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RQ despite all documents submitted with citizenship application

whiz

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Feb 8, 2015
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alphazip said:
If the documents you sent with the application answer the questions asked in the RQ, then, in my opinion, you should send them again. I would not recommend just returning the questionnaire and saying, "look at the documents I already sent."

Is there a specific reason you sent extra documents? Residency concerns?
Not really. It is just, and after seeing all the trouble, friends and family members went through with their applications, I thought it's a good idea to submit everything. CIC always assume that newcomers are liars (Btw, I'm sick of the excuce: It's because after the 2006 war in Lebanon bla bla bla. Few bad apples shouldn't have ruined it for everyone). So, I assume that CIC officers are not trustworthy, and they will find any excuse to delay my application. And you know what? I became more convinced this is true. The officer didn't even bother to open my application. How did I know that? The application started to be processed on February 10th, and the RQ request was sent at the very same day!! It's brutal how we, immigrants, can't do anything about it.
 

whiz

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arambi said:
Also how many days of physical presence did you have on your application?
I met (even exceeded) all my residence requirements.
 

whiz

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informatics said:
I believe dpenabill and others have given you the correct advice.

Would you like to tell was your letter send by Sydney or your local office ?

Thanks and all the best !
It was sent by the local office, does this make a difference?
 

dpenabill

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Apr 2, 2010
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whiz said:
Not really. It is just, and after seeing all the trouble, friends and family members went through with their applications, I thought it's a good idea to submit everything. CIC always assume that newcomers are liars (Btw, I'm sick of the excuce: It's because after the 2006 war in Lebanon bla bla bla. Few bad apples shouldn't have ruined it for everyone). So, I assume that CIC officers are not trustworthy, and they will find any excuse to delay my application. And you know what? I became more convinced this is true. The officer didn't even bother to open my application. How did I know that? The application started to be processed on February 10th, and the RQ request was sent at the very same day!! It's brutal how we, immigrants, can't do anything about it.
You have to admit, however, you did NOT follow the instructions. Really, best course to take usually, almost always, is to follow the instructions. Deviations should be minimal and only done after careful consideration.

If you assume anything, you should assume that the rules and regulations are followed.

By the way, as noted by me above there is an initial screening of applications before they are "in process." So the sequence does not indicate anything capricious or nefarious.

CIC applies triage criteria to determine who is issued RQ. While the criteria has changed, it appears that some of the criteria do not necessarily trigger RQ but may trigger RQ depending on context, on other factors. The inclusion of a lot of extra stuff may very well have tipped the scales.

Alternatively, as noted before, if there is a factor or circumstance in an applicant's case that triggers RQ, the person doing the triage screening has to issue RQ, regardless of how much proof of residency you added to the application.

There is no substantive assessment of an applicant's proof of residency until much, much later in the process.

In any event: you need to respond to the RQ and submit a responsive collection of supporting documentation. In doing so it will be a good idea to make a concerted effort to follow the instructions in the paperwork you received from CIC.
 

paw339

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May 28, 2014
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whiz said:
Not really. It is just, and after seeing all the trouble, friends and family members went through with their applications, I thought it's a good idea to submit everything. CIC always assume that newcomers are liars (Btw, I'm sick of the excuce: It's because after the 2006 war in Lebanon bla bla bla. Few bad apples shouldn't have ruined it for everyone). So, I assume that CIC officers are not trustworthy, and they will find any excuse to delay my application. And you know what? I became more convinced this is true. The officer didn't even bother to open my application. How did I know that? The application started to be processed on February 10th, and the RQ request was sent at the very same day!! It's brutal how we, immigrants, can't do anything about it.
Whiz CIC have a duty to try and catch as best they can all fraudulent and ineligible applications. If you have any risk factors that historically indicate a higher than average chance of a fraudulent or ineligible application then the reviewing CIC officer would be negligent in not ensuring you are definitely eligible to be granted citizenship by issuing an RQ. Perhaps all your friends and family have the same risk factor? Accusing CIC officers of not being trustworthy just because they are doing their duty is not a reasonable attitude.
 

blueshirt

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Apr 28, 2014
387
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once an RQ is evaluated and file is moved forward what they do with the tons of confidential and sensitive information they hold in loose papers. do they have enough place to store so much of documentation. what happens to the documentation of closed files. do they return back to the sender.

