Application stuck in background check

[Ski_Lounge]

Hi fellas,

Trying to understand if my application is stuck. I completed my biometrics & medical just about a year ago. My app still shows background check pending (even though the FBI background came back clean in Feb), and has been this way for ~6 months.

Is this a common occurrence / Did I miss doing something? (It feels to me the normal timeline is on the order of a few weeks, not months.)

Stream: PNP/EE Ontario
ITA: Aug. 2021
Medicals reviewed: Jan. 2022
Biometrics reviewed: Feb. 2022
Background - Pending
(Applying from outside Canada)

I came across other folks on this forum requesting GCMS notes, so I've gone ahead with that. Hopefully will have more information in the next 2 weeks. Any advice would be very much appreciated, thank you!

 

[moscatojuices]

Hi fellas,

Trying to understand if my application is stuck. I completed my biometrics & medical just about a year ago. My app still shows background check pending (even though the FBI background came back clean in Feb), and has been this way for ~6 months.

Is this a common occurrence / Did I miss doing something? (It feels to me the normal timeline is on the order of a few weeks, not months.)

Stream: PNP/EE Ontario
ITA: Aug. 2021
Medicals reviewed: Jan. 2022
Biometrics reviewed: Feb. 2022
Background - Pending
(Applying from outside Canada)

I came across other folks on this forum requesting GCMS notes, so I've gone ahead with that. Hopefully will have more information in the next 2 weeks. Any advice would be very much appreciated, thank you!

Did you ever engage in terrorism or a plot to overthrow a foreign government, or religious desecration?

If not you should be good. They have to get this stuff right and with so many applicants, it's taking time. They also contact other governments to get data about you, so it's often the case other parties are slow too.

 

[Ski_Lounge]

Did you ever engage in terrorism or a plot to overthrow a foreign government, or religious desecration?

If not you should be good. They have to get this stuff right and with so many applicants, it's taking time. They also contact other governments to get data about you, so it's often the case other parties are slow too.

Appreciate the information! So I should have clarified in my post -- it looks like IRCC has not even started this process. Here's the exact status.

Your application is in progress. We will send you a message when we start your background check

 

[moscatojuices]

Appreciate the information! So I should have clarified in my post -- it looks like IRCC has not even started this process. Here's the exact status.

Can you and copy paste your full application progress. I'm thinking it's most likely just due to backlogs so nothing to worry about.

E.g. this is mine (PNP non-EE with AOR).

Review of eligibility

• We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.

Review of medical results

• You do not need a medical exam. We will send you a message if this changes.

Review of additional documents

• We do not need additional documents.

Interview

• You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.

Biometrics

• We do not need your fingerprints. We will send you a message if this changes.

Background check

• We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information.

Final decision

• Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

 

[Ski_Lounge]

Review of eligibility

• We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.

Review of medical results

• January 2022 You passed the medical exam.

Review of additional documents

• We do not need additional documents.

Interview

• You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.

Biometrics

• February 2022 Completed.

Background check

• Your application is in progress. We will send you a message when we start your background check.

Final decision

• Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

 

[Ski_Lounge]

So I got a more detailed set of information by requesting GCMS notes. The thing that stood out to me was this line that said:

App on hold -- Biometrics error - 2022-05

Ugh. Is contacting the IRCC the next step here? I don't recall seeing any email update about this, and I'm concerned this was settled 5 months ago.

Any thoughts @moscatojuices? Thank you!

 

[moscatojuices]

So I got a more detailed set of information by requesting GCMS notes. The thing that stood out to me was this line that said:



Ugh. Is contacting the IRCC the next step here? I don't recall seeing any email update about this, and I'm concerned this was settled 5 months ago.

Any thoughts @moscatojuices? Thank you!

Wtf??? Your last post said: "Biometrics - February 2022 Completed."

And now they've had an error regarding this and put your file on hold since May? Weird.

I'm going to guess its operational incompetence on their end.

I would probably ask them about this in a webform, ask if they can send a message to the responsible office to ensure it's investigated as you're concerned that the file has been on hold since May it seems. Mind you it's Express Entry, they have an obligation to process it quickly. But I think for now sending the webform is the only thing you can do.

 

[Ski_Lounge]

Yea... My online portal status looks just fine. I'm furious with myself for not having researched about GMCS notes and learned about this earlier.

Thanks for the suggestion, just submitted the webform request. The only thing I can think of -- I have a Canadian visa for which I did biometrics 5-7 years ago, and then redid biometrics at USCIS this year, perhaps there is some oddity there.

I will update when I hear back from the webform. Thank you very much for the guidance! This forum & community sometimes is the only solace in this awful application process.

 

[moscatojuices]

Yea... My online portal status looks just fine. I'm furious with myself for not having researched about GMCS notes and learned about this earlier.

Thanks for the suggestion, just submitted the webform request. The only thing I can think of -- I have a Canadian visa for which I did biometrics 5-7 years ago, and then redid biometrics at USCIS this year, perhaps there is some oddity there.

