bestplace4u said:
what does it means PAPER SCREENING DECISION (PSDEC) for family class
For more info, follow this link http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/what-is-the-significant-of-psdec-1-t60304.0.html
For the purpose of calculating processing times, processing only begins when the visa office
determines the application is eligible for processing. The clearest indication of this is with the entry
of “PSDEC 1” (eligible) at the visa office. Once PSDEC 1 is entered, processing time begins.
Accordingly, processing times for Skilled Worker applications are measured from PSDEC 1 to
either SELDEC 5, 6 or FINDEC 1, 2, 4."
PSDEC (Paper Screening Decision) is the first step - basically done as part of the AOR process or immediately after. While the AOR only confirms that you have submitted all required documentation and required fee for your file processing to begin, the PSDEC is the first step in verifying if that documentation meets the requirements of the PR class you apply for and also ensuring other information is available as required . CIC staff also conduct additional checks on parts of your documentation (like calling up employers to verify your experience letters, checking other documentation with relevant authorities like the tax dept., embassies etc). All this is done by different folks in the visa office and some (if not all) of this could be logged in your CAIPS.
Once all these checks are complete (very subjective as it depends on the amount of info you submitted and the sources of that info as well), the file goes to the immigration officer for review/approval. He/she reviews the docs as well as the notes made by the various visa office staff and if he/she is satisfied an IA will be issued along with a medical request. Else, you will get a further document request/interview request based on what they feel the gaps are in your documentation/history. (they may request a medical in parallel to these as well). Security/background checks are random and happen usually after medicals (but there could be exceptions i guess)
The whole process seems to be controlled by Bring Forward dates (BFW) with a bring forward date set each time an action/set of actions is initiated. If those actions complete within the BFW, your file could be picked up for the next step and if the BFW pops without any result from the previous action, the staff check if there are delays in the process and push the bfw back by sometime to allow for this action to complete. BUt what i suspect is happening nowadays is that with the large volumes of applications in the queue, even if an action is complete within the BFW date nothing is done till the BFW date pops and even then it looks like they just extend the BFW date a few more months.