I am not sure about it uselessness. I look at it as a sigh that an application process moves forward. Maybe it doesn’t show anything and mean anything but still it is better than nothing.RPRF request is another useless indicator. Some have gotten it early on and spent months waiting and some have gotten it later on and got PPR within weeks and some have gotten it in the middle. IRCC seems to change when they send the RPRF request randomly or maybe it differs from VO to VO.
I don't understand why people don't pay it upfront... even the IRCC website recommends paying it upfront to ensure faster processing.
About paying for RPRF upfront. Personally, I didn’t pay for it upfront because I am sure whether my application will be approved. You know, NOC, experience and other things might affect my application. And because of that I don’t want to risk money.