Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[gypsy494]

Just got back from the post office where I mailed my passport to Fort Erie. Yes, the PPR email came earlier today. Finally, finally, finally I am out of this immigration hell. Needless to say, my best wishes go out to everyone still waiting but especially those that have been waiting the longest. After all, sometimes this process gets a little redic - so much so that they should maybe have an SNL skit about how long people wait for - like show someone dropping off their application as a young person and then while laying on their death bed, lo and behold, they get an email from Buffalo requesting their passport......and they die happy. Okay, that was a gross exaggeration

Another one bites the dust!

OMGOODNESS i AM OVER THE MOON HAPPY FOR YOU...
And your skit is wayyy funny and saddly TRUE
Sending a HUGE HUG.....

 

[cantor2537]

Yeah, I remember the movie called "Beautiful Mind" where the schizophrenic Harvard professor was having hallucinations, as if some government agency was after him. Then at the end it turns out he was having symptoms of schizophrenia. Does it run in genes? What are the risk factors to get such mental disease?

Probably a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you have one parent who is schizophrenic, there is something like a 12% chance that you will be schizophrenic. If both of your parents are schizophrenic there is a 40+% chance that you will be schizophrenic. The background rate of schizophrenia in the general population is about 1%, for comparison.

 

[Mel_R]

Dunno if it's worth posting but ecas now says my wife's app is "In process" and medical results have been received

Our Ecas file says "in Process" but nothing about medical result received. Is that weird? or Just depends on the person updating your ecas?

 

[cantor2537]

Our Ecas file says "in Process" but nothing about medical result received. Is that weird? or Just depends on the person updating your ecas?

I wouldn't worry. Ecas is notoriously known for not being up to date. Best to order GCMS notes if you're worried.

We're on the same timeline, both transferred to LA. We should both be approved within a few months (crossing fingers).

 

[ddobro2]

Oh lord, to call the stuff this lady had to go through just to be able to move from the U.S. to Canada legally "ridiculous" would be an understatement of extreme proportions. If there were an Olympics of government ineptitude and incompetency, I think this story illustrates that the immigration division of the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo would be prepared to take the gold. And I guess this is not even the story of the woman who was told she had TB when she didn't and asked to redo her medicals. Sigh. I think we're all conflicted when we read something like that: we feel really bad for the uphill battle this person has to go through on the one hand, on the other we thank God that our own dealings with CIC were/are not that bad.

People have said it before, and I'll repeat if for them: someone needs to hold Buffalo's butt to the fire, not concerning individual cases, but how it works as a whole. I realize that Buffalo has the largest workload by far of all the foreign visa offices, but treating people like this is just not acceptable.

What's worse is the fact that, from the impression that I get from your post, your friend is seemingly very responsible about her obligations as an applicant and very consciencious of what she needs to do to cover her butt, in terms of convincing those various power figures to help her. Thus, if someone who is diligent about preparing an application according to the guidelines and who makes sure that that preparation is well-documented (making copies of the documents that were originally submitted, saving the postal receipt showing when the original police clearance was sent) can have this struggle of an experience with CIC, then what's going to happen to someone who is less diligent?

I'm also not sure of where your friend got the "19 months" from but it's possible whoever told her Buffalo is "now taking" 19 months was quoting statistics based on both family class and skilled worker applications, which are the two major streams (applications filed since late 2008 in the FSW stream have been taking about 23 months to process for 80% of cases, which is actually a huge drop from how long it took before 2008, so perhaps that 19 months represents the combination of the family applicants, at 11 months for 80%, and the FSWs). If this is indeed true for FC files, and we're looking at a jump from 11 months for 80% to 19 months for 80% (not to mention dealing with the same ol' FUBAR Buffalo), let's just say the folks in this thread will NOT be happy campers.

Thanks for posting, Allison. I totally think that your friend is helping others by sharing her experiences here. For one, most people do not know about this "secured message system" for uploading documents. Why she had to submit her resume and financial information, I don't understand, though.

Somebody must have kicked Buffalo in the butt this week because one of my non-forum friends finally got her PPR too. She was in process for 12 months and has given me permission to post some of what she went through here. So some snippets from her story follow..

