(Inland) Day of Action! - Sep 24th - Discussion

[WeCanadoIt]

This thread is for discussion for those people applying for Inland Sponsorship,
regarding a day of protest on September 24th to bring attention to the long delays, and the effects these delays are having on applicants and those close to them.

For those unfamiliar, I encourage you to check out the petition to see how bad things are getting for these applicants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lets do something!!!!!!!

I propose we make as much noise as we can on September the 24th.

- Send mails to MPs
- Contact Media(CTV,CBC, newpapers, etc..)
- Pick a Hashtag on twitter and get it trending and tweet at appropriate people (maybe #InLimbo & #CanadaProud ?)
- Post to a variety of social media sites(reddit, etc.)
- Flood CIC with calls
- Get 1000+ signatures on our petition and update it with a call to action
- Share your stories
- Create a video, pics to share

I feel like this way we will have a much louder voice and if we can get even 1 MP to mention it or a tv station to pick it up, this could really help.

Lets be proactive and try to make change happen.
Everyone can help move this along!!

FB Group for Inland Sponsorship Action: https://www.facebook.com/groups/615312178589951/

Petition to speed things up: http://www.change.org/p/citizenship-and-immigration-canada-improve-processing-time-for-inland-spousal-sponsorship-a

Please feel free to share ideas and any resources you think might help.

 

[sammystorm19]

Why only make it for Inland applications? What about Outland? Some of us wait longer for PR approval than Inland applicants and our spouses can't even come here as they are not from Visa exempt countries.

At least your partner is here and you are not separated from them like Outland applications are.

Not trying to start a fight here but you said "Discussion" so that's what I am doing.

 

[civic]

Why only make it for Inland applications? What about Outland? Some of us wait longer for PR approval than Inland applicants and our spouses can't even come here as they are not from Visa exempt countries.

At least your partner is here and you are not separated from them like Outland applications are.

Not trying to start a fight here but you said "Discussion" so that's what I am doing.

Because we struggle as Inlanders and can't even help ourselves, let alone protesting on behalf of Outlanders. We all wish that the system will improve for all but obviously we have our limits. We live in Canada, they say it's a grace for our spouses to be with us. So they dont bother looking at our files for more than half a year now, it's a complete standstill for us while Outland files are stilll moving. ???
We understand your difficulty as Outland applicants but Inlanders have terrible stories too. Hard to compare. :-\

 

[Graihn]

Great idea; flood CIC with calls.

That was sarcasm btw

 

[civic]

Great idea; flood CIC with calls.

That was sarcasm btw

There is a group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/615312178589951/

 

[sammystorm19]

Because we struggle as Inlanders and can't even help ourselves, let alone protesting on behalf of Outlanders. We all wish that the system will improve for all but obviously we have our limits. We live in Canada, they say it's a grace for our spouses to be with us. So they dont bother looking at our files for more than half a year now, it's a complete standstill for us while Outland files are stilll moving. ???
We understand your difficulty as Outland applicants but Inlanders have terrible stories too. Hard to compare. :-\

Not all outland files are moving....just as not all inland files are on a stand still.

We've been waiting 15 months to hear something...anything but nothing to be said to us. So ya..we can compare on some levels.

I would take not hearing anything for 6 months if my husband was here with me and our 1 year old that he has only seen twice. You are lucky that you can have your spouse here.

Again I am not trying to argue or start a fight...just saying my opinion as we all have struggles with hearing anything about our files

 

[beholder69]

Not all outland files are moving....just as not all inland files are on a stand still.

We've been waiting 15 months to hear something...anything but nothing to be said to us. So ya..we can compare on some levels.

I would take not hearing anything for 6 months if my husband was here with me and our 1 year old that he has only seen twice. You are lucky that you can have your spouse here.

Again I am not trying to argue or start a fight...just saying my opinion as we all have struggles with hearing anything about our files

Sorry but it's easy to say when you're on either category that the "other" category has it easier due to any reason stated, including being with your spouse. It was a choice for all of us whether to apply inland or Outland by weighing the pros and cons for each specific case. Many apply Outland while being in Canada, so they are with their spouses as well.

As for your question about why not protesting in common, I can see quite a few reasons for that. First of all, Outland applications are partially processed by regional offices in your home country etc. While this still is CIC, it would turn to a very general protest against all offices, while some are working pretty fast and some (obviously like in your case) aren't. On the contrary all Inland applications are exclusively processed by CPC-M and no, some are not being processed like you said, they all appear stalled as it's stuck on July 30th for almost a month and July in general for 7 months now.

At the end of the day, although I believe it would be good for both the applicants and the government to issue OWP on AOR instead of AIP for Inland applicants for obvious reasons (taxes etc), the right to protest IMO comes when you apply in a category after weighing the pros and cons like stated above and you signed up for an X amount of waiting time and you've already been waiting for way longer without any info on why processing has stopped or when it will start again. I'm not saying some delays are not to be expected or justified but everything has a limit.

