Hi Thaiguy,
Your input - appreciated - brings to light yet another scenario of how CIC treats individual applications in exercising their discretion. Another case in point is that they will request the IELTS from non-English speakers from one part of the globe despite a declaration of English proficiency, but waive the same test for non-English speakers from another part of the globe – based on the their “declaration” of English proficiency.
The submission of open and /or non-notarized transcripts holds true for your case. But don’t forget that you are an applicant from a country in the Industrialized Western Hemisphere, and as such the format in which your credentials were submitted might not receive that much scrutiny compared to an applicant from a non-Industrialized, non-Western country.
My response is actually for applicants who are from non-Industrialized, non-Western Countries and who would rather not want to jeopardize their application process - they can always choose to take the risk with a leap of faith, and send in open and /or non-notarized credentials.
And so, copies of the credentials from an applicant who lives in a non-Industrialized, non-Western country are in some instances scrutinized with a “jaundice eye.” For these applicants, it is better for them to send in authentic proof of their credentials and not just ordinary copies, so that they do not jeopardize their applications.
This is because these applicants do not get paid in U.S or Canadian Dollars and they always have to consider very high exchange rates. Therefore, such applicants cannot afford re-applying after a denial from an immigration officer, who in his discretionary powers, would deny an application because of “insufficient” proof for educational credentials just because the applicant did not satisfy the authenticity of his or her credentials to the individual officer’s discretionary satisfaction.
"It is better to be safe than sorry."
thaiguy said:
For what it's worth, I sent original transcripts and copies of diplomas/certificates. Nothing was in an original envelope, and none of the diplomas/certificates were certified or notarized. The Buffalo office accepted these and my SW application was approved.