waiting indefinitely for open work-permit........

[FabienA380]

hello everyone,

I am French citizen living in Alberta, I have been living in Alberta since early 2010 with several closed workpermits all for the same company,

then at the end of 2012 I got married with a canadian-Citizen (my then closed work-permit was and is still valid until 01/Nov/14), so then we sent our application forms including open-work-permit application form, in 17 June 2013,

then in November 2013 I unfortunately got fired from my company-closed-workpermit (no reason given), and I am as of today then still waiting sitting on a chair doing nothing at home, waiting for my open work-permit

The only answer that we got was that they were transferring our files from vegreville to edmonton-office and that was 18 February 2014,

with the cost of life all savings are then now gone because of no income at all (we preferred to not apply for EI as we thought somehow, true or not, it might affect our PR application), and now the situation is getting even harsher since we are expecting our first child for the month of September........... my Canadian Wife will stop working soon, and her income will be cut by half..........

As well as formally updating authorities with our situation of pregnancy, we called immigration several times but we are always told 'wait', and we also went to see MP who was told by authorities 'call back in October'...

What else could ever possibly do?......

Situation is very strange in fact, I think I understood that usually people come to canada to send money to their families in overseas' countries, but in our situation "I" would have to leave canada to work in my own country, to be able to sustain my Canadian Family................ ???

Fabien

 

[rhcohen2014]

there really isn't much to do. the current wait time for stage 1 approval for inland applications is about 11 months, so you may not fall outside the current processing time yet. your owp can not be issued until after stage 1 is approved. There is no way to speed up the process. CIC certainly doesn't give priority for pregnancy either.

Once you are significantly outside the processing times posted on the website for inland (which i don't think you are yet), then the next step would be to contact the sponsor's local member of parliament (MP) and ask them to make a formal inquiry. This will force CIC to respond with an update. Unfortunately, when it comes to inland applications, all you can do is wait.

another option is to withdraw your inland application and apply outland. Applicants can still apply outland when they are in canada as a visitor, worker or student. The paris visa offices is one of the fastest, and applicants land in 3-4 months! Once you land, you are legally allowed to work, so i'd say if working is necessary, this is the quickest way for a french citizen to do it legally.

 

[Junebug]

The OP sent in his application in June 2013, so isn't he outside the wait time of 11 months? Also, if he's been waiting 13 months already, I don't believe withdrawing his application and filing an outland application would be the best idea. But this is just my opinion.


Fabien, it's such a bummer how backwards the system is. My husband and I are in the same situation and I can't imagine the stress of adding a child to the situation. Keep your head up, your open work permit should be coming right around the corner. I wish I could help out more! Good luck.

 

[FabienA380]

Thank you so much for your answers rhcohen2014 and Junebug!!

Indeed in fact, we've spent so much time, so many efforts and so much money as well for the applications, and waited so much time already, we wouldn't like too much to withdraw the application and to restart all-over everything from overseas.........

I'm happy to hear that we aren't the only ones in this situation Junebug though, hopefully it goes quick as well for you guys.........

Once the Step 1 might be approved, would we receive answer/email from the approval of Step 1?.........

We were thinking recalling the MP this coming week, and if it is unsuccessful I guess we might send an update after the birth, and maybe recall the MP after the birth as well.........................................

Fabien..

 

[rhcohen2014]

The OP sent in his application in June 2013, so isn't he outside the wait time of 11 months? Also, if he's been waiting 13 months already, I don't believe withdrawing his application and filing an outland application would be the best idea. But this is just my opinion.


Fabien, it's such a bummer how backwards the system is. My husband and I are in the same situation and I can't imagine the stress of adding a child to the situation. Keep your head up, your open work permit should be coming right around the corner. I wish I could help out more! Good luck.

it's depends what is posted on the site. i'm not sure if 11 months is posted on the cic site, or if that's the average on this forum. also, i believe the wait starts from the date the file is transferred to the visa office, not the date it was sent in, so i don't think the clock necessarily starts june 2013. I believe it would be the date listed on the AOR, which I believe inland applicants also receive.

If the OP finds out he IS beyond the normal processing time, then it's suggested to contact the sponsor's MP.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you so much for your answers rhcohen2014 and Junebug!!

Indeed in fact, we've spent so much time, so many efforts and so much money as well for the applications, and waited so much time already, we wouldn't like too much to withdraw the application and to restart all-over everything from overseas.........

As I said, you wouldn't need to do an outland application from overseas. The only time you would need to go to paris would be if an interview was requested. Applicants can be IN canada while an application is processing, and even land without going back to their home country. If CIC has already processed your payments, i would agree. If your money hasn't been used yet, then it may be an option, especially if the same receipts can still be used.

