Ottawa "forgot" to send our file to Mexico City.......Please help!

[RIUGirl]

Hola,

I am not sure if anyone has been through this same situation but, if you can provide any happy thoughts or suggestions on how to get our file "in process," that would be great! (I hope I am posting in the correct area! Sorry if I am not)

Our file was received in Ottawa on March 14, 2012. Right after this, I sent a letter to CIC cancelling our lawyer on our file. I sent the mailing address that we wanted our documents to go to. Three months later, CIC sent a document to our lawyer (who we thought we cancelled) requesting my husband's medical. We went to Guadalajara on July 6, 2012 and sent the medical back to Ottawa. At this time, we thought we were on the "right track" and just kept waiting for further instructions. I moved to Mazatlan to be with my husband while we wait for this process to complete.

4.5 months went by, and I felt that something was not right. Every time we checked his CAS online it said "application recieved" and they still had the lawyer as the contact person. After talking to some friends who also sponsored their spouse from Mexico, I immediately felt that we had missed a step. I did not know if I was even approved to be his sponsor and 8 months had gone by. After 3 days of e-mailing, crying and calling, I finally spoke to the director of CPC-Ottawa Pilot. First, she said we were missing his medical, then, she found it. All of a sudden, I could hear shock and surprise in her voice....I think she knew that the document should have been sent over 4 months ago. Within 2 days of my call, we finally received an e-mail approving me to be his sponsor and to say that our file is being sent to Mexico City.

At this point, we feel so dissapointed and upset that we encountered this 4 month set back. Did they forget to send it? Or, is this really the process?? It took 8 months for me to learn that I am approved to be his sponsor. Is this normal??? Currently, we are waiting to receive a letter from Mexico asking for his federal record checks. I check everyday and hope that our file is now "in process" but it still says "application received."

Truthfully, how many more months are we looking at now to complete this process? 4, 5, 6? Please, I feel devastated and so angry that we are now behind in our already long process. Maybe this is normal? But, I think not. I know 3 couples who went through Mex City and it took 8 to 10 months for them to be in Canada. My husband and I are entering into 9 months and are waiting for the second stage to start.

Please, share your thoughts and advice....I am really having a hard time accepting this delay right now and would appreciate someone to tell us how long this second stage takes.

Thanks for taking the time to read our story!

 

[Sweden]

HeyRIU girl,

Sorry to hear about your story, and NO - it's not normal to wait that long.
Depending on when you apply, it takes between 3 months ( if you applied in february, april, may june) to get sponsor approval, and even less if somebody applies now... and after that, normally CIC is supposed to send your file to Mexico almost right away. I'm so sorry that they did such a mistake and "forgot" to send your file....

Unfortunately, I don't think there is much else to do now. You have done what was best - call them, get them to find your file, and get the sponsor approval. apart from that, I don't see anything else... I know something similar happened to somebody in the May thread (going through London VO), and they forgot to send her file to London after the sponsorship approval.... In your case I can only hope that you get preferential treatment once you get to Mexico, but I am afraid that it won't be the case...

Mexico seems to be a quite efficient VO though, and the fact that you moved to be with your husband during the whole process speaks volume about your relationship - so hopefully as soon as they open your file, they can see that the relationship is genuine, they request any police checks if missing, and they can issue your visa. I would say another 2 to 3 months before you hear from them would probably be a reasonable guess, but I'm hoping for your sake that it goes faster.

Don't rely too much on ecas though - some people never have "in process" - it was my case. It stayed "application received" through the whole process, and suddenly it went to 'decision made" - so the fact that it only says "application received" is not necessarily a sign that they are not working on your file.

there is thread for Mexico city applicants where you can get more of an idea - but i just can't find it now. I know that one applicant that applied in May (sponsor approved in August) got her visa already, so Mexico processed the file in 3 months - in your case I would say it's realistic to wait at least that, unless they put a special note on your file when it was transferred....

ANyway - really sorry to hear about your story and I hope that CIC will make it up to you in a fast second stage.
Cheers,
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

here is the thread for Mexico http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/mexico-t35385.7470.html

There you should be able to get a little more information on how long it usually takes to hear from the VO once they have your file etc. and probably some support on your case, as it is really unfortunate.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[RIUGirl]

Wow, thank you so much for the reply!! My husband and I just read it and we feel like someone finally heard us and understands the pain and sorrow that we are feeling. We have e-mailed Mexico to make sure they have received our file and to confirm that they received a fax sent to them 2 weeks ago changing our address/contact info and such. No response yet. I called my MP office in Alberta to ask for their help. I hope this helps us out.

I read everyone's stories on here, on the Mexico thread and feel happy for them, but yet, so jealous and sad that our process has not gone smoothly like theirs did. I know that all we can really do is "WAIT SOME MORE" but, I feel like we have been cheated and I want our file expedited for their horrible mistake. These are 5 months that are now wasted and we could have been in Canada by now, but we are not. I really hope our file is in Mexico City and that someone has begun the process for our second stage. It scares me not see "in process" but, after hearing that your file remained "application received" I will try to hold my head up high....for now.

