October 11th 2017 - Citizenship Applicants under 3/5 rule

[sarafandee]

Anyone from October 2017 list from Montreal and still waiting?

 

[dpenabill]

I am too have been waiting for 16 months because of this nonsense security clearance.

MOST likely it is NOT "because" of a security clearance. MOST likely you are waiting in a queue, waiting for an official to take the next step . . . and perhaps when that happens, the official will, in effect, log the security clearances as complete. But for now the hold up is NOT likely about waiting for the security clearance.

CAVEAT: of course for some applicants there is actually a security clearance delay; most affected this way should be aware they were at elevated risk for this and why because they know their own situation and background as well as anyone in the world. In contrast, most applicants, qualified applicants who properly made an application, and who have reason to be confident there should be no security issue lurking in their portfolio, can RELAX. It is just a matter of waiting, waiting and watching for notice from IRCC.

I have a better summarized version of your long essay: Some agents are not doing their job, period.

It may be true that the current slow processing is due to some IRCC officials not doing their job. Unlikely. But perhaps. Nonetheless your comment is in no way a summarization of my post. The difference between mere ranting and a genuine effort to reassure qualified applicants should be obvious, for those who care anyway.

 

[SANAGhada]

Anyone from October 2017 list from Montreal and still waiting?

Actually iam from November 2017 applicants
Test done on 6Th November 2018and no Oath invitation yet 4 months from date of test
Frustrating?!!!
We all in same boat
I don’t know what is the resone behind this delay any one can answer plz
thank you

 

[SANAGhada]

Unfortunately there is no transparency. I am in the same boat too. Passed 19 months from beginning and 13 months from test. I talked to the MP last month and she told me your file has been done a few months ago and you are in queue for the oath . Unfortunately I am still process even I passed all steps !!!. I called several times that what's going on, my process has been done months a go ,why still showing in process. They indicate that all phase has been complete . But nothing change yet .

Where is your location office??

 

[Mehran1]

Where is your location office??

Scarborough

 

[cn2017]

I would not be surprised if there are females.

I don't think thre is any or at least not many, I think they are discriminiating againt males, I'm very certain becuase I know several girls from work who applied a year after I did and they already got their citizenship. I am seeing this pattern in many provinces, it cannot be an accident.

 

[cn2017]

I am 17 month now, right behind you. I wish I could act like I don't care anymore, it's not easy.

Notwithstanding a lot of noise and other interference in the forum (including a near continuous hum of venting from some forum participants), it is well understood that the majority of applications suffering slow processing are simply sitting in a queue waiting for a processing agent, or for those who have taken the test and interview, for either a processing agent or Citizenship Officer, to take the next step, whatever step is next for that applicant.

The applicant is waiting, waiting in line. Which these days tends to be a long line getting longer. That is it. No more complicated than that.

And Help Centre agents rarely have any more information than that. No matter how much the applicant pushes for more of an explanation.

While we do not know for sure what the Call Centre agents actually see when they access an applicant's GCMS records, it is very likely they see the same, or the same and not much more, than what the applicant will see in a copy of his or her GCMS obtained by ATIP request. NOT MUCH. NOT particularly informative. Generally (with some exceptions) obtaining GCMS records is NOT informative. (Probably makes some feel better that they are doing something, even if actually that is NOT doing anything that will help, but that is all it is.)

How many ways can Help Centre agents say sorry, it's a long line, be patient? Especially when many of those calling want or DEMAND something more than that?

It is well apparent that the Help Centre agents express this, basically "you need to wait," in various ways, and many times their stock responses tend to include something similar to "waiting for background check."

And technically this is probably true. NOT because a particular background clearance is not yet completed by the respective agency. Rather it is probably true because the processing agent or Citizenship Officer handling the application has not taken the step in the process which includes checking off completed background checks.

That is, often CSIS and RCMP have submitted their clearances, but those clearances have not been recorded as complete in the applicant's GCMS. And will not be until either a processing agent or Citizenship Officer takes that step. In the meantime, for most (again, not all, but most) that simply means waiting . . . and these days the wait appears to be getting longer and longer.

The status of the formal clearances (CSIS and RCMP) is often somewhat similar to the status of submitted applications prior to AOR. The application has arrived at CPC-Sydney. It is there. A complete application. BUT the applicant's record does NOT yet show it there. There is nothing to show the application is actually there until a processing agent opens the application and does the completeness check and enters the receipt of the application into GCMS. Often this timeline is two or three months, but at times it has been longer, several months long. Bottom-line, the application is received but NOT acknowledged as received.

It is often similar with the formal clearances. The respective agency has submitted it to the applicant's file, but the responsible processing agent may not acknowledge the clearance as received for some time after that, not until the next step is being taken with the application . . . which these days can be a long while, many applicants now seeing timelines going well beyond a year.

BUT EVEN if GCMS shows the formal clearances as completed, in a general sense there is ALWAYS A BACKGROUND CHECK which is not yet complete, because IRCC mandates a GCMS background check every time any substantive action is taken on the application. Thus, for example, even after all the steps in the application process have been completed, before the applicant is scheduled to take the oath, internal policy requires ANOTHER GCMS background check. Thus, until the applicant is actually scheduled to take the oath, a Help Centre agent can truthfully say that a background check still needs to be completed.

