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Deedan

Member
Dec 19, 2018
13
1
Understanding “Review Required”

A lot of applicants see “review required” in their GCMS notes for eligibility. There are many theories floating around with regard to what “review required” means and if it is alarming.

Before I venture into explaining the significance, it is important to understand that each application goes through the following stages as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the regulations (Canadian Immigration Law):

R10 – Completeness Check
Criminality
Medicals
A11.2 – eligibility
Security

Out of the above, the most important stage is eligibility. This is also the most time-consuming stage because your documents have to be verified, evaluated and assessed to ascertain that you meet the eligibility criteria for the program you have applied (FSW / CEC / FTW). To stream line this process and make it easier for an immigration officer (decision making authority), all applications are first evaluated by case analysts or program assistants. They review the documents and summarize it in the GCMS. If they have any concerns with any document or want the immigration officer to carefully look into a specific document, they will flag it as “review required.” It is the content of the note that is important here. If the review required is for a specific document, while the summary of the note says that an applicant has met the eligibility, or “ready to finalize” it simply means that while the applicant has met the eligibility criteria, but the specific document needs a careful examination form the officer before promoting (eligibility pass) by the officer.

However, if there are concerns, there will be a review required for the eligibility, and there will be no text to the effect “ready to finalize” or pass. The note will specifically state job duties do not match, or the employment cannot be verified, or the number of years of work experience claimed cannot be verified. This is where an application can land in muddy waters. But the final decision rests on the immigration officer. He may override the decision of the analyst / assistant or go with the analysis of the analyst / assistant.

Even in cases where the analyst / assistant is of the opinion that the applicant has met the eligibility, and there is no “review required,” the officer can replace it with his own opinion. Though rare, but it does happen. This is why the eligibility is only passed when an officer conclusively marks the eligibility as passed.

Finally, there is “review required” for PoF. This is the most common in many applications. This is because, the financial and banking practices of each country are different. Eg. Fixed deposits are know as Certificate of Deposit (CD) in the US. Similarly, treasury bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and many other investment vehicles are there. If your PoF anything other than a bank deposit, it is more likely that it will be marked as “review required.” Also, IRCC does not go by day to day fluctuations in FOREX. Instead, the Canadian federal government issued a quarterly conversion rate for all FOREX vis-a-via CAD. If your PoF is in a foreign currency, then you may have “review required” for the officer to make a determination.

Just because you have “review required” does not mean that you hit the panic mode. Instead, read the context in which it is there. If there is a concern regarding a document, you can send a replacement document via CSE. The most common reasons for RR are:

1. Work reference letter without job duties
2. Work reference letters missing all the details requested by IRCC
3. If you submitted a letter from a colleague because you were unable to get one from your employer, but did not have a LoE on file, this too will lead to RR.
4. Not sufficient work experience in the primary NOC.
5. Inability to verify your employment as your employer details are missing.

There are just some of the scenarios.
Thank you for this info. Pls would you know if a response such as: ur application is in queue for review by an officer. No further action is required by you at this moment. You will be contacted once a decision is made. Still means same as RR on gcms. Btw I didn't order but i got the above reply from ircc.
Thanks
 

UniqueUserID

Member
Jan 11, 2021
13
32
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
 

upon

Champion Member
Jan 23, 2020
1,640
358
Winnipeg
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
Rocket fast!
 

Caravaggio

Newbie
Oct 28, 2020
7
3
Hey Guys

Anybody ever heard back from a webform ?

I got my AOR on December 10
My medical were supposed to be passed on January 15 instead my application got cancelled (one document I uploaded was corrupted, and they deemed my application incomplete).
I raised a webform on January 16th and sent them the missing document and an explanation on what happened, and asked them is they would reconsider.
I didn't hear back from them for a month (meanwhile I got reimbursed), until February 17th when I got an email where they confirm that they received the application and it'll be forwarded to the responsible office for their consideration.

I didn't hear back anything from them since then, do you think there is a chance I hear back from them anytime?
 
