CIC agents always this useless?

[Manzana]

I do agree the people from the call center are usually not very good at it. However, I wonder what's their actual purpose there, or what kind of training they have. Maybe they're there just to give a sense of customer service. It is clear that they're not there to give immigration advice to people. I don't really know why they're there, but I think they are there really just to give people a fake sense of customer service, and tell people about their application just a little bit.

Please do not take offense but are you saying/agreeing they are useless?

Patience is a virtue when dealing with these processes! For which, if I may add, IRCC clearly states from the getgo it will take aproximately 12 months. This thing about GMCS notes and constantly calling/sending CSEs, to me is a waste of money and time and I truly believe it elongates the process. My suggestion is, especially if you know you have submitted a very straight forward application, just wait. The background check takes the longest for which you can expect anywhere between 6-8 months of silence. All this in regards to outland applications; inland processes take longer.

 

[JulianaAndrew]

Please do not take offense but are you saying/agreeing they are useless?

No, you're misunderstanding my post. I am putting the blame on the people higher than them, the ones who run it.

 

[JulianaAndrew]

My other rant is that IRCC is not taking care of people who are already in the country who are paying taxes and contributing to Canadian society and the economy. I have been paying taxes in this country for over 20 years and worked most of my adult life and me and a lot of people here are all paying for refugee claimants and other immigrants who come here and use government services. I don't have a problem with that ... this is the premise behind social welfare, which though costly, provides basic standards of living for the majority of people. However, why is it that the government doesn't pay more attention to helping those of us here who have been doing this as citizens and PR's when it is our turn to seek assistance in bringing our family members here??!!! i.e. divert some more money to make some improvements to the system in a more timely manner so that they can reunite family members of Canadians with legal status, who are paying to run the IRCC.

I don't know why they make some VOs take more countries and others only have a few, or just one. I guess that's something they wouldn't openly explain to the public. I think the thing with this is that it isn't that big of an issue for them, because once people get the visa to go to Canada, they won't complain about the process. They're done and they just move on with their lives. Also, the government probably invests a lot more in the economic programs like express entry, so we're not the first priority. They did invest more money last year, I believe, and that is why now it is supposed to take less time. It figures. It feels really bad, even to me, because I know of a person who got her file at the Colombian VO for just two months, that's all it took them to give her the visa and the COPR. No interview of course, but it still feels bad, even though I'm in the same VO and my timeline is quite good, despite needing an interview. We all wish it was a lot faster, and we're frustrated.
I guess the bottom line is, the government doesn't care that much because it is something that pretty much fixes itself when people get their visas and COPRs. After that point, they just go to Canada and start living their lives, and don't complain about the immigration process anymore, or put pressure on them.

 

[jeff198901]

Please do not take offense but are you saying/agreeing they are useless?

Patience is a virtue when dealing with these processes! For which, if I may add, IRCC clearly states from the getgo it will take aproximately 12 months. This thing about GMCS notes and constantly calling/sending CSEs, to me is a waste of money and time and I truly believe it elongates the process. My suggestion is, especially if you know you have submitted a very straight forward application, just wait. The background check takes the longest for which you can expect anywhere between 6-8 months of silence. All this in regards to outland applications; inland processes take longer.

Patience is a virtue. But when you call in and are made to feel like a giant pain in the ass, are given information about your app before you even give an app number and then finally have to beg them to actually open the app, which requires another 15 minute hold and the treated like you are nothing but a pain in the ass. This isn’t right. Especially when the info they give is not even correct.

 

[majesty]

Please do not take offense but are you saying/agreeing they are useless?

Patience is a virtue when dealing with these processes! For which, if I may add, IRCC clearly states from the getgo it will take aproximately 12 months. This thing about GMCS notes and constantly calling/sending CSEs, to me is a waste of money and time and I truly believe it elongates the process. My suggestion is, especially if you know you have submitted a very straight forward application, just wait. The background check takes the longest for which you can expect anywhere between 6-8 months of silence. All this in regards to outland applications; inland processes take longer.

No I was poking fun at some of those people at the call centre which I also have had the displeasure of talking to after spending the whole day trying to get through to and not obtaining any useful information just as this OP experienced.

I am getting impatient ... I won't lie, but I have no choice but to wait. Once in a while I have to rant. I suppose this is one of the purposes of this forum. I am in the same boat as many people here who are at the mercy of the inefficiencies of this processing system. I don't wish to spend money on the GCMS notes and I stopped doing it except that I felt it was a necessity as I was not getting information through the GCKey account nor eCAS which I check almost daily. There have been no updates to our accounts since May 26 when we received AOR 2. We have submitted an RCMP fingerprint report (which if we had not ordered GCMS notes, may not have been requested until much later and delayed this process even more) and were told we were in queue for an interview and neither of those things have been updated in our accounts. I ordered the notes because in the 3 sets we previously obtained, there was no mention of why or whether exactly they wanted to interview us ... but I can only guess as we knew our red flags going into this process.