When I signed up for 7 months of waiting until I get 1st stage approval and now the processing time has been bumped to 13 months and rising, without any explanation but most importantly no sign of progress whatsoever, then yes, I have the right to protest. If I had signed up for 35 months and knew it from the beginning, then I wouldn't say a word.

Hope that made sense, just trying to answer your points above. In any case I hope you and everyone that has applied, receive positive answers as soon as possible.

 

[sammystorm19]

Sorry but it's easy to say when you're on either category that the "other" category has it easier due to any reason stated, including being with your spouse. It was a choice for all of us whether to apply inland or Outland by weighing the pros and cons for each specific case. Many apply Outland while being in Canada, so they are with their spouses as well.

As for your question about why not protesting in common, I can see quite a few reasons for that. First of all, Outland applications are partially processed by regional offices in your home country etc. While this still is CIC, it would turn to a very general protest against all offices, while some are working pretty fast and some (obviously like in your case) aren't. On the contrary all Inland applications are exclusively processed by CPC-M and no, some are not being processed like you said, they all appear stalled as it's stuck on July 30th for almost a month and July in general for 7 months now.

At the end of the day, although I believe it would be good for both the applicants and the government to issue OWP on AOR instead of AIP for Inland applicants for obvious reasons (taxes etc), the right to protest IMO comes when you apply in a category after weighing the pros and cons like stated above and you signed up for an X amount of waiting time and you've already been waiting for way longer without any info on why processing has stopped or when it will start again. I'm not saying some delays are not to be expected or justified but everything has a limit.

When I signed up for 7 months of waiting until I get 1st stage approval and now the processing time has been bumped to 13 months and rising, without any explanation but most importantly no sign of progress whatsoever, then yes, I have the right to protest. If I had signed up for 35 months and knew it from the beginning, then I wouldn't say a word.

Hope that made sense, just trying to answer your points above. In any case I hope you and everyone that has applied, receive positive answers as soon as possible.

I am not saying anyone has anything easy at all. Where did I mention that? All I said is i" I would take not hearing anything for 6 months if my husband was here" NO one has it easy in the process. I have been on here on here long enough to see so many people get through in less than one year and others wait more than 2 years.

I didn't have a choice on how to apply. I had to apply as outland as my husband isn't from a Visa excempt country. He has never been to Canada and can't get a visitors visa at all

When we applied applied 15 months ago our posted processing times were 17 months. It is now at 27 months with no explanation either. So it is taking long and I have a right to protest waiting times just like inland does. However....I don't see the point in any protest, flooding the CIC call centre or emailing MP's. This isn't going to help speed anything up. They have all heard how everyone doesn't like the wait times, how thing take to long and blah blah blah.

And to answer your question - yes it did make sense and I am hoping my stance on outland makes sense to you. I don't see why this process or any one person - inland or outland - has to take as long as it does...but here we are waiting.

I hope you hear something soon as well

 

[beholder69]

I am not saying anyone has anything easy at all. Where did I mention that? All I said is i" I would take not hearing anything for 6 months if my husband was here" NO one has it easy in the process. I have been on here on here long enough to see so many people get through in less than one year and others wait more than 2 years.

I didn't have a choice on how to apply. I had to apply as outland as my husband isn't from a Visa excempt country. He has never been to Canada and can't get a visitors visa at all

When we applied applied 15 months ago our posted processing times were 17 months. It is now at 27 months with no explanation either. So it is taking long and I have a right to protest waiting times just like inland does. However....I don't see the point in any protest, flooding the CIC call centre or emailing MP's. This isn't going to help speed anything up. They have all heard how everyone doesn't like the wait times, how thing take to long and blah blah blah.

And to answer your question - yes it did make sense and I am hoping my stance on outland makes sense to you. I don't see why this process or any one person - inland or outland - has to take as long as it does...but here we are waiting.

I hope you hear something soon as well

To start from then end of your post: thank you!

I didn't say "easy" either, I mentioned "easier" because as I said above both processes have their pros and cons, so on either category some things will be easier to handle than in the other one and some harder. For example right now, I wish I had applied Outland as I'd probably be a PR by now but that's ok, because at the moment I had to choose, Inland was the clear choice for me already being in Canada, with a work permit and a processing time that should have given me an OWP before the previous one expired. That didn't happen, I'll live with that.

Your timeline sucks big time, you have every right to protest about that and by that I don't necessarily mean any specific activities, could be a rightful frustration. My basic point was that after determining that any unnecessary, unjustified and unexplained delay should and will create rightful frustration in either category, any protest actions should be separate so that they're more targeted. Now whether or not anything like that would work or not, that's an other story. I do believe however, that any organization, in any country, whether a government one or not, should be accountable for their actions to someone, especially when they are paid services.

