Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience)

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Subject: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience)
  Passports with visas and COPRs came in today!!!! Finally. I can hardly believe it.

Timeline:

2003, Jan : applied, Buffalo. From India, through local agent with
HO in Canada.
2003, Feb: AOR ? saying the decision would be made within 52 weeks.

2004 Jan: IA ? interview required ? LA.
Medical forms enclosed, but letter mentioned not to do
them until we were notified of the interview date.
Update requested for son studying in USA. (we sent it
immediately,along with other updates of the family ?
new passports, job offer, our latest bank
statement, etc)

2004, April: Update requested for husband.(sent it immediately)

(Fax sent by agent in Aug 04 requesting status update. No reply from Buffalo.)

(Agent retrieved Caips notes for us in Dec 04. Nothing untoward in them, except that the interview seemed necessary to determine nature of my work experience.)

(Another fax sent by agent in Feb 05 for status update. Prompt reply this time ? scrawled handwritten note on fax saying ?awaiting background info before x-ferring file to LA?)

2005, May: File x-ferred to LA.

2005, Nov 11: E-Cas shows interview date - April 13, 2006.

2005, Dec 28: Did medicals in Mumbai.

2006, Jan 10 : Medicals recd in Ottawa (I tracked the DHL no.)

2006, Mar (mid) : son phoned Ottawa from USA. Lady phoned back next
day and said medicals were clear and wd be uploaded
to our file.

2006, April 13 : Cleared interview in LA - details below.
April 17 : Posted passports to LA with return postage
paid envelope (USPS priority mail)

TODAY, MAY 3 : VISAS RECEIVED !!!!

----------------------------------------------------

Interview experience in LA
--------------------------
Reported at 8.30 a.m - handed in our passports and PCCs.

Our interview time was 9.30, but we were only taken in at 10.30 or so because the applicants before us took about an hour.
There are 2 interview booths which are to the left of the waiting area. The visa officer is behind a glass screen and communicates with you via a mike. Documents are passed to and from him/her via a metal tray which slides under the screen. There are 2 chairs provided and I (main applicant) was asked to sit on the one closest to the speaker phone. My husband was on the other, and my 2 children stood behind us.

I can´t remember the officer´s name. I think it was Frank.
We had all our documents ready, but he only asked for my children´s (my son and daughter are in college here in the US)documents related to their studies here in the US - transcripts, letter from dept.head showing duration of study, validity of their visas. He chatted (almost informally!) with them, then asked me to recount my work experience. I did that for a few minutes,and he seemed satisfied with that, as also with my answer to why we wanted to settle in Canada. "Well, I don´t see any reason not to give you your visas..." he said, very pleasantly, he looked at our (old) bank statement which we had submitted 2 years ago (!)and which showed modest savings, asked us abt the latest exchange rate, took 2 copies of our latest photos, and we next discussed a few details abt the passports for visa issuance. It wd take abt 2 weeks, he said, but we cdn´t leave our passports with him bec we needed them for identification on our return flt to Washington (where we are based now), so he asked us to mail them with a return postage paid envelope)as soon as possible. We also handed him a letter from our agent authorising the release of passports/visas directly to us.

I think the interview lasted about 30-40 mins, but it was an extremely pleasant and cordial experience. I´m surprised he didn´t ask for our birth certs, my/my husband´s original academic documents, current letters of employment and financial statements..!!!!!
After the interview, we handed in the RPRF bank draft (we had shown it earlier to the visa officer) at counter #4 - and when we returned to Washington we mailed our passports to LA with a covering letter and a copy of our return flt e-tkts to Mumbai/Bombay (May 29).

So, the journey has been 3 years and 4 months. Very long, and very nerve-wracking. I stumbled on this forum abt a year ago, and you have all been of more help to me than the official website and my agent combined. My agent was nothing more than the address through which official correspondence passed, they didn´t move a finger unless we insisted on some action (status updates, caips notes) and I truly regret having had to pay their fee of abt US$3000. My advice to all new applicants in this regard - do it yourself. Once your application is in the CIC pipeline, agents can do absolutely nothing to hasten the process or find out inside information. Check the CIC website regularly, and keep in touch with forums like these.

Thanks, guys, and good luck to all you hopefuls out there. We hope to land in Vancouver at the end of July. I´ll post my landing experience as well, and will out for your touchdown reports too.

------------

ps. In LA, we stayed at The Historic Mayfair Hotel on 7th St. It was abt 15-20 mins walking distance from the consulate. Decent, nothing fancy. $67 a day (Net-booking rate, done 6 weeks in advance)












[03-05-2006,20:12]
[**.242.140.53]
SP
congrats (in reply to: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience))
Hi SP
let me Congragulate you on your grand success , u have been thru much as ur explanationd sugget and we thank you for sharing the whole detial of the process u wen thru ....

happy lansing ahd good luck in canada.....

regards
harp

[03-05-2006,23:00]
[**.210.106.194]
harp
(in reply to: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience))
SP, thank you so much for sharing such a detailed experience log with us. Very useful information!!Congrats to you and your family, and, happy landing in Canada.
[04-05-2006,00:31]
[***.163.100.71]
IDO
(in reply to: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience))
Thanks Harp and IDO - good luck to you too! How far down the line are you?
[04-05-2006,11:06]
[**.242.104.43]
SP
(in reply to: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience))
Thanks SP for sharing your experience. I am so happy for you that it all finally ended well. Good luck to you and family in Canada. I have heard Vacouver is a very beautiful city and you all will have a great time there. Yes, please do let us know about your landing experience.

Take care,
Brian

[04-05-2006,15:49]
[***.203.101.98]
Brian
(in reply to: Hallelujah!!!!! GOT IT !!!!! (LA experience))
Thanks SP :)

It was a very good explantaion about ur Journy to Canada Via CIC.

I Sincerely appreciate & congrats you for your future life in Canada.

my email id is hshivaprasad@yahoo.com

take care

regards
prasad

[04-05-2006,19:50]
[***.138.47.29]
PRASAD
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