BTW our background check has been in progress since February 22, 2017, which was more than 10 months ago. As I mentioned, my partner has not criminal record, aside from one speeding ticket he got last year, in any country on this planet and only lived in Chile and Canada for 1 year. He only travelled to Europe in 2015 for 3 weeks and that is the longest he was away from home ever in his life. So I don't know why it is taking so long to do his security check.

I won't compare our case to other people, but from what I have seen from our notes, the problem is that they only ever look at our app once a month and that I am a bit pissed that it took them 10 months to put us in queue for an interview. We still don't have a date for that but others from Mexico told me that the interview may not happen, as we are only in queue. So if it doesn't happen, I just don't know when they will start our security check (which still wasn't started as of the end of November when we asked our MP to check with the IRCC office in Canada what our status was) and when we will ever get PPR.

 

[majesty]

I don't know why they make some VOs take more countries and others only have a few, or just one. I guess that's something they wouldn't openly explain to the public. I think the thing with this is that it isn't that big of an issue for them, because once people get the visa to go to Canada, they won't complain about the process. They're done and they just move on with their lives. Also, the government probably invests a lot more in the economic programs like express entry, so we're not the first priority. They did invest more money last year, I believe, and that is why now it is supposed to take less time. It figures. It feels really bad, even to me, because I know of a person who got her file at the Colombian VO for just two months, that's all it took them to give her the visa and the COPR. No interview of course, but it still feels bad, even though I'm in the same VO and my timeline is quite good, despite needing an interview. We all wish it was a lot faster, and we're frustrated.
I guess the bottom line is, the government doesn't care that much because it is something that pretty much fixes itself when people get their visas and COPRs. After that point, they just go to Canada and start living their lives, and don't complain about the immigration process anymore, or put pressure on them.

I am happy for this person who only took 2 months to get processed (probably the only one on this planet). But why can't it be this way for all the people ... a more timely fashion ... not saying it is feasible for most people and it shouldn't be, because they do need to take the time to do the security checks and scrutinize the relationship carefully for spousal sponsorship. However, when it takes 10 months or more (like us) to do a security check without any major red flags, even if one needs an interview, there is something not fair about this (way to big of a discrepancy in time IMO).

I agree with you about what you say about how the government distributes money in immigration. And this process never changes much because people here are tired of being involved in this process and I understand because as soon as you get into the country you just want to get on with your life. However, we are still paying for this government department. I would like that at least if you are paying for it, it should go towards helping people who are already in the country contributing to the system and funding the system with tax dollars and those who are outside the country should take a lower priority (economic and refugee streams).

 

[Manzana]

Patience is a virtue. But when you call in and are made to feel like a giant pain in the ass, are given information about your app before you even give an app number and then finally have to beg them to actually open the app, which requires another 15 minute hold and the treated like you are nothing but a pain in the ass. This isn’t right. Especially when the info they give is not even correct.

Jeff,
I can well understand your frustation and for all those getting nowhere when they call. But your best bet here is to patiently wait and before you know it will all come to an end. Best of luck!

 

[Manzana]

No I was poking fun at some of those people at the call centre which I also have had the displeasure of talking to after spending the whole day trying to get through to and not obtaining any useful information just as this OP experienced.

I am getting impatient ... I won't lie, but I have no choice but to wait. Once in a while I have to rant. I suppose this is one of the purposes of this forum. I am in the same boat as many people here who are at the mercy of the inefficiencies of this processing system. I don't wish to spend money on the GCMS notes and I stopped doing it except that I felt it was a necessity as I was not getting information through the GCKey account nor eCAS which I check almost daily. There have been no updates to our accounts since May 26 when we received AOR 2. We have submitted an RCMP fingerprint report (which if we had not ordered GCMS notes, may not have been requested until much later and delayed this process even more) and were told we were in queue for an interview and neither of those things have been updated in our accounts. I ordered the notes because in the 3 sets we previously obtained, there was no mention of why or whether exactly they wanted to interview us ... but I can only guess as we knew our red flags going into this process.

BTW our background check has been in progress since February 22, 2017, which was more than 10 months ago. As I mentioned, my partner has not criminal record, aside from one speeding ticket he got last year, in any country on this planet and only lived in Chile and Canada for 1 year. He only travelled to Europe in 2015 for 3 weeks and that is the longest he was away from home ever in his life. So I don't know why it is taking so long to do his security check.

I won't compare our case to other people, but from what I have seen from our notes, the problem is that they only ever look at our app once a month and that I am a bit pissed that it took them 10 months to put us in queue for an interview. We still don't have a date for that but others from Mexico told me that the interview may not happen, as we are only in queue. So if it doesn't happen, I just don't know when they will start our security check (which still wasn't started as of the end of November when we asked our MP to check with the IRCC office in Canada what our status was) and when we will ever get PPR.

More than 10 months stuck on background check is a long time. But I think you are one of the lucky ones to have had your husband right beside you all this time?!? Imagine the rest of us, some that could travel here and there to see their spouses and some that simply couldn't, an even more extreme and frustrating wait.