coming back to Whiz question why he got RQ despite of sending all the documentation is that there is a firm approval and screening process one cannot jump. Usually the basic application is only looked into and from there they flag the application based on certain criteria. Its like everyone getting ready for a race and one contestant just runs before the whistle. That's not fair for other contestants. We have to follow the rules and instruction.
 

informatics

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Aug 3, 2009
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whiz said:
It was sent by the local office, does this make a difference?
Thanks for your reply . I am just trying to interpret whether your file has been transferred to your local office or still at Sydney as shown by your ecas. However , as the RQ has been send by local office so it looks like that it has been transferred .
 

arambi

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Aug 16, 2014
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I have to disagree with you Blueshirt,
Whiz did nothing wrong… sending extra documents DOES NOT violate any rule, especially not when CIC is working under the paranoia of the so called “FRAUDULENT” applications with hallucinations of fraud being everywhere. Citizenship Officers should indeed reward diligent applicants like Whiz who go the extra mile to provide them with the extra info they might need to make timely and accurate decision.
Issuing an RQ when you have in front of you the required RQ documents is simply senseless, baseless and mean… and is not helping CIC at all. Note that not all CIC Officers are engaging in this absurd approach as we have a lot of testimonies on this forum where applicants where indeed congratulated by CIC Officer for sending in extra documents in a well-organized file; Kudos to those CIC officers who took into account the addt’l but not required information.

My only advise to Whiz and others (this is just me…) is to send in KEY extra documents only, not the full RQ documents (this might be too much at the initial application state). Key extra docs may include NOA, T4, Letter of Employment, Home ownership or lease documents, Volunteer Certificate)… that seems reasonable. You can keep the full RQ documents for the stage of Test/Interview with Citizenship Officer.

So to Whiz, don’t feel bad at all, you gave it try, unfortunately your file did not go to one of those CIC officer who values extra documents and the precious info it contains. Just re-submit what is being requested in the RQ document.

Good luck
 

arambi

Hero Member
Aug 16, 2014
332
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I have to disagree with you Blueshirt,
Whiz did nothing wrong… sending extra documents DOES NOT violate any rule, especially not when CIC is working under the paranoia of the so called “FRAUDULENT” applications with hallucinations of fraud being everywhere. Citizenship Officers should indeed reward diligent applicants like Whiz who go the extra mile to provide them with the extra info they might need to make timely and accurate decision.
Issuing an RQ when you have in front of you the required RQ documents is simply senseless, baseless and mean… and is not helping CIC at all. Note that not all CIC Officers are engaging in this absurd approach as we have a lot of testimonies on this forum where applicants where indeed congratulated by CIC Officer for sending in extra documents in a well-organized file; Kudos to those CIC officers who took into account the addt’l but not required information.

My only advise to Whiz and others (this is just me…) is to send in KEY extra documents only, not the full RQ documents (this might be too much at the initial application state). Key extra docs may include NOA, T4, Letter of Employment, Home ownership or lease documents, Volunteer Certificate)… that seems reasonable. You can keep the full RQ documents for the stage of Test/Interview with Citizenship Officer.

So to Whiz, don’t feel bad at all, you gave it try, unfortunately your file did not go to one of those CIC officer who values extra documents and the precious info it contains. Just re-submit what is being requested in the RQ document.

Good luck



blueshirt said:
once an RQ is evaluated and file is moved forward what they do with the tons of confidential and sensitive information they hold in loose papers. do they have enough place to store so much of documentation. what happens to the documentation of closed files. do they return back to the sender.

coming back to Whiz question why he got RQ despite of sending all the documentation is that there is a firm approval and screening process one cannot jump. Usually the basic application is only looked into and from there they flag the application based on certain criteria. Its like everyone getting ready for a race and one contestant just runs before the whistle. That's not fair for other contestants. We have to follow the rules and instruction.
 

CanV

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Do you have a valid or expired US visa in your passport?
 

eileenf

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A couple notes:
When one looks through ATIP notes, one can see that a lot of different officers log into the file at various points. We shouldn't assume that there's one CIC officer who makes every decision and has every responsibility, expertise and authority.

