CSIS clearance

dpenabill wrote: alaink wrote: What I am really hoping for is that they are actually checking the docs I sent back for the RQ request and not just letting them sit on a shelf somewhere while CSIS take their sweet time providing their clearance. The fact that you received RQ a good while ago now, and responded, signals that your file has been in fact transferred to the local office, is no longer in Sydney, has not been in Sydney for a long while now. Unfortunately, the RQ response probably does sit on a shelf (so to say) while the application is in queue for the next step at the local office for applications of that status. That probably means (assuming your RQ was a pre-test RQ) in queue for a pre-interview check, following which you would be scheduled for the test and documents check interview. Actual practices relative to this appear to differ still in the local offices, since some local offices are progressing to the test event for pre-test RQ'd applicants while others are showing only minimal signs of such progress. Also, unfortunately, we do not know how the CSIS clearance process interfaces with these steps in processing. My sense is that actually this too may vary some, but what factors determine how it varies I do not know. (Again, this whole area is cloaked in non-transparency, deliberately, pervasively.) That said, my guess is that there may be a hold feature related to security that is deployed for some applicants, but I cannot venture a guess as to who gets such a hold (if indeed there is such a feature). This would be something more than merely the CSIS clearance being outstanding, pending, and would affect a relatively small percentage of applicants (a small percentage of applicants, however, can add up to a significant number overall). The unmitigated reality is that the timeline varies greatly; even the most routine so-called routine-case can range from 11 to 22 months with little to explain why one takes twice as long as the other. For RQ'd cases, there are more variables and the range is greater. For applicants with a potentially bogged down CSIS clearance, there are more unknowns and the range can be even greater. Combine RQ and a CSIS delay, who knows. This variability, with virtually no substantive advice, no informative guidance from CIC about what is happening or how long it will be to the next step, is indeed a profoundly unsettling, frustrating aspect of how some applicants suffer the process. It is what it is, which is not to condone what it is, but to recognize that but for pursuing extreme recourse, like Mandamus, there is not much an applicant can do but wait to see how it unfolds, and when.

Your guess is a good as mine, however with the number of Canadians born in Canada or elsewhere who were alleged to be involved in terrorist related incidents here and elsewhere, it is possible that something changed in the citizenship process, I'm not sure if someone else has asked for their ATIP notes recently but something seems to be not going smoothly in Montreal, some people have been waiting for their exam after getting an RQ since April 2012.

Maybe people born in certain countries have to go through a more thorough security check but of course the government would never announce such a thing publicly since this would be considered racial/religious profiling. The timeline for citizenship that is quoted by CIC had increased by 4 months very recently and maybe this additional security check has something to do with it.

Honestly, there is no reason for me to get a more thorough check than someone else for example since I am originally from a country with a significant muslim presence but I am not muslim myself.

Anyway like you said, there isn't really much I can do for now except wait, it has been 7 months since I returned my RQ and based on the timeline in Montreal I would be surprised if I hear back anything before I hit the one-year mark at least.

alaink wrote: What I am really hoping for is that they are actually checking the docs I sent back for the RQ request and not just letting them sit on a shelf somewhere while CSIS take their sweet time providing their clearance.

The fact that you received RQ a good while ago now, and responded, signals that your file has been in fact transferred to the local office, is no longer in Sydney, has not been in Sydney for a long while now.

Unfortunately, the RQ response probably does sit on a shelf (so to say) while the application is in queue for the next step at the local office for applications of that status. That probably means (assuming your RQ was a pre-test RQ) in queue for a pre-interview check, following which you would be scheduled for the test and documents check interview. Actual practices relative to this appear to differ still in the local offices, since some local offices are progressing to the test event for pre-test RQ'd applicants while others are showing only minimal signs of such progress.

Also, unfortunately, we do not know how the CSIS clearance process interfaces with these steps in processing. My sense is that actually this too may vary some, but what factors determine how it varies I do not know. (Again, this whole area is cloaked in non-transparency, deliberately, pervasively.) That said, my guess is that there may be a hold feature related to security that is deployed for some applicants, but I cannot venture a guess as to who gets such a hold (if indeed there is such a feature). This would be something more than merely the CSIS clearance being outstanding, pending, and would affect a relatively small percentage of applicants (a small percentage of applicants, however, can add up to a significant number overall).

The unmitigated reality is that the timeline varies greatly; even the most routine so-called routine-case can range from 11 to 22 months with little to explain why one takes twice as long as the other. For RQ'd cases, there are more variables and the range is greater. For applicants with a potentially bogged down CSIS clearance, there are more unknowns and the range can be even greater. Combine RQ and a CSIS delay, who knows.

This variability, with virtually no substantive advice, no informative guidance from CIC about what is happening or how long it will be to the next step, is indeed a profoundly unsettling, frustrating aspect of how some applicants suffer the process.

It is what it is, which is not to condone what it is, but to recognize that but for pursuing extreme recourse, like Mandamus, there is not much an applicant can do but wait to see how it unfolds, and when.

dpenabill wrote: In any event, yes, the individual's background situations before becoming a Canadian PR can significantly affect how long CSIS clearances take. Additionally, I believe that CSIS relies to a large extent, in cases where the referral has been made for an overseas inquiry regarding background, on responses from the respective authority in the countries where the PR has previously lived, and sometimes those authorities are notoriously slow or even non-responsive. In particular, I have the sense that some countries in particular are very, very slow to provide such information to CSIS.

This might be a reason, as I went to Dubai for a year after landing but i m not sure if CSIS will really ask the UAE for info about me.

Under the pre-OB 407 process, it was for sure NOT held at Sydney until CIC got the CSIS security clearance (referral initiated in Sydney with the clearances to be sent directly to local office). I am not sure this continues. The question is to what extent is there background checking done attendant the level-one screening for RQ triage criteria. My best guess is that CIC in Sydney does record-name checks (a background check limited to formal records) attendant the level-one security and that no, the file does not get held up in Sydney pending the clearance from CSIS. That said, there are indications that something about some applicants' backgrounds are affecting how long the application gets held up in Sydney. So, I am not sure. For most I doubt the holdup takes place there but for some it might.

What I am really hoping for is that they are actually checking the docs I sent back for the RQ request and not just letting them sit on a shelf somewhere while CSIS take their sweet time providing their clearance.





Edited by alaink - 23 Jul 2013 at 6:12pm

chipmunk_montreal wrote: where are "the CSIS clearance, my FOSS/Immigration and RCMP clearances" in the ATIP??? I ordered the ATIP 3.5 months ago. got it 20 days ago. Nothing, just the pages I sent out. Please help. Thanks.

I am not sure what your ATIP looks like since it depends what you requested, I requested my GCMS notes and it s 21 pages long

alaink wrote: So I finally received the results of my ATIP request, my citizenship application has been on hold for the past 7 months pending the results of the CSIS clearance, whereas they got my FOSS/Immigration and RCMP clearances within less than 3 days after making the request.

Do you have a note that literally says - "file on hold pending CSIS clearance" and file status is "On Hold"?

If that's not the case, how did you determine that CSIS clearance is the culprit?
Reason for my question - they white out CSIS clearance status / clearance validity date in ATIP printouts as it is exempted from release based on 16 (1) I think or some other article... so not seeing CSIS clearance result in your GCMS printout is normal and does not mean this is the clearance that is holding you back.