LMIA application processing time?

[Pritut]

Hello,

I am in a very weird situation here. I got my Post graduate work permit for five months last year as my passport was expiring in april 10 2016 so I applied for PGWP extension on January 19 and hence got my extended work permit on April 22nd. I had attached a letter requesting to extend my work permit for longer duration but they only did it till November 10 which is the date when I received my PGWP initially. Now, I has thought that there is not way my work permit will come only for this much duration and I had planned a wedding in India for November 23rd 2016. I am in so much dilemma as to when to apply for my work permit extension. I have my PNP letter that expires August 24th 2016. Is there a way to apply for a work permit extension at the border? I have the support letter and my PNP letter. I can also get the receipt from my employer as he is willing to pay for 230$. The only concern is my current work permit is valid till November 10 so when should I go to the border to extend it if that is even an option. I just want to receive a work permit before November 10th so that I can go back home. Moreover there are two business trip to Singapore and a state in India from my work which I wont be able to go to if I do not get my work permit before November 10th. Please Help! Thanks for reading my long post!

 

[Funbox]

Is it actually allowed for an immigration consultant to draft a Contrat and ask for money to the candidate FW to find an employer and a job to him? The candidate being outside Canada
I know it's not really pertinent to the LMIA processing time topic but a friend of mine is in this situation at the moment. Thanks for your point of view

A Human Resource company could help a candidate to find a job (usually they help companies to find employees and not the opposite). However, it has nothing to do with work permit or immigration. Once the foreign worker has a job offer from a Canadian company, this company will have to apply for the LMIA. The LMIA process is quite complex so the company (not the foreign worker) can hire a Immigration Consultant to help with the application.

In my opinion, an immigration consultant asking for money to a foreign worker sounds very suspicious. I don't think this is even legal.

 

[Funbox]

Hello,

I am in a very weird situation here. I got my Post graduate work permit for five months last year as my passport was expiring in april 10 2016 so I applied for PGWP extension on January 19 and hence got my extended work permit on April 22nd. I had attached a letter requesting to extend my work permit for longer duration but they only did it till November 10 which is the date when I received my PGWP initially. Now, I has thought that there is not way my work permit will come only for this much duration and I had planned a wedding in India for November 23rd 2016. I am in so much dilemma as to when to apply for my work permit extension. I have my PNP letter that expires August 24th 2016. Is there a way to apply for a work permit extension at the border? I have the support letter and my PNP letter. I can also get the receipt from my employer as he is willing to pay for 230$. The only concern is my current work permit is valid till November 10 so when should I go to the border to extend it if that is even an option. I just want to receive a work permit before November 10th so that I can go back home. Moreover there are two business trip to Singapore and a state in India from my work which I wont be able to go to if I do not get my work permit before November 10th. Please Help! Thanks for reading my long post!

This thread is about LMIA processing time. I believe you may find better answers in threads related to visas and extensions.

 

[sandra02]

Janez 179,

It is not allowed to find a job for somebody and ask money for that. It is illegal in Canada. The employer has to pay the employment agency`s fee, not the employees.
We were in the same situation in 2012, a fake immigration consultant (Hilda Mamann) asked $5000 to find a job for us, and do the LMO+ work permit. We paid $2000, she never did anything about our paper work. We reported her on everyway we could without any result. So be careful.

 

[cn819]

dual intent? high wage vs low wage

1. May I know what "dual intent" means?

2. When people quotte high or low wage here, does it mean the offer is higher or lower than market or the job itself is high or low wage range?

 

[pliscki]

Re: dual intent? high wage vs low wage

1. May I know what "dual intent" means?

2. When people quotte high or low wage here, does it mean the offer is higher or lower than market or the job itself is high or low wage range?

1 - Dual intent is when your LMIA supports either a work permit and a permanent residency. Both can be applied separately but only LMIA for WP has a explicit fee for the employer.

2 - To be considered high or low wage, it is compared the wage offered by the employer with the current median wage of that NOC in the province where the LMIA is being applied. I'm not allowed to post link, but you can search for "foreign workers hire median wage" and click on the first 3 links.