 

[JulianaAndrew]

it should go towards helping people who are already in the country contributing to the system and funding the system with tax dollars and those who are outside the country should take a lower priority (economic and refugee streams).

Canada needs the economic stream because the birthrate in Canada is low, so they need new immigrants to keep up the population. Also, they desperately need new immigrants because aging people make a huge problem for the economy. This stream will keep being their top priority for a very, very long time.

 

[majesty]

Canada needs the economic stream because the birthrate in Canada is low, so they need new immigrants to keep up the population. Also, they desperately need new immigrants because aging people make a huge problem for the economy. This stream will keep being their top priority for a very, very long time.

I am not saying that Canada doesn't need immigrants .... I myself immigrated to Canada when I was 5 and I teach ESL and work with immigrants and refugees. What I am saying is that the government needs to take better care of its citizens here. We are the ones that are pumping money into the economy by paying taxes. Please reunite family members in a more timely fashion while creating less stress in their lives ... because as most of us know, this process is very stressful. My partner and I have been waiting 4 years to be reunited and been through various immigration channels .... if I live long enough, I am going to write a book about our experience or at least go on W5 or some news program to tell our story.

 

[JulianaAndrew]

I am not saying that Canada doesn't need immigrants .... I myself immigrated to Canada when I was 5 and I teach ESL and work with immigrants and refugees. What I am saying is that the government needs to take better care of its citizens here. We are the ones that are pumping money into the economy by paying taxes. Please reunite family members in a more timely fashion while creating less stress in their lives ... because as most of us know, this process is very stressful. My partner and I have been waiting 4 years to be reunited and been through various immigration channels .... if I live long enough, I am going to write a book about our experience or at least go on W5 or some news program to tell our story.

Canada itself loses something by not getting the family members in a more timely manner. Those people could have started working sooner, therefore pay more taxes, etc. I think we can all agree they should be faster, specially for VOs like Mexico, which clearly looks like it is understaffed, and they keep putting more work in their hands.

 

[majesty]

Canada itself loses something by not getting the family members in a more timely manner. Those people could have started working sooner, therefore pay more taxes, etc. I think we can all agree they should be faster, specially for VOs like Mexico, which clearly looks like it is understaffed, and they keep putting more work in their hands.

Yes, because people here are also immigrants and many are professionals ... like those they try to recruit through economic streams. My partner is an electrician, a tradesperson which is in demand in a lot of places, who tried to immigrate here on his own through EE because we were discouraged by the long processing times of the family sponsorship route (it used to be 18 months average for his country), so we thought it might be faster to go through EE, but he never scored enough points and he kept having to take the his IELTS over again and again. So ironic because now it's like several years later. BTW, we applied for family sponsorship when they changed the rules saying average processing time would be 12 months, which is looking like we will be on the plus side of that average.

 

[majesty]

More than 10 months stuck on background check is a long time. But I think you are one of the lucky ones to have had your husband right beside you all this time?!? Imagine the rest of us, some that could travel here and there to see their spouses and some that simply couldn't, an even more extreme and frustrating wait.

Yes .... nothing I can do about it. Honestly, I gotta say I am pretty patient because as I said here already, we have been waiting 4 years to be together and have been back and forth seeing each other every 4 to 8 months during our separation (he's not with me). Yes we are lucky that he is from a visa exempt country (although I have mostly been going down there to see him). However, I think this is long enough being separated and we just want to be in the same place and have a life together where we see each other in person rather than texting or calling everyday and not have to go through the sadness of saying good bye and crying at the airport every time we have to leave each other.

 

[JulianaAndrew]

and not have to go through the sadness of saying good bye and crying at the airport every time we have to leave each other.

This one in particular breaks my heart every time. I'll never forget the feeling nor the view when my wife would turn her back as she was going into security.

 

[Sneakydriver]

Can I just say that you pretty much hit the nail with the hammer about most people who work for IRCC. I believe that when they got hired, the job description they were subsequently given probably went something like this: be a useless lump.

The ones that actually do anything probably didn't read the job description.

Sorry ... can you tell that I have been in this system for too long and feeling a little bitter??

11 months of processing does this to a person!

I would not say they are useless lump but I do understand your frustration.

I think someone who has not waited long enough won't understand how you feel since they just never got to feel the same way.

The problem is that they do not process applications "in the order they were received" as they advertise in their emails. If they actually followed that, you and I would not be posting this right now. My process is done, but it took nearly 1 year and it was a pretty straight forward case. I saw other couples that applied after us getting PPR, landing and even getting their PR.

They should just not process new applications until they are done with the older ones UNLESS an interview is needed or something is holding up the application (background check from certain countries, a document is needed, ARC). In the case an interview is required, they should let the applicant know about it early in the process. Doing this, would eliminate some applicants getting PPR at the 4 month mark while others getting it at the 1 year + mark. Would be just fair if everyone not requiring an interview took around 6-8 months and others requiring it took maybe 1 or 2 months extra. I'm just trowing some numbers but they should strive for equality in the applications processing time.