Finding Nemo II

Nemo is still missing and I have given up any hope of ever seeing Nemo again, but I make one last attempt at recovering my fees and my conversation with the paper worshiping CIC agent goes something similar to this:

Me: "I am calling to ask about getting a refund of my fees if I withdraw my application."

CIC: "After reviewing your file, it appears we started processing on it in June 2006 so you would only be entitled to the Landing Fee to be refunded."

Me: "I still am overpaid by $485 for that Landing Fee, why haven't I received that yet?"

CIC: "That refund is automatic when we start processing your file."

Me: "But you just stated you started processing the file in June 2006. I am not eligible for a full refund because you started processing my file. Shouldn't I have received the refund of the overpayment by now?"

CIC: "Your file was transferred in November 2006 to the local CIC. At that time they elected not to process your overpayment refund."

Me: "So, I do not get the full refund of my fees when I withdraw my application because you HAVE started processing my file. I do not get the refund of my overpayment of $485 because you HAVE NOT started processing my file. Am I understanding this correctly?"

CIC: "It is a little bit more complicated that that. We have manuals of procedures are are to follow and the procedure was not to provide the overpayment refund at that time."

And so goes CIC and their pretzel logic. I am waving the white flag.

FOSS notes, part II

July 30, 2007 brings another large, brown envelope from my paper worshiping Canadian government employees at my local CIC office. I wasn't really expecting this one, so I am curious. I open it to find a letter with some attachments. The letter reads, in part:

This is further to correspondence sent to you on July 16, 2007 from J. Kourakos, Acting Privacy Co-ordinator, Etobicoke CIC.

I have had an opprotunity to review the information withheld by Ms. Kourakos. As a result, I am pleased at this time to be able to release three additional documents to which you are entitled under Section 12(1) of the Privacy Act. Certain information contained therein qualified for exemption pursuant to Section 26 of the Privacy Act. A copy of the relevant section of the Act is enclosed for ease of reference. The two remaining documents will be forwarded to the Access to Information and Privacy Division, National Headquarters in Ottawa, for their consideration.

The 3 pages I received show my husband and my son and 'related secondaries' whatever that means and my medical results. Well, not the actual medical results, just some codes for the medical which list me as 'passed.' I am curious why no medical results for my son are included and I am even more curious about the still missing 2 documents referred to in the letter.

The medical has me puzzled and pissed. I remember calling CIC and asking them about my medicals and they advised me that they had not been reviewed. Seems a bit more than obvious that they have the information and it is a 'pass.' Either the Call Center agents have no idea what they are doing or they don't want me to know anything about my immigration status. Or both.

Deportation 101

Stardate 7.18.2007. I noticed before gathering all my forms for my MP meeting that I was missing the one piece of communication I had received from CIC: the letter from November 2006 that advised me that CIC had transferred my file. After ripping through the house a few times, I decide that I should request a copy. I venture forth and prepare myself for the 30 minute hold time with the Call Center.

I finally reach a live body (and I use that term loosely) and go the the game of 20 questions to verify my identity. I inform the agent that I need a copy of the letter from November 2006 that advised my file had been transferred. He pauses for a minute and states, "I see you have no status currently. I will be calling and requesting a deportation order be issued."

I am at first stunned, but having had my fill of completely useless phone conversations with the paper worshiping Canadian government employees, it wears off quickly. I think that visiting my family back in the States would be a good thing for me and I wonder if I can now do this on Canada's dime. After all the fees I have paid, it should at least buy me airfare. I keep these thoughts to myself and respond, "Do what you have to do, but can you mail my copy of the letter please?" He says he will, the adds "Is there anything else I can do for you?" I think this to be an odd question at this moment, but reply, "No, I think you have done enough." and hang up the phone.

I do not know what elicited this action from CIC, or the threat of this action. I have never been rude to these people. I have never sworn at them, although I do think they deserve that and much more. Maybe they are just tired of hearing from me. Regardless, I follow up with Len at the MPs office and advise him of this conversation and his only response is, "Don't travel outside the country. The deportation process is long and it is only after a judge issues the order can you actually be deported, but they can keep you from re entering Canada." Well, thanks Len! That was a comfort. *rolls eyes*

I am secretly wishing that the deportation order process does get underway. I haven't had any substantial communication from CIC since they acknowledged receipt of my application over a year ago. Perhaps if I can stand in front of a judge and point out how utterly ludicrous my situation has become, I can win some sympathy and the judge can order CIC to actually process my application. Perhaps I am just dreaming. I do feel like I have fallen into an episode of The Twilight Zone.

The Prized Canadian 'Free' Healthcare

Fortunately for everyone, I have only needed to see a doctor once since my arrival in Canada. Same goes for 'The Kid.' When I did come down with a bladder infection that just wouldn't go away and started working into my kidneys, I finally broke down and decided I needed some antibiotics.

