Delhi Processing Times? Is 7 weeks too long?

[HarkiranKaur]

Some of you know our story, he was rejected through Chandigarh even though we had way more than enough proof he would be back in India before the TRV expiry (since I will be in India WITH HIM in Sept for our marriage). The purpose of visit is to meet my Mother prior to us marrying, since she can not attend the wedding in India due to her health. We sent his work documents in India, NGO work, assets, banking info, plus my plane tickets, India visa, and my signed military leave pass for Sept (which is a Canadian government official document signed by a military commanding officer stating I will be in india at HIS address, and it even states it is for our wedding). He was rejected due to 'purpose of visit' anyway we reapplied end of May through Delhi. We included more documents this time (a letter from my Mother showing her medical issue why she can not fly to India for the wedding and a photocopy of her NS driver license, an invitation from the Sikh temple here inviting im to speak while he is here, and receipts from the marriage hall etc in Sept in India in his name). He reapplied through Delhi using a temporary address in Delhi (his cousin) because Delhi has higher approval rate. Application date was 26 or 28 May (cant remember exact date). It is now 7 weeks and still no answer - its still in process.
His friend who is a prominent minister in Delhi went to check on his behalf, the status last week and said that it was past the 'first level' which is where he was told it was rejected the first time in Chandigarh. So it has passed that first scrutiny level now and they say there is a backlog of applications.
Is 7 weeks too long for an answer? CIC website says 7 working days processing time for New Delhi! Are they just trying to mess with us?? They told his friend that all the paperwork in the applicaiton was perfect and nothing was missing. But 7 weeks makes me worry especially since I am going back to India soon and he still has not made it here! My Mother is giving me huge grief marrying someone she (and the rest of the family) have not even met.... like I am marrying a stranger and they are all worried.

Is 7 weeks too long? And what is this 'first level' thing he was referring to?

 

[HarkiranKaur]

It's now a few days shy of 8 weeks and still nothing...

 

[Bryanna]

You could send a Case Specific Enquiry to the NDVO..... https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/case-cas-eng.aspx?mission=new%20delhi

 

[HarkiranKaur]

I actually did...but the automatic reply I received was that it would take 28 days for case specific inquiries, and that they will not provide status on applications!? What's the point then??

 

[Bryanna]

You seem to have a pretty strong case.... so it has taken quite long to process your fiance's visa application.

Perhaps, the visa office has a large number of applications to process

 

[HarkiranKaur]

When you first click on submit for case specific inquiry, you get a message stating they will reply within 28 working days.

Then shortly after this is the response you get via email:

"CONFIRMATION of receipt of your email sent to the Delhi Immigration mailbox, High Commission of Canada
You will receive a response only if you have submitted an application and we require additional documentation from you.
We do not provide status updates on the processing of applications.
Acknowledgment of receipt of documents and passports will not be provided. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accusé de réception de votre courriel envoyé à la section des Visas du Haut-Commissariat du Canada à New Delhi.
Nous répondrons seulement à votre courriel si vous avez déjà soumis une demande, et si nous avons besoin d'informations ou de documents supplémentaires.
Nous ne fournissons pas de mises à jour sur l'état d'avancement des demandes
Nous n'envoyons pas d'accusés de réception de documents ou de passeports."

 

[Bryanna]

What you've received is a standard automated reply.... and not a specific reply from the visa office in response to your enquiry per se.

A reply from the visa office would address your enquiry specifically.... such as request for additional documents (if required)..... or even *Further review is needed before a decision can be made on your application*

 

[HarkiranKaur]

What you've received is a standard automated reply.... and not a specific reply from the visa office in response to your enquiry per se.

A reply from the visa office would address your enquiry specifically.... such as request for additional documents (if required)..... or even *Further review is needed before a decision can be made on your application*

It's now nearly 9 weeks and still nothing. He is flying back to Delhi to check in person at the High Commission, but this has me worried. It should not take this long for a TRV, and worse is that the dates on the invitation lettrer have now long since passed, and I am worried they will use that as a reason to reject it. Not sure if I should print a new invitation letter with updated dates or not, and send electronically so he can give to them. I did say in the original letter that the dates are flexible due to flight avialbility, visa issuance, etc.
But I am worried could they have lost the application? Could it taking this long mean they are rejecting it?

 

[Bryanna]

Hi Harkiran,

First, has your fiance been able to get an appointment to meet a visa officer/consulate staff at the Delhi High Commission?

Is your fiance from Kashmir? Does he have any political background/worked with any political party? Anything else along these lines?

