GCMS - THE FACTS AND THE MYTHS
A COMPLETE GUIDE
Any applicant who has applied for immigration to Canada has to wait from anywhere between six months to a year in some cases, before they receive a decision on their application. With the introduction of ‘Express Entry,’ the wait time has significantly gone down, but the uncertainty prevails. From the day you file your application, an applicant’s life comes to a stand still. Some applicants have to plan about resigning from jobs, planning for their kids, selling their hours to numerous other issues.
All an applicant expects is to know the progress of their application, and watch out for any red flags and take corrective action before any damage is done. The only way to do so is by ordering GCMS notes. While there is ample of information floating on the internet with regard to GCMS, most of it is mere speculation and incorrect. Here is a complete guide to GCMS.
What is GCMS notes?
GCMS (Global Case Management System) is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC’s) system used to process applications for citizenship and immigration. The system contains a detailed record of each applicant’s file, including correspondence from and to IRCC, documents received from the applicant, detailed notes from the officers reviewing the file among others. With the ability to see what the reviewing officer has written on your file, GCMS notes are the only accurate way of providing an applicant with the in-depth view of his file, thus enabling the applicant to be well informed of the status, or take pro-active steps as needed. Under what law are the GCMS notes issued?
The GCMS notes are issued under the Access to Information and Privact Act (AIPT). AIPT is a federal law and any person can get access to information about him from the federal government. AIPT also allows for obtaining the information on behalf of someone else. The biggest drawback is that to apply for information, one has to be a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent Resident. In you are neither, then you can use the services of commercial companies offering to obtain the GCMS on your behalf.
Does ordering GCMS slow the processing of the file or affect adversely? The answer is NO. Ordering GCMS is your right under the AIPT. It does not affect your file or your case in any way. On the contrary, in some cases since the officer working on your file has to review your file before it is sent out, does update documents received from other agencies and helps your file move forward. Why can’t I get the same information over email or phone? While email and phone calls are always an option, they do not provide an accurate summary of your file. This is because the customer service representatives can only provide limited information and do not interpret the notes for you. Getting a hold of a representative over the phone is a difficult task by itself. Questions sent out by email are usually replied back generic response, which is more frustrating than being helpful.
How can I order GCMS notes? If you are a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent resident you can order the notes for yourself and others, however, if you are not a citizen and neither a PR, you will need a third party to request GCMS notes for you. Which is the best place to oder GCMS notes? This is a matter of personal choice, but there are a few things to keep in mind. We highly recommend https://www.getgcms.com. Our recommendation is based on two main factors, security and ease of use. The information you rely is very important and confidential. Any person in possession with your information can possibly steal your identity. This is why GET GCMS has been designed to ensure a complete secure environment from the time you open the website. GET GCMS is SSL protected, and the payments are made through some of the world’s leading payment gateways. The information entered on the website cannot be hacked due to SSL interface. Further, the information stored and the GCMS notes are handled in compliance with The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). None of these compliance is offered by any other service provider.
GET GCMS is easy to use and the entire process is explained on the website in simple language. The website is designed to make it easy for an applicant to understand the information sought, and in case there are further questions, the GET GCMS team is there to help you.
While the government only charges $5, why do other service provides charge more?
It is true that the government only charges $5 per request, however, there is an additional cost of maintaining the site, employees, compliance with the SSL and PIPEDA, in case of GET GCMS, and ensuring that the information collected always remains safe and secure. This is why these third party service providers charge more. Further, at GET GCMS, we started with a vision to provide more services to applicants and this is the first step. All income generated from GET GCMS, after deducting the costs, will be put into other projects to benefit applicants. There has also been a lot of dubious cases with consultants providing incorrect or incomplete information, so we collaborated with licensed lawyers to provide additional services through the site if an applicant wishes to get them.
Why does it take so long to get GCMS notes? Under the Canadian AIPT and Privacy Act the IRCC has to respond to a request for GCMS notes within 30 days. However, 45 days is the average processing time after taking into consideration the workload on different offices and the number of pending requests. Is there a way to expedite the process?
Unfortunately no. However, if your case is one where you have initiated a litigation, then IRCC will issue you GCMS notes within 5 days. For all other requests, it takes 30-45 days. How to read GCMS notes? While it is confusing to begin with, but if you spend enough time, it becomes easy as it is your information. Before you even start, it is important to understand how a case file is processed. A detailed information about the process is available at : http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t405705.0.html;msg5254511#msg5254511 .
If you need help of a lawyer to understand your notes, GET GCMS offers that service to through some of the leading immigration lawyers in Canada. They also offer 30-45 minutes skype consultations to access your file and advise other avenues to become a PR if your case is not progressing as desired.
What is the best time to order GCMS?
While there is a lot of difference of opinion in when to order, but the simple answer is after R10 stage. R10 refers to Regulation 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It is a strict review where it is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure that his application is complete. If the application is incomplete, it is rejected immediately and nothing much can be done, except re-filing it. Once your application crosses this stage, which is usually within the first month, that is the right time to order GCMS notes.