Victory!

[bambino]

You can see my timeline in my signature.

On April 20, I filed the Applicant's Record, the substantive part of my Federal Court application. Today, I was contacted by the lawyer at Justice Canada in charge of my file, who 1. sincerely apologized to me on behalf of the Govt. of Canada for the very long time it had taken for my file to be processed, and 2. that he can advise that my application has been approved. Now it's just a matter of my RCMP clearance coming back (renewal sent out April 2), and scheduling me for a ceremony.

We had a little chat, and it does appear that my actions caused a rather abrupt resolution with respect to my file, although it may well have ended up being processed within the 36 month average for non-routine applications.

There were some aspects of my court application, which is now moot, that I wish I could have litigated, but that would have to wait for another time.

 

[MUFC]

Wish you a happy end very soon

 

[BalajiR]

Congratulations.......

You can see my timeline in my signature.

On April 20, I filed the Applicant's Record, the substantive part of my Federal Court application. Today, I was contacted by the lawyer at Justice Canada in charge of my file, who 1. sincerely apologized to me on behalf of the Govt. of Canada for the very long time it had taken for my file to be processed, and 2. that he can advise that my application has been approved. Now it's just a matter of my RCMP clearance coming back (renewal sent out April 2), and scheduling me for a ceremony.

We had a little chat, and it does appear that my actions caused a rather abrupt resolution with respect to my file, although it may well have ended up being processed within the 36 month average for non-routine applications.

There were some aspects of my court application, which is now moot, that I wish I could have litigated, but that would have to wait for another time.

 

[ItkExpert]

Congrats !! I really think you deserve an apology for what you have been put through. The fact that you eventually did get approved proves that all the suffering they caused turned out to be unjustified.

How were you able to take your case to court since the 36 months timeframe for non routine applications has not yet elapsed in your case ?

 

[bambino]

Thank you, everyone.

I think the apology was, at least in part, a professional courtesy (I am also a lawyer), but it was welcome nevertheless. He, of all the people I have dealt with so far, was the least responsible for the delays, and I told him that I do appreciate his and everyone else's work. It's really certain people in Ottawa that are responsible for the mess that has caused the delays.

I was rather concerned myself that my Mandamus application was premature. I argued, rather forcibly, that the average processing times are utterly meaningless, except that they are indicative of the serious problems in the system. To that end I relied extensively on a number of ATIP requests, both past and present. Some you all have seen on eileenf's blog. I had obtained (and am still waiting for) other, newer ones, including documents relating to the processing time differences among local offices, as well as all the decisions of our local citizenshio judge. Spoiler alert: from August 1, 2014, when the new processing procedure was put in place, until the date of my ATIP request, she non-approved every single person who appeared before her, some of whom had self-reported more that 1,095 days (but not a whole lot more).

The court application was also meant to go beyond just my case, and sought an order of the Court interpreting the Citizenship Act so that every partial day in Canada be counted as a full day, and I also made an attempt to bring the Koo test back from the dead. I want to think the possibility of these additional issues coming before a FC judge caused some concern and led to the rather swift resolultion of my application for citizenship. Or it could be that my application was close to being approved anyway, and it was expedited as a matter of saving judicial (and Justice Canada) resources. I'll never really know.

I do know that I put my heart in soul in the written submission, and made decent arguments with respect to all issues. I am also a bit of an expert in statutory interpretation (my work in that area was instrumental to a former provincial Premier being found in a conflict of interest and ultimately leaving politics a couple of years ago).

I was able to glean that the decision to fast-track my case was made in Ottawa, where there is a specialized litigation analysis team. Apparently it is they who review court applications like mine and determine what course of action to take.

It feels good to have been able to do something, anything, to help my case, and I am fortunate to be in a position to have the knowledge and ability to use the courts and achieve a result. I am also very thankful to all of you on here because the wealth of knowledge that has been assembled on this board was critical to shaping my arguments.

 

[sapguru]

Congrats Bambino. You are really brave, of course, you are a lawyer first.

Do you recommend the non-routine applicants to seek legal help earlier than scheduled wait time of 36 months? How soon is good to seek the legal help these days - 18 / 24/ 30 /36 months, considering the average processing of routine application is 9-12 months now and there are no stats available for non-routine applications?

 

[Rayan14]

Thank you, everyone.

I think the apology was, at least in part, a professional courtesy (I am also a lawyer), but it was welcome nevertheless. He, of all the people I have dealt with so far, was the least responsible for the delays, and I told him that I do appreciate his and everyone else's work. It's really certain people in Ottawa that are responsible for the mess that has caused the delays.

I was rather concerned myself that my Mandamus application was premature. I argued, rather forcibly, that the average processing times are utterly meaningless, except that they are indicative of the serious problems in the system. To that end I relied extensively on a number of ATIP requests, both past and present. Some you all have seen on eileenf's blog. I had obtained (and am still waiting for) other, newer ones, including documents relating to the processing time differences among local offices, as well as all the decisions of our local citizenshio judge. Spoiler alert: from August 1, 2014, when the new processing procedure was put in place, until the date of my ATIP request, she non-approved every single person who appeared before her, some of whom had self-reported more that 1,095 days (but not a whole lot more).

