Application forwarded to Islamabad instead of Buffalo!

[begaana]

I just received notice from the CPC-M that I have met the requirements for sponsorship of my wife. However, they have sent the application to Islamabad, Pakistan, where the processing time is 26 months, rather than to Buffalo, where it is 12 months.

I am a Canadian citizen on a student visa in the US, and my wife is a Pakistani citizen on a US dependent visa. Our understanding was that if you have been admitted to the US for a year or more you should be able to have your application processed by the Buffalo office or another office in America. Therefore we waited a year after getting married for her US visa to go through -- if we had had any idea that this could possibly happen, we would never have waited.

Any suggestions? Should we email the High Commission of Canada in Islamabad and explain the above to them? Ideas?

 

[begaana]

When writing the above I forgot that the Buffalo Office no longer processes visas. But the application should have been forwarded to the Ottawa Pilot, no? My wife has been legally admitted to the US for over a year, and therefore according to the CIC's website, her case can be processed via a US office.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp

We are freaking out at the thought of being separated for 2 years. We've already been through 2 years of separation due to US visa rules. This is too much.

 

[CharlieD10]

The option to apply through Buffalo/the US office if you have been admitted to the US can be over-ridden by CIC if they believe the integrity of the process is best served by having the application processed by the visa office responsible for persons of the applicant's nationality.

Your wife is Pakistani, so they have obviously taken the view that it is best for Islamabad to process the application.