Thousands assigned to inactive immigration officers Leaving many In limbo.
Recent Immigration news relates to delays and huge numbers of cases being processed. Canada’s Immigration department has assigned thousands of cases to inactive employees. Some of these inactive employees haven’t logged in and processed files for a decade.
IRCC data shows that “inactive users” on their Global Case Management System have been assigned 59,456 open, pending or re-opened applications. These 59,456 cases have been assigned to 779 former employees or dormant computer placeholders.
According to the department of immigration, once a user is deemed inactive, “it means they are no longer using the system and their access is no longer available.”
The data on the case management system also shows when employees or their codes were last used. Some login dates even date back to October 6, 2006, with one application being assigned to that code.
“I’m pretty much appalled that their system would even do that,” said Andrea Bote, a permanent residency applicant currently assigned to an inactive code.
These inactive codes have left many applicants in limbo. Their applications move at grudgingly slow speeds or not at all. However the government has given a response to the situation.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said assigning applicants to the IDs of ex-employees is “an ordinary process” for IRCC, “It’s part of an inventory management code, it’s the language of the department.”
Fraser also said it ensures the files “actually go to the place in our global system that will be able to process it most effectively.”
It would be recommended for applicants whose applications are taking very too long to check the database for what code their application is assigned to. It may be possible that it is an inactive user.
Record year for processing in the news
Since August, the IRCC has reduced its overall inventory of applications by nearly half a million applicants. According to the department, they have been setting the bar higher and higher for processing. By the end of November, the IRCC had processed around 4.8 million applications. This is nearly double the number from the same period last year. In 2021, the number of applications processed in this period of the year was 2.5 million compared to 4.8 million this year.
According to the IRCC, they have taken actions to help strengthen their immigration system. They have digitized applications, hired and trained new employees, streamlined the process and have implemented automation technologies to help with processing efficiency.
The department has set a goal to process 80% of new applications within service standards for most programs. For the time being, the IRCC seems to be on track to achieve this goal.
Recent Happenings re Student and Work permits reaching new heights
Regarding other immigration news, Canada is on pace to set a new record this year. Study permit processing is on track to reach numbers never seen before. As of November 30, 2022, the IRCC has processed over 670,000 student permits. If you compare this to the number last year, which was 500,000, you are able to see a vast improvement. As a result of these efforts by the IRCC, most new student permits are now being processed within a 60-day service standard.
Work permit processing also saw major improvements this year. According to the IRCC 700,000 work permits were processed by November 30, 2022. If you compare this to about 223,000 in 2019, you are able to see how hard the IRCC has worked to improve their processing.
To avoid bad press (i.e. positive immigration news), The IRCC wants to continue to reduce backlogs and process visitor visas more quickly in response to the growing number of people who want to visit Canada. On a monthly basis, Canada is now processing more visitor visa applications than it did prior to the pandemic. In November 2022, over 260,000 visitor visas were processed. If you compare this to the monthly average in 2019 which was about 180,000 applications.
If you have a question about a case you want to file or a case that is delayed contact Chaudhary Law Office
