Writing on back of photos, and if you pass CIC Mississauga are you home free??

[toby]

There are two issues here, and I have recent experience that casts further light on both.

1) Does CIC Mississauga check applications thoroughly before sending them on to the Visa Office in your country?

2) Writing on the back of photos

1) Just because your application passed through CIC-Mississauga does not mean you're home free. In my case, our application was sent to Hong Kong; they returned IMM 5406 because my wife had not signed the declaration, half-way through the form, that she has no children. This was a careless oversight on my part.

A sidebar curiosity, though, is that Hong Kong wrote to us using an English-only address label, despite the requirement in the China-specific instructions that we provide Chinese address labels. As a result, the China Post Office had to add another label with our address in Chinese, and this might explain why the letter took 8 days to arrive in our mail box. We will include another set of Chinese address labels with our new IMM5406, and hope that Hong Kong takes the hint.

2) Hong Kong also asked for 6 new photos of my wife, and included a photo-specification sheet that I cannot find anywhere (not in the Guide for Sponsor Application, Guide for Immigrant Application, or the Guide specific to China). This spec sheet tells me not to write on any photo, whereas the Guide I can find on the website tells me to write name, date of birth, and the date the photo was taken on the back of one of the photos.

When I first wrote about this issue, some of you had written on every photo and got away with it. I had written on every photo too, but did NOT get away with it. So, the lesson for those just completing their applications is to follow the instruction on photos to the letter. You never know whether you are going to encounter a picky Visa Officer or a more flexible one.

Let’s all wait for the blessed day when we are not under the arbitrary thumb of bureaucrats!!

 

[diddagirl]

Hmm, interestingly in my case, I completely missed the reading the part of the application guide where it says to write the name, dob and info on the back of one photo. I panicked a little as the application had already been sent off. Thankfully it passed through Mississauga and then Buffalo as we received our decision this week.

 

[Ssarah183]

Hmm, interestingly in my case, I completely missed the reading the part of the application guide where it says to write the name, dob and info on the back of one photo. I panicked a little as the application had already been sent off. Thankfully it passed through Mississauga and then Buffalo as we received our decision this week.

I don't remember doing it either. It's annoying how even when you are completely thorough, check and check again you can still miss things! Thankfully I got approved whether I wrote on them or not. (I'm thinking not as costco stamp a whole bunch of stuff on them but who knows)

 

[nyssa]

It may be Buffalo then that cares less.

I am going to put my DOB and name on one as mentioned in the guide just in case... but again, who knows! They did just eliminate the staple bit, after all.

 

[diddagirl]

I don't remember doing it either. It's annoying how even when you are completely thorough, check and check again you can still miss things! Thankfully I got approved whether I wrote on them or not. (I'm thinking not as costco stamp a whole bunch of stuff on them but who knows)

Haha, I know, I thought I was SO thorough and double and triple checked everything... so needless to say I was beyond disappointed and nearly had a panic attack thinking it would delay my application.

 

[Swede]

1) Does CIC Mississauga check applications thoroughly before sending them on to the Visa Office in your country?

As far as I understand things, CPC-M makes sure that all necessary forms are in order and that the sponsor is eligible. However, the local office can ask for additional forms if they do so please and they are the ones who evaluate the detail of the application.

 

[Karlshammar]

This is exactly the way it works.

As far as I understand things, CPC-M makes sure that all necessary forms are in order and that the sponsor is eligible. However, the local office can ask for additional forms if they do so please and they are the ones who evaluate the detail of the application.

 

[Suin]

yes, Mississauga makes just pre-screening, checking whether all the forms are in place. they actually checked my photos as well, and put a mark on them that they do not comply with specifications.