Long Delay of 30 months in Citizenship application

[INdian123]

Hi There, I applied my citizenship application 29 months ago .. 15 months ago in August 2023 i was interviewed by the office and she requested to get two stamps certified translated. I submitted the translation of stamps on email within next few days in sep 2023 and i am waiting since then to get the physical precence processing/ review step completed. There were two stamps that were not in english so office could not complete my physical presence review in the in person interview. These stamps were related to period falling outside of eligibility period but Office insisted that they will accept only certified translation of the stamps to verify.

i have passed the citizenship test back in Feb 2024…all of the steps are completed excep physical precense is outstanding for 15 months now .. i requested GCMS notes and it says
App status : Open
App Status Reason : TFR worload redistribution

i followed up on the emails multiple times.. i have tenewed my PR a few months ago as it came to an expiry

i am not sure if i should withdraw my application and re apply because its not getting any attention and some people have told me that it can left like that for many years as a non routine application.

Can somebody please help me with what my best options are as its 29 months already .. should I keep waiting or withdraw and reapply what are the implications of withdrawal.. i did not misrepresent anything.. its just that stamps were not translation was not provided in the interview…i am afraid if i withdraw and reapply, my new application will also be negatively effected as the current one is pending review ..

Has anybody body else faced a sinilar situaion please advise

 

[armoured]

Has anybody body else faced a sinilar situaion please advise

Have you tried your MP's office?

I think you should ask about the gcms notes issue - "TFW workforce distirbution" implies to me it ended up on the wrong pile and they decided to fix it - but clearly that didn't happen or didn't work.

 

[Seym]

+1 to the MP suggestion above.
Did you also call them or send a webform about the status of your application?

Also, is your physical presence "in the clear"? Did you apply with a sufficient buffer and IRCC is just letting your application gather dust, or did you apply with something like 1096 days and the physical presence isn't turning green because IRCC seriously doubts that you've met the threshold? If that's the case, a withdrawal and a new app could definitely help you quickly get to the finish line (especially since you're probably now hundreds of days above 1095!), but if it's more of an application just being ignored, a nudge, be it if needed a nudge from a lawyer, could be all you need.

 

[INdian123]

Thanks for your reply . I am thinking of taking help from MP.. also will consult a lawyer soon. I submitted web form inquiry 2 times requested gcms notes once and followed up on emails three or 4 times i think. The physical Precense status is IN PROGRESS in the application and I applied with 1326 days as physical precense. ..

 

[INdian123]

Have you tried your MP's office?

I think you should ask about the gcms notes issue - "TFW workforce distirbution" implies to me it ended up on the wrong pile and they decided to fix it - but clearly that didn't happen or didn't work.

I will take help from MP and consult a lawyer too .. thanks for your reply appreciate it

 

[INdian123]

+1 to the MP suggestion above.
Did you also call them or send a webform about the status of your application?

Also, is your physical presence "in the clear"? Did you apply with a sufficient buffer and IRCC is just letting your application gather dust, or did you apply with something like 1096 days and the physical presence isn't turning green because IRCC seriously doubts that you've met the threshold? If that's the case, a withdrawal and a new app could definitely help you quickly get to the finish line (especially since you're probably now hundreds of days above 1095!), but if it's more of an application just being ignored, a nudge, be it if needed a nudge from a lawyer, could be all you need.

Thanks for your reply . I am thinking of taking help from MP.. also will consult a lawyer soon. I submitted web form inquiry 2 times requested gcms notes once and followed up on emails three or 4 times i think. The physical Precense status is IN PROGRESS in the application and I applied with 1326 days as physical precense. ..

 

[armoured]

I will take help from MP and consult a lawyer too .. thanks for your reply appreciate it

Note, my above is only a guess. Hope it helps.

It may depend when this bit about 'workforce distribution' was entered. But it should have started moving (after some reasonable period) after it was 'redistributed.'

 

[Seym]

Thanks for your reply . I am thinking of taking help from MP.. also will consult a lawyer soon. I submitted web form inquiry 2 times requested gcms notes once and followed up on emails three or 4 times i think. The physical Precense status is IN PROGRESS in the application and I applied with 1326 days as physical precense. ..

In that case, it looks like one of these cases where a letter from a lawyer leads to an oath ceremony a month later...
It sucks to spend serious money for something you should have had in 2023, but it's what it is...

 

[INdian123]

In that case, it looks like one of these cases where a letter from a lawyer leads to an oath ceremony a month later...
It sucks to spend serious money for something you should have had in 2023, but it's what it is...

If a letter from lawyer can work, I will try that first. If that does not work then can seek help from the MP, if that does not work either the only option left I thin is to withdraw and reapply.

What type of letter from the lawyer will it be, if you can advise that will be helpful, thank you appreciate your help

 

[INdian123]

Note, my above is only a guess. Hope it helps.

It may depend when this bit about 'workforce distribution' was entered. But it should have started moving (after some reasonable period) after it was 'redistributed.'

