OK, here is the long awaited reply to the e-mail sent to Mr Kenney the Immigration Minister.
Dear Mr queencougar:
I am replying to your e-mail of April 24, 2011, addressed to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, concerning your Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) application.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is constantly looking to improve immigration policies and regulations. With regard to the Skilled Worker Program, a new set of Ministerial Instructions was introduced on June 26, 2010. These instructions provide a number of changes that will best support the attainment of the immigration goals established by the Government of Canada. The eligibility criteria for FSW applications can be found on the CIC Web site at www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) gives Canadian visa officers abroad, who have been appropriately designated, the authority to review applications for permanent residence and to accept or reject them, based on review criteria outlined in the Act and its accompanying Regulations. These officials are trained in the review and assessment of this type of application.
Under IRPA, Skilled Worker applicants are assessed on their potential ability to establish economically based on their broad set of skills. This approach ensures that immigrants have greater flexibility in terms of finding work in Canada.
Anyone may apply in the Skilled Worker Class, as long as they meet the minimum requirement, which is having at least one year of work experience in a skilled occupation within the past 10 years. Applicants have to earn enough points in the six selection factors to meet the pass mark of 67. Considered important by stakeholders, the selection factors are: education, official language ability, number of years of work experience in a skilled occupation, age, arranged employment and adaptability.
We realize that those who have submitted their applications look forward to being granted permanent resident status within a reasonable waiting period after applying. Please be assured that we make every effort to deal with the applications we receive in the most efficient and effective manner.
Our records indicate that your application was received on September 7, 2010. However, there is no processing time listed for the London visa office for FSW applications submitted after February 28, 2008. Likewise, the CIC Web site does not list historical processing times for FSW applications received after June 26, 2010, as there is insufficient final decision data at this time. However, historical data for applications received between November 28, 2008, and June 25, 2010, indicates that 80% of files are completed within 13 months. As your file still falls well within that timeframe, it would be premature to ask for expedited processing or Ministerial intervention where a case has not been active beyond the time normally needed to process a file at the office involved.
I have noted your request for the expedited processing of FSW applications for persons already employed in Canada as a Temporary Foreign Worker. However, it is important to understand that applications are processed in the order in which they are received. Procedural fairness dictates that it is not possible to process one person's application ahead of those who have applied before them.
Thank you for writing and expressing your concerns. I trust that this information is of assistance.
S. Charbonneau
Ministerial Enquiries Division
Just for the record, we did not ask for our case to be expedited - that is their interpretation of the reason for the letter, I think. All our comments related directly to the speed (or the opposite!) of FSW processing at London, reference to the Tracker, the lack of order to the processing and following that the awful situation that exists for Cat 2s on TWP and their employers when processing extends beyond a year.
As you can see, most of the letter is made up of just repeating the FSW requirements, which we already are well aware of, thank you! No reference was made to the points we put forward about the London Office being significantly behind the rest of the world in their processing of FSW applications and the evidence we presented for that. Regarding the evidence from our Tracker that processing is taking place out of order of receipt at London and elsewhere - they just keep repeating what we know to be untrue, which is that they are done in order of receipt.
So, sorry guys. We tried!
Has anyone else received a response from their e-mail?
