plse Help: how to follow-up on an immigration process (sponsorship) in London?

[Green5]

Hi,

I am Canadian, our daughter is Canadian and my common law partner is British. We have had my request to sponsor him accepted at the beginning of August and the CIC website says that the immigration documents for him have been received on June 13th. I have checked twice weekly for updates but the webpage says the same - documents received and that's all.

I know that the process can take anything in between 3 to 11 months but in our case I really would need to be able to follow this up and I wonder if there is anywhere at all (and telephone number, an email?!) where I could follow-up on our application?

Our file should be quite straight forward, we have no criminal records, my partner has a firm job offer in Canada and has a signed contract which he has attached to his file and we have family there that can welcome us when we arrive.

My rush currently is that 1) My partner does not want to risk loosing his job offer if the process really takes too long but mostly 2) my mother is severely ill and she might not last much much longer. I would have liked to be able to be nearer to her at least for the time that she has left, for her to spend sometime with her grand daughter, etc.

Of course we could visit Canada and most certainly will if things take too long but 1 week visit will surely not be as good as being 'there' and being able to go and visit when ever we can / need to.

Any help or advise would be incredibly incredibly appreciated please.

Thank you

 

[brucem]

Hi,

I am Canadian, our daughter is Canadian and my common law partner is British. We have had my request to sponsor him accepted at the beginning of August and the CIC website says that the immigration documents for him have been received on June 13th. I have checked twice weekly for updates but the webpage says the same - documents received and that's all.

I know that the process can take anything in between 3 to 11 months but in our case I really would need to be able to follow this up and I wonder if there is anywhere at all (and telephone number, an email?!) where I could follow-up on our application?

Our file should be quite straight forward, we have no criminal records, my partner has a firm job offer in Canada and has a signed contract which he has attached to his file and we have family there that can welcome us when we arrive.

My rush currently is that 1) My partner does not want to risk loosing his job offer if the process really takes too long but mostly 2) my mother is severely ill and she might not last much much longer. I would have liked to be able to be nearer to her at least for the time that she has left, for her to spend sometime with her grand daughter, etc.

Of course we could visit Canada and most certainly will if things take too long but 1 week visit will surely not be as good as being 'there' and being able to go and visit when ever we can / need to.

Any help or advise would be incredibly incredibly appreciated please.

Thank you

Sorry to hear about your circumstances. Unfortunately I don't think there will be much you can do to speed up the process as everyone is in the same boat. I take it you are living in the UK right now? The only thing you could do is as you said visit or alternatively move back now and wait for his COPR in Canada but obviously he couldn't work until his approval came through. Maybe more senior members might have some additional advice.

 

[Green5]

Hi Brucem and thank you.

Yes it would be great to hear back from some other more senior members on this chat. I have tried to locate telephone numbers, email addresses etc with no success to far. One email address is provided if one calls the Canadian High Commission in England but then you get an automated reply which says that their mailbox is full and that they can therefore not receive any other emails as a result.

It's so frustrating seeing that this is an urgent change in my situation although I know its not affecting directly the immigration request and process. To be very honest - I just don't know what to do anymore.

Our issue is that we cannot afford to move back now if my partner is unable to work (he had a job waiting for him there but he won't be allowed to start working and therefore won't have an earning). And in regards to the visit - I really don't wish to go to Canada say for a week to say good by to my mom... how does one prepare for something like this? I would much rather be there and go to see her regularly and when ever needed.

Maybe I'll end up having to go on my own but that's not simple either with child care and us being all appart

Your answer and kind words were appreciated though Brucem.

 

[brucem]

Hi Brucem and thank you.

Yes it would be great to hear back from some other more senior members on this chat. I have tried to locate telephone numbers, email addresses etc with no success to far. One email address is provided if one calls the Canadian High Commission in England but then you get an automated reply which says that their mailbox is full and that they can therefore not receive any other emails as a result.

It's so frustrating seeing that this is an urgent change in my situation although I know its not affecting directly the immigration request and process. To be very honest - I just don't know what to do anymore.

Our issue is that we cannot afford to move back now if my partner is unable to work (he had a job waiting for him there but he won't be allowed to start working and therefore won't have an earning). And in regards to the visit - I really don't wish to go to Canada say for a week to say good by to my mom... how does one prepare for something like this? I would much rather be there and go to see her regularly and when ever needed.

Maybe I'll end up having to go on my own but that's not simple either with child care and us being all appart

Your answer and kind words were appreciated though Brucem.

