December 2018 AOR - join here

[rohitsss]

Hang in there....I've got the same AOR as you....FSW-O...India....no response since MEP....5more days ahead!!

Me too..Dec 7 AOR. No update after MEP yet...sigh

 

[derkdsou]

I am pretty confident IRCC counts the number of days (not months) to arrive at the true duration of a position. They would glean this information from the actual start and end dates provided in your work reference letter or otherwise made available to them via pay stubs or other forms of evidence. I'm not sure if that answers your question.

I have joined the 'exclusive club'. The wait is taking the toll on me and you support has helped me through this.

Need your urgent help on the below query :
I had created my EE profile in August 2018. There is a question in your EE profile on employment history - In the last ten years, how many years of skilled work experience in Canada do you have?
I was lead to believed by my consultant that the 10 years are to be computed on a whole month basis and hence i included employment from September 2008 onwards only -which also matches with the start of new job under the relevant NOC. I was employed prior to September 2008 (ie prior to 10 years) in under different NOC and hence the same was not included in the profile.

Would the above be an issue ? Please all let me know your thoughts especially @legalfalcon; @derkdsou; @USProgrammer; @SithLord

 

[Abhiancha]

Yes, in January I did find that there might be no correlation between an ETH and a prolonged processing based on the experience of candidates whose applications were either approved in 2018 or still pending beyond six months. But there were a number of things I didn't know then that I know now. Indeed, a number of candidates will be delayed due to The Great Backlog regardless of having an ETH or not, but there are ways in which IRCC treats the applications of candidates that have multiple PCCs and/or ETHs that leads me to believe the following:

1. IRCC/CBSA authenticate every single PCC with the issuing authority - PCCs are authenticated in batches and this explains why we observe a "PPR rain" from certain VOs.

2. Trivial as it sounds, IRCC/CBSA actually comb through your passport(s) to match your travel dates with entry and exit stamps and/or other data available to them from foreign governments. I used to think surely they don't have the time for that...maybe they randomly select, say, every 10th candidate for a thorough vetting - this is not the case! We have seen several cases of applicants here who received ADRs for not reporting something minute like the correct Schengen exit port or a trip they had not listed but for which they had stamps in their passport. Since it took me about 36 hours to compile my list (about 115 trips total), I imagine it would take an IRCC officer the same amount of time to independently reproduce my travel history and then corroborate that with what I submitted. I can't think of another explanation for how razor sharp IRCC have been when someone has missed a stamp or a trip.

3. IRCC/CBSA look at the candidate's overall travel profile to find suspicious patterns. I don't know what their algorithms are programmed to flag, but I'd be surprised if travel in unstable regions of the Middle East, Africa or Latin America are treated with particular joy.

4. CBSA also quizzes certain foreign governments to find out more about your travel there. Again, we can't have enough information on why they pick certain trips to investigate or how they arrive at their conclusions, but I imagine this is standard practice for a thorough vetting.

All of these factors add time to the usual processing sequence. I've realized that security cannot "start" without criminality having been passed, and eligibility won't be promoted to passed until at least the medicals and criminality have been passed.

I have found no particular evidence based on MyImmiTracker data that there is a bias toward candidates that are single or have multiple dependents. There is also no evidence pointing toward a bias for certain NOCs or candidates with higher CRS scores. Any biases we presume for countries of residence (such as the US) actually tie back to the background check process I have explained above. Because there is a high level of information sharing between the US and Canada, a candidate presently living in the US is looked at most favorably compared to any other region, and US residents are also likely approved faster because the FBI reauthenticates PCCs faster than Scotland Yard or the Indian Police, for example.

With the way MyImmiTracker is presently structured, we can't control for the number of PCCs or ETH because this information is not recorded - not only should we track the number of PCCs, we should also put down the names of the issuing countries and also the number of trips reported. We could then start to make some sense of the data.

Some valid points there. I guess in a way they are entitled to check whatever we have submitted in terms of travel, I mean wont they need to check everything to figure out if there are any gaps?

 

[derkdsou]

Exciting times!

Wow! that felt really awesome!
Just got an update - current status - IP2!

 

[derkdsou]

I wish it were only a quantum of silence (nice pun), but something about it feels more eternal, ever-lasting. Haha

Slow Shadies is my top choice!

3 pessimistic suggestions:
How we learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
Quantum of Silence
A Bridge too Far

 

[Pura Vida]

Dude, yes! This! I have been talking about this...actually more like beating a dead horse, hahaha! So glad to find more kindred spirits! I don't have to be alone in my corner anymore.

It makes no sense that I am good enough for travel to the US, the UK and the Schengen Area, but not Canada?! A long-term visa from any one of these three regions should be enough for an automatic security clearance from CBSA. I've even held a visitor visa to Canada in the past! Sorry to get on the soap box, but I've never had a visa refusal. Strangely, I've noticed a few people with prior visa refusals to the US - and I mean absolutely no offense, each case is different - go through to PPR with a later AOR date. What the actual frack?! (My rage is directed at IRCC, obviously.)