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Vikram_kumar123

Hero Member
Feb 24, 2020
262
68
They review the documents and summarize it in the GCMS. If they have any concerns with any document or want the immigration officer to carefully look into a specific document, they will flag it as “review required.” It is the content of the note that is important here. If the review
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
This is super fast Man, Congratulations!
 
Last edited:
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Vikram_kumar123

Hero Member
Feb 24, 2020
262
68
Dear all,

Spoke to IRCC agent today and following are my updates, Please update your latest progress ?

EE Category - CEC Inland | VO - Vancouver | ITA - Oct 14, 2020 | AOR - Dec 10, 2020
MEP - Jan 19, 2021 | BIO - Jan 20, 2021 | GU-1 - 15 March (Criminality passed) | Last called IRCC- March 16, 2021
Criminality - Passed | Info Sharing - In Progress | Eligibility - Not Started | Security - Not Started

Thanks,
Vikram
 

juhi2020

Star Member
Dec 29, 2020
118
45
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
That's awesome! Does the agent give you all the data or is it the IVR?
 

juhi2020

Star Member
Dec 29, 2020
118
45
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
the VO is according to your country? If the applicant is from India I assumed the VO would be New Delhi etc?
 

Ram27

Star Member
Sep 3, 2020
51
23
Spoke to IRCC Agent today and my updates below,

EE Category - CEC Inland | VO - Ottawa | AOR - Dec 03, 2020
MEP - Jan 13, 2021 | BIO - Feb 05, 2021 | Last called IRCC- Feb 22, 2021
Criminality - In Progress| Info Sharing - Not Started | Eligibility - Not Started | Security - Not Started

Same status Since last call...

Any processing delay in Ottawa location ? But, I could see some applicants got speedy process in the same location.
 

shobhit1117

Full Member
Apr 27, 2020
25
9
Hello,

I have been in this group for a while and thank you all for providing helpful information. Today I had called up IRCC for the first time to find out the status of my application. I am sharing the information hoping it would be of some help.

I used the TextMe app to make the call. Very convenient and easy to use. I tried to call several times yesterday but was not transferred to an agent. Today I called at 8.15am Ottawa time and was able to speak to an agent, waiting for approx 5 to 7 minutes.

FSW-O
Single applicant
Country of residence: India
AOR: 23 Dec 2020
MEP,BIL: 25 Jan 2021
Biometrics: 3 March 2021
VO: Ottawa
Eligibility: Passed
Criminality: Passed
Security: Not yet started
All fees paid upfront


Progress bar at 46% (this is completely meaningless)
Did you see the same information in the Express entry profile ?
 
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Les.09

Member
Nov 26, 2020
12
4
Nigeria
Category........
FSW
NOC Code......
2113
AOR Received.
25-11-2020
Med's Done....
04-10-2020
Understanding “Review Required”

A lot of applicants see “review required” in their GCMS notes for eligibility. There are many theories floating around with regard to what “review required” means and if it is alarming.

Before I venture into explaining the significance, it is important to understand that each application goes through the following stages as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the regulations (Canadian Immigration Law):

R10 – Completeness Check
Criminality
Medicals
A11.2 – eligibility
Security

Out of the above, the most important stage is eligibility. This is also the most time-consuming stage because your documents have to be verified, evaluated and assessed to ascertain that you meet the eligibility criteria for the program you have applied (FSW / CEC / FTW). To stream line this process and make it easier for an immigration officer (decision making authority), all applications are first evaluated by case analysts or program assistants. They review the documents and summarize it in the GCMS. If they have any concerns with any document or want the immigration officer to carefully look into a specific document, they will flag it as “review required.” It is the content of the note that is important here. If the review required is for a specific document, while the summary of the note says that an applicant has met the eligibility, or “ready to finalize” it simply means that while the applicant has met the eligibility criteria, but the specific document needs a careful examination form the officer before promoting (eligibility pass) by the officer.

However, if there are concerns, there will be a review required for the eligibility, and there will be no text to the effect “ready to finalize” or pass. The note will specifically state job duties do not match, or the employment cannot be verified, or the number of years of work experience claimed cannot be verified. This is where an application can land in muddy waters. But the final decision rests on the immigration officer. He may override the decision of the analyst / assistant or go with the analysis of the analyst / assistant.

