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Physical Presence

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,437
3,183
Hello,

  1. I applied in August 2020 for citizenship.
  2. Got AOR in Jan 2021
  3. Requested for fingerprints in Jul 2021
  4. Completed Citizenship in Jan 2022
  5. No progress in my application and had to get a lawyer send a mandamus in October 2022
  6. Got requested for second finger print in October 2022 ( since the first one got expired)
  7. November 2022 REQUEST FOR SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE regrading my physical presence ( Asked for all my passport copies and stamps)
  8. Case processing agent pointed out that I did not declare 3 travels which adds to total of 12 days.
  9. Case processing agent said he will send me an invite for an interview next week
After reviewing my application I noticed that I did not add any buffer for my physical calculation which since I forgot to declare those 12 days I will fall short and not meeting the physical presence requirement. My question is since I will get an interview invite next week what should i expect? I am preparing myself for worst case but I am also thinking since It has been 2 years and a half since I filed my application and I did my citizenship test is there any chance IRCC shows any compassion and grant my citizenship or they will reject my application? I am wondering if they can return the application at this point since it has been 2 years and a half? Anyone had the same experience! I am so anxious and any help will help a lot with my mental health.
The essential questions about your situation have already been answered. A few of the responses are worth quoting, to concur and emphasize:

Withdraw and reapply. There is no provision that allows IRCC to grant citizenship with fewer than the required number of residency days on the day the application is submitted. There's no point keeping this application in play any longer since refusal is guaranteed.
Well, your interview is next week.
Yeah, you'll need to withdraw, but whether you do it today or a week from now after the interview doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things.
What you shouldn't do is to keep things drag more after the interview (and that may mean, many months after), but a few days definitely won't harm.
(Exception: not sure, but it looks like "next week" the processing agent will send an interview invite, or initiate the procedure for scheduling and sending an invite. Date of the interview itself is not necessarily next week, and my guess is that it will not be that soon . . . unless what the processing agent actually said was actual notice of a date and time for the interview.)

Also, you may not lose everything... When they take-up your new application for processing, the work they have done already, like background check, might come handy and might move faster. It's just my guess though.
The latter warrants some emphasis.

Some Further Observations:

Effect of Making Second Application:

While it is based on experiences that occurred before the impact of Covid and the global pandemic, over time there have been periodic anecdotal reports which are consistent with and illustrate the latter observation by @wink, which should be encouraging. In particular, it has been readily apparent in a number of cases that where an applicant made a mistake when applying (a mistake that means they did not meet the requirements and cannot be granted citizenship based on that application, such as the case here, the applicant overlooking an absence and falling short of the 1095 day presence requirement), and that person withdraws the application, and then makes a subsequent application when whatever problems there were with the first application are clearly resolved, the second application has sailed quite easily through the process.

This will not result in expedited processing. All the routine, necessary steps in processing will still need to be done. Including the formal background checks, the knowledge of Canada test, and establishing ability in an official language. But the processing agents handling the application will have the benefit of information considered and screened in the earlier application. For the qualified applicant who made a mistake in the first application, which is clearly rectified in the second, this typically means the processing agent(s), and eventually the deciding citizenship officer, are less likely to have questions or concerns that would result in processing delays or non-routine processing . . . it is a bit like catching all green lights when driving across town, still got to go the same distance to get there but making the trip without being slowed down along the route.

It might warrant noting, nonetheless, that historically a citizenship application subsequent to an application that was denied, rejected, or withdrawn, was flagged for further scrutiny. It has been explicitly included in the "triage" criteria employed to identify applicants to screen more thoroughly. And, it is very likely (almost certain is my sense) that citizenship applications subsequent to an application that was denied, rejected, or withdrawn, are still flagged for further scrutiny (cannot be for sure certain since the triage criteria are confidential or secret). But for situations like this, where the first application is withdrawn due to a simple mistake, and the mistake is clearly rectified in the second, the extra scrutiny involved might literally take just a few minutes, to look at the records for the earlier application (just opening that up in GCMS) and see there is no hint of an issue but rather that the applicant now clearly meets the requirements . . . which again should assure the processing agent and facilitate smooth sailing from there . . . catching all green lights.

Of course this might entail (depending on what catches the processing agent's attention) specifically comparing information in the respective applications, including travel, work, and address history, and considering in particular whether there are discrepancies or incongruities. Obviously, the information should be consistent. Not good if the 2019 work history reported in a 2020 application is significantly different than the 2019 work history reported in a 2022 application.