Same here, since 2011 I had 4 times 2 years shengen visas, 1 USA 5 years visa

Yes, in January I did find that there might be no correlation between an ETH and a prolonged processing based on the experience of candidates whose applications were either approved in 2018 or still pending beyond six months. But there were a number of things I didn't know then that I know now. Indeed, a number of candidates will be delayed due to The Great Backlog regardless of having an ETH or not, but there are ways in which IRCC treats the applications of candidates that have multiple PCCs and/or ETHs that leads me to believe the following:

1. IRCC/CBSA authenticate every single PCC with the issuing authority - PCCs are authenticated in batches and this explains why we observe a "PPR rain" from certain VOs.

2. Trivial as it sounds, IRCC/CBSA actually comb through your passport(s) to match your travel dates with entry and exit stamps and/or other data available to them from foreign governments. I used to think surely they don't have the time for that...maybe they randomly select, say, every 10th candidate for a thorough vetting - this is not the case! We have seen several cases of applicants here who received ADRs for not reporting something minute like the correct Schengen exit port or a trip they had not listed but for which they had stamps in their passport. Since it took me about 36 hours to compile my list (about 115 trips total), I imagine it would take an IRCC officer the same amount of time to independently reproduce my travel history and then corroborate that with what I submitted. I can't think of another explanation for how razor sharp IRCC have been when someone has missed a stamp or a trip.

3. IRCC/CBSA look at the candidate's overall travel profile to find suspicious patterns. I don't know what their algorithms are programmed to flag, but I'd be surprised if travel in unstable regions of the Middle East, Africa or Latin America are treated with particular joy.

4. CBSA also quizzes certain foreign governments to find out more about your travel there. Again, we can't have enough information on why they pick certain trips to investigate or how they arrive at their conclusions, but I imagine this is standard practice for a thorough vetting.

All of these factors add time to the usual processing sequence. I've realized that security cannot "start" without criminality having been passed, and eligibility won't be promoted to passed until at least the medicals and criminality have been passed.

I have found no particular evidence based on MyImmiTracker data that there is a bias toward candidates that are single or have multiple dependents. There is also no evidence pointing toward a bias for certain NOCs or candidates with higher CRS scores. Any biases we presume for countries of residence (such as the US) actually tie back to the background check process I have explained above. Because there is a high level of information sharing between the US and Canada, a candidate presently living in the US is looked at most favorably compared to any other region, and US residents are also likely approved faster because the FBI reauthenticates PCCs faster than Scotland Yard or the Indian Police, for example.

With the way MyImmiTracker is presently structured, we can't control for the number of PCCs or ETH because this information is not recorded - not only should we track the number of PCCs, we should also put down the names of the issuing countries and also the number of trips reported. We could then start to make some sense of the data.

Your analysis makes sens and thank you for the long and detailed interpretation of facts. Meanwhile I have a question, I remember I was travelling to USA and in the border I had an agent who asked more questions than usual and showed me in real time my trip log covering some trips in an old passport which I did nott carry with me at that time so I assume a trip log can be issued immediately and the security phase in our case could be done quickly so why these delays during processing our applications. It is puzzeling no?

 

[USProgrammer]

Yes, in January I did find that there might be no correlation between an ETH and a prolonged processing based on the experience of candidates whose applications were either approved in 2018 or still pending beyond six months. But there were a number of things I didn't know then that I know now. Indeed, a number of candidates will be delayed due to The Great Backlog regardless of having an ETH or not, but there are ways in which IRCC treats the applications of candidates that have multiple PCCs and/or ETHs that leads me to believe the following:

1. IRCC/CBSA authenticate every single PCC with the issuing authority - PCCs are authenticated in batches and this explains why we observe a "PPR rain" from certain VOs.

2. Trivial as it sounds, IRCC/CBSA actually comb through your passport(s) to match your travel dates with entry and exit stamps and/or other data available to them from foreign governments. I used to think surely they don't have the time for that...maybe they randomly select, say, every 10th candidate for a thorough vetting - this is not the case! We have seen several cases of applicants here who received ADRs for not reporting something minute like the correct Schengen exit port or a trip they had not listed but for which they had stamps in their passport. Since it took me about 36 hours to compile my list (about 115 trips total), I imagine it would take an IRCC officer the same amount of time to independently reproduce my travel history and then corroborate that with what I submitted. I can't think of another explanation for how razor sharp IRCC have been when someone has missed a stamp or a trip.

3. IRCC/CBSA look at the candidate's overall travel profile to find suspicious patterns. I don't know what their algorithms are programmed to flag, but I'd be surprised if travel in unstable regions of the Middle East, Africa or Latin America are treated with particular joy.

4. CBSA also quizzes certain foreign governments to find out more about your travel there. Again, we can't have enough information on why they pick certain trips to investigate or how they arrive at their conclusions, but I imagine this is standard practice for a thorough vetting.

