Eligibility Question

[Deiniol]

Hi @bslay235
They haven't replied to my webform question, I haven't reached them on the phone yet and the issue is still present on my EE profile

 

[bslay235]

Me too @Deiniol, after all, we are not doing anything that changes de CRS score or gives us an advantage in any way.

I saw in this forum that there is another old glitch in the system where people receive ITA for CEC with 11 months and 3 weeks of experience. And the recommendation is to refuse the ITA, otherwise, the application gets refused. So it seems that only following the system doesn't guarantee that we can appeal in case of refusal. And as you are experiencing firsthand it's not simple to contact IRCC in case we want to appeal.

 

[Deiniol]

@bslay235, hold on man I didn't fully understand this part.
> So it seems that only following the system doesn't guarantee that we can appeal in case of refusal. And as you are experiencing firsthand it's not simple to contact IRCC in case we want to appeal.
You mean, keeping Canadian expertise in the profile could result in our applications being rejected and in need to make an appeal, right? Or vice versa, if we do what you originally suggested (removing exp before ITA, then adding it back)?

 

[bslay235]

@Deiniol
What I mean is that if we keep the Canadian experience and apply under CEC, this could lead to a refusal. And it doesn't seem like it would be easy to just argue with the agent that it was a system glitch and it's their fault. Based on what I saw on other posts it doesn't matter to them if it's a glitch or not, you have to qualify for the program you are applying for.

 

[bslay235]

So I still think removing the Canadian Experience and adding it after ITA would be the best course of action. Either that or wait until they fix the issue... but god knows when that will happen...

 

[Deiniol]

@bslay235 Thanks for the clarification. Totally agree with you

 

[aristotelian]

@Deiniol After some thoughts, I agree that removing the Canadian experience would be OK in this case since:

1. In general it is actually better to have Canadian experience in your profile, so removing it from the profile doesn't seem like a mischievous move. In fact, it is hard to think of dishonest motives for why people would remove the Canadian experience from their profile.

2. I imagine that there would be cases in which people actually could've claimed more points but they just forgot about some items, yet still got an ITA, and the omission should be fine, because they are claiming fewer points than they could've claimed (and not the other way around).

3. And yes, you could always write a letter explaining what happens to the the IRCC officer. My suggestion would be to:
a. Take a screen shot of the glitch
b. Write a web form to IRCC and attach the message you wrote them
c. Attach their response to your web form showing that they could not resolve the issue

I think with these three reasons, you are justified to remove the experience and then add it again later.

But I thought once you get an ITA, your profile is locked?

 

[aristotelian]

So I still think removing the Canadian Experience and adding it after ITA would be the best course of action. Either that or wait until they fix the issue... but god knows when that will happen...

@bslay235 As I asked in my reply to @Deiniol , can you add the experience after getting ITA? I thought the profile would be locked already.

 

[aristotelian]

@bslay235 @Deiniol Here's the excerpt:

Candidates’ Express Entry profile is automatically “locked” when they are issued an ITA. Candidates can only revise their profile information if they formally decline the ITA through their online account; however, their information may be updated in their APR. When a candidate declines an ITA, they are automatically returned to the pool and will be able to update their profile information, as they wait for a new ITA.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/express-entry/invitation-apply.html

 

[bslay235]

@aristotelian @Deiniol What I understand from this passage is that the Express Entry profile is locked, but you can change the info on your APR (which is different from your profile).

This is also what I could get from many other posts from this forum when people talk about changing stuff after the ITA. The phrase I hear the most is "you can change it as long as it doesn't impact your CRS"

Some references:
Post ITA changes | Canada Immigration Forum (canadavisa.com)
Modifying Express Entry profile after receiving an ITA | Canada Immigration Forum (canadavisa.com)
(1) IRCC on Twitter: "@jonpmelo 1/2 Hi. It's no longer possible to update your Express Entry profile after you've received your ITA. If you need to change your marital status, you can submit your application with the updated information and a letter of explanation." / Twitter

 

[bslay235]

Btw, I found out that if you use 2 or fewer "Hours per week" for the Canadian experience the system flags the profile as not CEC eligible anymore... I'm not sure yet how useful that is...

It's a shame IRCC has not fixed this yet.

 

[Deiniol]

@aristotelian @bslay235 hey guys.

Answering your question @aristotelian the profile is locked. And even if it wasn't locked it would be pointless to change it since the ITA is already issued.

I declined my ITA today, my profile got unlocked, I removed my Canadian experience, and now I am not eligible for CEC. I'm back in the pool now and hope to get another ITA on December 7 or the next one or the next but one in case the points cut-off has grown since the last draw. After I've received another ITA I will put my Canadian experience to APR, while the profile will be locked without it.

 

[Deiniol]

@bslay235
> 2 or fewer "Hours per week"
Good catch! I'd rather remove it entirely as in your initial suggestion, rather than mess up with hours anyway though

 

[bslay235]

Me to @Deiniol, I'm mainly using the hour thing now to force a profile update, just to check if the issue was fixed without having to remove the entry and add it again.

 

[aristotelian]

Thanks for this clarification, @bslay235. That completely makes sense.

@Deiniol, after you removed your Canadian experience, how long did it take for the website to remove your eligibility for CEC? I hope you'll get an invite soon!