Applying for OWP at later stage...

USAtoBC

New Member
I am a US citizen, married to a Canadian, with an In Process Inland Sponsorship application.
My application was received May 5th 2018, and my medical request came October 9th 2018.
We completed the medical and it was confirmed received on October 15th 2018.

We used to live close by the border, and I commuted over (risky move, I know, but I am on a visitor record, carried proof of employment, and several officers told me I was low risk), however we moved 4 hours away from the border, and I had to quit my job. I would like to know...

1. Is it worth applying for a OWP at this stage? I know processing times for inland are 12 months right now, but have people gotten PR decisions soon after medical?

2. How long is processing time for an open work permit? I still have status in Canada as a visitor, but would really like to start working ASAP.

3. How should I submit an OWP at this stage? Online or on paper? I somehow can't link my paper application to my online account, and have emailed CIC about it, but kind of flying in the dark at what stage I'm at. I haven't had an email that says I'm "Accepted in Theory" so I think I need to apply on paper?
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Let me try to answer your questions:

1. Though I haven't seen any up-to-date stats, my understanding of the spousal OWP processing is that it is way, way behind what it's supposed to be, and has been for a couple of years.

2. To the best of my knowledge, IRCC does not make the processing times available for inland sponsored spouse OWPs. The anecdotal information I can find online says 4 months, meaning you'd have it only about 2 months before the decision on your sponsorship application.

3. I don't know if I can help with this. All I can say is that if it appears as though you cannot link the applications yourselves, you want to make it easy for the government to do so. If that means a paper application, then that's what you should do.
 
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