What Will My CAIPS File Tell Me?

Note: CAIPS is used slightly differently in each visa office. The information here defines the typical usage in Canadian visa offices, and may not mirror the usage in your specific visa office.

CAIPS Notes will be useful to you in the following scenarios

1. You have just sent your application:
If you have not received your Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR), your CAIPS file will most likely not have been created yet, in this case the file request will come back blank.
Some Canada visa offices do not send out AORs as proficiently as others – and so the nonexistence of an AOR might not mean that the CAIPS file has not been produced. Obtaining your file in these situations is tentative, but will verify whether the visa office has started processing your application or not.

2. You have just received your Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR):
The CAIPS file will usually have at least one useful piece of information: the file’s official bring forward date will inform you when (in theory) your application will be place on a immigration officer’s desk for formal assessment.

3. You have been invited to interview:
The CAIPS file will have the immigration officer’s notes entered when he evaluates the file and decided whether an interview was required, as well as your early point’s assessment. The CAIPS notes will usually indicate why you need to be interviewed and may give pointers for extra information you will need to present at the interview to argue your immigration case.

4. You have taken your medicals but are still waiting:
The typical reasons for delays after you have taken your medicals are either waiting for the medicals to be rubber stamped, a wait in CSIS (Canadian Security and Intelligence Service) security / background checks (there are not strange for applicants who have travelled extensively or are applying from certain countries), or some absent documentation. CAIPS will point out if security checks have been completed, and what other steps are outstanding if any. Though, it will not show any details about the real processing of your background checks.
Source: www.caips.ca

CAIPS Notes for Canadian Immigration Applicants

For the many thousands of people who have put forward a Canadian immigration application the agonizing wait for news can last months, or in numerous cases years. As time go by, the doubts in the mind of applicant begins to move stealthily in.

Most of the Canadian Immigration applicants wonder that:
1. Did I make a blunder on the application form?
2. Do I truly have enough points to meet CIC's (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) requirements?
3. When will a visa officer next evaluate my file?

The thing which make matters poorer, that the regional visa office where the application is being processed will generally not permit to respond to questions from applicants eager for news.

However, what many people don't understand is that they can get precious information about the status of their application without bothering the visa office that is handling their case. CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) runs a computer system known as CAIPS (Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System). CAIPS is used to manage immigration applications being processed exterior of Canada. Every time a modification is made to a visa application, the details are recorded in the CAIPS system. For a little fee individuals can get a computer printout from the CAIPS system which may show the status of their file.

There are a lot of scenarios where obtaining your CAIPS notes can be helpful, so the big question is WHEN and WHY you should request your CAIPS notes?

1. If you have been asked to go to an interview, requesting your CAIPS notes can assist you to get ready. They may point out why the interview has been requested.

2. If you feel that you have not heard anything for a remarkable amount of time, requesting your CAIPS notes can assist you to ensure that your application is still on track.

3. If you have put forward additions or changes to your application, e.g. adding an additional dependant to the application after the birth of a child, requesting your CAIPS notes may facilitate you to check that your addition has been received and the details added to your file.

4. If you are just interested as to how your application is progressing, requesting your CAIPS notes may give you an idea of when an immigration officer will next evaluate your file.

Possibly the best part about ordering your CAIPS notes is that it will not holdup your application in any way. These requests are hold by a government office in Ottawa, Canada and are independent of the visa office handling your case.

Canada Immigration and CAIPS

CAIPS is acronym of "Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System”. CAIPS includes all the determinations made by a visa officer evaluating your file, in addition to concern the Canadian visa officer may have on your file.

It is at all times a good idea to ask for the CAIPS notes on your file if processing of your immigration case is taking longer than likely. For instance, most probably Citizenship and Immigration Canada is waiting for information from your side and you by no means received the request. Or maybe the visa officer has a concern about the authority of a document but you were not at all informed.

CAIPS let you to see concerns with your application which you can rapidly deal with by communication with the office managing your immigration application.

If you are called for an interview you should obtain your CAIPS which will likely disclose why the interview was called and which concerns the Canadian visa officer will discuss with you.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will send CAIPS to a Canadian address or to a spokesperson in Canada. If you are not residing in Canada there are some firms who will get CAIPS for you for a fee.