 

[HarkiranKaur]

He doesnt have an appointment but is going to go there in person to inquire on why its taking so long.

He is from Kashmir, Srinagar. He's Sikh not Muslim, if that makes a difference... never been associated with any politics. He has a venerable history of awards presented to him for outstanding work in volunteer arenas for environment, helping downtrodden etc. and is presently the CEO of one big NGO called SAVE (Social Abetterment in Versatile Environment) in Kashmir.

Does being from Kashmir mean he will be rejected?? He is from city of Srinagar.

 

[marshallseo5]

Hi All

I apologize in advance for porting this here.

I am un-able to start a new thread (I have a question that I need to seek answer for). However, when I go to Canada Immigration Forum > Temporary Entry Topics > Visitors, I do not find the option of starting a new thread. The only link I am able to see is 'Notify'.

I do not know if it is due to user credentials issue or I am stupid enough not to find out "Start new Thread" option. I have checked the help section already and followed the steps but still could not find the link.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot..!

 

[Bryanna]

Hi Harkiran,

It's an almost 100% certainty that he will not be allowed inside the Delhi High Commission if he does not have a prior appointment. Consular offices have exceptional levels of high security and access is not allowed without authorization. So it won't help going there as he could be turned away from the gate.

No, being from Kashmir will not result in a rejection. Given the political situation there, it may be possible that additional checks are being done or perhaps due to his high profile background (ie his connections with ministers).... based on what you've mentioned in your previous posts.

You may want to send another Case Specific Enquiry. BTW did you get the GCMS Notes for his previous refusal?

 

[Bryanna]

@marshallseo5

There is a 'New Topic' link/button to the right of the page number listing on Page 1 of the Visitor section. It is right next to 'Notify'. Click on this to start a new thread

 

[scylla]

@ marshallseo5

There is a 'New Topic' link/button to the right of the page number listing on Page 1 of the Visitor section. It is right next to 'Notify'. Click on this to start a new thread

It was his first post on the forum. People posting for the first time are not allowed to start new topics. Now that he has posted once, he should be able to start a new topic.

 

[HarkiranKaur]

Hi Bryanna,

His friend was able to speak to them before to find out the status... (His friend who is a minister) so they are going together. It's well over the stated processing time for Delhi, and we are starting to worry for several reasons:

1. Our 'proof' that he will not overstay was that I would be in India with him for our wedding (I fly there on 27th Aug). I had supplied my signed Canadian Forces leave pass with his address in India, as my location on leave signed by a Canadian Forces high ranking officer. He also supplied proofs of the wedidng hall etc. already booked in his name. If they delay any longer, then our 'proof' that he won't overstay will no longer be valid as the wedding will be over. Even worse, they will then look at it as that we are married so they will reject him because of fear that he will now overstay as I am now a tie in Canada.

2. The original invitation dates were in June, which is LONG since past. I am worried they will now look at this fact and reject based on the fact that the invitation letter is no longer valid. (In fact there were two invitations, one from me, and one from the local Sikh temple here, inviting him to speak while he was here. Both letters stated invitation for mid-end June timframe so they are both long past the invitation dates).

If he gets it in the next few days he can fly here and we can fly back together... but if they delay any longer, then I am afraid we have no hope for the above two reasons. Even worse, I can not stay in India long enough to have the marriage legally registered because I do not have enough time off even in a full year. India requires a 30 day residency to be legally married there, and two weeks roughly afterward. I have a total of 25 leave days to use in an entire year. Meaning, if he is refused a TRV, it will be impossible to even apply for PR status as a spouse since we will not be 'legally' married... only religious ceremony is being done (we planned to do legal ceremony at a much later date probably when I am done in the military in a few years). So I don't know if it's hopeless or not. They can't expect me to have to get out of the military and sacrifice my whole pension, in order to get married legally so I can apply for status for him as my spouse. We were hoping that TRV would get us through until I am done in the military... or else I can only see him once a year for a few weeks and that's it.



I am so stressed over this... I spent 18 years in the military serving my country and I feel like my country is turning its back on me.

Hi Harkiran,

It's an almost 100% certainty that he will not be allowed inside the Delhi High Commission if he does not have a prior appointment. Consular offices have exceptional levels of high security and access is not allowed without authorization. So it won't help going there as he could be turned away from the gate.

No, being from Kashmir will not result in a rejection. Given the political situation there, it may be possible that additional checks are being done or perhaps due to his high profile background (ie his connections with ministers).... based on what you've mentioned in your previous posts.

You may want to send another Case Specific Enquiry. BTW did you get the GCMS Notes for his previous refusal?