MAY 2014 OUTLAND Applicants

[uskyoot]

Wow that was quick. What office did it get transferred to? (your timeline says it was transferred). It took you 3 months to get both yourself and your husband approved?!

Our application was received in Mississauga May 1 2014. We received AOR June 25 2014, SA July 7 2014 (File transfered to Ottawa) started processing July 29 and decision made Aug 1 It was exactly 3 mths from the time they received our app until decision mad. The started processing and DM came at the same time

 

[Mrs.Purcy]

Just got through to CIC and received heartbreaking news. Our application is being mailed back to us because IMM 5285 is incomplete. I don't know how that's possible when we checked and triple-checked everything. I'm so frustrated, I could cry. We're going to have to start the whole process over again.

Has this happened to anyone else?

CIC wrote a letter to my husband that we missed something. They thankfully did not send the entire app back, all my husband needed to do was to fill out one part of the app, mail it to me to sign and sent it to Missisuaga. He received the letter first week of july and the letter was sent June 30th. Still haven't heard anything back yet though :/.

 

[Mrs.Purcy]

My spouse followed up today and he was told they are working on our application and that we should get a response anytime now up to 1.5 mths. I was thinking wtf. Why would they say 1 and a half mths... I think this is another call back and a follow up to get more information on what's going on.. Any others with any updates?

I was told the exact same thing yokies ! I was told that we should a response between now and in 1.5 months which is seriously messed up! We had our app received the 13th of May.. everyone here seems to have been SA approved... so what? Are we going to hear back in freaking September? We applied outland and my husbands medicals is set to expire in January. Also his medicals were done in may! So IF and when they decide to approve me for SA, is the london vo going to request another medical exam!??! Ugh so worried.

 

[lellen]

As it turns out IMM 5285 is only for INLAND applications. We didn't include it because we're applying Outland! Apparently it is a mistake on CIC's part that has happened to a few other people as well (there's another thread concerning this specifically). However, it looks like, despite the mistake being on their end, we still just have to start over from scratch...

omg that is SO unfair. I wonder if it's just this ONE officer who hasn't been properly trained? Sonce there is no way to call or contact anyone, the people who have had this problem should send a letter, this should NOT happen.

 

[jack87]

My wife finally got SA!!!! Our lawyer sent CIC an e-mail inquiring about the delay in our application on Wednesday and this morning she sent us the SA letter she received on Friday!! No reason given for the delay either.

ydj_dil, I think we are tied on the number of days we had to wait to get SA!

 

[CutiePie92]

beeelythe i'm so sorry for this why is CIC being incompetent and confusing inland & outland forms? now they sent the whole app back.. i'd say 1040 CAD for this is highly pricey so they should offer better services.
congrats for all others that received SA!

uskyoot WOW, that's CRAZY fast omg! I'm so happy for you !!!! that's awesome! you'll be our first "LANDED" user ;D

on another note, it's sad that CIC chooses to focus so much more on some VO's than others (closing certain VO's and consequently overcrowding others) - not to mention the high number of countries that would need a visa for travelling to Canada soo basically many couples are forced to spend months apart (us included). other users and myself included, we'll have to wait at least 1 more year for "decision made". i don't even count the ones that are forced to go through Singapore, Kingston, etc. i think the discrepancy between VO's is huge, compare 3 months of processing to almost 30. it's disheartening and depressing.

nevertheless, i'm happy for couples that don't need to go through this separation, it's horrible to spend our first year as a married couple apart.

when do you plan on landing uskyoot? ;D

 

[llij21]

Our application was received in Mississauga May 1 2014. We received AOR June 25 2014, SA July 7 2014 (File transfered to Ottawa) started processing July 29 and decision made Aug 1 It was exactly 3 mths from the time they received our app until decision mad. The started processing and DM came at the same time

oh wow! you're pretty blessed to get your visa issued in a span of 3 months. I believe it varies on the VO office where your papers were processed. Happy for you!

