Shame on you Canada Immigration!

Well, We found out from our MP's office a week ago that the visa for our step-daughter was issued. We had made numerous inquiries, but did not get any answers ourselves. They told us the visa would be sent to Santo Domingo last week. I booked my husband on a plane for April 5 to April 12 to return with his daughter. Her medical expires April 18th. Which means the Visa should as well.

My husband called last Friday and yesterday to the embassy in Santo Domingo and there was no Visa. I told him to go in today and speak to someone in person. He did and he received the ViSA today with an expiry of April 11 which is this Saturday!!!! I am livid! Jose asked why it was the 11th to the man behind the counter. He had no answer for him, but was quick to remind him that if he didn't fly her out on Saturday we would be starting this process over again!

If it wasn't for our MP two weeks ago making the inquiry's we would never have made plans for my husband to get to DR and we wouldn't have known the visa had been issued. Yesterday the website, finally changed to decision made. If we had waited for immigration to call, our little girl would have missed her day. We would still be waiting and her visa would have expired Saturday.

Shame on them! Shame on them for not having the courtesy and the consideration to a 4yr old child. I will be making a formal complaint and making a complaint under the human rights act. This is absolutely non-sense. Luckily I was able to find one flight out of Punta Cana this Thursday. We will be together as a family in two days.

This is my second time through this and this is the second time I have felt the standard of treatment different than any other agency. I am a gov't employee and would never treat anyone like they have treated my family or you!

A lesson to everybody to take control of your destiny. Order the CAIPS. Have your MP's make phone calls. If we continue to allow them to control us they will continue to do whatever they feel like!

Thanks for allowing me to speak my thoughts.
Sandy

AnnaC said:

Idiotas!

I was under the impression from what others have posted that the visa is good for 3 months so I wonder how long they've been holding on to it. Maybe this is how the embassy along with all connected make extra money, things expire and have to be re-done. You have to wonder.

Sandy if you know of where to make a complaint that will be heard please post it and anyone wishing to add their complaints can do so.

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Anna;

I was always told that the expiry of your visa would be the medical date and that was the case for my husband. Maybe there was a data entry error made when they logged on the medical....but even if that is the case there still is no excuse for how we were treated and how close we were to losing our chance to be a family.

I might have over spoken in my anger about where I will lodge the complaint. Sorry! I will investigate further and I will let everyone know where they can if they feel they have a complaint. There has to be some federal organziation that will listen....or should I make that assumption??!! LOL

bob saunders said:

Hold off on your complaints until she's safely in Canada, then have your MP put in an Official inquiry. Something smells here. One of my wife's teacher just got her visitor's Visa and it's good for six months.

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Hi Bob;

She is coming in on the family class visa which means once she lands in Toronto the Visa is nul and void and she is granted permanent residency. So it is different from the Vistor's Visa. It's the same visa as our spouses. I will wait until she arrives. Something does smell...I just can't figure out how rotten it is!

Thanks everyone for your support. I will have a chat with my MP this week..or next to speak about my options. I will be using your link Anna to the Minister.

Update:

While cleaning out the suitcase this morning, I found the envelope from Haiti that had my step-daughters passport/visa in it from Haiti to Sto Domingo. It was marked in Red Ink 10 times URGENT!

So, I guess they were "trying"???!!! I am thankful all has worked out. I will still be writing a letter to my MP and the minister in charge of immigration on the "Haiti communications". I thank everyone for their support. I got some interesting PM's regarding their stories. I encourage everyone who has had the communication problems to also write (when you have your spouse/child here!).
ie. not receiving mail
ie. Representative not receiving anything
ie. How they determine day of expiry of Visa (was there a data entry error?)
ie. Not being told the date of expiry.
ie. one day telephone, one day letter to spouse, one day email..etc.

Good Luck to everyone
Sandy