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August 2018 AOR - join here

A

akmh1b

Hero Member
Mar 6, 2018
278
85
Happy to see August AORs moving, this looks good. Since a lot of folks are asking number of applicants Single vs Family wondering if it takes longer for a bigger family?
 
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darwin900

Star Member
Jun 26, 2018
54
1
legalfalcon said:
Sharing some useful info here:

Visa Office

There has been an obsession of finding which visa office the application is at. Many threads on this forum start with explaining how to find your visa office. Let's get to the crux of it. Finding the visa office was very relevant pre- express entry. Even after the introduction of express entry in 2015, the same practice was followed which usually was for the paper based application, but that is no longer the case. Earlier all application followed the following trajectory:

Central Intake Office - Case Processing Centre - Local Visa Office

However, this has radically changed and for all express entry, all application follow the following:

1. Central Intake Office - The R10 (completeness check) is done at the Central Intake Office for all classes (FSW / PNP / CEC). Now even the criminality and medicals are done at CIO.

2. Case Processing Centre - There are 4 case processing offices of IRCC, which are as follows:

Sydney, Nova Scotia - Seals with the following:
  • provincial Nominee Program (PNP) – Non-Express Entry applications
  • Centralized Intake Office – Immigrant Investor Program (IIP)
  • Centralized Intake Office – Quebec Skilled Workers (QSW)
  • Centralized Intake Office – Start Up Business Class
  • Centralized Intake Office – Self Employed (SE)
  • Centralized Intake Office – Quebec Business Class (QBC)
  • Centralized Intake Office – Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
Now has started doing eligibility for EE applications in limited numbers.

Vegreville, Alberta
Deals with Specialized permanent resident application. Those following in the category of Medical needs, work permits, work permits for spouses, study permits, co-op permits. EE applications which have a downgraded category.

This is the place where you EE application will land if any of the members in the application have a medical condition. This is where determinations of refusal, monitoring etc are made.

Now has started doing eligibility for EE applications in limited numbers.

Mississauga, Ontario
Only deals with family class PR applications.
No EE applications are dealt here so far.

Ottawa, Ontario
This is the most important processing office for all EE, and it is also the Local Visa Office for in-land applicants and those applying from USA.

Local Visa Office - This is the office where you will be asked to submit your passport after your application has been approved. Usually the consulate in your home country.

These days all application after starting at CIO (where R10 is met), either start the processing of eligibility at CIO itself, or move to CPC (wither Ottawa, Sydney, or Vegreville), or are straight sent to the LVO. The trend has been to complete most of the processing between CIO and CPC. Since the applications are electronically stored, there is no movement of physical files.

SUGGESTION - There is no point sending emails to ask which VO your application is at, as that process is moot since the eligibility can even start at CIO. So save yourself some time and efforts and also save the human resources of IRCC and stop sending emails. Even if you know which VO your application is at, it means nothing. Most applications which are processed within weeks and get PPR, are processed at CIO, and this is a much faster way.

A few applications will see eligibility passed, and then go to not started when the application is sent to the LVO. This is because the final review is done at the LVO, and the local agent may decide to conduct additional review, or identification before the eligibility is finally set to PASSED.


Tracking your application

Unfortunately the only thing that you see is your MyCIC account. There has been a growing trend of speculation where change of status on MyCIC has been attributed to eligibility being passed, etc. The whole NA, IP IP2 is speculation and has no bearing on determining which stage your application is at. While any change of status is a good sign, but merely relying on NA and IP is not the correct way.

Most applicants will find it irrelevant, as their applications will be processed and approved within the first 3-4 months. It is those who wait for more than 4 months, where things go crazy as they keep relying on NA, IP etc, and see no movement or progress. Many other are stuck on so called IP2, and the PPR never seems to come.

So put these speculative theories to rest. As per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, regulations and the ministeral instructions every application goes through the following stages:

R10 (Completeness check)
Medicals
Criminality
A11.2 Eligibility (The most important stage)
Security

To read more on each stage click here. While most applicants will not need to go this deep, but for those who have concerns about the application or it is taking too long should see which stage they are at. Also, the only way to determine the stage is by GCMS notes. To read more on GCMS notes, see the thread here.

ECAS (Electronic Client Application Status) -

This was the most important tool pre EE to track an application and provided much more in-depth status than what MyCIC does. However, after the IRCC moved to the Global Case Management System (AKA GCMS) applications are no longer linked to ECAS.

So there is no point going there and checking.

Letter of Explanation -
As the name suggests, the LoE is exact what it sounds like. It is not an idea for the documents and you do not have to explain each document you are submitting in your application.

