Timeline/steps for OWP

[elallen]

Hi there - I'm trying to figure out what steps of the PR process are required for the spousal OWP and also if there is any way beyond submitting an IRCC form to request information on status. Here is my timeline:

• February 29th - applied for PR under Family Sponsorship class
• March 19th - received AOR
• March 21st - applied for OWP using AOR
• March 26th - submitted undertaking application at the Province of Quebec level
• End of April - Undertaking application was mailed back as a document was incorrect. Re-mailed this with a new credit card form.
• May 24th - received the Accuse de Reception from the Province of Quebec and card was charged - uploaded this to IRCC.
• June 4th - Medical request for PR application
• June 18th - Medical appointment for PR application - submitted the form to IRCC

On the online tracker, it says my biometrics are "in progress" but I never received a BIL for either my PR or OWP. Are biometrics required for American principle applicants? I submitted a form online to ask whether the biometrics were required for my OWP as I have not received a request and I got a response back saying my application is in progress and not action needed from my end and that they haven't sent a biometrics request.

I was at the border two weeks ago and asked a border agent if they could look up my application, and they said my OWP hasn't started progressing yet. They couldn't do anything from there though beyond look up the status.

I know the PR application is going to take forever as I'm applying in land from Quebec, but 3 months seems like a long time with no update on the OWP (I'm seeing people getting OWP in a month or so). My US based job will let me work from Canada but wants to localize me to their Canadian registration as soon as I get the OWP so I'm feeling that pressure. Maybe the medical results will push something along? I uploaded the case file they sent me to the IRCC website, but the official results won't be sent to IRCC for another 10 days or so.

Does anyone have any advice or insights? I've seen people talk about calling IRCC but when I do this I can't get beyond the automated messaging system. Thank you!

 

[Edmegbc]

There is no consistency. Ive seen some in FB groups that got it in months and others that heard nothing for 6 months.
We applied end of April. Not a peep on ours.

 

[Joey-Jo]

Re the biometrics request, that usually comes after Sponsor approval (not just the AOR) which is possibly why you haven't received an instruction to get biometrics done. Also I'm curious why you applied to Quebec for that part of the spouse visa application before you received sponsorship approval.

Or have you received sponsorship approval but didn't mention it in your comment? Sorry I'm a bit confused.

 

[elallen]

Re the biometrics request, that usually comes after Sponsor approval (not just the AOR) which is possibly why you haven't received an instruction to get biometrics done. Also I'm curious why you applied to Quebec for that part of the spouse visa application before you received sponsorship approval.

Or have you received sponsorship approval but didn't mention it in your comment? Sorry I'm a bit confused.

On March 25th my husband (my sponsor) received a letter from IRCC stating:
"This confirms that your Application to Sponsor a Member of the Spouse or Common-Law Partner In
Canada Class was received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on 2024-02-29
on behalf of the following family member(s):
PRINCIPAL APPLICANT: Emily Louise Allen
Provincial Requirements for Residents of Québec
As a resident of the province of Québec, you must submit an undertaking application to the Provincial
Government. To download the required forms, please consult the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la
Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) website at :

https://www.quebec.ca/en/immigration/sponsor-family-member/sponsoring-spouse-conjugal-
partner/submitting-undertaking-application

Complete the required forms and promptly submit them to the MIFI at the address provided in the
provincial guide within 30 days from the date of this letter. Do not submit any of the MIFI forms to this
office as they will only be returned to you."

We sent the application to MIFI along with all of the required documents on March 26th but one of the documents was incorrect so they mailed it back to us. At the end of May we then finally received confirmation from the Province of Quebec (a letter stating "accuse de reception) and they charged us the fee at the province level. That was about a month ago now but still waiting to receive the CSQ in the mail.

I haven't seen any paperwork that references sponsor approval....

 

[Joey-Jo]

We sent the application to MIFI along with all of the required documents on March 26th but one of the documents was incorrect so they mailed it back to us. At the end of May we then finally received confirmation from the Province of Quebec (a letter stating "accuse de reception) and they charged us the fee at the province level. That was about a month ago now but still waiting to receive the CSQ in the mail.

I haven't seen any paperwork that references sponsor approval....

OK, I get it now. In my case I waited for sponsor approval from IRCC before doing the Quebec part of the application, just to be on the safe side in case it wasn't approved at Federal government level and I may have wasted my money doing the Quebec application.

 

[elallen]

OK, I get it now. In my case I waited for sponsor approval from IRCC before doing the Quebec part of the application, just to be on the safe side in case it wasn't approved at Federal government level and I may have wasted my money doing the Quebec application.

How long did it take you to get sponsorship approval?

 

[Joey-Jo]

How long did it take you to get sponsorship approval?

Just over 4 weeks after AOR (in my signature timeline).