 

[hope for the best]

Hi guys
I just heard from one of my friend that she got a work permit through LMIA and the work permit timing is 2 months and 8 months .... is that possible? I never heard about such thing before .... Anyone can share their view ? :

 

[Kashyap272]

I believe these three web sites you mentioned are enough. I have the same NOC and we are using Job Bank, Indeed and Monster. We also included the company website just in case but we know they don't really take this one into account. I know that Indeed has a national scope and I guess this Career Owl too.
You need to keep the Job Bank advertisement posted during all the process. If it is possible I'd suggest keeping posted all of them. Regarding the advertisement requirements, the more complete and detailed it is, the better.

Thanks FunBox,

I still have question about wage. As per service canada site employee wage has to be above median of my NOC and location.

If that's the case median wage is 36$/hour for 2174 NOC. And I make around 25/hour.

Do you think that's fine?

Do you mind sharing your NOC and wage and how far is your process?

Thanks

 

[Funbox]

Thanks FunBox,

I still have question about wage. As per service canada site employee wage has to be above median of my NOC and location.

If that's the case median wage is 36$/hour for 2174 NOC. And I make around 25/hour.

Do you think that's fine?

Do you mind sharing your NOC and wage and how far is your process?

Thanks

My NOC is 2174. The median wage is defined by city ( $37.98/hour in Calgary ).

Employers applying for a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) must pay the temporary foreign worker (TFW): at a minimum, the posted prevailing wage for the occupation and work location where the foreign worker will be employed;

For instance: If the median wage in Toronto for Software Developers is $36/hour, your employer will have to pay $36/hour or more. Employers must also ensure that they include the wage being paid for the position, as part of their advertisement of the available position.

Employers offering a wage that is below the prevailing wage rate will be considered as not meeting the labour market factor for the assessment of wages and therefore, will be issued a negative LMIA.

Source: http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/foreign_workers/hire/permanent/working_conditions.page

 

[Kashyap272]

My NOC is 2174. The median wage is defined by city ( $37.98/hour in Calgary ).

Employers applying for a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) must pay the temporary foreign worker (TFW): at a minimum, the posted prevailing wage for the occupation and work location where the foreign worker will be employed;

For instance: If the median wage in Toronto for Software Developers is $36/hour, your employer will have to pay $36/hour or more. Employers must also ensure that they include the wage being paid for the position, as part of their advertisement of the available position.

Employers offering a wage that is below the prevailing wage rate will be considered as not meeting the labour market factor for the assessment of wages and therefore, will be issued a negative LMIA.

But I have seen some Lmia being approved even though they are getting less than median wage. I saw one example on 98 page on this thread. Where someone got Lmia approved in far less wage than his median wage.

If they want 36/hour. That's insane. Who is going to pay college graduates that much after study.

Anyway, I have told my employer to call SC and confirm on this wage issue. I read somewhere about if it's below median than they look in TFW cap. I mean how many TFWs are employed on work location. It has to be less than of 10% of workforce or something. But not sure how this works.

Do you make above 37.98?

 

[Funbox]

But I have seen some Lmia being approved even though they are getting less than median wage. I saw one example on 98 page on this thread. Where someone got Lmia approved in far less wage than his median wage.

If they want 36/hour. That's insane. Who is going to pay college graduates that much after study.

Anyway, I have told my employer to call SC and confirm on this wage issue. I read somewhere about if it's below median than they look in TFW cap. I mean how many TFWs are employed on work location. It has to be less than of 10% of workforce or something. But not sure how this works.

Do you make above 37.98?

I wish it was true. I've never seen anyone who had a salary below the median wage getting a positive LMIA. I know that Service Canada is very picky when it comes to salary. The first time my employer applied for a LMIA, the median wage for my position had increased a little bit (it increased a dollar). At the time it happened, we had already submitted the documents so we just waited. A few days after, an Officer called us asking to send a new Job Offer that meets the new wage from Job Bank. The last application has been refused due to some advertisement issues. We are going to apply again (probably next week). My wage is equal to the median wage from Job Bank.

My only concern so far is the Outlook (those stars next to the median wage) for my position that has only 1 star out of 3. It means that the employment is limited. I'm not sure if they take this thing serious, but I will hope for the best.

