I have 3 primary complaints launched through, and supported by, my Member of Parliament to the Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney.
I am in the process of drafting a letter for media publication that outlines and exposes these inefficiencies that affect our lives so deeply and negatively. I am certain that one man cannot have much impact on this issue but I am also certain of something else: if no one talks, nothing happens.
In many cases, we are waiting far longer than we should and the average processing time of 6 months is unreasonable in my view. New Delhi processes applications twice as fast with a much higher volume of applications. A high volume of cases is no excuse for such unnecessary delays and files being left in “queue” for months and months is not acceptable and it’s inconsistent with the goal of re-uniting families in a timely and compassionate fashion.
If you agree the complaints below are legitimate and reasonable to expect of the embassy in Manila, please forward this information to your Member of Parliament and ask that they be forwarded to Minister Kenney. Nothing changes until Canadians speak up. We have every right to complain (and so we should) if we believe the process is flawed in a way that negatively impacts honest, hardworking and tax-paying Canadians simply because they married abroad. If the following changes are made to the process, the average wait time could decrease by as much as a month or even more:
1) Requests for additional documents should be sent by post AND electronically by email to avoid delays of up to a month or more for applicants receiving letters by post. This is a completely unnecessary delay and runs contrary to the stated objectives of these offices.
2) Requests for additional documents should be consolidated into one request, whenever that is reasonable to expect, instead of sending requests that are followed by further requests shortly (a week in some cases) thereafter. An officer reviewing a file should be able to determine most, if not all, additional documents required and should request them of the applicant(s) all at once by post letter AND electronically by email.
3) If updates were added to e-CAS indicating the current status of the file, there would be less Case Specific Enquiries generated and fewer applicants would contact their Member of Parliament to initiate enquiries. Brief updates could be added to e-CAS by the officer reviewing the file that indicate what is currently taking place on the file, i.e., document verifications, background checks, etc.
All Canadians impacted by these inefficiencies should speak up by forwarding this to your MP and asking that it be forward to Minister Kenney. Philippinos make up some of the most family-oriented, peaceful and loving immigrants we have in Canada. There is no reason for these delays and inefficiencies. Please join me in speaking up and generating awareness in order to improve the process for those who come after us.
God Bless Canada and the very best to those of us affected so harshly by this unnecessarily slow process.