Now, due to my extensive list of trips out of Canada, the officer said they will have to double check with CBSA but it shouldn’t take more than a couple days and shouldn’t delay the process. I just hope CBSA has recorded my entries appropriately. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Overall I tend to concur in the observation by user3000, that two minor errors related to post-midnight arrivals in Canada are NOT likely to be much if any problem.Nothing changed as of Friday. I just realized I made two minor mistakes on my physical presence list. for two trips I entered in Canada shortly after midnight, so i should've used the next day's date on the calculator. And I didn't send with much cushion as well - 1465 days.
I hope this doesn't get me in trouble.
That noted, there are some caveats, some nuances, and the situation offers a good illustration why it simply makes more sense to wait and apply with a healthy margin. It does not make sense to rush making the application at the risk of it taking a lot longer to become a citizen, and particularly if there is a risk of falling short and being denied.
Before wandering too deep into the weeds in a longer observation about this, it warrants emphasizing that particularly those who have traveled abroad rather often should WAIT longer and apply with a bigger margin. In this regard, it is not just about being accurate versus the risk of making a mistake (or two or more). There are risks even if the applicant submits a perfect application, and all the dates are precisely accurate: if IRCC merely perceives a possibility, a mere possibility the applicant's account is not correct, that is a reason for IRCC to more thoroughly verify the applicant's actual presence, and that could lead to significant inconvenience and long delays. And of course the closer the applicant's accounting is to the absolute minimum, the more IRCC may have an obligation to make further inquiry and engage in non-routine processing in order to verify the applicant for sure met the absolute minimum. Remember, if IRCC is not confident that the applicant was present at least 1460 days, IRCC is required to deny citizenship.
I do not mean to paint a dark picture for the OP. Not at all.
I am posting these more expansive observations, rather, to highlight the risks the OP has taken, and that it makes no sense to take these risks. We all make mistakes. And, moreover, it does not require a mistake for IRCC to question the applicant's accounting of travel abroad.
Spread the message: margin, margin, margin (second only to following the instructions and providing complete and truthful information).
The longer, more in-depth observations (FWIW):
Ordinarily one or two minor errors alone do not have much of an impact.
IRCC recognizes that all of us make mistakes (regarding which, it warrants noting, those who believe they did not make any mistakes tend to have made the biggest mistakes). And thus allows leeway to applicants for some degree of error.
Of course, the more errors there are, the higher the risk they will have some negative impact.
Of course, the more substantial the error is, the higher the risk there will be some negative impact.
The scope of what IRCC can allow, however, does not give IRCC discretion to grant citizenship if the applicant's physical presence is determined to be 1459 or fewer days. The 1460 days minimum is an absolute requirement.
And it is IRCC's mandate to be sure that the citizenship applicant has in fact met this absolute minimum, that the applicant is not so much as one day short.
The practical scenario; the OP's scenario:
I wince and shake my head and really do not understand why so many rush the citizenship application. For the vast majority, sure a week or ten days extra will suffice, but waiting to have a month margin makes so much sense whereas applying sooner makes virtually no sense . . . gaining a few weeks upfront at a much higher risk of significant delays in the process really does not make any sense.
Just the extent to which a margin leads to less worry makes waiting to build a month margin the far, far better choice. Anxiety is not a good thing.
But sure, OK, many apply sooner rather than later, more than a foolish few with virtually no margin, and many with less than a week's margin.
Then an applicant, like the OP, realizes there was some error.
As I noted, one or two minor errors will ordinarily have virtually NO impact (unless it overtly reduces the physical presence to 1459 or fewer days, in which case IRCC has no choice but to treat the application as a presence-case).
There are good odds that IRCC will not even take note of one or two actual-next-day-arrival-errors in the presence calculation.
Even though generally the best thing to do is to correct an error as soon as it is noticed, errors like this can wait until the interview, at the least, and even then, as an applicant I would be tempted to not bring it up, but prepared to recognize and acknowledge it if doing so is called for by a question.
The OP is past that stage. Interview done. IRCC apparently following up by examining the OP's CBSA travel history.
It is impossible to forecast what IRCC will perceive in this process. Frankly, the interviewer's comment about having to check the CBSA history may have been mostly to observe how the applicant would react, and it is possible that IRCC does not actually access the CBSA history.
Assuming there is a CBSA travel history examination and comparison to the applicant's reported travel dates:
-- maybe IRCC will not even take note of one or two actual-next-day-arrival-errors in the presence calculation (oath to then be scheduled)
-- if IRCC does take note of these, maybe that will still have NO impact at all (again, then the oath will be scheduled), or
-- IRCC might then further examine the application, and could send the applicant --
-- -- a CIT 0520 request and specifically request a record of movement from one or more other countries, or
-- -- a CIT 0171 full blown RQ
If IRCC identifies some discrepancies and perceives the possibility (emphasis on just the perception of a possibility) the applicant's account is in error by enough to question whether the applicant for sure had at least 1460 days presence, that will most likely lead to at least the CIT 0520 including a request for record of movement from one or more countries, and quite likely lead to full blown RQ and eventually a referral of the case to a Citizenship Judge.
Obviously, applying with just 1465 days dramatically increases the risk that IRCC noticing even a couple one-day errors could trigger RQ-lite (CIT 0520) or full blown RQ, and potentially even put the application outcome at risk.
Again, I do not mean to be painting too dark a picture. If IRCC overlooks (somewhat deliberately or otherwise) a couple one-day discrepancies, which it very well might do, or takes note and considers those but nonetheless affirmatively determines that the applicant was present at least 1460 days (for 1463 days for example), all should go well and the applicant should be on his or her way to taking the oath in the relatively near future. There are probably very good odds that this will be the way things go.
Still, better to have minimized the risks otherwise upfront. Get those dates right. Wait to have a good margin before applying.