 

[Scarlett_R]

This thread is for discussion for those people applying for Inland Sponsorship,
regarding a day of protest on September 24th to bring attention to the long delays, and the effects these delays are having on applicants and those close to them.

For those unfamiliar, I encourage you to check out the petition to see how bad things are getting for these applicants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lets do something!!!!!!!

I propose we make as much noise as we can on September the 24th.

- Send mails to MPs
- Contact Media(CTV,CBC, newpapers, etc..)
- Pick a Hashtag on twitter and get it trending and tweet at appropriate people (maybe #InLimbo & #CanadaProud ?)
- Post to a variety of social media sites(reddit, etc.)
- Flood CIC with calls
- Get 1000+ signatures on our petition and update it with a call to action
- Share your stories
- Create a video, pics to share

I feel like this way we will have a much louder voice and if we can get even 1 MP to mention it or a tv station to pick it up, this could really help.

Lets be proactive and try to make change happen.
Everyone can help move this along!!


Please feel free to share ideas and any resources you think might help.

Thank you for starting this discussion and the Facebook page too.

I would like to know how do I sign the petition? Is there a different link to do it?

 

[brucem]

As much as I understand everyones frustration, and I've had my fair share recently from CIC incompetence I really don't think that flooding CIC with calls is a sensible option. Remember these are just people like you and me that are employed to do a job, its really the government that implement any changes in terms of funding and taking out the bureaucracy of the application process. Your other suggestions of contacting media and MP's is much more likely to have an impact. I hear its hard to call CIC at the best of times so flooding them with calls when there are maybe people in real need to speak to someone doesn't sit very well with me.

Again I'm not defending CIC but in some regards they are in a difficult position because if applications start sailing through they are likely to be inundated with more applications or fraudulent applications which will simply slow the process down. I've also read a lot of stories of relationships ending during the process, especially with common-law as living with someone for just one year isn't that long when you think about it.

Personally I think the situation would be much improved if they just streamline the system a little more. I remember reading an article posted yesterday by a member to a newspaper story who highlighted the number of times you have to put names and dates of birth in applications forms for spousal sponsorship, as well as the number of forms in general and the frequency at which CIC changes them. Anyway just my two cents.

 

[Kayaker]

As much as I understand everyones frustration, and I've had my fair share recently from CIC incompetence I really don't think that flooding CIC with calls is a sensible option. Remember these are just people like you and me that are employed to do a job, its really the government that implement any changes in terms of funding and taking out the bureaucracy of the application process. Your other suggestions of contacting media and MP's is much more likely to have an impact. I hear its hard to call CIC at the best of times so flooding them with calls when there are maybe people in real need to speak to someone doesn't sit very well with me.

Again I'm not defending CIC but in some regards they are in a difficult position because if applications start sailing through they are likely to be inundated with more applications or fraudulent applications which will simply slow the process down. I've also read a lot of stories of relationships ending during the process, especially with common-law as living with someone for just one year isn't that long when you think about it.

Personally I think the situation would be much improved if they just streamline the system a little more. I remember reading an article posted yesterday by a member to a newspaper story who highlighted the number of times you have to put names and dates of birth in applications forms for spousal sponsorship, as well as the number of forms in general and the frequency at which CIC changes them. Anyway just my two cents.

Agreed. Flooding CIC with phone calls sounds more like sabotage than an organized protest.

 

[WeCanadoIt]

Ok flooding them with calls might not be the best option. I do encourage anyone who should have heard by now(applied before July 30) to contact and try get more info though.

CIC updated today to July 30th .

So is anyone willing to contact their local media? I know there is regional versions of CTV and CBC that could pick up a story like this.

There is discussion on the fb page of actual physical protests in some of our major cities.

I had an idea of having people send photos holding a piece of paper with how many days they have been waiting and other circumstances(e.g 320 DAYS IN LIMBO, NO HEALTHCARE, CANT WORK).
Let me know what you think of this.

For the twitter, I think we should pick a certain time on the 24th and all tweet at once using the hashtags #CdnImm #InLimbo #CanadaProud. For those without accounts, I encourage you to set one up for this purpose(takes a min).
We can also tweet @ Chris Alexander and @ CIC.

Please share links that may help.

Anyone have emails for prominent people in Ottawa?

The facebook group is full of activity at the minute too, so join if you haven't.
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/615312178589951/

Keep sharing the petition, we are hoping to get to 1000 by the 24th.

Petition: http://www.change.org/p/citizenship-and-immigration-canada-improve-processing-time-for-inland-spousal-sponsorship-and-grant-open-work-permit-upon-aor

Again if you have anything positive to contribute, let us know.

 

[fugaziosbourne]

Can a moderator sticky this thread at the top of the forum? Thank you.

 

[WeCanadoIt]

Check out this infograph on the subject:

http://imgur.com/YQJFPhk



Thanks to Angie.