Family reunification PR and TRV applications stuck - Collecting ideas what to do

[Defend]

Hi there,
I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my spouse (Russian citizen) to come to Canada. We have 2 kids (dual citizenship). Our timelime:
Feb-2022 - Applied to Family sponsorship PR (processing office - Warsaw)
May-2022 - Sponsor approved, criminality, eligibility, bio, medical passed, pre-arrival letter received
Aug-2022 - ADR (CV/resume)
Sep-2022 - TRV application submitted
June-2023 - remed request - passed
Aug-2023 - applied to Federal Court for mandamus (PR)

In total: 22 months pending PR application / 15 months pending TRV application

Inquiries to IRCC: standard responses 'Your application is being processed'.
Inquiries to MP: absolutely no result, just said 'We can't do anything'.
Application to Federal Court: waiting for the judicial review, understood that there's no trust in lawyers' promising 'mandamus can speedup your application, 99% are finalised in 2 months'. Lucky to be in 1%... God, why then have I never won the lottery with such luck?..
Also, looks like we're the first who will go to the second re-med (and third med, accordingly) - I've never seen cases like that.

So, why am I writing here? Just pre-Christmas depression of too long separated family.
Maybe anyone has some useful ideas ('Just sit and wait' is also an idea).

Thanks for reading

 

[scylla]

Hi there,
I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my spouse (Russian citizen) to come to Canada. We have 2 kids (dual citizenship). Our timelime:
Feb-2022 - Applied to Family sponsorship PR (processing office - Warsaw)
May-2022 - Sponsor approved, criminality, eligibility, bio, medical passed, pre-arrival letter received
Aug-2022 - ADR (CV/resume)
Sep-2022 - TRV application submitted
June-2023 - remed request - passed
Aug-2023 - applied to Federal Court for mandamus (PR)

In total: 22 months pending PR application / 15 months pending TRV application

Inquiries to IRCC: standard responses 'Your application is being processed'.
Inquiries to MP: absolutely no result, just said 'We can't do anything'.
Application to Federal Court: waiting for the judicial review, understood that there's no trust in lawyers' promising 'mandamus can speedup your application, 99% are finalised in 2 months'. Lucky to be in 1%... God, why then have I never won the lottery with such luck?..
Also, looks like we're the first who will go to the second re-med (and third med, accordingly) - I've never seen cases like that.

So, why am I writing here? Just pre-Christmas depression of too long separated family.
Maybe anyone has some useful ideas ('Just sit and wait' is also an idea).

Thanks for reading

I assume you've ordered your GCMS notes? What do they say? The ADR is quite unusual. Makes me wonder why they requested this.

 

[ERCAN]

Hi there,
I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my spouse (Russian citizen) to come to Canada. We have 2 kids (dual citizenship). Our timelime:
Feb-2022 - Applied to Family sponsorship PR (processing office - Warsaw)
May-2022 - Sponsor approved, criminality, eligibility, bio, medical passed, pre-arrival letter received
Aug-2022 - ADR (CV/resume)
Sep-2022 - TRV application submitted
June-2023 - remed request - passed
Aug-2023 - applied to Federal Court for mandamus (PR)

In total: 22 months pending PR application / 15 months pending TRV application

Inquiries to IRCC: standard responses 'Your application is being processed'.
Inquiries to MP: absolutely no result, just said 'We can't do anything'.
Application to Federal Court: waiting for the judicial review, understood that there's no trust in lawyers' promising 'mandamus can speedup your application, 99% are finalised in 2 months'. Lucky to be in 1%... God, why then have I never won the lottery with such luck?..
Also, looks like we're the first who will go to the second re-med (and third med, accordingly) - I've never seen cases like that.

So, why am I writing here? Just pre-Christmas depression of too long separated family.
Maybe anyone has some useful ideas ('Just sit and wait' is also an idea).

Thanks for reading

Did your wife work in any government related company? Literally any, even if it's just a federal school or some company that somehow related to any government body? I can only think of extended background check.
And as @scylla asked, did you request GCMS?