Yeah I can't imagine what a horrible postition that is. I have seen a few people on here who have been in similar urgent circumstances and I just couldnt think that anyone had been able to offer any short cuts. However, on a personal note do what you have to do, if that means packing everyone up and going over there for a few weeks it might be better for you as you might need the support yourself. I suppose its easier said than done but ill keep my fingers crossed someone has some other suggestions.

 

[Chevy23]

Hi Brucem and thank you.

Yes it would be great to hear back from some other more senior members on this chat. I have tried to locate telephone numbers, email addresses etc with no success to far. One email address is provided if one calls the Canadian High Commission in England but then you get an automated reply which says that their mailbox is full and that they can therefore not receive any other emails as a result.

It's so frustrating seeing that this is an urgent change in my situation although I know its not affecting directly the immigration request and process. To be very honest - I just don't know what to do anymore.

Our issue is that we cannot afford to move back now if my partner is unable to work (he had a job waiting for him there but he won't be allowed to start working and therefore won't have an earning). And in regards to the visit - I really don't wish to go to Canada say for a week to say good by to my mom... how does one prepare for something like this? I would much rather be there and go to see her regularly and when ever needed.

Maybe I'll end up having to go on my own but that's not simple either with child care and us being all appart

Your answer and kind words were appreciated though Brucem.

Hi

There is no telephone number or anyone you can call at the London VO

The only method of communication with them is via email

Sorry to sound harsh but your case is no more urgent than many other peoples here, they will not sympathise with your case nor will they speed up your application or give you an update

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do but wait... If your case passes the 11 month mark then you can send them an urgent email and they will have to update you but that's it I'm afraid

You can order your gcms notes to get a better update of how far into processing your case is but these take 30 days to arrive

 

[Green5]

Hi Chevy,

What is a gcms and how does one proceed to request them?

I do realise that surely other people will have other emergencies and it's hard in the end to fairly appreciate which emergency should pass in front of the other one - if there is even such a thing. I am nevertheless hoping that people who d face emergencies are able to communicate this to someone so that officials in charge can evaluate the request and decide what the next steps should be. The fact that no one seems to be contactable at all is surprising.

It does not seem possible to reach the London immigration office by email as I got an automated message saying that their mailbox was full and that emails could therefore not be sent.

Regards

 

[zardoz]

Hi Chevy,

What is a gcms and how does one proceed to request them?

I do realise that surely other people will have other emergencies and it's hard in the end to fairly appreciate which emergency should pass in front of the other one - if there is even such a thing. I am nevertheless hoping that people who d face emergencies are able to communicate this to someone so that officials in charge can evaluate the request and decide what the next steps should be. The fact that no one seems to be contactable at all is surprising.

It does not seem possible to reach the London immigration office by email as I got an automated message saying that their mailbox was full and that emails could therefore not be sent.

Regards

The information that you have been given is correct. There is no method of expediting a spousal sponsorship application, regardless of the perceived urgency. If you have an "open & shut" case, it may be processed in as little as 5 months. As a Canadian citizen, there is no legal obstacle to you returning to Canada to be with your mother. Your partners job offer would not even be considered as an "urgency" factor. Sorry, but that's the bottom line.

 

[lellen]

None of us know anything about our file. I applied in June too, I follow this thread: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/june-2014-outland-applicants-t215411.0.html where every June applicant posts about their progress and then we have an idea of what to expect. It's the only way to calculate the time, honestly.
We have created a spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kTYoD7YyMwlEsknbTJ64RDBMd2r6cgdmo5x2FqQnZpo/edit#gid=1673089838

You can also visit the London thread to see what the tendencies are.

I don't know, it helps with planning a little bit.

 

[Chevy23]

Hi Chevy,

What is a gcms and how does one proceed to request them?

I do realise that surely other people will have other emergencies and it's hard in the end to fairly appreciate which emergency should pass in front of the other one - if there is even such a thing. I am nevertheless hoping that people who d face emergencies are able to communicate this to someone so that officials in charge can evaluate the request and decide what the next steps should be. The fact that no one seems to be contactable at all is surprising.

It does not seem possible to reach the London immigration office by email as I got an automated message saying that their mailbox was full and that emails could therefore not be sent.

Regards

I have attached a link for you about gcms notes

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/DEPARTMENT/atip/requests-atip.asp

If you have any more questions, have a look around the forum there are many posts regarding gcms notes

Basically it's an online request under the access to information and privacy act, it has any notes about your file that the immigration officer has written it will also tell you if your applocation is in London or Ottawa (I read the London thread a lot)

Make sure you fill out the forms correctly and attach the required documents your notes will then be with you in around 30 days