We will wait for their letter asking us for his federal record checks...we would go and get everything ready but, I heard that we need the letter in hand first.

Thank you again, for being kind and sending us your condolensces. I can only hope and pray that we will have a little more luck from here on out.

Cheers Sweden,

RIUGirl and esposo

 

[Creampop]

I'm sorry and I don't mean to sound rude but you can not be upset with CIC for this, your application was incomplete and that is no ones fault but your own, for not reading the CIC website and your Lawyers for honestly, not knowing what he is doing... In family class medicals and background checks are supposed to go in with the initial application it says this many many times when reading thru the instruction guides, the country specific guides even give you the medical forms. In March when you filed the application, sponsorship approval wait times were just over 3 months, you said you sent a letter asking to have your lawyer withdrawn, this was before you even got your sponsorship approval most people don't even have a UCI# before they receive sponsorship approval and without this number it is hard to match things up with files. they asked for medical after 3 months because thats how long your file had to sit in line to be opened, once it was opened there was no medical and it needed to be there for the file to be complete for processing therefore adding the time you had to wait. now 4.5 months is alittle long but DMP's will tell you that it could take up to 60 days to file maybe longer if they are a busy DMP. Now you said you are waiting for background checks, expect more delays here as these should have also been included with the initial application.

 

[RIUGirl]

Hi Creampop,

I did not see your message until now. I was told by 3 other couples and our lawyer to not send the medical in the initial application. We decided to wait for cic to request the medical because our 3 friends who sponsored their husband from Mexico had done it like that and had a very fast process. As for his background check, we sent one from the state that my husband is living in. We were told that we now have to wait for the embassy in Mexico City to send us a letter requesting his Federal record check. If that is not the case, we would leave tomorrow and go get the PGR and SSP. Perhaps, it was our fault to not send the medical at first, but we were only going by what others had done previously and whom had successful endings. We hope our file is in Mexico City now and we will wait for their letter sending us to Mexico City. I feel so sad and depressed with our situation and to think we caused ourselves this 9 month wait makes me feel even more sick.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi Creampop,

I did not see your message until now. I was told by 3 other couples and our lawyer to not send the medical in the initial application. We decided to wait for cic to request the medical because our 3 friends who sponsored their husband from Mexico had done it like that and had a very fast process. As for his background check, we sent one from the state that my husband is living in. We were told that we now have to wait for the embassy in Mexico City to send us a letter requesting his Federal record check. If that is not the case, we would leave tomorrow and go get the PGR and SSP. Perhaps, it was our fault to not send the medical at first, but we were only going by what others had done previously and whom had successful endings. We hope our file is in Mexico City now and we will wait for their letter sending us to Mexico City. I feel so sad and depressed with our situation and to think we caused ourselves this 9 month wait makes me feel even more sick.

1. Never rely on what your "friends" say or claim they have done with Immigration. If you follow the instructions that come with the application forms you have a lot less heartache. You couldn't have done the police certificate until you received the request letter from CHC Mexico city: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/mexico.asp

 

[Creampop]

Hi Creampop,

I did not see your message until now. I was told by 3 other couples and our lawyer to not send the medical in the initial application. We decided to wait for cic to request the medical because our 3 friends who sponsored their husband from Mexico had done it like that and had a very fast process. As for his background check, we sent one from the state that my husband is living in. We were told that we now have to wait for the embassy in Mexico City to send us a letter requesting his Federal record check. If that is not the case, we would leave tomorrow and go get the PGR and SSP. Perhaps, it was our fault to not send the medical at first, but we were only going by what others had done previously and whom had successful endings. We hope our file is in Mexico City now and we will wait for their letter sending us to Mexico City. I feel so sad and depressed with our situation and to think we caused ourselves this 9 month wait makes me feel even more sick.

I really didn't mean to seem mean... I know how you feel, I have spent my fair share of time away from hubby... the thing is no matter how long it takes it is worth it! It took me 13 years to even get my live in order to make this big of a move.... Good Luck!

 

[Sweden]

I feel so sad and depressed with our situation and to think we caused ourselves this 9 month wait makes me feel even more sick.

Hey RIUgirl ( y esposo por supuesto! ),

Don't beat yourself for the situation - it's done, and what is important is what you have done to fix it once you understood that something was wrong... applications get misplaced, mishandled without applicants or sponsors being responsible for it, so it could have happened the same way... The medicals should have been sent with the application, that's true, but well - you were ill-advised, and it might not have changed anything anyway... at this point it's pure speculation, and I don't think it will help you to dwell on the past... rather, try and concentrate on what you have now, which is that the fact that your file made it to Mexico, and each day brings you closer to visa issuance!

