I have just received an email asking me to do General IELTS within 120 days and that my file is still being held at CIO, as opposed to be sent to the VO as indicated in PER 3 months back. While I'm grateful to be given a chance to send additional info/doc, at the same time I am really heart broken to see it took 7 months in total just to tell me this.
Since I applied by myself, I had gone through the OP6 thoroughly before applying and this requirement for 'General IELTS only' was not there until 2-3 weeks
after I had send out my application in July. I wish I had not applied so early after the rules changed, rather it was better to have waited 1-2 months more so that they had stabilized themselves with changing rules. Feeling very dissapointed of all these months of wait & hopefulness after getting PER -why would it take 3 months after sending PER to realise this, why coiuldnt they tell this a little earlier? Theres no IELTS date open before March, which means I cant sent it out before end of March. So now I am as good as sending an application in April 2011. I am thankful to be given a chance, but cant help this feeling of being heart broken to be send right at the back of the queue...while I dreamed of landing this year, now it seems my file will hardly reach VO this year
sorry if I have spoiled your moods, but feeling really sad