 

[llij21]

beeelythe i'm so sorry for this why is CIC being incompetent and confusing inland & outland forms? now they sent the whole app back.. i'd say 1040 CAD for this is highly pricey so they should offer better services.
congrats for all others that received SA!

uskyoot WOW, that's CRAZY fast omg! I'm so happy for you !!!! that's awesome! you'll be our first "LANDED" user ;D

on another note, it's sad that CIC chooses to focus so much more on some VO's than others (closing certain VO's and consequently overcrowding others) - not to mention the high number of countries that would need a visa for travelling to Canada soo basically many couples are forced to spend months apart (us included). other users and myself included, we'll have to wait at least 1 more year for "decision made". i don't even count the ones that are forced to go through Singapore, Kingston, etc. i think the discrepancy between VO's is huge, compare 3 months of processing to almost 30. it's disheartening and depressing.

nevertheless, i'm happy for couples that don't need to go through this separation, it's horrible to spend our first year as a married couple apart.

when do you plan on landing uskyoot? ;D

I agree! It's really hard to be away from your spouse. But no worries, all will be well

 

[CutiePie92]

I agree! It's really hard to be away from your spouse. But no worries, all will be well

i do wanna say that this process is NOT for the light-hearted.. i have friends that complain that their girl/boy friend/spouse is 10-20 km away or across the country (~400-500 km)... and i'm like B*TCH PLEASE, we're at over 6000 km apart i'd give anything to only have to deal with such a small distance.

oh well.. as long as we love each other it'll be fine. we have the most amazing connection so it's very worth it. hard not to complain everyday though. i'm sure many of you can relate

 

[uskyoot]

beeelythe i'm so sorry for this why is CIC being incompetent and confusing inland & outland forms? now they sent the whole app back.. i'd say 1040 CAD for this is highly pricey so they should offer better services.
congrats for all others that received SA!

uskyoot WOW, that's CRAZY fast omg! I'm so happy for you !!!! that's awesome! you'll be our first "LANDED" user ;D

on another note, it's sad that CIC chooses to focus so much more on some VO's than others (closing certain VO's and consequently overcrowding others) - not to mention the high number of countries that would need a visa for travelling to Canada soo basically many couples are forced to spend months apart (us included). other users and myself included, we'll have to wait at least 1 more year for "decision made". i don't even count the ones that are forced to go through Singapore, Kingston, etc. i think the discrepancy between VO's is huge, compare 3 months of processing to almost 30. it's disheartening and depressing.

nevertheless, i'm happy for couples that don't need to go through this separation, it's horrible to spend our first year as a married couple apart.

when do you plan on landing uskyoot? ;D

I do feel empathy for those who have a long wait. I went through that while waiting for my Green Card in the U.S.

We already had a trip to Canada planned for the first week of September. We are only an 8 hr drive to the Detroit/Windsor border (Knoxville)so hubby will land then, We hope to move by the end of October and I will be giving up my Green Card. If not I will have to file taxes with the IRS every year

 

[rhcohen2014]

ydj_dil, I think we are tied on the number of days we had to wait to get SA!

the applicant's application will be processed based on the date it's considered "recieved" by CIC. For most people, this date is the same date the sponsor's application was received. Even when there is missing documentation, both "received" dates will be the same, based on the date the application was considered complete. when you are able to sign on to ECAS and see the applicant's info, you will see this date listed. I believe the applications are batched by these dates, so it doesn't matter when SA was given. What matters is the date CIC considers the application "received". Look at the SA email, it will tell you what date the application was considered "Received".

 

[rhcohen2014]

on another note, it's sad that CIC chooses to focus so much more on some VO's than others (closing certain VO's and consequently overcrowding others) - not to mention the high number of countries that would need a visa for travelling to Canada soo basically many couples are forced to spend months apart (us included). other users and myself included, we'll have to wait at least 1 more year for "decision made". i don't even count the ones that are forced to go through Singapore, Kingston, etc. i think the discrepancy between VO's is huge, compare 3 months of processing to almost 30. it's disheartening and depressing.

I think most vo are going to start seeing quicker processing times for 2014 applications than indicated online. Ottawa is listed as 15 months. This is certainly not true for TODAY'S processing. It's not even true for most 2013 applicants. OTtawa and Manila have already started speeding up, so it's only a matter of time this trickles down into other offices.