Mid Dec 2011
Hi. It's time for me to lawyer up because Buffalo has misplaced my Police Clearance and won't update my address to tell me this months ago and I'm running out of time. I'm going to use this law firm to help me because I'm sick of communicating to a black hole.

I and another friend encouraged her to go the MP route first...

Thanks ladies for your stories and concerns. By running out of time I mean I was given a specific impossible deadline to get a new original Police Clearance to Buffalo or they will return my application and make me wait another 11 months. In the meantime my temporary OHIP will expire, I could be hassled at the border if I leave Canada, I can't work here if I wanted to, or go to school here if I wanted to. I have all my documentation in order showing I sent the original police clearance to the proper place and also repeatedly tried to update my address/phone with Buffalo. Tomorrow my husband and I are camping out at our MP's office to get an audience with one of the staff members in hopes that may help. I am going to hire the attorney as I need an expert professional to form a relationship with the Immigration Officer at this point. I do not want to go it alone again if I have to redo my application with a new medical exam or even getting a new original police clearance...once in a lifetime for that exercise was enough.

End Dec
Since I posted last, my husband and I went to our MP's office on Monday, Dec. 19 and the representative there was very helpful. The next morning her and I received separate emails from Buffalo saying my the scanned pdf copy they we sent them the day before was being reviewed and placed with my application. The hope is this review will eliminate the need for me to get a new original as their answer stated I do not need to submit anything else at this time. Also, Buffalo confirmed they finally updated my address and phone number. So we have made some progress.

The MP's office told me to contact them again around January 12 if I have not received my PR approval yet and they will further pursue the matter with me. Because I had my postal receipt showing proof I mailed the original police clearance to Mississauga in February they will help me pursue the copy should be used and my application not rejected. They will also help me negotiate a date extension for my OHIP if that becomes necessary. As per your advice, I will make sure to be in the office when they negotiate with Buffalo and ask them to contact the Supervisor of Records as well as use the term, "no wish to abandon the application".

Mid Jan 2012
Friday the 13th turned out to be my lucky day! After working with my MP' office (Bob Rae's Assistant) and MPP's office (Glen Murray's Assistant) by phone, online, and in person this week, they hooked me up with the Ontario Ministry of Health. Although never requested in any instructions, I must say showing them an updated resume and a good letter of recommendation from my volunteer position here in Toronto seemed to help the situation the way a greased palm does with a maitre d'. In the span of about 4 hours yesterday by phone and email, a analyst from the Ministry resolved all my problems. I gave her my documentation regarding my PR application and I signed a release for her by scanning and emailing back and forth. She was then able to plead my case to a representative at the Federal level in Immigration so that she could have access to my file and see I have done everything right for them to process my PR application. She then decided to extend my OHIP through mid-Sept. of 2012 and with a letter I will receive next week in the mail I will be able to extend it past that date if my PR application is still not approved.

I was also given instructions of how to leave and return to Canada without a hassle at the border if I still don't have my PR card...just bring with me my proof of address, health card, and any letters from OHIP and Canadian Immigration with my passport.

Also, it looks like Immigration is so backed up in Buffalo that the processing of apps which was taking 11 months, is now taking 19 months! [She says it's posted on cic, but I checked and it still says 11 months] So instead of getting my approval in the Dec.-Jan. time, it looks like I should get it now in the July-August time. Because everyone who applied is having this problem there is a very high likelihood they are going to extend the medical exam expiration date from 1 year to whenever the app is approved.

I am a very happy how all this turned out and the money I saved so much money by not having to hire an attorney, purchase emergency private health insurance, fees for walk-in clinics if needed, and additional fees for any new documents I feel like I have won the lottery!! I hope my story helps some others trying to figure out the maze of websites, classified info traps, and secret handshakes!

Jan 17
I received an email from Buffalo saying I was in the final stages of PR approval with instructions to send them a copy of my passport and 2 PR photos. So, I think all my work last week really helped to get my application done by convincing them on several fronts to accept my pdf copy of the police clearance or prompted them to find the original one I sent to them in February. Last Friday on a whim I decided to go to the secured Buffalo webpage where you can attach documents with a note to communicate with Buffalo. There I created a short message and attached pdf copies of my resume, letter of recommendation, and a current financial asset sheet. On Monday within minutes of getting the other email mentioned above, I also received a reply thanking me for sending them the updated documents. Although these documents were never requested I am sure they helped with getting my application in it's final review stage assigned to an Immigration Officer. I carefully followed the detailed mailing directions yesterday and now the requested items have been delivered to the Fort Erie address. I am suppose to receive my final PR documents by February 1.

