Timeline - Montreal office

Why would she get refusal order, if she has a legitimate application? Did she fail the test and afraid not to pass the oral test? That's probably the only reason someone with a legitimate application and documented residence evidence can get a refusal of application.

beaverr wrote: FYI, one of our friends received letter this week to meet judge after 1 monh he was requested to bring with him all relevant proofs , he did his test in october 2009 in montreal  and never received RQ before, always cic was saying you will have hearing after 6 months till now !!! Now she is scared of refusal order

Hi dpenabill, he is a genuine candidate, but he lost his passport so not able to bring it and don't have time to request the CBSA so he is scared to get denial after waiting 4 years after doing test , he applied since 2007

Beaverr, can you please post his timeline?

I have previously made references to, and linked, a case which illustrates how long it can take for some individuals: the Werfalli case against the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

An application made in 2007 is, obviously, one made a long time ago: Six years, give or take some (depending on whether application was made in early or late 2007).

The Werfalli case is one that, at minimum, took eight years just to the point in time when he was scheduled for an interview by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA); since the case that was decided by the Federal Court was an appeal of a removal order (finding of inadmissibility), it is not clear whether the citizenship application remained pending. Probably not, as in the citizenship application probably was terminated sometime after the July 2009 interview with CBSA (eight years after applying for citizenship), probably terminated because once the removal order was issued, whether wrongfully or rightfully, the individual is prohibited. So there probably was a hearing and the citizenship application denied, based on the prohibition (other Federal Court decisions make it clear that even if the individual ultimately prevails in an appeal of a removal order, the individual is nonetheless prohibited from being granted citizenship once the removal order is issued, even if not enforceable -- if the appeal is successful, the applicant can re-apply for citizenship).

I make reference to that case again because, as I said, it illustrates that, indeed, sometimes, for some applicants, the timeline can indeed be many, many years.

Which brings the discussion to the vague allusions above to an applicant who applied in 2007 and is just now scheduled for a hearing.

Yes, it is indeed possible there is such an applicant, one who applied in 2007 and who has waited four years with nothing happening since taking the test in 2009, and who has just now been scheduled for a hearing with a Citizenship Judge.

While this is possibly a real case, it has virtually NOTHING to do with what any legitimate applicant can anticipate happening in their case. Sure, the possibility extends to others. It is, after all, possible that even though there is no rain in today's forecast, no thundershowers forecast here for this afternoon, that nonetheless a thunder storm could happen and I get hit by lightning while sitting at my computer this afternoon. While possible, there is virtually no likelihood of this happening.

In other words, even if this is a true account of a pending case, it is largely, if not entirely IRRELEVANT, of no significance for anyone else who is LEGITIMATELY applying for citizenship.

That said, the source here is not credible. My opinion, yes. But I highly doubt this is true story.

And, again, even if true it is not really of any interest, of any significance, for anyone else here.

Because I doubt the credibility of the source, and because I do not believe it is relevant even if true, I hesitate to offer probable explanations for how and why such an individual has experienced such a long delay (six years) before being scheduled for a hearing. That said, it is fairly easy to identify the most likely reasons:
-- background security issues (which is what was involved in the Werfalli case)
-- prohibition issues (in addition to those based on background security concerns, there are other prohibition and admissibility issues)
-- suspected fraud (residency fraud or other misrepresentations to CBSA or CIC)

Applicants with no reason to think that any of these concerns apply to them, have no reason at all to think that their case may sit anywhere near so long without moving forward.

OK, sure, CIC gets it wrong sometimes. So, maybe one-person-in-twenty-thousand is knocked off track this way even though there really is nothing at all to raise any of these concerns. Anyone who worries about being one of those one-in-twenty-thousand is too paranoid to cross the street even with a police escort.

But, sure, some applicants participating here probably do have one or more of these concerns. That is, sure, some participants here have real issues. (While percentage-wise this is a small group, at any given time there are probably hundreds if not thousands of applicants who fall into this group.) And sure, these applicants are likely to encounter delays, longer than usual delays. How long depends on the particular case. As I have oft said: in addition to the concerns I just highlighted above, that is, background security issues, prohibition issues, suspected fraud issues, there are indications that CIC will stall some (not all) cases if CIC perceives the applicant is living abroad or otherwise has continuing ties abroad outweighing their Canadian ties.

Anyone who falls into any of the latter categories (issues regarding background security, potential prohibition, admissibility, fraud, or life rooted outside Canada) can anticipate a much, much longer timeline, far more scrutiny, and yes, indeed, the risk of a denial. For cause. Anyone who is in this group but who nonetheless is confident they should not be denied citizenship should hire competent legal counsel. A forum like this is not the place to seek help in this situation.

The rest of us can relax. It may take awhile, but not four let alone six years, and there is virtually no reason to doubt the outcome: the day we raise our hand and proudly swear allegiance to the Queen will come.