I'm not sure if you are in Mexico with your husband now, or waiting apart. If you are together, well enjoy the warmth of Mexico ( and I recommend reading this thread for a bit of a change from gloomy immigration stories http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/your-first-winter-just-for-laughs-t126388.0.html). If you are apart, it's hard for sure. But keep your head up, the process will be over at some point, and it will feel like a distant past. Then you can enjoy the cold and snow of Canada! for the rest of your life....

Hopefully you will get the letter from Mexico soon, and get the PGR and SSP. It seems that people that get that are fairly advanced in the process, and it shouldn't take too long after that. It seems like an eternity, but one step at a time, and you'll get there eventually!

Good luck with waiting!
Sweden

 

[RIUGirl]

Thank you for the support guys!! I know we will make it to Canada one day!! I can't think of the past and the mistake we made, I have to be confident in the present and future.

Saludos!

P.s. Should we expect our letter to come to our Mexico address? Or will it be sent to my Canadian address? I don't want anymore communication failure so I want to make sure that we will receive it here in Mexico!

 

[Sweden]

Thank you for the support guys!! I know we will make it to Canada one day!! I can't think of the past and the mistake we made, I have to be confident in the present and future.

Saludos!

P.s. Should we expect our letter to come to our Mexico address? Or will it be sent to my Canadian address? I don't want anymore communication failure so I want to make sure that we will receive it here in Mexico!

Check your ecas - they will send it to whatever appears on the "updated/current mailing address". If it's not the right one, you have an option normally on ecas to "update the mailing address".
Good luck!
Sweden

 

[RIUGirl]

Hi Sweden,

I changed it online once before but it only asked for a Canadian home and mailing address. Mexico City should have my husbands address here in Mexico. I was told that letters from Mexico City will be sent to a Mexican address. I may be ill-advised again! Any thoughts?

Gracias!

 

[RIUGirl]

Hi Again Sweden,

I saw you post on another persons wall and you seem very knowledgeable about this whole process. On ECas, we can only see my husbands name, application received and a Canadian home and mailing address. Does a sponsor have the ability to check out their information? I am a little confused about a post I read and it sounds like the sponsor can check ECas also? Please advise me!
Thanks so much!!

 

[Sweden]

Hi Sweden,

I changed it online once before but it only asked for a Canadian home and mailing address. Mexico City should have my husbands address here in Mexico. I was told that letters from Mexico City will be sent to a Mexican address. I may be ill-advised again! Any thoughts?

Gracias!

I'm not sure - I could change mine online ( but I changed it to a canadian one once I moved to Canada to wait out my PR, so maybe that's why ...), but it took me to a "case specific enquiry", so you could try this, just to be on the safe side. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/mexico.asp
Send them a case-specific enquiry, explaining that your file information has changed, you removed the lawyer, and there has been delays in the first stage etc, and that you want to be sure that they have the right information to reach you in Mexico, and give them your address. They might not respond (London never did) but they will get the information, which is the most important. Make sure you fill out the DOB, COB and file number etc to have all information - maybe it's best to do it under applicant's information even if you are writing, because technically all correspondence concerning the applicant will go to the applicant only.
Suerte!
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Hi Again Sweden,

I saw you post on another persons wall and you seem very knowledgeable about this whole process. On ECas, we can only see my husbands name, application received and a Canadian home and mailing address. Does a sponsor have the ability to check out their information? I am a little confused about a post I read and it sounds like the sponsor can check ECas also? Please advise me!
Thanks so much!!

Normally there are a few different ways to log into ecas, and depending on which information you use, you might have access to different part of the application. But the information is essentially the same...

You can use either the UCI (that you got from the sponsorship letter, and that's yours (sponsor)) + sponsor information.
Or file number (starting with F) and applicant information.

If you use the last one, you will see normally 2 parts:
First one is for sponsorship, and it reads normally "decision made" - when you click on it, you should see " a decision has been made on the sponsorship and we have sent you a letter", or something like this, as you already have the sponsorship approval (note: letter can mean either a real letter, or an email).
THe second part is for "Permanent Resident Application", and normally you have there either "application received", or "in process". f you click on this, you see "your application for PR has been received on DATE" and sometimes an extra line "medicals have been received".
If you have "in process" : you should see: " we have started processing your application on DATE".

ON the top, normally you have a "home address" and "current mailing address". Sometimes you will only have one category "current mailing address". (that was my case, the only added the "home address" when they had taken the decision on the application).

Other than that, there is not much else to check on ecas - and that's the tricky part... it gives you the feeling that you have access to something, but in fact, the information on ecas is very limited ( and it can become addictive to check again and again...).

In your case, the "sponsorship part" should be "decision made" as you are approved as a sponsor. The Application part reads "application received", and it might turn into "in process" when they contact you to get Police Clearance etc. "in process" is usually a good sign since it means that somebody is looking at your application, but it can also go from "application received" to "decision made" straight, without "in process" in the middle ( that was my case).

Hope it clarifies a little - otherwise just ask!
Sweden