So by communicating with my MP's office, my MPP's office, and using the Buffalo secured message system to send updated asset information (they consider your skills on your resume assets, not just financial info) [ I've never heard of this!] I was able to get this process completed in 12 months. Perhaps if I had known to use the secured Buffalo message system back in May my address would have been updated sooner. Also, if I had known not to send in my police clearance separately or at least until I had a client number to match it with the rest of my application the approval process may have been completed much earlier. IMO, the processing times posted on the Canadian Immigration website for completing the application approval are all relative to how well you can decipher their instructions. I hope this info can help someone else navigate to a successful completion with less stress.


If any of you would like more information from my friend about her process, please PM me. I only occasionally pop in here and it is very hard to follow embedded threads of conversations as they now tend to extend over multiple pages.

Good luck all!
Allison

 

[ddobro2]

Thank you and a hug back!

OMGOODNESS i AM OVER THE MOON HAPPY FOR YOU...
And your skit is wayyy funny and saddly TRUE
Sending a HUGE HUG.....

 

[mjh49783aa]

Right, but unless I'm missing something, schizophrenia can be treated with the proper medication and dosage, so that these episodes don't happen. I also hear that side effects can be pretty wicked, though. Also, sometimes people that are prescribed these medicines will think that they're okay once the episodes stop, and so they stop taking the stuff, just to slip back down the abyss again.

That's kind of like me with my high blood pressure at first. I would think that I'm okay, and so I stop taking them. Then, when I take my blood pressure after a few days, my readings will be through the roof. The medicine will treat the condition, but it won't cure it. Meanwhile, if I were to have a stroke, or a heart attack, and I wasn't taking these pills, then it's no one's fault but my own. Know what I mean?

The thing is there is a broad spectrum of mental illness. If you're thinking of mental illness as depression, then no, most people wouldn't commit crimes. But mental illness also encompasses schizophrenics and these people hear voices, or see things that compel them to do things out of their control; in a sense they lose sense of reality. They have delusions (like this lady probably really does think CBSA drugged her, even though in all likelihood this never happened).

 

[mjh49783aa]

While luck could be a factor, I believe our thoroughness and completeness of the applications we send may play a major role as well. Plus, it's always good to be proactive, and not just send it and forget it.

This has probably been mentioned before, so ignore this as needed, but... The official average for outland Buffalo applicants is 11 months, but the average of people on this forum seems closer to 6-7. Are we all just the chosen ones or do they inflate the average for some reason?

 

[bubba]

I lumped myself with the "chosen" but seems like I'm on the long end of the spectrum, I think mine took at least ten months. I havent really been keeping track. In retrospect maybe some stuff would've sped it up, but my motivation for being employable was pretty low, guess I like video games too much.

On a more serious note, when I do get the COPR how much time do I have to use it? I'd like to plan a vacation before the deadline so a rough idea would be nice. Fingers crossed for a 30-day window...

 

[AllisonVSC]

Oh lord, to call the stuff this lady had to go through just to be able to move from the U.S. to Canada legally "ridiculous" would be an understatement of extreme proportions. If there were an Olympics of government ineptitude and incompetency, I think this story illustrates that the immigration division of the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo would be prepared to take the gold. And I guess this is not even the story of the woman who was told she had TB when she didn't and asked to redo her medicals. Sigh.

You are right ddobro. It was two other friends who had the missing x-ray/"magically got TB" experience. One is landed finally; the other is in month 19 with no end in sight yet. The one who is landed sent me long emails about the difficulties she had but I can only find part.