 

[canuck78]

Hi there,
I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my spouse (Russian citizen) to come to Canada. We have 2 kids (dual citizenship). Our timelime:
Feb-2022 - Applied to Family sponsorship PR (processing office - Warsaw)
May-2022 - Sponsor approved, criminality, eligibility, bio, medical passed, pre-arrival letter received
Aug-2022 - ADR (CV/resume)
Sep-2022 - TRV application submitted
June-2023 - remed request - passed
Aug-2023 - applied to Federal Court for mandamus (PR)

In total: 22 months pending PR application / 15 months pending TRV application

Inquiries to IRCC: standard responses 'Your application is being processed'.
Inquiries to MP: absolutely no result, just said 'We can't do anything'.
Application to Federal Court: waiting for the judicial review, understood that there's no trust in lawyers' promising 'mandamus can speedup your application, 99% are finalised in 2 months'. Lucky to be in 1%... God, why then have I never won the lottery with such luck?..
Also, looks like we're the first who will go to the second re-med (and third med, accordingly) - I've never seen cases like that.

So, why am I writing here? Just pre-Christmas depression of too long separated family.
Maybe anyone has some useful ideas ('Just sit and wait' is also an idea).

Thanks for reading

Assume it is likely related to Russia unless you have other red flags. How long have you been living in Canada if you previously lived together in Russia?

 

[Defend]

I assume you've ordered your GCMS notes? What do they say?

Comprehensive background check started in May 2022 for PR.
Just simple background check started in Nov 2022 for TRV.

You know, that in IRCC notes there is no information regarding the background check, it's not disclosed due to some rules... But in the CBSA notes there is an information. Nothing specific. No comments from officers. Just 'application received. Background check started'. In the notes from CSIS the same: just information that security screening is in progress and no details.

Did your wife work in any government related company? Literally any, even if it's just a federal school or some company that somehow related to any government body?

Yes, it was in her biography In the research institute. But without security clearance and other aggravating.

Anyways, I can`t get why they requested for the re-med then?..

The ADR is quite unusual. Makes me wonder why they requested this.

I talked to a lot of people, especially from Russia, who also had an ADR request, a government jobs in the past and else. Noone waited for more than 20-22 months (and it was when the official processing times were 18-20 months, not 13 as today). And if anyone was requested for the re-med, they got PPR in a couple of weeks. That's so frustrating that all the chat groups where I was with other 'waiting ppl' are empty now, and even all ppl with comprehensive background check got their PRs...

Assume it is likely related to Russia unless you have other red flags. How long have you been living in Canada if you previously lived together in Russia?

Before the PR application? I returned back to Canada in Jan 2022, and applied for family sponsorship in Feb 2022.

 

[scylla]

Comprehensive background check started in May 2022 for PR.
Just simple background check started in Nov 2022 for TRV.

You know, that in IRCC notes there is no information regarding the background check, it's not disclosed due to some rules... But in the CBSA notes there is an information. Nothing specific. No comments from officers. Just 'application received. Background check started'. In the notes from CSIS the same: just information that security screening is in progress and no details.


Yes, it was in her biography In the research institute. But without security clearance and other aggravating.

Anyways, I can`t get why they requested for the re-med then?..


I talked to a lot of people, especially from Russia, who also had an ADR request, a government jobs in the past and else. Noone waited for more than 20-22 months (and it was when the official processing times were 18-20 months, not 13 as today). And if anyone was requested for the re-med, they got PPR in a couple of weeks. That's so frustrating that all the chat groups where I was with other 'waiting ppl' are empty now, and even all ppl with comprehensive background check got their PRs...

Before the PR application? I returned back to Canada in Jan 2022, and applied for family sponsorship in Feb 2022.

So my two cents is that it's the government job that's the root cause of this delay, along with Russia's delays and/or lack of cooperation. In "normal" circumstances a government job would increase the time of the background / security check somewhat. However given Russia's war on Ukraine and Canada's support of Ukraine, Russia is being far less cooperative with Canada on information sharing. For background / security checks, Canada is dependent on other countries providing information. If Russia is being slow or non-cooperative, that's where your delay is. Mandamus cannot fix this because the delay is not Canada, it's the country Canada is requesting information from (in this case Russia). I can't comment on why your wife's application is taking longer than others in similar situations. However my guess is that Canada is waiting on Russia. Your wife can thank her crappy home country for this. But let's hope there's light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe the re-med is a sign that CSIS/IRCC finally has all of the info they need.