But (with some exceptions) overall it is simply what many in this forum remind the impatient again and again: you are in line, currently a rather slow line. Waiting, waiting and watching for notices from IRCC, is about all the applicant can do.

(In another topic I have suggested that for some applicants the timeline might be approaching reason to initiate formal demands which are preliminary steps toward pursuing Mandamus . . . but that is an expensive and in itself time-consuming process which offers no guarantees and typically will, AT BEST, and only sometimes, accelerate the outcome by a little. A lawyer is needed for this, even for just the formal demand step (which is a prerequisite to seeking a Mandamus Writ); in the past, at least, CIC/IRCC has tended to brush off or totally ignore formal demands unless they come from a lawyer. I am NOT suggesting it is time for anyone in particular to pursue Mandamus, as yet, but am noting that if inaction on an application is such that it amounts to a de facto denial, there are avenues in which to pursue a remedy.)

This security thing is just a BS they use when they want to put your application on hold. How many security checks do they need? It doesn't make any sense to do security checks for every step, that's insane and not practical and expensive, they would never do that, that don't even do their job, you think they will want to do extra work? A security background check does not take more than a week or maximum two weeks if everyone is on vacation. One year security check is retarded and there is no way to justify that. It's just becuase someone is not doing thier job or they don't want to work and they just put the status on "Background Check" so they can relax for one year and not work much and the call center will just see the status is background check, that's how you get a one year or longer security check my friend.

 

[sameday2019]

I contacted IRCC and also MP office. they said security verification/ clearance pending. I know that they are going to come up empty handed and that is why I said it is nonsense. They are wasting resources and time and I am sure all or most of us agree and understand why it is stupid to hold our applications for a long time because of that execuse.

 

[sarafandee]

MOST likely it is NOT "because" of a security clearance. MOST likely you are waiting in a queue, waiting for an official to take the next step . . . and perhaps when that happens, the official will, in effect, log the security clearances as complete. But for now the hold up is NOT likely about waiting for the security clearance.

CAVEAT: of course for some applicants there is actually a security clearance delay; most affected this way should be aware they were at elevated risk for this and why because they know their own situation and background as well as anyone in the world. In contrast, most applicants, qualified applicants who properly made an application, and who have reason to be confident there should be no security issue lurking in their portfolio, can RELAX. It is just a matter of waiting, waiting and watching for notice from IRCC.




It may be true that the current slow processing is due to some IRCC officials not doing their job. Unlikely. But perhaps. Nonetheless your comment is in no way a summarization of my post. The difference between mere ranting and a genuine effort to reassure qualified applicants should be obvious, for those who care anyway.

It is not mere ranting, I know someone who used to work there, and he told me many unpleasant stories. Nothing to be surprised about, just like any government agency, slackers and careless people exist, sometimes not that smart either. The people still waiting are probably victims to this carelessness. A security check does not take more than a three months ( I am being very generous), but what takes time is an agent processing your file and marking it as complete.

 

[itsmyid]

I contacted IRCC and also MP office. they said security verification/ clearance pending. I know that they are going to come up empty handed and that is why I said it is nonsense. They are wasting resources and time and I am sure all or most of us agree and understand why it is stupid to hold our applications for a long time because of that execuse.

I think security is important to check, but what I don't understand is, back in 2015 and 2016 when they brought in hundreds of thousands of refugees they reported they got the security screening done for each one of them within weeks - I have nothing against refugees or bringing in refugee, just in case some people will start accusing me of something - which puzzles me is: most of the refugees have no documents/papers and it'd be much harder to check than us who have stayed in Canada with every track-able records, yet after a year they are still checking...

 

[sarafandee]

Actually iam from November 2017 applicants
Test done on 6Th November 2018and no Oath invitation yet 4 months from date of test
Frustrating?!!!
We all in same boat
I don’t know what is the resone behind this delay any one can answer plz
thank you

I am hitting 17 months without a test invite

 

[sarafandee]

I think security is important to check, but what I don't understand is, back in 2015 and 2016 when they brought in hundreds of thousands of refugees they reported they got the security screening done for each one of them within weeks - I have nothing against refugees or bringing in refugee, just in case some people will start accusing me of something - which puzzles me is: most of the refugees have no documents/papers and it'd be much harder to check than us who have stayed in Canada with every track-able records, yet after a year they are still checking...

Your security check has probably been completed long time ago, but your agent happens to be one of those who processes one application a day. I mean common, we don't to put more pressure on them, do we now.

 

[sameday2019]

I think we should collectively write a letter to the Minister of citizenship. He most likely will not read it and his office will forward it to IRCC wbich will reply with the same phrase but we can at least use it if we decide to do Writ of Mandamus.

 

[SANAGhada]

I adviv

I am hitting 17 months without a test invite[/QUOTEi
I advice you to make call to IRCC CPC
And speak to agent to clarify your file as they are committed to call you for test and interview within 12 months

 

[sarafandee]

I adviv

Done that more than what I can count, only one magical answer "background check"