Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[mrswolfe]

Buffalo is definitely busy processing!

I received an e-mail today with the initial assessment, saying they waived the interview and all that was missing was my payment for RPRF. I had actually recently paid this, so I was a bit concerned when they asked for this piece. I wrote them back with the specific details and they responded within a couple of hours.

Just FYI....They reported that when you pay on-line or send payment to Mississauga, it takes about 3-4 weeks to get into Buffalo`s system. Just something to keep in mind.

Hooray...I now have a real file number and everything! ;D


PS....e-cas still says ``application received``. So see...they are working behind the scenes, and we just don`t know all of what`s going on.

So exciting! My sponsorship was approved less than a week after yours, so hopefully we will have come progress soon too.

 

[mmshock]

Glad to see some movement!

Wish I had some - I have been trying to change my address by e-mailing Buffalo as I am going to be travelling for a bit starting in a few weeks. It's actually now getting dire.

I am the principal applicant, need to change mine and also my sponsor's address. All I have is a client ID, no file number as yet. What information do I need to include? Does my sponsor need to e-mail instead of me?

Ive e-mailed this address: buffalo-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca twice in the past three weeks and all I received was an auto reply. Can anyone please give me some pointers? If Buffalo tries to send me anything via mail anytime after next week I will never see it.....

 

[sparkle]

Buffalo is definitely busy processing!

I received an e-mail today with the initial assessment, saying they waived the interview and all that was missing was my payment for RPRF. I had actually recently paid this, so I was a bit concerned when they asked for this piece. I wrote them back with the specific details and they responded within a couple of hours.

Just FYI....They reported that when you pay on-line or send payment to Mississauga, it takes about 3-4 weeks to get into Buffalo`s system. Just something to keep in mind.

Hooray...I now have a real file number and everything! ;D


PS....e-cas still says ``application received``. So see...they are working behind the scenes, and we just don`t know all of what`s going on.

Woww !! That's great news ! I really wish Buffalo gives a look to all the files from Dec and Jan as well....

 

[boomerang11]

Sparkle,
I know they will soon! Perhaps those just got caught between the old and new system, but have faith.....they`re coming soon!

 

[buffalo-toronto]

the amount of inconsistency in cic's system is appalling. 1 day a person from Dec. gets his PPR, next day from Feb. and then from April. What kind of system or routine are they running around with? This is crazy

 

[sshelton]

the amount of inconsistency in cic's system is appalling. 1 day a person from Dec. gets his PPR, next day from Feb. and then from April. What kind of system or routine are they running around with? This is crazy

It's a good point. Does anyone have any knowledge of the CIC system and why there doesn't seem to be a pattern? Is this because of the new computer system?

 

[rjessome]

the amount of inconsistency in cic's system is appalling. 1 day a person from Dec. gets his PPR, next day from Feb. and then from April. What kind of system or routine are they running around with? This is crazy

I understand you are frustrated but applications like these are not "cookie cutter" and can't be processed like an assembly line. Each application must be assessed on its' individual merits. No two applications are alike because no two couples are the same. There is no way of knowing how well or how poorly an application is prepared, if there are documents missing, if there are issues unknown to the internet forum, etc. A more thorough, better prepared application is going to be processed faster because there is less work for the VO to do to be convinced that the relationship is genuine and meets all of the requirements of the Act and Regulations. Buffalo is one of the busiest, if not THE busiest, Canadian visa post in the world and there is definitely a workload factor present here as well but it is also one of the FASTEST processing offices for spousal sponsorship applications. Try to be as patient as you can without comparing yourself to others (I know that's hard) but you can definitely be grateful that you are not going through Hong Kong, Accra, Port-au-Prince or one of the MANY other slower visa posts. Although it might feel like it, a VO's job is not to make your life miserable. Their job is to make decisions on applications based on what is presented to them while applying the law to ensure the integrity of the immigration system. Are some VO's better at it than others? Probably. Are some faster and more experienced.? My educated guess would be yes, that this is true as well. That is present in every aspect of our lives. But the onus is on the applicant to prepare a solid and thorough applicatio to prove their case. So while some of the responsibility for slower processing does lie with the VO, the greater portion of it lies with the applicant.

 

[Love-Buf-Wings]

I agree with you. We got out PPR a week ago but our ecas still says "in process". They are working behind the scenes for sure. Hint: if your ecas says Medicals Received, you should hear about PPR soon. Ours showed Medicals Received same time as my husband got the PPR email.

 

[spiritrac]

Rjessome I cant agree with you more.

 

[scylla]

I agree with rjessome.

We are all individuals. For this reason our relationships are unique. And how we put together our applications is unique too (i.e. what we included as evidence, how much evidence, etc.). For these reasons the rate at which our applications are reviewed and processed naturally varies as well.

Computers/systems don't approve/deny sponsorship applictions. Instead, humans make these decisions after looking through the information provided in detail. And I, for one, would never want to leave a decision as important and life-changing as spousal sponsorship up to a computer program.

Don't put too much stock in the ecas updates. They aren't always updated. (My husband never had "medical received" and "a decision has been made" didn't appear until after he had actually received PPR AND landed.) And yes, it's frustrating not to have frequent updates in ecas (trust me, I've been there). But given the choice, I would rather have the VO focus on reviewing the file than take time away to update ecas.

