Hi all,
I've been a silent reader on this forum for a while and it has been a tremendous resource for me. I just wanted to thank everyone here and share my timeline as well:
Application Filed: March 3rd, 2014
AOR received: March 21st, 2014
IELTS: Sent in with application
Medical request: Sept 11th, 2014
RPRF request: November 6th, 2014
RPRF paid: November 11th, 2014
In Process: July 23, 2015
PPR received: July 28, 2015
Passport sent: July 29, 2015
COPR received: August 10, 2015
Landed: August 16th, 2015
My ECAS status did not change from "Application Received" to "In Process" till July 2015, which was a little concerning. I received GCMS notes twice and asked my MP to make a call on my behalf and it seemed like everything was good but the background/security checks were slow. My MP told me that CIC was facing a huge backlog. I was extremely relieved when I finally received my PPR a couple of weeks ago!
Landing experience: I landed on Rainbow bridge on Sunday. I crossed the border in to the USA, walked around and saw Niagara falls from the other side of the border. While entering back, the officer gave me a hard time and asked me why I didn't do my landing "in-land" with CIC. I told him that I tried to make an appointment but I couldn't get an appointment date soon. He wasn't very happy about that. He said that processing landing applications was the least important task for the border officers and I was asked to wait in the building. After an agonizing 4.5 hour wait, my application was finally seen by a different officer. She was very polite and much more civil compared to my first interaction. It took 5 minutes to do the paperwork and I was finally a permanent resident!
Thanks to everyone in this forum, and good luck to everyone still waiting on their applications!