Kemeshia:
You do not need to include your reference number. It has a barcode on the first st page, and says:
“Below is a barcode that will help our agents match the information you supplied when you submitted your interest to sponsor your parents. Please print this page, and include it as your first page when you submit your application.”
So, don’t sweat if you lost your reference number. As for seeing 15k reference numbers, I think that’s the preliminary list. They send out invitations to the first batch and have extra 5k as a backup in case some people are found to be not eligible. That’s just my thought.
Curious, eh?