 

[chinook65]

the amount of inconsistency in cic's system is appalling. 1 day a person from Dec. gets his PPR, next day from Feb. and then from April. What kind of system or routine are they running around with? This is crazy

My guess is this:

When packets are received in Mississauga, they probably do a primary sweep of the entire application and evaluate its completeness. If everything looks to be in order per the checklist and fees are prepaid, they might put it on a 'fast track' status because they are the easiest to get done and out of the way.

I would also speculate that they categorize packets based on missing documentation, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and other things.

Again, I have no knowledge of this process, but that would make the most sense to me. I had a job where I process lots of packets of information and this is how we did it.

Good Luck all!

 

[Calgary-Bound]

Buffalo replied to my email....they say they are creating files received by Feb. 14th as of now. Today is June 8th. I got a similar reply on April 1st when they were creating files recvd by Jan. 17th

in 2 months they have covered 1 months of files, my files was rcvd on March 10th so that means they will take 2 months to create my AOR again??? u gotta be kiddin me!!

Im new to this sight.A friend told me about it and theres alot of good info here.Thats awesome there on the 14th and mine was recieved the 24th of Feb.So I guess we all just keep waiting.

 

[Rinnerz]

While I agree with rjessome's post, the general feel/message seems to be that everything -- except for how long it takes them to evaluate the relationship and do the background checks, as those are independent variables -- is dependent on how complete a package is. How well the applicant has prepared it, etc.

I think what rots me about this is that even that is not enough to ensure a smooth processing. Many people look at the timelines and when they get through in 4-5 months, they say, "Oh, well we had a very complete package, that's why". We had everything together; we spent SEVERAL months just getting things together, and then a couple months just going over it again, doublechecking things with people, and having our consultant (who's great) go over all of it again before finally sending it. Everything was there. This is after (at the time) over 3 years of us TRYING to get to this point and not being able to, because of the thousands of dollars involved, my health problems, and string after frustrating string of bad luck and family emergencies.

And what happened? Incompetence. Buffalo somehow "misplaces" my police check -- something that took us hundreds of dollars (that we don't have now...) and nearly 3 months to get -- and we don't even get TOLD. Standard procedure is to wait for communication from Buffalo -- we got none. If not for CAIPS notes -- which we wouldn't have known about if not for these forums -- we'd STILL be in the dark to this day. Yes, things happen; they're only human. But they're humans being paid to do a job in which they have other humans' futures in their hands. It's just a slip of paper that was WITH everything else. And not only did it go missing, but they didn't even tell us. We don't even have official proof that an IA was even physically mailed out to us; all we have are the CAIPS notes.

What gets better is that we actually contacted them 3 times (twice by my consultant in December, once by ourselves in March), specifically SAYING we never got any correspondence and asking if anything was needed/missing, just in case (because I'm paranoid). We know they got it because they updated my notes with my email address -- before that, the only direct email address contact we gave them was our consultant's. But no reply? No "oh hey, you know what -- something IS missing from your file and holding things up". Nothing. This when they noted in my CAIPS notes back in December, just a day after sending my AOR, that they thought they didn't have that police check.

And as it stands now, while I often see Buffalo replying to others' enquiries and emails, my consultant has sent them several since April 28 -- even to their program manager directly -- and has yet to receive even one reply. I haven't received anything from then since the initial canned "You should have gotten an IA, and no we don't have records of your police check" response on April 28. Normally it'd be fine to just assume everything's normal if Buffalo's silent (they'll contact you if they need something, right? right?), but we did that once already and look where that got us.

... I'm sorry about this rant. I'm just tired of the BS and runarounds, and seeing everyone always say that if you put in your best effort with your application, all i's dotted and t's crossed, you'll be fine... is just too frustrating at this point. I guess my point is that while I agree with the general message of "Do your application the best you can", I don't agree that that's enough; you have to be damn lucky that whoever handles your file actually knows what they're doing, and that Buffalo actually gives a damn to tell you when something goes wrong. Oh, and that if something does go wrong that you need to fix on your end, that you aren't one of those who's stuck in a situation where they can't even financially afford to replace whatever-it-is ASAP. And I know I'm not the only one; I went into a cussing spree a few days ago when spiritrac posted that Buffalo said they didn't have his police clearance (even though it was sent with everything, again). And there have been many other similar cases on these boards alone, although they at least usually (eventually) got a reply from Buffalo saying they found the missing document. Just... wow.

Sidenote: How are they conveniently losing the one document that takes most people months to replace? If only it was just the copy of the applicant's birth certificate or something... And I wouldn't rely at all on eCAS or contacting Buffalo directly; if you want to know what's going on, order your CAIPS notes.

 

[rjessome]

Rinnerz, I have to say that you definitely got the crappy end of the stick on this. If it weren't for bad luck you'd have NO luck in that application. I've never heard of such a comedy of errors EVER before and there is nothing funny about it! Please know that I really do feel for you. You did everything right and still had nothing go your way. Very sorry and my comment doesn't apply to you. CIC processes approximately 60,000 spousal sponsorship application per year. I've been on this board for 4 years now and I've NEVER seen anything go quite so wrong before. There was one other time where some stuff went wonky in the same fashion as yours but you win, that's the worst story I've ever heard regarding how your file was treated.

Not to make you a statistic but 2 really bad stories like this in 4 years and thousands of people posting doesn't make this the norm. But they should bronze your PR card.

 

[pdb1]

What is CAIPS? Can you please explain? I feel for you, I can imagine how annoyed you must be....trying to get the FBI clearance took me nearly two months.