 

[Defend]

Maybe the re-med is a sign that CSIS/IRCC finally has all of the info they need.

Re-med was in June, so - no

Mandamus cannot fix this because the delay is not Canada

It can. If we win, IRCC will be forced by the Federal Court to finalize the application in, say, 30 days. And they must do that based on the information they have.

However my guess is that Canada is waiting on Russia.

Well, fine. Don't finalize the PR, since it requires extended background verification. But finalize the TRV. Service standard for TRVs is 30 days. It's impossible to rely on other countries partners when you process TRVs. Making a decision on TRV they rely on a lack of imformation and just background quick-screening. So in that case I believe it is 100% Canada's fault of the delay.

 

[scylla]

Re-med was in June, so - no


It can. If we win, IRCC will be forced by the Federal Court to finalize the application in, say, 30 days. And they must do that based on the information they have.



Well, fine. Don't finalize the PR, since it requires extended background verification. But finalize the TRV. Service standard for TRVs is 30 days. It's impossible to rely on other countries partners when you process TRVs. Making a decision on TRV they rely on a lack of impormation and just background quick-screening. So in that case I believe it is 100% Canada's fault of the delay.

Ah - I missed the bit that re-med was in June. I agree with you on the TRV.

For the mandamus bit, I agree if the Federal Court finds in your favour. But they won't always do that if background / security check is outstanding. That's the gamble. Mandamus isn't a slam dunk.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[armoured]

So my two cents is that it's the government job that's the root cause of this delay, along with Russia's delays and/or lack of cooperation. In "normal" circumstances a government job would increase the time of the background / security check somewhat. However given Russia's war on Ukraine and Canada's support of Ukraine, Russia is being far less cooperative with Canada on information sharing. For background / security checks, Canada is dependent on other countries providing information. If Russia is being slow or non-cooperative, that's where your delay is.

I strongly doubt that Canada is relying in any significant way on Russian security checks in particular, but also general background checks. There might have been some period long ago but not for a while. There may be some exceptions - criminal record checks, for example - but I doubt that would be a hold-up unless there was some specific criminal record issue. I'd be more concerned about incomplete, partial or mistaken records from other international partners.

The 'research institute' could potentially be an issue, because there are many many of them with varying historic/current degrees of attachment to government agencies. They were at times past and present used for non-straightforward purposes, including specifically hiding things from outsiders. (Some, of course, were just plain research institutes). Has your spouse had trvs to Canada/travelled much to eg EU/NATO countries in past?

Whether that research intitute is it or something else might depend on other parts of the biography, just no way to tell from the little info.

So I for one am at a loss, apart from what has been done to look into it. The gcms notes absolutely should be ordered (if they haven't already) but if it actually is a 'security' issue, would be hard to discern much from them (although a good lawyer with experience might be able to).

We should note that there are/were/have been periods that Ukrainian files of all types just took precedence. But I"m not aware that this is the case now.

 

[Defend]

Has your spouse had trvs to Canada/travelled much to eg EU/NATO countries in past?

No Canadian TRVs, a lot of EU visas (even 2-years multiple entry visas)

Whether that research intitute is it or something else might depend on other parts of the biography, just no way to tell from the little info.

The lawyer we contacted for the help with mandamus said that it's the only reason of the delay he can see. Also he said that most likely my spouse will be defined as 'inadmissible' and proposed to apply for TRP. But it's definetely not the way we want to follow. However another lawyer said, that that research institute and the position there in my spouse's case shouldn't lead to any kind of 'inadmissibility'.
Anyways, if the visa officer has any security concerns they should send the FRP. And if it is related to the previous research institute position, we've already prepared a lot of supporting documents to defend our case. But nobody requested something related to security since Aug 2022......
IRCC doesn't want any Russian spy or criminal to enter Canada - that's fine, I absolutely support it. But I also want to have a clear and fair case processing procedure. When there's no movement for dozens of months, and they only request to spend money to complete medical exms again and again (and for kids - Canadian citizens as well, by the way) - I can't call it a fair procedure...

