Is GCMS useful?

Express Entry
1

Hey Everyone

After rejecting one ITA, I submitted my application when I got the ITA again on 9/11. Now, I was advised by a friend that GCMS might be useful to check the status of the application. I checked their website and saw that the processing time is 40 days.

I am not clear about the usefulness of GCMS if it takes that long. Has anyone used their services here? Can someone help me understand it, please?

Thanks
Ravish

2

We got our GCMS notes recently. It took us just over 30 days to receive them.

Our application has been in background check since June 29 so we ordered the notes to see if something was wrong. Everything looked fine in the notes so we don’t know where the holdup is. The notes kinda just give another view of what you see in the portal with some gaps filled in.

The notes are 113 pages long and only a few pages are what are useful info for us. We got some peace in knowing that there is nothing wrong with our application or documents but we still don’t know why it is taking so long to process.

We are nearing our 6 month mark since we submitted our EE profile which is why we got the GCMS notes. I would suggest that you wait at least until 3 months have passed before you order yours.

3

Thank you! That’s helpful.
What’s confusing to me is if GCMS provides continuous updates after the initial 40 days for processing that they talk about on their website. And whether it’s really going to add any value. But I will take your advice and wait.

My application was submitted 20 days ago and it’s still in it’s first stage of “eligibilty verification”.

4

Hi guys,
Thanks for sharing.

Is there any guidance from the GCMS notes (or crowd-sourced wisdom) on better understanding which are the crucial stages and/or the bottleneck stages?

What I am struggling with is the lack of information on the flow/progress through the various stages a typical application. I am talking about the various steps listed when you click on the ‘Application Status’ i.e. Eligibility, background check, Medical, etc. (see my table below)

You mentioned that your application is still at the ‘background check’ stage. Is that good or bad?

For example: We submitted our PR on May-14th. So we’re coming on close to 5 months, but I don’t know that for a typical/average application, which stages should be complete and pending after 5 months?

My application says they’re still reviewing Eligibility.
Question: Is that typical status? Is that good/bad?

My application says they will send us a message when they’ve started a background check.
Question: We haven’t received any such message saying they’ve started a background check. Is this typical for a 5-month aged application? Is this good/bad?

It’d be useful if we can create a post/sticky that gives a broad overview based on crowd wisdom/experiences.

Application step Current status
Review of eligibility We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
Review of medical results You passed the medical exam.
Review of additional documents We do not need additional documents.
Interview You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.
Biometrics We do not need your fingerprints. We will send you a message if this changes.
Background check Your application is in progress. We will send you a message when we start your background check.
Final decision Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

_ Ash

5

Tagging @vik to check if we have any such thread out there.

6

Hi @Ash

I am not an expert here since my application is also still in the first “review” stage :slight_smile: , but I think 5 months in that stage is worrisome. I’d suggest that you call IRCC and check. I know the helpline takes time to connect but you should get some clarity directly from them.

7

I agree with @ravishchandra here. By the 5 month mark, the application status should at least say that the background check has started. Having said that, I have seen people on other forums mention that their applications did not get updated in the CIC profile but they got PPR anyway so it is worth calling CIC and checking where your application stands.

8

Hi Ash,

Did you get your PR?

I see you filed yours on the 14th of May 2018. I submitted my application on the 1st of June and my status is exactly the same as yours. Just that my background check started four days ago. 4.5 months after I got AOR.

9

Hi, no change yet. Status is still the same at about 5+ months

10

@Ash and @HarryPotter just curious. did you all pay your RPRF fee upfront?

11

Yes I did pay the fee upfront

12

Thats interesting. The reason I asked was because they claimed paying RPRF fee upfront would expedite the processing of application. But looks like it isnt really the case. On myimmitracker I have been noticing that many applications are taking a long time but havent seen refusal when the application has taken so long so stay positive

13

HI i’m not sure what is RPRF - I clearly remember paying $1040 upfront at the time for AOR.

14

So yes you paid it as well. It’s Right of Permanent Resident fee. I wonder why it’s taking so long.

15

I don’t think paying the fee upfront will expedite this particular step. You should have the decision regardless. Once you have the decision and to move to the next step… then THAT step will be expedited since you would have already paid the fee.

16

I see. That makes sense.

17

yes. after the medicals is done, your application status may not reflect the actual status for a long time.
Sometimes there might be delays more than 6 months.
If you want to know how your application is getting reviewed by analysts or officers, you can get those details from GCMS notes.
it will have all the records including dates of what has been done so far on your application.

https://www.applygcms.com/order-pricing.html

1 Like
18

Hi ,

I ordered my GCMS notes recently and I can see that neither eligibility assessment nor security/criminality have started. We are at the 5 month mark and I am concerned that the Montreal office hasn’t even started looking at our application. Does anyone have any insights on what might be happening here?

19

Montreal is slow compared to other Visa Offices. the average time to get PPR is 7 months. Do not compare your timelines with other Visa Offices. So its normal as per the Montreal Visa Office.

PS - My application was also processed by Montreal and I got my PPR in 6.5 months and mine was one of the quickest.

20

Thank you! That’s a relief because I was thinking that something might be wrong with our application.
Do you know why some applications go through slower processing and to this office? Is it office chosen randomly? And is there anything we can do to speed up the process?