I will update when I hear back from the webform. Thank you very much for the guidance! This forum & community sometimes is the only solace in this awful application process.

All good. But normally people are meant to trust IRCC to handle the application process without our intervention and if there's some biometrics error, they can always ask you to redo it. I can't believe the app has been on hold since May - but mind you in our PNP Non-EE stream, it can be months in between having an update. You applied before Fraser promised a 6 month SLA, so I'm thinking yours is simply delayed like many of the other EE PNP applications before July 2022. As long as your did your biometrics in the last 10 years its fine - US CBP made me do my biometrics twice in the last 4 years when I visited the States.

 

[Bushra Toma]

Hi. I just found this thread and curious to know if any/both of you have gotten the final decision on your PR applications. I’ll appreciate it if you could provide me an insight of your latest progress. My husband was in Bangladesh military for a long time. He took early retirement in 2019. I cam to Canada in 2021 as an international student. My husband applied for his spouse open work permit along with my daughters in March 31, 2022. Since then their application is being processed and stuck in the background check. In the meantime, IRCC requested ADR about military documents (IMM 5546) in October 5, 2022. After a year, they requested the same document in a different format on October 20, 2023. Since October 2022 they are processing background check and asked military documents twice but no progress in his application. They don’t even respond to webforms. Meanwhile, I finished my study, got WP and applied for my daughters again without husband, keeping their ongoing application intact. This time I applied from Canada (first application was launched in Bangladesh and our visa office is in Singapore). However, my daughters application got approved in three weeks. After their approval my husband raised a webform to let IRCC know about daughters visa approval and requested to withdraw their application from my husband’s application as dependents. No response from IRCC. They’re just pin drop silent about my husband’s application. Now, I applied for PR along with the family. Don’t know what will happen with our PR application! I tried to contact MP office in St. John’s, NL but got no help for the temporary application. Raised so many webforms in this 2.5 hours but got no response from IRCC. Applied GCMS notes from CBSA but didn’t get any. I left no stone unturned except applying for writ of mandamus which is very expensive. Please advise me what to do to get a decision for his application. Should we withdraw that application and apply for him again from Canada? Or just wait for PR decision? Please help me from your experience. Thank you for reading my long post.

 

[Annarob]

URGENT URGENT
HELP HELP HELP
Eligibility was passed June 2023
Interview/background:

• You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.

Background: Not applicable
It was initially in process last year but later changed to not applicable, But when I call I am told it’s in process this has been since last year July.
Final decision:

• Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

I have requested for gcms notes and it don’t help.
I sent an inquiry last month August 2024 and they sent this email asking the status of my application and I got this email below

Good day,
Please be advised that your file is in queue for processing at Hamilton IRCC. Communication regarding the next steps to finalize your application will be sent to you in the near future.
Thank you!

The last correspondence they sent was letting me know my case was been transferred to Hamilton office in January 2024 and since then nothing.
I want to know if there is anything I can do that can help. Because I just feel helpless and the estimated completion date was January 2024 but this is September 2024 and nothing. Estimated processing time is currently 25 months. What can I do to help my case

 

[Francine112233]

Hello, I am in the same situation except that we have applied for immigration from outside canada back in november 2022. It's been almost 2 years that we're been waiting and the file seems stuck in background check. My husband was also in the military. We called many times, requested the GCMS notes, sent webforms, nothing seems to be working. Did you receive any update from ircc?

Hi. I just found this thread and curious to know if any/both of you have gotten the final decision on your PR applications. I’ll appreciate it if you could provide me an insight of your latest progress. My husband was in Bangladesh military for a long time. He took early retirement in 2019. I cam to Canada in 2021 as an international student. My husband applied for his spouse open work permit along with my daughters in March 31, 2022. Since then their application is being processed and stuck in the background check. In the meantime, IRCC requested ADR about military documents (IMM 5546) in October 5, 2022. After a year, they requested the same document in a different format on October 20, 2023. Since October 2022 they are processing background check and asked military documents twice but no progress in his application. They don’t even respond to webforms. Meanwhile, I finished my study, got WP and applied for my daughters again without husband, keeping their ongoing application intact. This time I applied from Canada (first application was launched in Bangladesh and our visa office is in Singapore). However, my daughters application got approved in three weeks. After their approval my husband raised a webform to let IRCC know about daughters visa approval and requested to withdraw their application from my husband’s application as dependents. No response from IRCC. They’re just pin drop silent about my husband’s application. Now, I applied for PR along with the family. Don’t know what will happen with our PR application! I tried to contact MP office in St. John’s, NL but got no help for the temporary application. Raised so many webforms in this 2.5 hours but got no response from IRCC. Applied GCMS notes from CBSA but didn’t get any. I left no stone unturned except applying for writ of mandamus which is very expensive. Please advise me what to do to get a decision for his application. Should we withdraw that application and apply for him again from Canada? Or just wait for PR decision? Please help me from your experience. Thank you for reading my long post.