Hi Everyone
Slightly longish post on a uniquely tricky situation, so please bear with the same.
I had applied, as a family (myself, wife, 2 kids < 10 yrs) under the ICT program in November 2022. The application was filed through a consultant based in Canada, and I was the primary applicant with the intention of expanding my existing business (in India) to Canada.
I got the approval for my work visa along with the approval for both my kids study visa in Feb 2023. However, we did not get any communication regarding my wife's application. Later, our consultant informed us that due to some internal processing error at IRCC end, my wife's application was not processed as IRCC indicated that the my wife's application fee was not recieved at their end. This despite the fact that the application payment for our entire family was done in a single transaction. Thereafter the consultant informed us that he has submitted the required proofs to satisy this query and expected an approval of her application shortly. The consultant however did not share any official IRCC communication received on this matter.
Around 2 days back, the consultant informed us that my wife's application has been refused and shared with us the official letter from IRCC which provide the following reason for refusal:
"Eligibility for a work permit in this category only applies to the spouse or common-law partner of a work permit holder who is doing work that is at a level that falls within National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill levels 0, A or B."
Our consultant has informed us that the above is a processing error done by IRCC and the reason above given is invalid, since I have already been approved for the work permit which falls under NOC Level 0. Additionally, the children study visa approval was also done basis of my visa approval and hence the same logic should have been applied for my wife's application.
He is now suggesting that we reapply my wife's application afresh and also submit the work & student visa already issued to us as additional proof along with the new application. The processing time he has indicated for processing of the new application should be between 60 to 90 days.
Another alternative option suggested is that my wife can apply for a Canada Tourist Vistor visa (she has a very solid international travel history including a valid US B-1/B-2 visa), and the same may get processed within a month. Thereafter we get travel to the US and get work visa stamped through flag polling at the border.
Further, our consultant has advised us not to appeal the refusal, as according to him, the appeal process takes around 6 months.
We were intending to move to Canada in June-July time frame but unable to decide due to the uncertainity of my wife's situation. Our intention would be to try to move without having the uncertainity on my wife's status (wouldn't want me and the kids to be in Canada and my wife unable to join me for an undecided number of months). So, if the tourist visa gets approved, it would enable us to be in Canada together whilst we can figure out my wife's work visa situation, in case that gets delayed.
My queries are as below:
1. Any specific pros and cons between reapplying for the work visa or applying for a tourist visa with flagpole option
2. Chances of refusal of tourist visa based on the immediate history of work visa getting refused
3. Any other suggestions on the best way to proceed forward.
I also have some doubt over how the consultant has handled our application and suspect that there may have been an oversight on his part in the application submission, however, I am unsure on how I can get this checked since all official IRCC communications are through him. It's a bit tough to believe that IRCC could make such basic errors in processing an application. Is there any recourse available to me to confirm this?
Hope some one can shed light on this matter. Thank you.
Slightly longish post on a uniquely tricky situation, so please bear with the same.
I had applied, as a family (myself, wife, 2 kids < 10 yrs) under the ICT program in November 2022. The application was filed through a consultant based in Canada, and I was the primary applicant with the intention of expanding my existing business (in India) to Canada.
I got the approval for my work visa along with the approval for both my kids study visa in Feb 2023. However, we did not get any communication regarding my wife's application. Later, our consultant informed us that due to some internal processing error at IRCC end, my wife's application was not processed as IRCC indicated that the my wife's application fee was not recieved at their end. This despite the fact that the application payment for our entire family was done in a single transaction. Thereafter the consultant informed us that he has submitted the required proofs to satisy this query and expected an approval of her application shortly. The consultant however did not share any official IRCC communication received on this matter.
Around 2 days back, the consultant informed us that my wife's application has been refused and shared with us the official letter from IRCC which provide the following reason for refusal:
"Eligibility for a work permit in this category only applies to the spouse or common-law partner of a work permit holder who is doing work that is at a level that falls within National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill levels 0, A or B."
Our consultant has informed us that the above is a processing error done by IRCC and the reason above given is invalid, since I have already been approved for the work permit which falls under NOC Level 0. Additionally, the children study visa approval was also done basis of my visa approval and hence the same logic should have been applied for my wife's application.
He is now suggesting that we reapply my wife's application afresh and also submit the work & student visa already issued to us as additional proof along with the new application. The processing time he has indicated for processing of the new application should be between 60 to 90 days.
Another alternative option suggested is that my wife can apply for a Canada Tourist Vistor visa (she has a very solid international travel history including a valid US B-1/B-2 visa), and the same may get processed within a month. Thereafter we get travel to the US and get work visa stamped through flag polling at the border.
Further, our consultant has advised us not to appeal the refusal, as according to him, the appeal process takes around 6 months.
We were intending to move to Canada in June-July time frame but unable to decide due to the uncertainity of my wife's situation. Our intention would be to try to move without having the uncertainity on my wife's status (wouldn't want me and the kids to be in Canada and my wife unable to join me for an undecided number of months). So, if the tourist visa gets approved, it would enable us to be in Canada together whilst we can figure out my wife's work visa situation, in case that gets delayed.
My queries are as below:
1. Any specific pros and cons between reapplying for the work visa or applying for a tourist visa with flagpole option
2. Chances of refusal of tourist visa based on the immediate history of work visa getting refused
3. Any other suggestions on the best way to proceed forward.
I also have some doubt over how the consultant has handled our application and suspect that there may have been an oversight on his part in the application submission, however, I am unsure on how I can get this checked since all official IRCC communications are through him. It's a bit tough to believe that IRCC could make such basic errors in processing an application. Is there any recourse available to me to confirm this?
Hope some one can shed light on this matter. Thank you.