No Need to Wait to Make New Application:

The request to withdraw and new application can be made the same day. By the time the new application is opened, the request to withdraw should have been processed, or at least already noted in GCMS, so that IRCC can proceed with processing the new application without delay. There are specific protocols for how IRCC handles multiple or concurring applications, but no need to wrangle with those details as long as the request to withdraw has already been mad, or at least is promptly made without delay.

If the interview is actually as soon as this coming week, or within a couple weeks, probably a good idea to attend the interview, acknowledge the mistake, state intention to withdraw and reapply, and follow any directions or instructions offered by the interviewer.
 
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Flavia89

Full Member
Nov 17, 2022
29
3
anyone knows that RQ is the same as
The essential questions about your situation have already been answered. A few of the responses are worth quoting, to concur and emphasize:





(Exception: not sure, but it looks like "next week" the processing agent will send an interview invite, or initiate the procedure for scheduling and sending an invite. Date of the interview itself is not necessarily next week, and my guess is that it will not be that soon . . . unless what the processing agent actually said was actual notice of a date and time for the interview.)



The latter warrants some emphasis.

Some Further Observations:

Effect of Making Second Application:

While it is based on experiences that occurred before the impact of Covid and the global pandemic, over time there have been periodic anecdotal reports which are consistent with and illustrate the latter observation by @wink, which should be encouraging. In particular, it has been readily apparent in a number of cases that where an applicant made a mistake when applying (a mistake that means they did not meet the requirements and cannot be granted citizenship based on that application, such as the case here, the applicant overlooking an absence and falling short of the 1095 day presence requirement), and that person withdraws the application, and then makes a subsequent application when whatever problems there were with the first application are clearly resolved, the second application has sailed quite easily through the process.

This will not result in expedited processing. All the routine, necessary steps in processing will still need to be done. Including the formal background checks, the knowledge of Canada test, and establishing ability in an official language. But the processing agents handling the application will have the benefit of information considered and screened in the earlier application. For the qualified applicant who made a mistake in the first application, which is clearly rectified in the second, this typically means the processing agent(s), and eventually the deciding citizenship officer, are less likely to have questions or concerns that would result in processing delays or non-routine processing . . . it is a bit like catching all green lights when driving across town, still got to go the same distance to get there but making the trip without being slowed down along the route.

It might warrant noting, nonetheless, that historically a citizenship application subsequent to an application that was denied, rejected, or withdrawn, was flagged for further scrutiny. It has been explicitly included in the "triage" criteria employed to identify applicants to screen more thoroughly. And, it is very likely (almost certain is my sense) that citizenship applications subsequent to an application that was denied, rejected, or withdrawn, are still flagged for further scrutiny (cannot be for sure certain since the triage criteria are confidential or secret). But for situations like this, where the first application is withdrawn due to a simple mistake, and the mistake is clearly rectified in the second, the extra scrutiny involved might literally take just a few minutes, to look at the records for the earlier application (just opening that up in GCMS) and see there is no hint of an issue but rather that the applicant now clearly meets the requirements . . . which again should assure the processing agent and facilitate smooth sailing from there . . . catching all green lights.

Of course this might entail (depending on what catches the processing agent's attention) specifically comparing information in the respective applications, including travel, work, and address history, and considering in particular whether there are discrepancies or incongruities. Obviously, the information should be consistent. Not good if the 2019 work history reported in a 2020 application is significantly different than the 2019 work history reported in a 2022 application.

No Need to Wait to Make New Application:

The request to withdraw and new application can be made the same day. By the time the new application is opened, the request to withdraw should have been processed, or at least already noted in GCMS, so that IRCC can proceed with processing the new application without delay. There are specific protocols for how IRCC handles multiple or concurring applications, but no need to wrangle with those details as long as the request to withdraw has already been mad, or at least is promptly made without delay.

If the interview is actually as soon as this coming week, or within a couple weeks, probably a good idea to attend the interview, acknowledge the mistake, state intention to withdraw and reapply, and follow any directions or instructions offered by the interviewer.
You are awesome! god bless you
 

Flavia89

Full Member
Nov 17, 2022
29
3
Hey Guys! I just got the invitation for the interview ! the title says "INVITATION TO AN INTERVIEW WITH A CITIZENSHIP OFFICIAL AND VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY/DOCUMENTS" and in the email it says just provide original passport and IDS and bring whatever is in the checklist in the interview via teams. anyone else had this request