All of these factors add time to the usual processing sequence. I've realized that security cannot "start" without criminality having been passed, and eligibility won't be promoted to passed until at least the medicals and criminality have been passed.

I have found no particular evidence based on MyImmiTracker data that there is a bias toward candidates that are single or have multiple dependents. There is also no evidence pointing toward a bias for certain NOCs or candidates with higher CRS scores. Any biases we presume for countries of residence (such as the US) actually tie back to the background check process I have explained above. Because there is a high level of information sharing between the US and Canada, a candidate presently living in the US is looked at most favorably compared to any other region, and US residents are also likely approved faster because the FBI reauthenticates PCCs faster than Scotland Yard or the Indian Police, for example.

With the way MyImmiTracker is presently structured, we can't control for the number of PCCs or ETH because this information is not recorded - not only should we track the number of PCCs, we should also put down the names of the issuing countries and also the number of trips reported. We could then start to make some sense of the data.

Really interesting analysis. Makes sense. Good luck with MyImmiTracker changes. They wouldn't even reply to me about an API.

 

[derkdsou]

Oh, sure, there's another layer of authentication that comes from "info sharing" between Canada and various governments, the US being chief among them. This is where all travel logs held on the candidate would be shared, compiled and corroborated against the travel history you submitted. More information simply means more time required for data analysis and processing by IRCC officers.

And, @Abhiancha, I'm not contesting that Canada isn't entitled to a thorough vetting. An immigrant visa is serious business. But this conversation is about how a richer travel and international work history ironically sets you up for longer processing times.

Same here, since 2011 I had 4 times 2 years shengen visas, 1 USA 5 years visa

Your analysis makes sens and thank you for the long and detailed interpretation of facts. Meanwhile I have a question, I remember I was travelling to USA and in the border I had an agent who asked more questions than usual and showed me in real time my trip log covering some trips in an old passport which I did nott carry with me at that time so I assume a trip log can be issued immediately and the security phase in our case could be done quickly so why these delays during processing our applications. It is puzzeling no?

Some valid points there. I guess in a way they are entitled to check whatever we have submitted in terms of travel, I mean wont they need to check everything to figure out if there are any gaps?

 

[Abhinav90]

Dec 12 Aor
No update after MEP.
I called up IRCC two months back they said everything is good but file hasn't been picked up yet. I called them again recently and they said that i should contact local Visa office i.e Pretoria. I sent them a mail, here's there reply. Although it's pretty straight up , I don't understand that if they mean file will be picked up soon or file has been picked up and under review for a decision

Here's their reply

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your application is in queue for review. All applications are reviewed in the order in which they were received.



No further action is required by you at this time.



We thank you for your patience and for keeping your correspondence to a minimum.



Regards,


Please advise !

 

[derkdsou]

It's just a generic reply. @Mk786 can tell you more about Pretoria.

Dec 12 Aor
No update after MEP.
I called up IRCC two months back they said everything is good but file hasn't been picked up yet. I called them again recently and they said that i should contact local Visa office i.e Pretoria. I sent them a mail, here's there reply. Although it's pretty straight up , I don't understand that if they mean file will be picked up soon or file has been picked up and under review for a decision

Here's their reply

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your application is in queue for review. All applications are reviewed in the order in which they were received.



No further action is required by you at this time.



We thank you for your patience and for keeping your correspondence to a minimum.



Regards,


Please advise !

 

[Abhinav90]

It's just a generic reply. @Mk786 can tell you more about Pretoria.

Thanks ! They gonna take 8-9 months aren't they

 

[derkdsou]

@Mk786, a Mauritian citizen, was approved in about 5 months, I believe. Look at his profile or contact him for more info.

Thanks ! They gonna take 8-9 months aren't they

 

[Muriel228]

Thank you!. If notes are all clear, just like in my case - Its purely down to luck, where we are in the pile that is alloted to a specific review officer. It can come any day
All the best

Hope we are all in the same pile!!! Same or similar AOR dates 13Dec / 14Dec

@derkdsou @rody0988 @KatherineNunes

 

[Mallika S]

Ppr feels so close yet so far...
Irony is that my wp was also processed in Edmonton.. it took exactly 86 days for wp which is within timelines...

 

[derkdsou]

I'm glad the December forum is a respite in this way! I've noticed a lot of people from other AOR forums come hang out here because we like to have some fun! Poetry is a necessary escape at times like this, and more forums should take up our challenge! (It's a shame the forums from February and beyond have been almost supplanted by whatsapp.)

And, of course, a haiku:

Long after this test
Sculpts me with uncertainty
Will I still be me?

P.S. How many syllables does 'I' have when Whitney Houston sings it?! Haha

I find it super entertaining and soothing that so much great literature has been generated in this December thread!
Keep up with the good work, boys!

IRCC is turning people into poets,
They need to know about this,

We should have all the haikus and poems here compiled and send everything to them.