Wyz said:
I just found this forum and so glad I did. I'm sponsoring my husband who is in Pakistan (back when Processing time was still 26 months). Since lots of you here are experienced in the process, I wanted to ask a few opinions.
I submitted my application in November 2011 myself, made sure everything was complete, sent original documents of my husband and all photos, etc. About 2 weeks later, I got a phonecall from CIC asking to confirm my annual income. Thank god I had a copy of all the documents I sent and told them the exact figure. They told me on the spot that it has been approved in Missisauga now. My status became "In Process"
In January 2012, I got an email from CIC stating that they had received my application in November. 3 Days after that email, I got a letter "decision made" and the letter said that I had met the requirements for eligibility as a sponsor and that my file had been forwarded to the Islamabad High Commision Visa office.
I sat still and hung on tight. January 2013 came and I still heard nothing, so I called up the mayor and had a case worker there to help me figure out where it is. She gathered info and told me it was in CPP Ottawa.
1- Now it has been almost 14 months and I have not received a single message or anything from CIC. I was looking into the ATIP and Privacy Request where we can request info but I don't know which one to request my info under...the ATIP act or the Privacy Act? And what kind of info do they give you?
2- Also is this normal to hear so much in the first few months and not hear anything back for a very long time?
3- Does anyone here have their files in CPP Ottawa? Do you think they take longer than Islamabad or shorter time?
4- If I have a slight address change (municipality decided to add a word before my street name), should I update online or call...do you think calling will get them to pick up my file and be like "oh there is this file too" or they just get angry that they have to change my address slightly on everything?
Thanks so much in advance guys!!
you need to request it under the "access to information act" and pay the $5. the main difference between them is that the privacy act can only be used to request information on your own file, and the only canadian citizens or canadian PR can make these requests. Since your want information about your spouse's sponsorship application, that becomes a request for their file. Thus the acess to information request, and you will need to include the form signed by your spouse giving you consent to request information on their file. if you make a request for your file, then it will be the file for stage 1 in mississauga, and if you do a privacy act request for your spouse's file it will be refused.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/atip/requests-atip.asp
the steps are pretty simple, you need to pay $5.00 via credit card on their online payment form, fill in the consent form (the new consent form as of january 2013 is only valid for one request, so if you do multiple requests you will need multiple consent forms), and then the request form. make sure to choose email only, that is the fastest processing time, and yet still can take upto 30 days. your request is for the electronic copies of an immigration file for permanent residence. include your file B or F file number, your spouse's UCI (not the sponsor's), and the location is CHC-Islamabad. if you don't have your spouse's UCI it can be left blank.
i would expect an initial review to have happened on your file this month or nearby, so if you order in April (ie. take a week to get the signed consent form from your spouse to make the request) you should expect to have some notes on your file. However the timeline isn't guaranteed, so it could happen that your request has nothing in it yet, and you would end up wasting the $5 for this request.
it is normal to not hear anything yet, you might hear something from them starting month 15 after file transfer. for the address change, i would suggest you login into ecas and make the case specific inquiry asking them to change your address or change it through ecas since it is the canadian address that you are changing. the embassy won't respond to your phone calls, and the email might just be returned asking you to make the change yourself.
