Re: Singapore – Vietnam - July 2013 application - DECISION MADE
Thank you to all the members here for sharing their experiences with me. It's definitely a roller coaster ride at the Singapore Visa Office. The whole process is a roller coaster ride if you ask me. At the beginning of the process, it seems in no time at all I will be seeing my love one very shortly. After 2 months into the game, that excitement kind of faded for me. There is quote way back in my English class that I remember, and also in the movies that said “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, but I think “distance keeps the heart grow fonder”. But you know what, there is some truth to that saying.
I am almost 5 months in to the waiting game now. The processing time and update you had at the beginning is no longer looking the way you had anticipated. You keep checking, and nothing has change. At this point, the only thing that keeps your insanity intact is to do some indepth reading on the website of the explanation they provided to describe the status of your application. I assume that's how many of you keep yourself entertain when you log in the website everyday.
I definitely think the whole immigration processing system is in need of a big overhaul. The stress that they put on people with the best of intention can easily exhaust them out. The emotion that you had at the beginning of being patience can quickly change into frustration, eventually anger.
Some members here mention 6-8 months without any delay in processing time is normal. I am not sure if anyone agrees with me or not, but NO GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD HAS THE RIGHTS OF KEEPING ANYONE AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILY FOR ANY EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME LET ALONE POSTING A TIME LINE OF 28 MONTHS IS BEING A NORMAL AND ADEQUATE PROCESSING WAIT TIME!
A small change that I like and hope to see one day is that Citizenship and Immigration Canada can put more stages in rather than just 3 stages with many points that tells you nothing, but leaves you wondering on their decision making process. I am sure the people in Ottawa have their reason for doing the 3-4 stages information status, but PLEASE, NOT at the expense of the applicant with the best of intention to re-unite with their love ones.
I certainly would welcome a once a month update on the status of my application. After reading many sad posts of people longing for their love ones and waiting in the uncertainty when they will finally be united again with their love ones got me to believe that changes is definitely needed to the processing system. They certainly can do no harm to give people some reassurance that their application is well being look after and not just another number on the application forms. I WANT THE PEOPLE IN OTTAWA WHO STUMBLE UPON THIS SITE TO KNOW THAT EVERY PIECE OF APPLICATION PAPER IN THE SYSTEM IS JUST NOT ANOTHER NUBMER. IT IS PEOPLE LIVES THEY ARE DEALING WITH AND THAT THEY SHOULD TREAT IT AS SUCH! Believe me, I think it will do wonders to peoples mind and emotions when they are being inform on a regular basis.
The analogy I can give you with the update of status of the immigration system is kind of like your good buddy calling you to tell you they are coming over to pick you up at your house to go out for the night. After getting off the phone, the only information they gave you is that they are coming over to your house to pick you up to go out. You are so excited the moment you got off the phone. You quickly race to your room to get dress and have your hair done and whatever else you need to do before going out. An hour and a half later, you are still at home waiting for your friend to come over and pick you up. That is how I feel at this point that is taking place with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. I am waiting for that friend to give me some updates why they are taking so long to get to my house because my attempts to contact them on the phone call goes directly to their voice mail.
There is nothing worse than not knowing where your friend is while you wait for them. In other word, the wait becomes much more agonizing and a lot longer. Through all those moments, you run through your thoughts of the worse scenario in which you hope didn't happen and that your friend is just late and some how they will be here soon. However, if Citizenship and Immigration Canada is like your friend, they will tell you they are leaving their house now. At which point you can anticipate the distance it takes for them to get to your house. Once on the road, they update you that they are stopping at a certain street corner to pick up your other friends, get gas, money...etc. You will know with some certainly that at some point they will arrive at your house to pick you up, rather than your best guess as to when they are arriving.
That's what I hope to see change for the new applicant one day when they sponsor their love ones over. To see clearly and transparently the information at many stages instead of 3 point “decision status”. It is much more of an enduring wait. I hope someone in Ottawa is reading this post will make a kind note of this.