First, I spent about an hour researching the OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) on the web. I didn't have any medical coverage and everyone around the world has heard about Canada's free health care. I read, right there in black on white, that all I needed to be eligible for the program is:

You must have Ontario health insurance to use Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funded health care services. You are eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) if you are included under one of the following categories :

• you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or landed immigrant, convention refugee, or are registered as an Indian under the Indian Act
• you have submitted an Application for Permanent Residence or an Application for Landing and have been confirmed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as having satisfied the medical requirements for landing
• you are a foreign worker who holds a valid work permit or employment authorization which names a Canadian employer situated in Ontario and your prospective occupation and is valid for at least six months
• you are a foreign clergy member who will be providing services to a religious congregation in Ontario for at least six months
• you hold a Temporary Resident Permit or Minister's Permit with a case type 80 (for adoption only), 86, 87, 88 or 89
• you are the spouse, same sex partner, or dependent child (under 19 years of age) of a foreign clergy member or eligible foreign worker who is to be employed in Ontario for a period of at least three consecutive years
• you hold a work permit or employment authorization under the Live-In Caregivers in Canada Program or the Foreign Domestic Movement
• you have been issued a work permit or employment authorization under the Caribbean Commonwealth and Mexican Season Agricultural Workers Program administered by the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration
• and you make your permanent and principal home in Ontario
• and you are in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately following the date you establish residency in Ontario (you cannot be absent for more than 30 days during the first 6 months of residency)
• and you are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period

Read that second bullet again. I got excited. I called OHIP and asked what they needed from me. I was advised I needed a 'medical pass' letter from CIC. I turned around and immediately called CIC to get one. The friendly CIC agent tells me "I cannot issue that as your medical results have not been reviewed." For some reason, I am just not surprised. They have had my medical results since November 2005 and I guess I must be rushing them thinking that by May 2007, they might have reviewed them.

Ok, so no OHIP for me or The Kid. I go to a walk-in clinic, pay $150 cash, wait for about 3.5 hours and finally get in, get my prescription, and leave.

My previous encounter with the wonderful health care system was a few months prior when my husband injured his neck. He is a OHIP benefit recipient. We spent 4 hours at the emergency room basically moving from one waiting area to another waiting area without ever seeing a doctor. My husband informs me this is how the program works. You can go to a family doctor, but they don't have x-ray machines or even labs for the most part, so you end up going to the hospital anyway. Some people must think this is a great system, but I think it is horrendous. It is a case of you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, all of us pay for it in the form of GST. I pay for it every time I venture to Walmart and purchase laundry detergent.

To add insult to injury, OHIP by its own rules only requires that ' you have submitted an Application for Permanent Residence or an Application for Landing and have been confirmed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as having satisfied the medical requirements for landing.' In reality, OHIP additionally requires that you have received AIP as well. I searched the OHIP site thoroughly and couldn't find that requirement of AIP, but if you call them, that is what they will tell you. AIP + medical pass letter from CIC gets you access.

Finding Nemo

By April 2007, I have become hostile about the immigration process. I am angry, blatantly and unabashedly full of rage. My immigration process has become a battle of principles now. Who, exactly, do these paper worshiping government employees think they are, that they can just put my life in limbo for however long they feel? My ECAS hasn't changed since November 2006.

I decide to pursue the other open item that still is out hanging: my overpayment refund. We paid my fees, in full, in October 2005. Still, not having received that refund of $485 that I have now named 'Nemo.' I feel I have a legitimate issue here and set out determined to find Nemo at all costs. My most productive call so far with the CIC agents of the Call Center, gets me a conversation that goes:

Me: "Yes, I am calling about getting a refund of my overpayment of the Right of Landing fee."

CIC Agent: "Yes, I see that you are overpaid by $485."

Me: "When can I expect that refund to be issued?"

CIC Agent: "You could get that refund in 3 days, 3 months or 3 years, I can't tell you."

Me: (stunned and silent)

CIC Agent: "You can send a letter to this address (rattles off some address in Alberta) and request the refund, but it probably won't help you get it any quicker."

Me: (still stunned) "You are kidding, right? Do you at least give interest since you have been holding that money for over a year now?"

CIC Agent: (chuckling) "No ma'am, we don't give interest. (laughs) Anything else I can help you with today?"

I know what you are thinking, dear reader. You think I am exaggerating about this conversation. I am not. With my hand firmly laid across a Bible, I swear this is the truth. I can't get my mind wrapped around this concept. I can't understand why the agent would find it amusing. CIC acknowledges the overpayment. They know its there. They willfully and deliberately will not return it. They have that money securely locked away and allocated on their budget. I do not think I will see that money ever again. They will find a way to keep it. They will change the fee schedule again just to keep it, or find some obscure government regulation that they will enforce just to keep it. I admit, perhaps some delusions of paranoia have set in regarding this refund, but I don't know what else to think.

I want to write a letter of complaint to someone (in all honesty, I want to scream at someone but I am trying to act like an educated adult). But I decide against it. All that the letter would accomplish is satisfying more paper worshiping Canadian government employees paper fetishes. Nemo is still missing and I have lost another battle with CIC. I fear I am losing the war, as well.