Even in cases where the analyst / assistant is of the opinion that the applicant has met the eligibility, and there is no “review required,” the officer can replace it with his own opinion. Though rare, but it does happen. This is why the eligibility is only passed when an officer conclusively marks the eligibility as passed.

Finally, there is “review required” for PoF. This is the most common in many applications. This is because, the financial and banking practices of each country are different. Eg. Fixed deposits are know as Certificate of Deposit (CD) in the US. Similarly, treasury bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and many other investment vehicles are there. If your PoF anything other than a bank deposit, it is more likely that it will be marked as “review required.” Also, IRCC does not go by day to day fluctuations in FOREX. Instead, the Canadian federal government issued a quarterly conversion rate for all FOREX vis-a-via CAD. If your PoF is in a foreign currency, then you may have “review required” for the officer to make a determination.

Just because you have “review required” does not mean that you hit the panic mode. Instead, read the context in which it is there. If there is a concern regarding a document, you can send a replacement document via CSE. The most common reasons for RR are:

1. Work reference letter without job duties
2. Work reference letters missing all the details requested by IRCC
3. If you submitted a letter from a colleague because you were unable to get one from your employer, but did not have a LoE on file, this too will lead to RR.
4. Not sufficient work experience in the primary NOC.
5. Inability to verify your employment as your employer details are missing.

There are just some of the scenarios.
Hi @legalfalcon , thanks for all the helpful responses you’ve been giving on here. So my application has been on for a few months but the thing is I’m worried about the eligibility stage. I submitted a previous application with inconsistent dates of employment on my online profile and attached documents. I quickly identified the error (4 days later) and withdrew the application immediately. I immediately joined the pool again and got a new ITA and submitted a new application but this time used a separate date of employment but was consistent with it this time. It took 5 weeks for my first application withdrawal to be effected and the withdrawal letter I received says my “application has been withdrawn before an assessment has been made on my application“. My worry now is, will it be an issue that the employment dates on my first application are different from the one on my latest application? Will they crosscheck details of my latest application against the withdrawn one? I have recently applied for a GCMS of the first application and the present one to see what records I have on it, but I’ve been extremely worried. Both GCMS request will be one month by the end of this month but I can’t wait. I’ve been panicking too much and it’s unhealthy. Please your input will be greatly appreciated.
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,040
9,897
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
Thank you for this info. Pls would you know if a response such as: ur application is in queue for review by an officer. No further action is required by you at this moment. You will be contacted once a decision is made. Still means same as RR on gcms. Btw I didn't order but i got the above reply from ircc.
Thanks
See #4,004
 
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UniqueUserID

Member
Jan 11, 2021
13
32
@juhi2020 I waited to be transferred to an agent and spoke to someone. And about the VO, I was expecting it to be NDVO but the agent told me Ottawa. Possibly someone could shed some light on this.
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,040
9,897
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
Hi @legalfalcon , thanks for all the helpful responses you’ve been giving on here. So my application has been on for a few months but the thing is I’m worried about the eligibility stage. I submitted a previous application with inconsistent dates of employment on my online profile and attached documents. I quickly identified the error (4 days later) and withdrew the application immediately. I immediately joined the pool again and got a new ITA and submitted a new application but this time used a separate date of employment but was consistent with it this time. It took 5 weeks for my first application withdrawal to be effected and the withdrawal letter I received says my “application has been withdrawn before an assessment has been made on my application“. My worry now is, will it be an issue that the employment dates on my first application are different from the one on my latest application? Will they crosscheck details of my latest application against the withdrawn one? I have recently applied for a GCMS of the first application and the present one to see what records I have on it, but I’ve been extremely worried. Both GCMS request will be one month by the end of this month but I can’t wait. I’ve been panicking too much and it’s unhealthy. Please your input will be greatly appreciated.
If you withdrew your application then it would not mater. As long as you you have submitted everything and is backup by documents, you will be fine.