The court application was also meant to go beyond just my case, and sought an order of the Court interpreting the Citizenship Act so that every partial day in Canada be counted as a full day, and I also made an attempt to bring the Koo test back from the dead. I want to think the possibility of these additional issues coming before a FC judge caused some concern and led to the rather swift resolultion of my application for citizenship. Or it could be that my application was close to being approved anyway, and it was expedited as a matter of saving judicial (and Justice Canada) resources. I'll never really know.

I do know that I put my heart in soul in the written submission, and made decent arguments with respect to all issues. I am also a bit of an expert in statutory interpretation (my work in that area was instrumental to a former provincial Premier being found in a conflict of interest and ultimately leaving politics a couple of years ago).

I was able to glean that the decision to fast-track my case was made in Ottawa, where there is a specialized litigation analysis team. Apparently it is they who review court applications like mine and determine what course of action to take.

It feels good to have been able to do something, anything, to help my case, and I am fortunate to be in a position to have the knowledge and ability to use the courts and achieve a result. I am also very thankful to all of you on here because the wealth of knowledge that has been assembled on this board was critical to shaping my arguments.

Good for you. I wish I could do the same.

 

[janoo]

Hi. Bambino

Congratulation for all your write up this will certainly help a lot of people what
you advise me to do :

My case as under :-

applied January 2012. RQ March 2013 Replied April 2013.

waiting for further steps no progress. I do not need test due to my age.

-have send atleast 5 kgs documents showing all short of proof of residency and answer each
and every question they ask in RQ.

-Contacted MP several times and Minister as well, now I came to know that my file with
RCMP clearance. Officer assigned.

-Got ATIP report showing officer assigned.. All security expired.

-have contacted one lawyer at Toronto asking for 4 K..

await to hear from you.. almost 40 months since I applied.

 

[eileenf]

Congratulations and good work Bambino!
I'm glad that your case is resolved, but yes, it would have been interesting to see how the legal issues played out in court!

One reminder: Please order your ATIP electronic and physical files. I'm not sure if the Justice Canada notes would go in your citizenship file, or if you'd have to file a separate one for those, but that would make for some really interesting reading!

 

[HighFive]

Bambino, well done and congrats!

Let us all know how much you would charge $$$ your good friends from this forum in case someone should decide to go for Mandamus next year.

 

[Rayan14]

Bambino, well done and congrats!

Let us all know how much you would charge $$$ your good friends from this forum in case someone should decide to go for Mandamus next year.

Exactly. I am willing to pay.

 

[ItkExpert]

Exactly. I am willing to pay.

We should all give bambino a 100$ each and ask him to take our case as a group considering there are thousand of 2011-2012 applicants he can make a good profit

 

[Rayan14]

We should all give bambino a 100$ each and ask him to take our case as a group considering there are thousand of 2011-2012 applicants he can make a good profit

$100 is nothing. I'd give him $1000. )

 

[Canadiandesi2006]

You can see my timeline in my signature.

On April 20, I filed the Applicant's Record, the substantive part of my Federal Court application. Today, I was contacted by the lawyer at Justice Canada in charge of my file, who 1. sincerely apologized to me on behalf of the Govt. of Canada for the very long time it had taken for my file to be processed, and 2. that he can advise that my application has been approved. Now it's just a matter of my RCMP clearance coming back (renewal sent out April 2), and scheduling me for a ceremony.

We had a little chat, and it does appear that my actions caused a rather abrupt resolution with respect to my file, although it may well have ended up being processed within the 36 month average for non-routine applications.

There were some aspects of my court application, which is now moot, that I wish I could have litigated, but that would have to wait for another time.

Congrats on your well fought case. Every approved case here is a reason for all to celebrate. ;D

Can candidates file Class Suit against the CIC for their laxity and utter mismanagement in processing applications even after making candidates wait clueless for years without any resolution.

RQ seems another ploy of delaying tactics. CIC asking same set of details repeatedly under different forms just to justify longer processing time. Why not the initial application captures all details, anything unsatisfactory should be referred for hearing with officer or judge for quicker resolution.

CIC increased fee to $630 without any improvement in their level of service, processing or response time. Call Center staff is as clueless as the candidates, it serves no purpose for their existence except sheer waste of tax payers money.

Candidates are forced to wait endlessly years without any help from government or MP's. With tons of money earned through increased application fee, can't CIC hire some high school graduates who might be better off to teach CIC how to organize and faster processing.

Not everyone can afford Mandamus fee especially in our current economy.

I'm wondering is there any provision for the Class Suit in Canadian legal system, that can be used against the CIC ?

 

[bambino]

Thank you all again for the kind words. No, a class action isn't likely possible in the circumstances. If anyone has questions, I would be glad to answer them.

I learned from the call centre that my ceremony is going to take place on May 25. The timing is very good, as I have family visiting from the old country next month.