Unreasonable citizenship application delays for June 2019 applicant - Mandamus

[rousseau]

Hi All,

I want to share my story about citizenship application delays, to get advice and to help another applicant. I applied in June 2019 from Montreal and I've not been invited for a citizenship test as of August 12, 2021. I contacted IRCC several times through the web form, and order numerous GCMS notes.

I obtained my PR status through the Protected Person Program.
I never travelled outside Canada. I never renew my expired passport. I never did anything that could have been perceived as REVAILMENT.
The last time I visited my home country was 3 years before I came to Canada. I've been in Canada since 2014. I'm married to a Canadian citizen and have 2 kids who are Canadian citizens.

Ultimately I contacted my MP and here is the response she got from IRCC :

• The application (XXXX) was received at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S), Nova Scotia, on July X, 2019.
• The application was considered complete and an acknowledgement letter was sent to the applicant on September 6, 2019.
  • If he has not received this letter and is between the ages of 18 to 54, he can find the guide here.
• The application is considered non-routine due to the following reason:
  • The file is under review because it requires further verifications; rest assured that the responsible office will inform the applicant if he has to provide further details.
• We recommend that the applicant verifies the e-Client Application Status (e-CAS) online tool regularly to check the status of his application.
• The criminality verifications are currently valid.
• The security verifications are currently valid.
• The immigration verifications have not been initiated.
• Due to COVID-19, IRCC is experiencing processing delays and we can’t provide you with accurate processing times for this application. Rest assured that we understand how important this process is for the applicant and are making all the necessary efforts to finalize the application as soon as possible.
  • Should the applicant need to travel using a commercial carrier during this time, he should ensure he holds a valid permanent resident card

I was fed up due to the exaggerated processing time so I lawyer it up. My lawyer is now seeking an order of mandamus to compel the lazy minister to process my application.

Can anybody help me understand why IRCC is not initiating immigration verification for more than 25 months of processing?

 

[mbaleine]

Can't shed light but coincidentally I came across a news article today reporting that a federal court ruled in favor of a family who has been waiting for their PR application for 5 years: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/08/12/this-familys-immigration-application-was-in-process-for-57-months-now-a-judge-has-given-ottawa-30-days-to-make-a-decision.html That aside, I've seen comments on this forum that are of the opinion that the bar for mandamus tends to be exceptionally high..

 

[rousseau]

My question is more about what could've caused IRCC to not initiate immigration verification?

Section 11 of the Regulations provides that when a citizenship application is filed the Registrar is responsible for causing the inquiries necessary for the application of the Act to be commenced. Section 11 of the Regulations provides:

On receipt of an application made in accordance with subsection 3(1), 6(1), 7(1) or 8(1), the Registrar shall cause to be commenced the inquiries necessary to determine whether the person in respect of whom the application is made meets the requirements of the Act and these Regulations with respect to the application.

 

[Das67]

Hi All,

I want to share my story about citizenship application delays, to get advice and to help another applicant. I applied in June 2019 from Montreal and I've not been invited for a citizenship test as of August 12, 2021. I contacted IRCC several times through the web form, and order numerous GCMS notes.

Utimately I contacted my MP and here is the response she got from IRCC :

• The application (XXXX) was received at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S), Nova Scotia, on July X, 2019.
• The application was considered complete and an acknowledgement letter was sent to the applicant on September 6, 2019.
  • If he has not received this letter and is between the ages of 18 to 54, he can find the guide here.
• The application is considered non-routine due to the following reason:
  • The file is under review because it requires further verifications; rest assured that the responsible office will inform the applicant if he has to provide further details.
• We recommend that the applicant verifies the e-Client Application Status (e-CAS) online tool regularly to check the status of his application.
• The criminality verifications are currently valid.
• The security verifications are currently valid.
• The immigration verifications have not been initiated.
• Due to COVID-19, IRCC is experiencing processing delays and we can’t provide you with accurate processing times for this application. Rest assured that we understand how important this process is for the applicant and are making all the necessary efforts to finalize the application as soon as possible.
  • Should the applicant need to travel using a commercial carrier during this time, he should ensure he holds a valid permanent resident card

I was fed up due to the exaggerated processing time so I lawyer it up. My lawyer is now seeking an order of mandamus to compel the lazy minister to process my application.

Can anybody help me understand why IRCC is not initiating immigration verification for more than 25 months of processing?

Go ahead with your mandamus, looks like immigration verification is done after the citizenship test ( most of people reports this) in your case you didn't even do the test yet. Keep us informed how your mandamus will go, you will certainly find out more.

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi All,

I want to share my story about citizenship application delays, to get advice and to help another applicant. I applied in June 2019 from Montreal and I've not been invited for a citizenship test as of August 12, 2021. I contacted IRCC several times through the web form, and order numerous GCMS notes.

