I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…

http://www.trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/family-class/

You can input your bits if you like or you can just look at the progress of people who are having their files go through London. Just a bit more information…. Gwenna

We’re just waiting, nothing new. I’d not known about the CAIPS system - did you use http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5563B.pdf to request it?

Cheers, M.

I have a client id because I already have existing visas for Canada.

I am impressed to see how hi-tech the process is. I do hope to see more of it. I don’t think that other countries are like this. It was the spelling mistakes and logic skips that surprised me. I expected all of the forms to be perfect. I am thinking of “properly deed” for “property deed”. I kept a list and I may offer it up at a much later date. I counted maybe 10 flat out errors like the this properly deed one. It is a curse to be an editor…You can’t take me anywhere…especially where there are spelling mistakes….like menus and things like that….Oh, well.

Has your progress appeared on E-CAS yet or just the phone call? We keep checking

https://services3.cic.gc.ca/ecas/security.do?app=ecas

(I couldn’t get that to hyper-link)

and get nothing as of yet though we think that we are about a week early and it is Christmas season too. Any theory on why both England and the United Kingdom and Commonwealth are options in the place of birth drop down box? You know, the bit where you type in your famiy name, receipt number, date of bith and place of birth…. There must be a reason for that demarkation betweeen the United Kingdom and Commonwealth and England. I wrote “the UK” on the forms to CIC as “the United Kingdom” would not fit in block print and I refuse to cut “the” from “the United Kingdom” and the forms clearly stated that they wanted everything in block print.

I look forward to the process. We are not too bothered either way and we will just take it as it comes. Chat with you soon. Regards, Gwenna

I used CutePDF to edit the files: way better than writing by hand (I must have filled in all those pagers by hand at least 3 times before finding CutePDF). But something in that process is quite flawed, as several sections in the PDFs would need to be completely retyped if just a little part was incorrect.

In due course I am sure that Canadian Immigration will offer upload via the internet. But, the enormity of automating that process means I’d say this is not likely to be for several years.

Anyway….I liked the photo of your pile (aka “the application”)….We went to a stationery store and bought a 1-30 index set, threw away sections 29 and 30, and used the rest as I could never find most of the 28 sections. Keeping the application all together, without the aid of any form of binding, is hard for the compiler-and that was me. I can see that you used blue sheets…I wonder how other people handle that….

I read about someone who had sent their US visa application in to wherever and used the clips that the website said to use and their application was held up 2 months whilst they sent forward a “proper” 3 ring-binder-even though the website still asks for applications using that certain clip. At least with Canada, no clips or anything metal-like are involved. It may make it easier to scan through detectors. Hard to say what any large government facility could be sent…

I will admit that I am a bit over-zealous with paperwork. I redid a lot of pages many times but all the pdf format made with easy to do. I had hoped that if I got a lot of the application right that it would whiz from desk to desk at immigration! I am a lecturer and I know that I just feel better when I pick up something that is well organised. I was surprised at some of the typo’s on some of the forms. For example, “properly deed” instead of “property deed”. Also, there were times when you were supposed to tick a box and then other times when you were supposed to use an x! I did years of editing in the Far East and I was tempted to correct the spelling mistakes with a red pen-but I didn’t. Maybe the “x” and “tick” bits were an embedded English comprehension test. I had trouble with some of the instructions that included 4 phrase and were some 3 lines in length. They included words like “must do…..except in this case….” Some times I had to read and ponder and reflect on some of the directions and I am a native speaker. I know that we could have used a consultant but I believed that we should be able to go to Canada using our own intelligence and understanding of English. I would hate to see it come to the point where the process gets even more complicated and people need help to get through the paperwork.

It a strange kind of way, the visa application process was a way for us to check our relationship and remember a lot of things that we had forgotten about…Things like how we met and when I first met his parents and things like that. That was fun as women and men often remember these things differently! We also pulled out old photos and things that had just been shoved to the back of the closet. I do know that this visa will mean something to us. Thee do not grow on trees and there are benchmarks to clear.

We sent out application through an international carrier at this aforementioned stationery store. We were not sure about using other methods of mailing. I was concerned about the packet bursting open etc so we dropped it in this international carrier’s standardized box and sent it off on November 1st, 2006 and it arrived November 10th, 2006. We tracked its journey on the web. The box surprisingly spent 2 days at Gatwick, follow by 2 days at Heathrow, then a few days in Toronto as they needed to confirm the CIC-M address. Not sure why as the copy of the shipping information that we have shows the shipping address, the same one that is printed in the guide. I even helped the young lad type it in as I didn’t want to get it wrong and everyone at the counter confirmed that it was as printed….but anyway, on November 10th, 2006 the application, in said box, arrived at CIC-M and “Nazma” signed for it….I was surprised that it took ten days to get from Essex to CIC-M. But at least we know that it is in Canada. We did take a back up photocopy of the pile. Just in case we need to refer to it and are asked about something by e-mail. I copied 105 pages of stuff.

Even though we suspect that our application is most likely sitting in a mail bin for the time being, we check E-CAS daily to see if we even appear. I am wondering about something….Should I be searching using the sponsor’s name or the name of the person I am sponsoring? I have tried both. At times, I am not sure if it is my visa or his visa, if you know what I mean….Anyone who has made this visa would understand that last comment. Back to E-CAS, when I search for my partner’s country of birth I have the option of using either England or United Kingdom and Colonies. Does anyone know why there is a difference? So, for now, I check both. When I figure that one out, I will let you know….We are supposed to use the country of birth that is mentioned on the application.

Anyway, I will watch your blog for updates and hope to get some feedback. I know that there will be mistakes along the way. I do hope to see something on E-CAS for Christmas!

G and C

I have a tree now going back to 1815

Cheers

Terry Cleaver
Dover, UK