1 Year Anniversary (Feb 2007)

My 1 year anniversary of my arrival in Canada came and went without fanfare. My one year anniversary of being 'in process' for Canadian permanent residence followed suit. How appropriate that the traditional 1 year anniversary gift is paper.

I have no paper left to send to the paper worshiping Canadian government employee to mark the event. So, around February 2007, I devise a new game plan and determine that my only course of action is to call the Call Center continuously and check my ECAS daily. Perhaps, with just enough annoyance, I can persuade the paper worshiper to at least blow the dust off my file.

By now, I have gone from hopeful that this process will complete sometime during my life expectancy to believing that my current state of nonexistence will continue for an eternity. It has become my own little hell, not unlike Dante's. I check ECAS daily, and every day, the same words stare blankly, unforgivingly, back at me from my computer screen:

We received your application for permanent residence on February 15, 2006.

We started processing your application on June 16, 2006 .

We transferred your application to the local CIC office on November 7, 2006. The local CIC office may contact you. .

I contact the Call Center at least twice a week. I ask the same questions. I get the same answers. Some of the Call Center agents are pleasant and others are just rude. I assume that they log the calls into their system and I imagine the Call Center agent looking through this long list of my calls and thinking I must be insane. I don't care at this point. I just want the comfort to know that someone, somewhere, is reviewing my file and my state of marginal existence will end someday soon. The responses from the CIC agents at the Call Center are prerecorded as every agent says it exactly the same: "Your file was transferred on November 7, 2006. Your file is still in process."

I try different approaches, ask why the file was transferred? Is there something else I need to document or send in? Who can I talk to at the local office regarding my file? I learn that local offices don't take phone calls. I learn CIC has not requested additional information from me.

My husband is equally annoyed, but he still has faith in the Canadian government. He tells me to just be patient, they can't sit on the file forever. He hates seeing me upset. He says that he thinks we will be called in for a personal interview soon and then things will get moving. He says everything will be fine, don't worry. I analyze my latest actions and come to the conclusion that I am only upsetting myself. Even an act of God couldn't move my file any closer to the top of the pile. I stop hounding the paper worshipers for awhile, but I continue to check ECAS daily.

Status Check 2-32

Armed with the information posted on CIC's website and their current processing times, I leave the CIC Call Center alone for a few more months. Around comes October 2006 and having been sitting in Canada for over 1 year, I feel that about now, CIC should be doing more of their vodoo on my file.

I contact the Call Center on a weekly basis now. I ask benign questions like "What is the status?" and I always receive the same response: "We started processing your file in June 2006 and it is still in process." On one occasion, I venture a bit from the norm and inquire about an overpayment of fees.

I paid my fees in October 2005 (see: Going to the chapel and we gonna get married) according to the current fee schedule at the time. In May 2006, CIC announced that they cut their fee for permanent residence from $975 to $490 (see: CIC Reduction of Right of Permanent Residence Fee). I paid the $975 and hadn't received Permanent Resident status by their cut off date of May 3, 2006 making me eligible for the refund of $485. So I enter this conversation with my friendly paper worshiping Canadian government employee thinking it is a very simple thing, getting this refund. The nice CIC employee politely tells me that the refund is automatic and I will receive this refund when they have processed my file. Which begs the follow up question, "When will that be?" with the canned response: "Your file is in process and current processing times are 8 months." "But," I argue, "it has been 8 months." And still, I receive the same response: my file is still in process.

I leave all of these CIC Call Center phone conversations the same way: dejected and depressed. I learn nothing new with every phone call and my ECAS still shows the same information. My wiser-than-his-years husband advises me just to drop the issue; it will be over soon. He understands that I am not a happy person just playing housewife. I want to get a job, start looking at houses to buy, to basically get on with my life. But, wait more we do.

Status Check 1

Along comes July 2006 and I haven't heard anything from the fine folks at immigration yet. I decide it is time to call them and check on the status of my application. So, I call their Call Center number and it actually takes me 2 days to connect with a government employee. I am certain I have interrupted her Tuesday Paper Worshiping Ceremony, as she is somewhat abrupt with me.

She begins this phone call with 'lets play 20 questions and after you submit a DNA sample for our lab to verify your identity, will I, as a paper worshiping Canadian government employee, pretend to answer your concerns.' So the simple question of the day is "what is the status of my application?" The simple answer is "It is in process. Our current processing time is 8 months." I learn other details such as CIC does not send you any acknowledgment of receipt of your application or send you anything to let you know they have awarded your application a number, and they basically have no contact with the applicant on any level. I did, however, manage to pry a case number from the hands of this cold, paper worshiping, Canadian government employee, which will be invaluable in allowing me to access the CIC ECAS (Citizenship & Immigration Canada Electronic Client Application System).

My application has been in the 'system' for a mere 5 months. Who am I to think something has been done with the file at this point? I do log onto the ECAS system and I see this:

We received your application for permanent residence on February 15, 2006.

We started processing your application on June 16, 2006.

I am excited by this. The application is in process. Someone is looking at it and doing their government employee vodoo on the file. This is good news.