I made a previous call to the same toll-free number on Monday. May I repeat that the reply was in short "it will arrive within August". I am applying alone so 1. I still don't have a travel plan although I could expedite by calling again and stating I have an actual plan, while 2. my main purpose was to get back my certificate. If 2. happens before next week I'd also feel relieved by far.
update 2:
-In the previous call, I had a polite, soft-spoken officer tell me "it will arrive in August", and my certificate "will come back asap" after he wrote an email on the spot.
-In this call this morning, I had an officer who was just as eloquent and polite, but she spoke very fast, was impatient, and was rushing through details like it was a lot of work pressure. Basically, my file was under "review" finally and they picked two issues with me. One was my passport name - I needed to confirm it, and so I did. Another was my emergency contact (address), so I also did that. If I hadn't called in to know them, I could have been put on hold for weeks.
-I originally called in to add that I will visit some country in Europe (that's not the same as some of you doing a travel plan to the States), but then I heard this standard line-to-take "we can only expedite... if your trip is
within 20 business days from now, in which case we will transfer your file to a local office, and you confirm your travel proof and get your passport there".
My trip is well in December so that above doesn't apply. If I had just sat and expected the paper to come, it can be as late as in Nov.
-So I asked, "now that I confirmed my name and emergency contact, is it all good now? Answer was "yes".
-Whether it will arrive in August is still an open question, but it is neither up to me nor is it so important now. I was under the impression that I needed some passport to sign up for air tickets (
factually, you only need to pay; you can as well pay for someone else, but never quote me on this). By now, I am like, whatever, I will simply book tickets anyway and plan my trip.
I don't mean to distract by bringing up "does it take a passport to book a trip" here. However, yes, if you plan to visit the States, you don't necessarily need a flight. You can drive to, say, New York State, and I don't think NY hostels/inns/hotels necessarily need your CA passport or any document at all.
However, what can sound deeply screwed up is this. I do own my original passport and I can travel with that. I just need the CA one to come back. I can just use my original to book tickets too. I cannot say the same for local-born Canadians who don't necessarily have another nationality. We already had so many stories of cancelled summer trips and other random crap.
"So you want to Europe and need a passport? We don't, and we don't speak for airlines, and we don't care if you lack a document to book anything for your trip more than 20 business days from now" was the main idea for today.