Utimately I contacted my MP and here is the response she got from IRCC :

• The application (XXXX) was received at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S), Nova Scotia, on July X, 2019.
• The application was considered complete and an acknowledgement letter was sent to the applicant on September 6, 2019.
  • If he has not received this letter and is between the ages of 18 to 54, he can find the guide here.
• The application is considered non-routine due to the following reason:
  • The file is under review because it requires further verifications; rest assured that the responsible office will inform the applicant if he has to provide further details.
• We recommend that the applicant verifies the e-Client Application Status (e-CAS) online tool regularly to check the status of his application.
• The criminality verifications are currently valid.
• The security verifications are currently valid.
• The immigration verifications have not been initiated.
• Due to COVID-19, IRCC is experiencing processing delays and we can’t provide you with accurate processing times for this application. Rest assured that we understand how important this process is for the applicant and are making all the necessary efforts to finalize the application as soon as possible.
  • Should the applicant need to travel using a commercial carrier during this time, he should ensure he holds a valid permanent resident card

I was fed up due to the exaggerated processing time so I lawyer it up. My lawyer is now seeking an order of mandamus to compel the lazy minister to process my application.

Can anybody help me understand why IRCC is not initiating immigration verification for more than 25 months of processing?

Is your based on refugee status? Some cases are delayed by cic which we have seen in forum , not sure reasons.

Have seen posts suggesting on 3 years wait time before proceeding to mandamus for sure shot victory(that too this wasbefore pandemic when processing timeline was 1 year). Even the official cic timeline is June 1 2019 hence not sure why your lawyer is in hurry.

How much is the fee and who is the lawyer- this is for our information just in case we need.

 

[Das67]

Is your based on refugee status? Some cases are delayed by cic.

Have seen posts on 3 years wait suggestion before proceeding to mandamus for sure shot victory(that too this wasbefore pandemic when processing timeline was 1 year). Even the official cic timeline is June 1 2019 hence not sure why your lawyer is in hurry.

How much is the fee and who is the lawyer- this is for our information just in case we need.

That post is about pr family application not citizenship thought. Which is 21 months for protected person.

 

[novascotia27]

What exactly is an immigration verification? I was gonna ask as well if you obtained PR through refugee status

 

[harirajmohan]

That post is about pr family application not citizenship thought. Which is 21 months for protected person.

No, the citizenship delays for candidates who are PR(with prior refugee status)

 

[Das67]

What exactly is an immigration verification? I was gonna ask as well if you obtained PR through refugee status

I believe is residency verification,

No, the citizenship delays for candidates who are PR(with prior refugee status)

Are you talking about this ? This is about pr process of refugee family. If not I would like to know more about the story
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/08/12/this-familys-immigration-application-was-in-process-for-57-months-now-a-judge-has-given-ottawa-30-days-to-make-a-decision.html

 

[canuck78]

Hi All,

I want to share my story about citizenship application delays, to get advice and to help another applicant. I applied in June 2019 from Montreal and I've not been invited for a citizenship test as of August 12, 2021. I contacted IRCC several times through the web form, and order numerous GCMS notes.

Utimately I contacted my MP and here is the response she got from IRCC :

• The application (XXXX) was received at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S), Nova Scotia, on July X, 2019.
• The application was considered complete and an acknowledgement letter was sent to the applicant on September 6, 2019.
  • If he has not received this letter and is between the ages of 18 to 54, he can find the guide here.
• The application is considered non-routine due to the following reason:
  • The file is under review because it requires further verifications; rest assured that the responsible office will inform the applicant if he has to provide further details.
• We recommend that the applicant verifies the e-Client Application Status (e-CAS) online tool regularly to check the status of his application.
• The criminality verifications are currently valid.
• The security verifications are currently valid.
• The immigration verifications have not been initiated.
• Due to COVID-19, IRCC is experiencing processing delays and we can’t provide you with accurate processing times for this application. Rest assured that we understand how important this process is for the applicant and are making all the necessary efforts to finalize the application as soon as possible.
  • Should the applicant need to travel using a commercial carrier during this time, he should ensure he holds a valid permanent resident card

I was fed up due to the exaggerated processing time so I lawyer it up. My lawyer is now seeking an order of mandamus to compel the lazy minister to process my application.

Can anybody help me understand why IRCC is not initiating immigration verification for more than 25 months of processing?

The fact that you only have 1096 days out of 5 years in Canada when you applied may also have slowed down your application. Did you remain in Canada for 1096 days straight or did you do a lot of travelling? How did you get PR? Have you remained in Canada since filing your application? Seems pretty early for mandamus but it’s your choice.

 

[rousseau]

The fact that you only have 1096 days out of 5 years in Canada when you applied may also have slowed down your application. Did you remain in Canada for 1096 days straight or did you do a lot of travelling? How did you get PR? Have you remained in Canada since filing your application? Seems pretty early for mandamus but it’s your choice.

Thanks for your reply.

I obtained my PR status through the Protected Person Program.
I never travelled outside Canada. I never renew my expired passport. I never did anything that could have been perceived as REVAILMENT.
The last time I visited my home country was 3 years before I came to Canada. I've been in Canada since 2014. I'm married to a Canadian citizen and have 2 kids who are Canadian citizens.


I applied for leave and judicial review because :

a) In a recent case, the federal court rejected the COVID argument. See, Almuhtadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

b) the delay in question has been longer than the nature of the process required, prima facie ( the IRCC mentioning 12 months processing time before COVID ), it has been 26 months if the registrar follows the regulation, I would've been a citizen by now. And once again COVID is no longer an excuse.

c ) I am not responsible for the delay.

d) IRCC did not provide any satisfactory justification.

 

[queenrania]

Any update on your application?

 

[armoured]

Any update on your application?

You can click on the poster's name and find previous postings. Obvious that the poster is now a citizen.