The simple rules to follow for LoE -

  • Should be 1-2 pages in length. If you cannot explain it in 1-2 pages, it is probably not worth it.
  • Only use LoE to explain an issue. Eg. you could not obtain a reference letter on letterhead, could not meet PoF 6 months avg balance, seeking exemption or extension from PCC, or to explain something in your application which is not clear.
  • IRCC Agents do read LoE, but if its too long and not to the point, it loses its importance.
  • You DO NOT need an index for your documents. There are placeholders for the documents just put each document there and when it is stored on the IRCC system it is names and stored in an organized way.


THESE ARE MY VIEWS AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THESE. IF YOU HAVE CONTRARY VIEWS, JUST OGNORE IT AND DO WHAT YOUR CONSULTANT ASKED YOU, OR WHAT YOU DEEM FIT.
Click to expand...
Hi, thanks for this post. can u pls advice if all applications are sent to local visa office? if that is the case would that mean the processing times of applications would vary given the work load at a particular LVO? thanks
 
Last edited:
X

X_DL10

Newbie
Sep 27, 2018
5
6
AOR: August 3rd
Inland, 1 spouse, PNP CEC

Status
We are processing your application. We will send you a message when there is an update or if we need more information from you.

Review of eligibility We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
Review of medical results 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 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.

Can someone let me know what stage I am? IP1 or IP2?
What's the current timeframe August people are at? Have many people in this thread got their passport requested?
 
R

Rajesh Durai

Hero Member
Dec 29, 2012
220
122
X_DL10 said:
AOR: August 3rd
Inland, 1 spouse, PNP CEC

Status
We are processing your application. We will send you a message when there is an update or if we need more information from you.

Review of eligibility We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
Review of medical results 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 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.

Can someone let me know what stage I am? IP1 or IP2?
What's the current timeframe August people are at? Have many people in this thread got their passport requested?
Click to expand...
IP2
 
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ljsd1

Newbie
Aug 30, 2018
3
7
Hi got my PPR mail and want to share my timeline,

Stream: CEC
Nationality: India
Country of Residence: Canada
Express Entry ITA: August 08, 2018
AOR: August 13, 2018
Medicals Passed: September 4, 2018
BG IP1: Not known
BG IP2: September 4, 2018 (Along with medical)
Passport Request (PPR): September 25, 2018
Passport Sent: September 26, 2018
Visa Office: Ottawa
 
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HarrisZhou

HarrisZhou

Star Member
Mar 19, 2018
169
36
ljsd1 said:
Hi got my PPR mail and want to share my timeline,

Stream: CEC
Nationality: India
Country of Residence: Canada
Express Entry ITA: August 08, 2018
AOR: August 13, 2018
Medicals Passed: September 4, 2018
BG IP1: Not known
BG IP2: September 4, 2018 (Along with medical)
Passport Request (PPR): September 25, 2018
Passport Sent: September 26, 2018
Visa Office: Ottawa
Click to expand...
Congrats! Did you get any ghost update before Sep 25?
 
S

Sunshine41

Star Member
Aug 22, 2018
141
165
Category........
FSW
AOR Received.
04-08-2018
Med's Done....
27-08-2018
Hello!

I have observed more IP2 for May which is obvious since they are getting most of the PPRs.

After May, June has a number of IP2.

Hope to see more IP2 for July in coming month. Currently only 4-5 Indian (residing in India) are IP2 stage.

This observation is based on Indian tracker (and mainly for residents of India).

Apologies for being a little biased here.
 
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pursuit_of_happiness

pursuit_of_happiness

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2018
686
527
Sunshine41 said:
Hello!

I have observed more IP2 for May which is obvious since they are getting most of the PPRs.

After May, June has a number of IP2.

Hope to see more IP2 for July in coming month. Currently only 4-5 Indian (residing in India) are IP2 stage.

This observation is based on Indian tracker (and mainly for residents of India).

Apologies for being a little biased here.
Click to expand...
IRCC should allow biometrics for indians as well as it seems to be speeding up the process
 
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Rajesh Durai

Hero Member
Dec 29, 2012
220
122
Sunshine41 said:
Hello!

I have observed more IP2 for May which is obvious since they are getting most of the PPRs.

After May, June has a number of IP2.

Hope to see more IP2 for July in coming month. Currently only 4-5 Indian (residing in India) are IP2 stage.

This observation is based on Indian tracker (and mainly for residents of India).

Apologies for being a little biased here.
Click to expand...
Good observation. I am also closely watching the immitracker. Looks Optimistic. Lets hope August people will get our IP2's followed by PPR's soon.
 
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