 

[SenoritaBella]

It's strange for a company to fire without a reason(i.e. without cause), as it leaves them open to litigation. Are you sure you weren't laid off instead? Or did this happen in your first 6 months(probation period) of the job?

EI is deducted from your pay and it's not social welfare. If I were you, I would consider applying for EI now and include an explanation about your misunderstanding of EI vs. social welfare. Explain the difficulties you(and wife) are facing, and the new baby on the way. It may work or not, but you would have tried. Contact your Member of Paliarment - your wife can do this and see if it helps with the EI thing.

Your wife can contact non-profit agencies like the YMCA, etc for help. Her Obstetrician/family dr. may know of some for new moms. See if you guys can get help in other ways like diapers, baby food, etc. If you attend church, see if they can help. Some churches have funds which can be used to help their members in need. Don't be shy to ask for help where you can, you just need a little support to ensure your baby(and your guys) have a great start to his/her life. Congrats by the way.

Your wife can not afford to collect welfare at any point right up until you become a permanent resident. If she does, the application may be rejected.

On a different note, how come you didn't apply for permanent residence through another route - e.g. Canadian Experience Class? If you had a skilled job, you should have been eligible eligible in 2011 or 2012(at the latest). It would have been quicker than spousal sponsorship.

 

[FabienA380]

Actually passing the Step 1 is now on the cic gov website at 11 months ( cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/information/times/perm-fc . asp ) but since we sent our application forms--June2013, it went displayed from 6 months at the begining, up to 10 months (Aug-Sep-2013) up to 11 months (Sep-2013-Jan-2014), then gradually down to "7-8 months" (Feb-2014) and then gradually up again up to 11 months as of now......

Our AOR is 19 June 2013..

In fact I was fired (not laid off, they are still much in need of staff) because I twice in a row reported unsafe conditions at work (this is a weird company I know.......and it is well known for being such), so I went to OHS alberta-work-conditions to file a complaint but they just did a little investigation that did not lead to anything... my company was a care-giver company, so impossible for me to apply for any skill-worker or even canadianexperienceclass......

About the EI, we asked the MP indeed when we went to see them in May, they told us it is now too late as my work permit (which I still have with me) expires on 1st Nov 2014......

In fact I didn't mention that as we went both to see my family in France in April this year, as we came back -pointofentry-Edmonton- they still left me my work permit (valid until 01-Nov-14) and they gave me as well a tourist visa valid for one year, up until 14-Apr-2015.............. Huh

Many thanks for the congrats SenoritaBella!! Smiley (we don't attend church unfortunately though.........)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

The only answer that we got was that they were transferring our files from vegreville to edmonton-office and that was 18 February 2014,

Normally, apps are only transferred to local offices if there are red flags and CIC wants an interview.

If this is the case with your app, then normal processing times no longer apply to you. This matches up with your MP being told to call back in October, as CIC doesn't usually brush off an MP inquiry.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Normally, apps are only transferred to local offices if there are red flags and CIC wants an interview.

weren't inland application transfers because of the vegreville office closing? did ALL the files go to Mississauga, or did other offices share the workload?

 

[Kev1n]

weren't inland application transfers because of the vegreville office closing? did ALL the files go to Mississauga, or did other offices share the workload?

Its as Canuck in UK says files are transfered to local office if they have red flags, as some of the local offices their are long waiting times, last year I recall Edmonton being 18 months to 24 months... if their hadnt been red flags Fabien would have just gone to Mississauga.

 

[Kev1n]

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/inland-applications-2013-t129064.0.html

Here is the link for 2013 inland applications

 

[canuck_in_uk]

weren't inland application transfers because of the vegreville office closing? did ALL the files go to Mississauga, or did other offices share the workload?

All inland apps were transferred to Mississauga. As said above, the local offices have much higher processing times and are given the files with red flags so that an interview can be done.

 

[Alurra71]

I am in agreement with Canuk. The file was transferred to Edmonton, not Missisuaga, which would indicate there is something in the file that caused CIC to want an interview. At this point, the OP is out of the 'normal' timeline because of that transfer. I guess their MP should have been more clear with them in regards to this situation.

While I feel badly for the OP, I think cancelling the current application and applying outland is not really the way to go. If the flag is there now from the original application, the flag will likely still be there filing a different application.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

While I feel badly for the OP, I think cancelling the current application and applying outland is not really the way to go. If the flag is there now from the original application, the flag will likely still be there filing a different application.

Agreed.

To the OP, I strongly recommend ordering GCMS notes to see what is going on with the file and why it was transferred to Edmonton.