I'm in bureaucratic hell and afraid I'm failing
I feel obligated to start with the preamble that I know there are extremely serious problems in the world. While I struggle with my bullshit, there are people who are being tortured, who are starving, who live in extremely oppressive countries. Come the "worst" for me, I am "stuck" living in one of the wealthiest and freest societies in the history of humanity. I am very well aware of my luck -- and to me, it is that, luck, as I did nothing to deserve the gifts I was born into, just as the poor and oppressed did nothing to deserve their fate. I am getting into the realm of philosophy here and that is for another blog ...
So, here's my pathetic whining, the reason for my tears of frustration, my churning stomach, my aching head:
1. I finally received the clearance letter from the Costa Rican government. They spelled my name wrong and they put "no date of birth" in the space where it is required because the consulate did not provide it (although, of course, I did -- in several places). I could scream. I will submit what I have with my PR application to CIC while I request another letter from Costa Rica. I figure that if the CIC returns the application, I will have the new letter to include when I send it back. If the CIC accepts the application and sends the letter with my file number, I will send the new clearance letter and ask that it be added to my file, referencing the number.
2. Yesterday, after waiting for months for a promised letter from my current supervisor, I wrote a letter myself and asked that she sign it. I sent it via email last night and then visited the office today. (I rarely see supervisors, as I work at assignments at other locations.) SHE'S NOT THERE ANYMORE. And the current person says that it is against corporate policy to write letters. They use a third-party processor, called "The Work Number" to verify employment and it will only provide the barest of information. I've had experience with these "Work Number" people before, as another (previous) employer uses them as well. They won't issue a letter to me and if they hear that it's for anything having to do with immigration, they'll stop talking to you. I ended up calling number after number at the corporate offices of the employer, until I finally emailed someone who was mentioned on an outgoing voice mail, explained my journey thus far, and begged him to have pity. I got a three-sentence letter; at least it's something.
I believe that with persistence and time, I can get something from this employer, too. But I am concerned because it is my current employer. I feel that this will hurt our application because I don't think that the CIC is just looking to see that one is employed, but that one is highly employable. I've written a ton of material about my skills and what I've accomplished -- but is the CIC willing to take my word for it with hardly any back-up from a third party? Somehow, I doubt it.
Meanwhile, the documents we've been collecting over the past five months are aging.
I'm not in much of a rational mood right now, but better than I was a few hours ago. I am trying to think of some creative solutions, like submitting letters from people I've actually worked with (who are not my employers) along with whatever "official" letter I can get. I mean, it makes sense to me, but I don't know the mind of someone who evaluates applications at CIC. Are they strictly "by the book" and have no room for circumstances?
Have I just been wasting my time (and money) all along? Should we cut our losses now before we pay the hefty application fees? I feel like I need to see it through, so that I am not defeating us. But it will be crushing if we get rejected. Really crushing. Perhaps it was hubris to think I could make this happen anyway.
So, here's my pathetic whining, the reason for my tears of frustration, my churning stomach, my aching head:
1. I finally received the clearance letter from the Costa Rican government. They spelled my name wrong and they put "no date of birth" in the space where it is required because the consulate did not provide it (although, of course, I did -- in several places). I could scream. I will submit what I have with my PR application to CIC while I request another letter from Costa Rica. I figure that if the CIC returns the application, I will have the new letter to include when I send it back. If the CIC accepts the application and sends the letter with my file number, I will send the new clearance letter and ask that it be added to my file, referencing the number.
2. Yesterday, after waiting for months for a promised letter from my current supervisor, I wrote a letter myself and asked that she sign it. I sent it via email last night and then visited the office today. (I rarely see supervisors, as I work at assignments at other locations.) SHE'S NOT THERE ANYMORE. And the current person says that it is against corporate policy to write letters. They use a third-party processor, called "The Work Number" to verify employment and it will only provide the barest of information. I've had experience with these "Work Number" people before, as another (previous) employer uses them as well. They won't issue a letter to me and if they hear that it's for anything having to do with immigration, they'll stop talking to you. I ended up calling number after number at the corporate offices of the employer, until I finally emailed someone who was mentioned on an outgoing voice mail, explained my journey thus far, and begged him to have pity. I got a three-sentence letter; at least it's something.
I believe that with persistence and time, I can get something from this employer, too. But I am concerned because it is my current employer. I feel that this will hurt our application because I don't think that the CIC is just looking to see that one is employed, but that one is highly employable. I've written a ton of material about my skills and what I've accomplished -- but is the CIC willing to take my word for it with hardly any back-up from a third party? Somehow, I doubt it.
Meanwhile, the documents we've been collecting over the past five months are aging.
I'm not in much of a rational mood right now, but better than I was a few hours ago. I am trying to think of some creative solutions, like submitting letters from people I've actually worked with (who are not my employers) along with whatever "official" letter I can get. I mean, it makes sense to me, but I don't know the mind of someone who evaluates applications at CIC. Are they strictly "by the book" and have no room for circumstances?
Have I just been wasting my time (and money) all along? Should we cut our losses now before we pay the hefty application fees? I feel like I need to see it through, so that I am not defeating us. But it will be crushing if we get rejected. Really crushing. Perhaps it was hubris to think I could make this happen anyway.
posted by Daniel wbc at 5:27 PM
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