience.
Also, I have tried to include leading statement, duties, and other requirements in the letter. Please let me know if there is still any room to improve this letter.

Thanks a lot and wish you best.

 

[zhanghaizh007]

some people here wrote 40hours/week for RA. If I write 30 or 40 hours for RA, but the salary per hour is less than 10$. Is that OK?

 

[PhdStream]

UPDATE:

Whoever has/have access to the tracker sheet, could you please update the following

Username: PhDStream
Application reached CIO (expected) : March 10, 2014
No. of applicants : 01
Experience: RA (30 hrs/week for more than 3 years; title- Post-secondary Research Assistant) and Other for (full time 2 years + 9 months)

 

[Holygun]

UPDATE:

Whoever has/have access to the tracker sheet, could you please update the following

Username: PhDStream
Application reached CIO (expected) : March 10, 2014
No. of applicants : 01
Experience: RA (30 hrs/week for more than 3 years; title- Post-secondary Research Assistant) and Other for (full time 2 years + 9 months)

Where is the spread sheet ? I can't find it, can someone post it for me?

 

[salem10]

Hello guys,

I have prepared a sample RA/TA letter for my application. Here it is my sample:

<Date>,

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to verify the employment of Mr. xxx in the department of xxx at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Mr. xxx has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant under my supervision since he joined my research group in September 2011. As a Research Assistant, Mr. xxx has worked 30 hours a week since September 2011 and therefore, the total work experience as a Research Assistant accumulated by Mr. xxx is not less than 3800 hours. He has received funding in the amount of xxx in the first year and xxx in the second and third years for his work as a Research Assistant. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the main source from which I receive my research funding.
As a Research Assistant, Mr. xxx has assisted me in research activities in the area of xxx. The duties of Mr. xxx as a Research Assistant include the followings:
• Plan and conduct scientific research in the area of xxx.
• Prepare literature reviews, compile and analyze results of experiments.
• Assist me to prepare, verify, and publish research results to be published in scholarly journals.
• Present research seminars and supervise undergraduate researchers.
Mr. xxx has also been assigned as a Graduate Teaching Assistant since January 2012. The total work experience as a Teaching Assistant accumulated by Mr. xxx is approximately 360 hours. Mr. xxx received approximately $2400 in the first year, $5500 in the second year, and $3600 in the third year for his teaching assisting duties.
As a Teaching Assistant, Mr. xxx assisted Dr. xxx and Dr. xxx in teaching undergraduate courses. The main duties of Mr. xxx as a Teaching Assistant were as follows:
• Conduct laboratory sessions to supplement lectures.
• Conduct tutorial sessions, and discussion groups.
• Grade homework, quizzes and laboratory reports.
• Making copies, filing, organizing and invigilating study sessions for exams.
• Hold office hours to answer student questions.
Should you have any questions or require further information, please contact me at a @ b.c or xxx-xxx-xxx.

<Supervisor's Name>
<Supervisor's Title>


As you can see, I have included both RA/TA letters in one letter, which will be signed by my supervisor. However, I am not sure if this is a good idea. So, it is appreciated if you could share your experience.
Also, I have tried to include leading statement, duties, and other requirements in the letter. Please let me know if there is still any room to improve this letter.

Thanks a lot and wish you best.

You should seek the truth in your reference letter. How much hours is shown on your employment letters. That what you should report. If fact, the pay rate for RA or TA is around 20$/hour. CIC might compare your income with claimed hours to see the pay rate. If they found large differences, the suspect that the letter is not credible. I understand that you might looking for at least one year equivalent full time hours, but this should not guide you to misrepresentation.
As I said, down the road, CIC asks for pay check copies, and employment offers for each TA and employment letters for RA. Your letter should be in consistency with those documents.

 

[PhdStream]

Where is the spread sheet ? I can't find it, can someone post it for me?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag-ASbHOIF93dDlLNjAtR1k4eGNtZ0xhSzkzYnBrVmc#gid=0

 

[Asal2013]

Hi Admin,
Please add my status on tracker,
My first application got returned from CIO-Sydney because it was mentioned my attestation letter was not original ( Submission date: 4-Nov-2013 and application returned on 16-Jan.-2014).

New application received: 23rd January 2014
CC cashed: 19th February 2014
PER Issued: 27th February 2014
No. of applicants: 2
Work experience: RA/TA + others
Country of origin: Iran

Thanks

 

[vivi]

Hi Admin,

Could you please update my status on the tracker?
My first application got returned from CIO-Sydney because I didn't attach at least one year CONTINUOUS full time work experience (while my total work experience was more than 2 years). Submission date: September 13, 2013, CC cashed: December 4, 2013, and application returned: January 23, 2014.

My new application received on February 13, 2014
CC cashed on March 5, 2014
PER Issued on March 10, 2014
No. of applicants: 2
Work experience: RA/TA + others
Country of origin: Iran

Thanks