Pre-test RQs are issued by Sydney, though the applicant sends the response to the local office. The officer in Sydney isn't being "mean" by not reviewing 400+ extra documents sent along with the application, they're just doing their job (check that all required docs are there, open the file, get various security checks started, check for RQ triggers, issue RQ if triggers are met). You can't expect officers to freelance and do someone else's job that they lack the authority and training and time for. My RQ was issued approximately 45 seconds after my file was opened. It doesn't take them long to check for a trigger. What takes long is assessing documents (30 minutes? 1-2 hours?) It's not their job. And it's not like they don't have a stack of hundreds of other files on their desks waiting to be put in process as well.

Many people say that they avoided the pre-test RQ by sending some document or another, but as evidence they cite "I didn't get an RQ" without any evidence that they were destined for an RQ or that the extra documents addressed any relevant concerns.

-Many people say that they sent "all the RQ docs" with the initial application, but given the incredible # of documents that the RQ requires, few actually do send "everything". So the advice is to send what you left out the first time (4 years of Credit card and banking records? Complete rent receipts? Records of Movement? Medical records? etc). Also, remember to create an index to the docs, label things, put them in context and explain (succinctly) why they're important.

-It's possible that additional documents sent with the initial application or given during the test/interview might help the applicant avoid a "Request for Documentary Evidence" or perhaps even a post-test RQ. But I've never seen any convincing reports regarding pre-test RQs avoided.

Good luck.
 

SenoritaBella

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What's the date on the RQ letter?

I don't believe they necessarily sent the RQ request on Feb 10th, eventhough your ecas says so. That might be some internal process they have. My ecas also said same date for processing and AOR sent but AOR arrived 1 month later, yet I am in the same province. I even got the test notice from local office before AOR arrived. So it's more likely that CPC-Sydney sent my AOR much later than what was on ecas.

You have not given us a snapshot of your profile:
- do you have a valid US or middle east visa?
- frequent travel?
- were you unemployed or self-employed during the relevant period?
- do you have a child(children) born overseas during the relevant period?
- the extra docs you sent, did they help corroborate physical presence(e.g. tax docs, employment letter) or were they more passive indicators(i.e. bank statements, etc)?

Sending what's not asked for on it's own may or may not be a trigger, no one knows for sure. But only two things are certain - your profile either met some of the RQ triage criteria or you were randomly selected for quality assurance (QA) purposes. QA is CIC's way of ensuring program integrity (i.e. that the program is working as intended).

I sent extra documents, but did not go overboard. Only sent T4 slips, employment letter, job duties, boarding passes. I have read stories on this forum where people took a suitcase of documents on test day and the officer just issued an RQ instead.

In anycase, just follow the instructions this time to a T, and submit them by the deadline. Cheer up, it shall be OK and it's the last stretch before you are done with all things immigration.

whiz said:
Not really. It is just, and after seeing all the trouble, friends and family members went through with their applications, I thought it's a good idea to submit everything. CIC always assume that newcomers are liars (Btw, I'm sick of the excuce: It's because after the 2006 war in Lebanon bla bla bla. Few bad apples shouldn't have ruined it for everyone). So, I assume that CIC officers are not trustworthy, and they will find any excuse to delay my application. And you know what? I became more convinced this is true. The officer didn't even bother to open my application. How did I know that? The application started to be processed on February 10th, and the RQ request was sent at the very same day!! It's brutal how we, immigrants, can't do anything about it.
 

jhjeppe

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Jun 29, 2011
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You're surprised that you got an RQ? i would be more surprised if you didn't get one...

If you can't even follow a simple instruction (it clearly states in the application guide to NOT send any information that is not requested), how can they expect you to be a responsible citizen?

It's because of errors like these that they have to implement crazy procedures like RQ's.

You won't find any sympathy from me here...

On a separate note... Your friends are lying... or the lawyer is cashing in here (assuming they do not charge a flat rate for the Cit application)
Why would a lawyer that charges a flat rate make more work for themselves? If they charge by the task, then they are swindling you (or your friends), there is absolutely no benefit in submitting anything other than what they ask for... If they need those documents, they will request it... it is really that simple...
 

eileenf

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jhjeppe said:
You're surprised that you got an RQ? i would be more surprised if you didn't get one...
There is zero evidence that sending extra documents triggers RQ. That said, there is no evidence that it helps either.