Much too much detail and frustration to tell. Although, I am landed.....the day of my Landing with the Consulate in Buffalo..... we were hung up there from 8:30 - till closing (4:30) because my file had been SPLIT and part of it was in Ottawa and the other in Virginia!? The issue was a Medical confusion.....and by the GRACE of the Supervisor in Buffalo (she wanted to go home and felt guilty)....I was granted my Landing Papers but, was entered into a Medical Survillance Public Health system that I was inapproiately categorized in. Even though I had hand written letter from the IMMIGRATION PHYSICIAN stating that my chest X-Ray was perfect! Since they could not verify it with a Doctor while I was presently there in the "hold up tank" and I did not want to forefit my application or delay it further .....I decided I would deal with the matter directly myself AFTER I got Landed.

Things have been pretty complicated for her trying to get out of the medical surveillance now that she's landed (they apparently didn't think it was important to keep her under surveillance while she was here for 2+ years waiting out the process!!!) and that is the email message I can't find. Needless to say, I think they are planning to file a complaint because she is stuck in bureaucracy hell and getting x-rays once a month for no good reason.

My "19 month friend" is pretty lackadaisical about the whole thing since she went to meet with her MP. I encouraged her back in November to get her notes and see what is really going on, but she hasn't done it. She did re-do her medical and submitted it and is hoping that it won't be lost AGAIN!

 

[Quince777]

Much too much detail and frustration to tell. Although, I am landed.....the day of my Landing with the Consulate in Buffalo..... we were hung up there from 8:30 - till closing (4:30) because my file had been SPLIT and part of it was in Ottawa and the other in Virginia!? The issue was a Medical confusion.....and by the GRACE of the Supervisor in Buffalo (she wanted to go home and felt guilty)....I was granted my Landing Papers but, was entered into a Medical Survillance Public Health system that I was inapproiately categorized in. Even though I had hand written letter from the IMMIGRATION PHYSICIAN stating that my chest X-Ray was perfect! Since they could not verify it with a Doctor while I was presently there in the "hold up tank" and I did not want to forefit my application or delay it further .....I decided I would deal with the matter directly myself AFTER I got Landed.

I didn't know Buffalo employs doctors too ;D who interpret medical results and disagree with DMPs. She has a good case to probably appeal the decision of "medical survillance" by talking to MP and maybe get legal help. Isn't it weird that even DMP's letter didn't persuade consulate?!

 

[AllisonVSC]

I didn't know Buffalo employs doctors too ;D who interpret medical results and disagree with DMPs. She has a good case to probably appeal the decision of "medical survillance" by talking to MP and maybe get legal help. Isn't it weird that even DMP's letter didn't persuade consulate?!

OR radiologists!! I both hear you and agree with you, but this is not the only person I know who has had a "clean" x ray from a DMP be diagnosed by B'lo as having TB. I thought the VO accepted the DMP report (I did not even know they got to see an x-rays), but who knows with this particular office. This might just be an attempt to CYA if you know what I mean...

 

[mjh49783aa]

If the Buffalo visa office has by far the largest workload of immigration files, then this issue literally just begs me to ask: Why are they not sending out more of their workload to the other satellite visa offices? I've heard people on here talk about a 3-4 week turnaround between sending in their passport, and receiving their COPR and passport back, but my turnaround was only five days because it went to Detroit?

What's wrong with this picture?

I realize that Buffalo has the largest workload by far of all the foreign visa offices, but treating people like this is just not acceptable.

 

[Quince777]

OR radiologists!! I both hear you and agree with you, but this is not the only person I know who has had a "clean" x ray from a DMP be diagnosed by B'lo as having TB. I thought the VO accepted the DMP report (I did not even know they got to see an x-rays), but who knows with this particular office. This might just be an attempt to CYA if you know what I mean...

Next time I have medical prob I should go to Buffalo and consult with them. Can't trust doctors anymore

 

[ddobro2]

Great question. It's hard to answer that when we can't even explain what makes one application versus another a candidate for transfer to a given satellite office. I think we have to keep in mind that the satellite offices are obviously a lot smaller than Buffalo, so there's going to be a limit as to how much they can take on (and unforch, we can only guess how much further there is to reaching that limit).

If the Buffalo visa office has by far the largest workload of immigration files, then this issue literally just begs me to ask: Why are they not sending out more of their workload to the other satellite visa offices? I've heard people on here talk about a 3-4 week turnaround between sending in their passport, and receiving their COPR and passport back, but my turnaround was only five days because it went to Detroit?

What's wrong with this picture?