orly

Got my GCMS notes today by email after a bit of back and forth while they tried to find me in their systems. Might be interesting for some people still waiting to see how their case might progress. If my reading is right they seem to do everything one step at a time and wait for each part of their checks to pass before moving on to the next stage.

We, my wife and I, applied in December 2012. My wife was approved as a sponsor quickly and in early January 2013 the file went to London.

I did a medical in advance so these results appear on the notes with a date of January 9th "passed". This is also the date my wife was approved to sponsor so they must just match it all up at the same time.

My application then sat at "Application received" on eCAS for the next few months.

In mid April we received a request for an updated Schedule A. The notes show a request for "Full PH" (assuming Personal History) at this time and it being received a few days later. We provided a Full personal history at the time we filed. The notes ask for "Full PH from 06/02 to 09/10". This information was provided on a continuation sheet which it seems was never read. The actual Schedule A has 5 boxes and I was only able to go back as far as 09/10 on that form. The officer just didn't check the continuation sheet. The officer also writes about our marriage, states it's a first marriage for both of us, has seen proof of the marriage and has no reason to doubt it was genuine. It states we both live in Canada and that my UK police check was clear.

On May 30th eCAS updated and showed my application as "In Process". I can see from the notes that there is an "Eligibility" criteria. One officer seems to have entered "Recommend Passed". Later another inputs "Passed" on this same date. It appears for the 5 or 6 weeks between the initial hiccup for the Personal History and then being "Passed" my file essentially sat waiting to be picked up again.

On May 30th it updates as "Sent to RCMP Screening". Later that same day it also updates to "Passed" so they presumably used the RCMP check I included in the initial application on my lawyers insistence or they are able to do this check almost instantly themselves.

The RCMP bits are always listed under a "Criminality" activity. While it updates the RCMP screening as passed on May 30th, the general "Criminality" criteria doesn't update as "Passed" until July 18th. Either they do other stuff or again it sits around for another 5 or 6 weeks waiting to be signed off. I do see a bunch of entries related to "Security screening" but they have no dates or other information. I guess they do something but just haven't disclosed it.

On July 31st the file is approved. eCAS didn't update for a few weeks after that though and I'd already received the COPR letter and landed by that point.

What's clear from the notes is that multiple hands touch the file as it goes through. I can see multiple Officer ID numbers at each part of the way (the full file they've sent me is 42 pages) and in some cases I can see the officers full name too. Obviously I won't disclose their names but it was slightly refreshing to see actual names as opposed to the "Officer CDD" or such like that gets added onto their letters and emails. The format of their IDs is now obviously their initials and then a 5 digit number. I'd estimate there must be at least 20 unique people updating it along the way rather than it being assigned to a specific person to own.

I also see multiple references to "Kitchener CIC" which seems to be a sub-office of some kind. As I live in Guelph this must be the closest but it's unclear what they do. We only directly dealt with Mississauga and then London.

I can see the details of the correspondence between my MPs office in late July and an officer listed as working out of "Montreal Call Centre". It appears the officer called the MPs office to discuss the case. I received a call from my MPs office soon after to let me know my file was due to be completed within a matter of days.

I can see details of all the payments made.

There are sections for "HIRV", "Misrepresentation", "Organized Crime" and "Ministerial Relief" checks but these don't appear to have been done in my case. Not sure what "HIRV" is.

So basically it seems that a few delays around the time of the updated personal history and then the "Criminality" checks taking the gut of 2 months are what made mine drag on slightly compared to others around the same time as me. I know there are still others from even before me still waiting so I'd recommend they order their notes and see what the deal is. Can order online: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/departm...uests-atip.asp