 

[armoured]

The lawyer we contacted for the help with mandamus said that it's the only reason of the delay he can see. Also he said that most likely my spouse will be defined as 'inadmissible' and proposed to apply for TRP. But it's definetely not the way we want to follow. However another lawyer said, that that research institute and the position there in my spouse's case shouldn't lead to any kind of 'inadmissibility'.

I think your lawyer is jumping to conclusions without much basis for it. It might be the research institute - it might not.

Anyways, if the visa officer has any security concerns they should send the FRP. And if it is related to the previous research institute position, we've already prepared a lot of supporting documents to defend our case. But nobody requested something related to security since Aug 2022......

That is, unfortunately, not the way it works. If it actually is held up on the security side, the IRCC officer might well know nothing about it and be unable to do anything about it, either. And unless someone was, I don't know, outed in the press as a spy, I doubt they'd get a PFL (and if they did, there'd be no response that'd fix the issue). More likely i the past would have been invited to meet with someone - except that probably there is no-one able to do so in Russia these days, and they may have to continue doing 'research.'

Also - resources in the specific area are never enough, and low priority at this point in time (you know why). Sorry, just a fact.

The other side of this is that when security delays happen, more often than not they just go away and you never find out what the issue was.

When there's no movement for dozens of months, and they only request to spend money to complete medical exms again and again (and for kids - Canadian citizens as well, by the way) - I can't call it a fair procedure...

I don't think they would have asked for the second medical unless they thought clearance was done, and then something came up. I havne't a clue what that could be.

If the children are Canadians, they should not have done medicals at all, neither the first nor the second time. You were told this as I recall. Sorry, but that's on you if you decided to do it and pay for it.

 

[Defend]

I don't think they would have asked for the second medical unless they thought clearance was done, and then something came up. I havne't a clue what that could be.

If so, then I think we could find something in GCMS, requested after the second med, but there were nothing useful to determine what was going on at that point of time.

If the children are Canadians, they should not have done medicals at all, neither the first nor the second time. You were told this as I recall. Sorry, but that's on you if you decided to do it and pay for it.

Yes, you're right. It's our decision to pass the exam for everyone. But it doesn't mean that I'll stop blaming IRCC for sending wrong requests. And all of our webforms, emails and else couldn't fix it. All the time we just got a standard response that everything is fine, just wait.

And unless someone was, I don't know, outed in the press as a spy, I doubt they'd get a PFL

Well, no matter to guess. We're not spies and there's nothing in the biography that could cause such concerns.

I think your lawyer is jumping to conclusions without much basis for it. It might be the research institute - it might not.

I think he just wanted to earn some money to prepare a TRP application for us...

 

[armoured]

I think he just wanted to earn some money to prepare a TRP application for us...

I'm a little surprised about the TRV application still pending (wouldn't have been unusual for them to just refuse it); I don't know how to do properly with these but I'd be tempted to apply again (if you can have concurrent apps) or withdraw the old and apply again.

 

[Defend]

I'd be tempted to apply again (if you can have concurrent apps) or withdraw the old and apply again.

Current processing times for TRVs from Russia is more than 300 days. If we withdraw and apply again, we'll just extend our processing time by 1 more year. I talked to some people who applied twice to push their appliaction and it gave no effect. We can apply again and have 2 pending TRVs, it's just a matter of 200 dollars, but I don't trust that it can help...

Also, some of the options I have in my mind:
1. Try to meet MP or someone from his team in person. They refused to help via e-mail, but it's harder to say 'no, we can't do anything' in person.
2. Send webforms asking to finalize the application every month.
3. Write to massmedia, maybe someone will be interested and will publish our case as well as ask IRCC for comments.
4. Apply for mandamus for TRV (too expensive)
5. We can guess the security concerns IRCC has, and send them the document package to clarify our case, even without their request.
6. Drive to IRCC office in Ottawa and stand there with a sign 'Finalize the application'

 

[armoured]

1. Try to meet MP or someone from his team in person. They refused to help via e-mail, but it's harder to say 'no, we can't do anything' in person.

That's atrocious behaviour by MP if they 'refused.' There's not much they can outright do, but they can write to the minister and inquire.

If your MP doesn't help - write to MP/minister/critic from other party. Write to a couple ministers. Etc.