Former Lancastrian

They are keeping you informed

gb_griffiths

I asked, on the twitter feed, "what DATE are you releasing the FSW occupations in demand list". They ignored my question.

christmasoompa

Probably because they have no idea yet themselves.

gb_griffiths

How could they not know exactly 1 month prior to the date it's supposed to all go live. I've met smack-addicts with better long-term planning skills.

I don't know if this is a bad sign but I'm starting to care less and less now. It just seems like a great big game designed to extract as much $CAD as possible out of applicants pockets into the immigration industry's grubby little paws.

I reckon I could fill in a perfect application or literally wipe my arse on all the forms, submit them, and depending on whether the case worker is in a generous mood or not I could get in or be rejected on the the basis of them exercising 'positive' or 'negative' discretion'

christmasoompa

The admin person sitting in a windowless office whose job it is to monitor the Twitter page is highly unlikely to be privy to the government's consultations and decisions imo.

You do know that CIC don't actually get lots of $CAD from applicants, right? They're a government organisation, not for profit! The 'immigration industry' i.e. immigration consultants, IELTS providers, etc, are obviously in it to make money, but that's not the purpose of CIC. I can't remember the exact figures, but they basically break even each year.

Nope. The guidelines are all incredibly clear, have you actually read the Operating Manual for each type of application? It's not like they can just make it up as they go along, although sometimes it can feel like it! They do have pretty strict rules and regs to adhere to.

Seems that the chip on your shoulder is weighing you down just a tad there.

gb_griffiths

Bitterness is certainly creeping in somewhat.

Re: Twitter bod. Sure, I get this. They probably had the work experience kid on it. But why even bother opening it to the floor if you're just going to say "read the website" to answer every question? They could have saved themselves the effort by just tweeting "if you have any questions, read the website"

Re: Money - In regards to the money aspect I understand that the CIC make nothing out of it. They shouldn't as a Government org. However, as a collective process the Government does have a vested interest in generating, and supporting, other industries. If there are a lot of imig consultants and lawyers making a lot of cash out of the ambiguity that surrounds this process then I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they may have some influence in keeping the process just as it is in order to keep the cash flow positive. They make money, the government makes money via taxes, that's the double-truth, Ruth. I'm not saying it's fact that that's what is going on but I can't understand how such a seemingly simple process should be so filled with, at best, unclear guidance.

Re: Wiping my arse on the app forms. There was definitely a reference to the case worker being able to apply positive and negative discretion in the guidance I read. It used the example of someone who passed on all education, language, age and experience criteria but stated that if the case worker thought that the reality did not match the supporting documents (e.g. the individual scores band 9 on IELTS but at interview cannot say hello) they can exercise negative discretion (and vice versa). I know it's a long shot but perhaps there's a faecal freak out there assessing these applications.

Don't worry Mrs Massoompa, I won't wipe my arse on the application forms. Blow my nose maybe, but not wipe my arse.

Siouxie

That would be identifying a fraudulent application then, wouldn't it?

I know it's hard waiting, but in the meantime you could see if you could identify any other way of coming to Canada - as I am often told, there are 53 ways of getting here!

phat-dave

bonjour

Waggle

They need time to set up the Bingo machine to randomly pull NOCs out of the basket.....

Mikeypm

Maybe a lottery machine with a D List celeb pushing the button and a pointless quiz show to run alongside it

Waggle

My understanding is that the officers can only exercise as much discretion as the operations manual allows them to, and in recent years this has become stricter.

Last time I looked through the FSW OPs manual (which was admittedly a while ago) there were still patches of discretion allowed.

For example, in matching duties to NOCs it says that a substantial number of the duties must match, without actually defining a number or %, thus allowing some discretion to the officer reviewing the application.

But in days past I think they could exercise discretion to the extremity of actually approving applications which are a point or two lower than 67, if the application seemed economically viable.

Now I believe they are not allowed as much discretion as that, and that any discretion they are allowed is fairly minor.

My 2 cents,
Wayne.

christmasoompa

Yeah, because that's how they choose which occupations are in demand.

I mean, it's not as though they hold a public consultation, question over 700 stakeholders, hold discussions with provincial government, utilise data from HRSDC, put a questionnaire on the CIC website, etc, is it? Oh, wait..................

gb_griffiths

Just hurry up and announce the bloody list.

For heaven's sake. Every aspirational FSW applicant is hanging on this ****ing announcement.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!

AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHH!

AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Waggle

We were fortunate enough to be able to apply for FSW1 when they changed the list at the end of June 2010. We mailed our application 8 weeks later after gathering all the appropriate supporting documentation.

We were eligible on the basis of my wife's industrial pharmacy skills which were "in demand". My software development skills were not deemed to be in demand.

I had a telephone interview with a software development company over the summer of 2011 and when our visa was granted had a face to face interview during our 2 week landing trip in August 2011. My wife was able to get a few informational interviews at Universities but nothing concrete.

I was offered the job whilst back in the UK and started in October 2011. My wife arrived in Canada in Dec 2011. After 12 months of working in a fashion store on minimum wage, she was still unable to secure a science position in her "in demand" field despite applying for dozens and dozens of jobs.

She is now a private tutor teaching Maths and English because obtaining a science job seemed nigh impossible.


Anyway, my point is that clearly my reference to a bingo machine was tongue in cheek. However, based on our experience CIC's "in demand" list doesn't reflect what's actually in demand - or by the time they are able to put it into practice, it is already outdated.

Wayne.

januarymix

It's halfway through the month now. Maybe they are having a laugh.