CIC Sent Our Application Back, but they want something that doesn't make sense!

[christinebear]

We mailed in a complete packet for PR - common law. They sent it back and the letter from CIC says they want the form IMM 5533 for Spouse.

But we're not married?! We're common-law, so we used the common-law forms and document checklist. I don't understand why they want the spouse form? It's wanting items like marriage ceremony photos and such, but we don't have any because we're not married. What is going on??

Thank for any help. I'm planning on calling, but now I'm worried. :-[

 

[starnaenae]

Check all your forms and make sure that your status says common law not married. Def call to clarify

 

[christinebear]

Everything is checked common law. I'm so confused. I'm going to call tomorrow. I'm starting to worry as a friend just told me that common law in Canada is 3 years, not 1. :/

 

[Ponga]

Your friend is incorrect.

Maybe not:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/4-myths-about-common-law-relationships-1.1315129

It is 3 years in Alberta, but...it's moot because CIC only requires one year for the purposes of sponsorship.

 

[christinebear]

That's what I thought. Here's a link to the letter, back and front saved to my google drive. The wording is so confusing to me. I don't understand why they checked the box for spouse documentation when I clearly applied for common-law.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0n6YYrloXC7YzF1SWVSbDQteDQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0n6YYrloXC7WTNaYjl2VVo1Tm8/view?usp=sharing

 

[christinebear]

I won't be surprised if this was just an error on their part. Call to clarify, and make sure you didn't answer 'spouse' to any of their question.

We were wondering if it could be mistake. I've gone through the whole packet so many times now. It all says common law and they even highlighted the common-law document list form!

 

[christinebear]

Could be a mistake. They have been making a lot of errors since they started processing apps much 'faster.'

Oh, really? That would be so frustrating! It's not like the process isn't stressful enough.

 

[danawhitaker]

That's what I thought. Here's a link to the letter, back and front saved to my google drive. The wording is so confusing to me. I don't understand why they checked the box for spouse documentation when I clearly applied for common-law.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0n6YYrloXC7YzF1SWVSbDQteDQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0n6YYrloXC7WTNaYjl2VVo1Tm8/view?usp=sharing

The wording on the second screenshot you posted is weird. It says, "we have noted the reason on the following enclosed document." Is there something highlighted on the checklist they sent back to you (ignoring the fact that they checked the box for the spousal checklist rather than the box for the common-law partner checklist)? That wording, to me, doesn't imply that they think you sent the wrong checklist, but that seems to be an indication of where you can find what they think is missing, and that someone there ticked the wrong box for which checklist you had enclosed.

I could be way off on it. That's just my interpretation based on reading that.

That being said, regardless of that issue, it does seem like more applications have been sent back under the new "faster" process.

 

[Ponga]

Mistakes at CIC have been going on long before they started processing apps much `faster':
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/high-error-rate-found-at-cic-t264024.0.html

According to the union, casual employees make up half the workforce responsible for the reviews of permanent residence applications. These employees, mostly students, are given three days of training : on the department’s global case management system (GCMS) and rotate on three shifts.

 

[christinebear]

The wording on the second screenshot you posted is weird. It says, "we have noted the reason on the following enclosed document." Is there something highlighted on the checklist they sent back to you (ignoring the fact that they checked the box for the spousal checklist rather than the box for the common-law partner checklist)? That wording, to me, doesn't imply that they think you sent the wrong checklist, but that seems to be an indication of where you can find what they think is missing, and that someone there ticked the wrong box for which checklist you had enclosed.

I could be way off on it. That's just my interpretation based on reading that.

That being said, regardless of that issue, it does seem like more applications have been sent back under the new "faster" process.

It is weird, right? The part highlighted on my checklist is the IMM 0008 form, the general application. Which doesn't make sense either because it's literally the next page! It's all signed too. If it is a mistake, guess I'll be mailing it back in.

 

[christinebear]

Mistakes at CIC have been going on long before they started processing apps much `faster':
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/high-error-rate-found-at-cic-t264024.0.html

According to the union, casual employees make up half the workforce responsible for the reviews of permanent residence applications. These employees, mostly students, are given three days of training : on the department’s global case management system (GCMS) and rotate on three shifts.

So...it could be error and they just wasted a month of my time and gave me more stress? I'm sighing over here.

 

[danawhitaker]

It is weird, right? The part highlighted on my checklist is the IMM 0008 form, the general application. Which doesn't make sense either because it's literally the next page! It's all signed too. If it is a mistake, guess I'll be mailing it back in.

Which version of the form did you include? You validated it and included the barcodes? You didn't accidentally select Spouse in the drop-down box for question 2 instead of Common-Law Partner?

Keep in mind either way that there's a recently updated version of that form so before you send the application back, I'd recommend re-doing the form.

 

[christinebear]

Which version of the form did you include? You validated it and included the barcodes? You didn't accidentally select Spouse in the drop-down box for question 2 instead of Common-Law Partner?

Keep in mind either way that there's a recently updated version of that form so before you send the application back, I'd recommend re-doing the form.

I included the common-law form and everything says commonlaw on all the docs. I even got the barcodes right. (I did almost forget them!) I'm pretty sure it's the new form. They highlighted "general application 0008" on the document checklist, which says "common law" on the top by the way, but the general application is in there, signed and everything! ??? Maybe there was a mistake in reading it? Maybe papers were stuck together?

 

[danawhitaker]

I included the common-law form and everything says commonlaw on all the docs. I even got the barcodes right. (I did almost forget them!) I'm pretty sure it's the new form. They highlighted "general application 0008" on the document checklist, which says "common law" on the top by the way, but the general application is in there, signed and everything! ??? Maybe there was a mistake in reading it? Maybe papers were stuck together?

Someone had noticed there's a new version within the past few weeks. At the bottom, it says IMM 0008 (03-2017) E.

From what I can tell, the IMM 0008 doesn't have different versions for different types of immigration (there's no common-law version, spouse, etc.) Everyone fills out the same one. You're sure there's not something you filled out incorrectly on the form itself? It can be so easy to miss things. Even triple checking all my stuff, I screwed up and left something off a form when I submitted mine.

 

[christinebear]

Someone had noticed there's a new version within the past few weeks. At the bottom, it says IMM 0008 (03-2017) E.

From what I can tell, the IMM 0008 doesn't have different versions for different types of immigration (there's no common-law version, spouse, etc.) Everyone fills out the same one. You're sure there's not something you filled out incorrectly on the form itself? It can be so easy to miss things. Even triple checking all my stuff, I screwed up and left something off a form when I submitted mine.

Holy cow. I just checked that and sure enough...I have the "older one", but I mailed it at the beginning of March and they expect us to have the application released after we mailed it? Well, now I know to check right before I mail out! I'm filling out the newest one now. Thank you. I'm going through it now all again now to be sure I didn't mess up.