 

[Kashyap272]

I wish it was true. I've never seen anyone who had a salary below the median wage getting a positive LMIA. I know that Service Canada is very picky when it comes to salary. The first time my employer applied for a LMIA, the median wage for my position had increased a little bit (it increased a dollar). At the time it happened, we had already submitted the documents so we just waited. A few days after, an Officer called us asking to send a new Job Offer that meets the new wage from Job Bank. The last application has been refused due to some advertisement issues. We are going to apply again (probably next week). My wage is equal to the median wage from Job Bank.

My only concern so far is the Outlook (those stars next to the median wage) for my position that has only 1 star out of 3. It means that the employment is limited. I'm not sure if they take this thing serious, but I will hope for the best.

Thanks anyway. I will see what else can be done.

 

[krout]

I wish it was true. I've never seen anyone who had a salary below the median wage getting a positive LMIA. I know that Service Canada is very picky when it comes to salary. The first time my employer applied for a LMIA, the median wage for my position had increased a little bit (it increased a dollar). At the time it happened, we had already submitted the documents so we just waited. A few days after, an Officer called us asking to send a new Job Offer that meets the new wage from Job Bank. The last application has been refused due to some advertisement issues. We are going to apply again (probably next week). My wage is equal to the median wage from Job Bank.

My only concern so far is the Outlook (those stars next to the median wage) for my position that has only 1 star out of 3. It means that the employment is limited. I'm not sure if they take this thing serious, but I will hope for the best.

The same happened to me; during first LMIA processing the median wage increased above the originally offered salary and then got the refusal due to some additional advertising issues. Now, we are in the 11th week of waiting for the decision on the second attempt for which the first time deficiencies were rectified.

BTW, I read somewhere on the pages for this topic that people suspect SC communicates/issues decisions only on Fridays; based on my recent experience I now also suspect this could be true More updates from me to follow soon, HOPEFULLY!!!

 

[Funbox]

The same happened to me; during first LMIA processing the median wage increased above the originally offered salary and then got the refusal due to some additional advertising issues. Now, we are in the 11th week of waiting for the decision on the second attempt for which the first time deficiencies were rectified.

BTW, I read somewhere on the pages for this topic that people suspect SC communicates/issues decisions only on Fridays; based on my recent experience I now also suspect this could be true More updates from me to follow soon, HOPEFULLY!!!

I just checked my emails and when they first contacted us asking for additional documents it was a Friday. So, that might be true.
Ater the first communication my employer exchanged some emails with the Officer along the next week though.

Are you in the high wage stream? Have they asked additional documents this second time you applied?
They have that 10 days processing rule so if you meet the rules and no documents are missing it should be quick. First time we applied it took 20 weeks, but they asked for additional documents so it slowed down the evaluation.

 

[krout]

I just checked my emails and when they first contacted us asking for additional documents it was a Friday. So, that might be true.
Ater the first communication my employer exchanged some emails with the Officer along the next week though.

Are you in the high wage stream? Have they asked additional documents this second time you applied?
They have that 10 days processing rule so if you meet the rules and no documents are missing it should be quick. First time we applied it took 20 weeks, but they asked for additional documents so it slowed down the evaluation.

It looks more and more likely that a pattern is actually developing here (although it could be just a coincidence), but on Friday in the 10th week after getting the file number for the second LMIA attempt, my perspective employer was contacted by phone and then by e-mail; when he was asked for additional documents and some advertising clarification.

There was no problem with actual application documents, the status was “application complete”; however SC asked for additional documents to elaborate on a specific situation regarding the offered position.

In regard to the offered salary (second LMIA attempt), and this my understanding after reading some comments on one the previous pages, although the hourly wage offered to me is relatively high, compared as a total to other NOC’s, it is actually just barely above the median wage for my NOC in my perspective employers province. Hence, I am probably not eligible for 10 day processing, even though all this time I was wandering why SC did not process my LMIA in 10 days since the offered amount was rather high. After some additional mulling about this issue, I remembered that some guy in his post claimed that his LMIA got processed with a positive result within 10 days of application for a wage almost two times lower than what I’m being offered, but his was somewhat larger than the median wage for his NOC and his province. Basically, it seems that it doesn’t matter what ones absolute wage amounts to, but how it relates to the median wage for the specific NOC and the province where the job is located.