The last time the application seems to have been handled by the officer was back in Oct 2023... 13 months ago, so i have no hopes they will review the file anytime soon. I waited for long

 

[Seym]

If a letter from lawyer can work, I will try that first. If that does not work then can seek help from the MP, if that does not work either the only option left I thin is to withdraw and reapply.

What type of letter from the lawyer will it be, if you can advise that will be helpful, thank you appreciate your help

Google the writ of mandamus. There's a high chance the 1st step of the process is the last in case of a never-ending physical presence validation for someone with a very large buffer.

 

[armoured]

If a letter from lawyer can work, I will try that first. If that does not work then can seek help from the MP, if that does not work either the only option left I thin is to withdraw and reapply.

What type of letter from the lawyer will it be, if you can advise that will be helpful, thank you appreciate your help

I would go the other way around, try MP first - because it's free. Note, from my experience, it often may need a couple tries with MP - the first time they will (usually) want to limit to just an inquiry to figure out what is happening. Then if no action or movement, a second request for assistance may move things along.

Or you can do both at same time, of course. Note it may take a while to find a lawyer you wish to proceed with - and even an initial consultation is likely to cost money. I'd start with MP while you explore the legal options.

And obviously depends on your willingness to pay a lawyer. The type of letter referred to is basically (probably anyway) a "please move this file along or we will pursue legal action." Some lawyers may not want to engage for just writing a one-off letter.

A more formal process (that starts with this type of letter) is called a writ of mandamus, and the initial letter is "this is formal notice that we intend to file a writ of mandamus, please move the file along or we will file the writ." Some applicants have had success with this type of demand-notice, and some lawyers will agree to do this in a staged way (i.e. they'll only charge for each stage in the writ of mandamus rather than pay up front for the whole thing).

The thing is: there are some requirements in law to do the mandamus process - and different lawyers may have different opinions and requirements before they agree to do it. (Hence the consultation, where they'll want to look at other aspects of your application and the paperwork and gcms notes, etc).

Good luck.

 

[armoured]

Sorry one additional comment for explanation: don't be overly optimistic about help from MP.

Main thing to understand is they cannot make IRCC do anything it doesn't really want to do - that is, against policy and regulations. They can't work magic.

But sometimes their inquiries can help 'dislodge' a file that's ended up on the bottom of the pile or held up in some process longer than usual.

That's what I've guessed may be happening to your file. I could be wrong about that.

it can't hurt to try and sometimes it helps. But it's not a guarantee.

 

[INdian123]

I would go the other way around, try MP first - because it's free. Note, from my experience, it often may need a couple tries with MP - the first time they will (usually) want to limit to just an inquiry to figure out what is happening. Then if no action or movement, a second request for assistance may move things along.

Or you can do both at same time, of course. Note it may take a while to find a lawyer you wish to proceed with - and even an initial consultation is likely to cost money. I'd start with MP while you explore the legal options.

And obviously depends on your willingness to pay a lawyer. The type of letter referred to is basically (probably anyway) a "please move this file along or we will pursue legal action." Some lawyers may not want to engage for just writing a one-off letter.

A more formal process (that starts with this type of letter) is called a writ of mandamus, and the initial letter is "this is formal notice that we intend to file a writ of mandamus, please move the file along or we will file the writ." Some applicants have had success with this type of demand-notice, and some lawyers will agree to do this in a staged way (i.e. they'll only charge for each stage in the writ of mandamus rather than pay up front for the whole thing).

The thing is: there are some requirements in law to do the mandamus process - and different lawyers may have different opinions and requirements before they agree to do it. (Hence the consultation, where they'll want to look at other aspects of your application and the paperwork and gcms notes, etc).

Good luck.

Is withdrawing and reapplying is also an option for me ?.. or will i run into any risk by re applying.. like previous application pending physical precense review .. can physical presence evaluation even result in misrepresentation ( in my case it will not because i

Sorry one additional comment for explanation: don't be overly optimistic about help from MP.

Main thing to understand is they cannot make IRCC do anything it doesn't really want to do - that is, against policy and regulations. They can't work magic.

But sometimes their inquiries can help 'dislodge' a file that's ended up on the bottom of the pile or held up in some process longer than usual.

That's what I've guessed may be happening to your file. I could be wrong about that.

it can't hurt to try and sometimes it helps. But it's not a guarantee.

. i am thinking of withdrawing my current application and reapplying .. do you any risk in this option for my situation ..would you suggest it… thank you

 

[armoured]

Is withdrawing and reapplying is also an option for me ?.. or will i run into any risk by re applying.. like previous application pending physical precense review .. can physical presence evaluation even result in misrepresentation ( in my case it will not because i

. i am thinking of withdrawing my current application and reapplying .. do you any risk in this option for my situation ..would you suggest it… thank you

Personally I would try at least the MP route and give it a few months first.

I can't comment on the risks of withdrawing and re-applying, really. At minimum expect it would take the usual time PLUS some time to check whatever it was the first time around. If it really was just physical presence check, that could be quick - but if it's not, you start over and may still be stuck.