break down of phases and times for Inland Spousal Sponsorship visa

[olospoon]

:
I have been looking for some more specifics on wait times of the different phases within an inland spousal sponsorship application as I'm trying to ascertain when my Amercian husband will be able to apply for medical (msp). we sent in our inland family class application in December 2015 along with an open work permit application for him, taking advantage of the pilot program.


here's where we are now

-Send in the Application (we sent ours to arrive on Dec 21, 2015)
-6 weeks later get a receipt of acknowledgment letter from CIC basically saying they've opened the application and created a file number (we received that on January 30, 2016)
-4 weeks later... status online was blank until February 25 when suddenly a status appeared! Sponsors application is in progress since January 29. Guess it took them a month to update the system.

so what I think happens next is

1. Sponsors application is accepted. Hopefully.
2. Husband's PR application is then forwarded to another office for processing. I believe we should be receiving a letter when this phase of the application process has started (How long does it take to start the processing of this? Is it immediate or does it take a couple months for the next place to pick up the documents and get going on them?)
3. Husband's work permit is processed and sent (I have read and been told this should happen within 4 months of applying, would that be from Dec 21 when we sent in the application or from the Jan 30 receipt of acknowledgement date?)

The application processing times on CIC's website doesn't give much detail, at the moment it is showing an overal 26 month waiting period, the reason I'd like more insight into the wait times for processing each phase is we not only need to plan when we can expect my husband to be able to start looking for work but also we want to apply for his medical card. I spoke with MSP (BC) on the phone a couple times to figure out when in the process we will be able to do this and it turns out we won't be able to apply until #2 (husbands PR application has started being processed.). I'd love to know better when this phase tends to start so that we can decide whether to wait for medical attention he needs or bite the bullet and pay out of pocket for medical and hope the government refunds us the money later when Msp is officially applied for and date of issuance is determined.

Anyone with experience with the timing of these things or has information that would help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks a bunch

 

[scylla]

You would have been better off applying outland since your husband is American. Some people are getting through the entire process in as little as four months right now. You are going to be waiting a lot longer with inland. To answer your questions... Yes - if all goes well, the open work permit will be approved four months after the application is submitted. There is no sponsor approval with inland (this phase applies to outland). Instead, there is an AIP (approval in principle) phase which is the first phase of an inland application. AIP will take 18 months from the time your application is submitted. How long the second phase takes can vary - but 10 months is a good ballpark.

 

[MapleOakLife]

You can go on a site called Trackitt and put in all the dates you have, and compare it to other people doing spouse sponsorships. I use it all the time because you can see how long it took person A, B, and C compared to you. Plus there is also notes people put under their "file" for more in depth information. I would recommend at least going and looking at it all.
Here's a link to the page: http://www.trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/family-class

 

[olospoon]

Definitely will check out that site. Thanks!

@ Scylla. Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.

Our lawyer gave us an estimate of 17-18 months for outland and CIC also states a 17 month processing time so I'm curious where you're getting that 4 month estimate from?

Inland works fine for us though, as long as he's able to work while we wait it's all good.

Also I thought it worth mentioning there does look to be a sponsor approval phase for inland, maybe it's not as encompassing as the outland version? but I did fill out some specific forms as the sponsor and now our CIC online status states "sponsorship application - in process" once that is approved his work permit will be processed and then I would think the application for his PR will enter the AIP phase that you mention. I suppose my question simplified down would be when does AIP phase officially start. On the website it states "PR application status - application received"

All the best.

 

[scylla]

Definitely will check out that site. Thanks!

@ Scylla. Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.

Our lawyer gave us an estimate of 17-18 months for outland and CIC also states a 17 month processing time so I'm curious where you're getting that 4 month estimate from?

If your lawyer told you that - then unfortunately you're not working with a competent lawyer. I would frankly request a refund. The four months is what a number of people on this forum have experienced lately. Worst case scenario it probably would have taken 8-10 months. No American application takes 17-18 months unless there are very serious issues with the application. Your lawyer should have know this (this is immigration 101) and clearly doesn't know what he/she is doing - ditch them and ask for a refund.