First of all, that statistic is NOT an average. It is based on 80% of applications received. I think it's also important to remember when those stats were collected. I believe the stats are reflective of when there were strikes at the visa offices, so of course the processing times posted will be much higher. The CIC website is not the best way to determine what will be happening with a current application. The best way to see normal trends is to join or create a thread for the specific visa office. My guess is the visa offices that are "listed" at 30 months have plenty of applications processing in less time.

Also, how long it takes to process correlates to the degree of fraudlent cases seen by CIC and whether an applicant is called in for an interview. while it doesn't seem "fair" that some countries take years to process while others take months, there are certainly reasons why this happens. I'm not saying it's ok that an applicant may wait years to be approved, it's just the reality of how the world is now.

 

[ydj_dil]

Wow, lightning speed uskyoot! You must have done something very well for such smooth processing. Congratulations!

@jack87: Congrats! Finally! I was hoping I will become legendary for waiting so long, but I guess we have to share the title

Sorry for the guys getting applications back because of untrained officials. Its crazy and irresponsible on their part.

@rhcohen: My application was received on May 7th as per ECAS. So, does that mean even after file transferred I will still be considered May 7th applicant? And I haven't lost any time in next step processing?

 

[rhcohen2014]

Sorry for the guys getting applications back because of untrained officials. Its crazy and irresponsible on their part.

yes, this is certainly a shame. It's hard to see things get so screwy over in mississauga. It makes me believe that office is having some serious re-organization and re-training issues. My guess is there are some employees that are finding it difficult to relearn new proceedures if they are going from processing inland apps to outland apps.

@ rhcohen: My application was received on May 7th as per ECAS. So, does that mean even after file transferred I will still be considered May 7th applicant? And I haven't lost any time in next step processing?

yes indeed, i'm pretty sure that's how it works. applications are not processed by the date the file gets to the visa office, it's processed based on the date it was considered "received" by CIC. Both applications are "received" together. When they get to the visa office, i belive applications are batched together based on the received by date. When they get opened up depends on how quickly the visa officers get through their piles of applications. Ottawa has already started processing and making decisions on May applications!

 

[CutiePie92]

I think most vo are going to start seeing quicker processing times for 2014 applications than indicated online. Ottawa is listed as 15 months. This is certainly not true for TODAY'S processing. It's not even true for most 2013 applicants. OTtawa and Manila have already started speeding up, so it's only a matter of time this trickles down into other offices.

First of all, that statistic is NOT an average. It is based on 80% of applications received. I think it's also important to remember when those stats were collected. I believe the stats are reflective of when there were strikes at the visa offices, so of course the processing times posted will be much higher. The CIC website is not the best way to determine what will be happening with a current application. The best way to see normal trends is to join or create a thread for the specific visa office. My guess is the visa offices that are "listed" at 30 months have plenty of applications processing in less time.

Also, how long it takes to process correlates to the degree of fraudlent cases seen by CIC and whether an applicant is called in for an interview. while it doesn't seem "fair" that some countries take years to process while others take months, there are certainly reasons why this happens. I'm not saying it's ok that an applicant may wait years to be approved, it's just the reality of how the world is now.

this topic generates endless debates, i'm not defending countries with high fraud rates, it is what it is.. but , for instance, CIC's decision to close the Berlin VO was stupid - now many countries are processed at the Vienna VO (i think over 10).. and the posted time is "14 months" but many have waited MORE than that.

there are countries like Austria, Netherlands, Germany that are going through Vienna - i wouldn't say fraud cases come so often from these countries, so unfortunately, the discrepancy between VO's processing times doesn't always coincide with high fraud rates. even though i expected that similar culture & religion & shared ancestry would make a difference in processing times (when assessing the genuinity of the relationship), it's just bogus.

counter examples: Paris VO (8 months posted) processes Tunisia as well - marriages of convenience are more preponderent there in comparison, same with Havana, Cuba (9 months).. so in the end, it's the way CIC chooses to direct their funds - close one VO and speed up another.I'm going through Bucharest and we have some users that are waiting for 12-13 months now and nothing. depends on the case too. also, when performing background checks, they contact every institution you studied at (for example), so they rely on them to reply fast concerning your data, so basically that's what's taking so much sometimes..

life isn't fair so waiting for a fair process from a government is something unrealistic nowadays unfortunately. i just wished we didn't have to wait apart, i wouldn't care so much that it's 14,20, whatever months if we were together.