Aug 10, 2022

On July 21, 2022, the long-awaited E-CoPR was finally received. It has been five years since the first visit to Saskatoon in July 2017, it has been five years! After five years of hard work and suffering, I finally got it! My heart is really full of emotions, which is hard to express.

In November 2018, I was at a loss when I first signed in. I didn't know what the future would look like? I wonder if the business I bought can support my family here? This has never been considered in China, and I feel extremely stressed. Although, as an entrepreneur who have some savings in China, I understand the principle of "fritter away a fortune" after half my life.

Since we have embarked on this road, there is no turning back, and we have to go on with it. In April 2019, we picked and chose and finally bought a grocery store in the town, which was a place to settle down.

Although I am at an intermediate English level, it is my first time to run a grocery store. First of all, I am not familiar with the consumption habits of the local people. Secondly, I could understand the English name of the goods but do not know what it is. I often place wrong orders. After half a year's struggle, the business finally stabilized. In February 2020, I received the provincial nomination letter from the SINP.

At this time, we were facing the most critical application for PR. After careful consideration, I finally chose Anchor as my immigration representative. The first time I met Suzie was a Business trip in Saskatoon, and she gave me the impression that she was a quiet, responsible and fair person. For instance, there were a couple with us and we were at the back row of Suzie’s SUV. It was smaller than that in the front. My wife and I always sit in the back. When we returned, Suzie asked them to change the seats with us to the front. We did not ask her to do that, and this made me feel she was a fair, careful and considerate person. I have always been anxious during the years of waiting for PR, always thinking about doing what I should do to save time for the immigration officers to assess as soon as possible.

After signing the contract with Anchor, some immigrant friends reminded me that I should pay step by step, otherwise they will not be so active. It was quite the opposite in my case. It is understandable a new immigrant has such worry, because there are so many uncertainties, and each immigration firm does things differently.

With the detailed help of Suzie and her team, we finally submitted it at the end of April 2020.I admit that the documents were large amount. Then the pandemic came, and the federal government began to work at home. Obviously, the entire process started to slow down.

We occasionally heard that some new immigrants had obtained PR which made us feel anxious as if we were sitting on pins and needles. We always want to check if there is any news in our account. Sometimes I couldn't bear it and called Suzie to ask. She replied to me patiently every time: It is a special period of time now. We only have to wait and the result will come out eventually. That being said, I was still worry, especially so when the progress bar in my account has passed 100%. What made me worried most was is that my new immigrant friends who submitted the application later than me all got PR.

When it was May, 2022, i was too anxious to know what to do. I saw a video on YouTube that someone applied for a mandamus through an immigration lawyer, and it was successful. Then I found an immigration lawyer in Toronto, and he told me: as an entrepreneur applicant, if you apply for a mandamus you need to take three steps.

After that I called Suzie and asked for her advice. She immediately told me directly: your case is being processed, and the Immigration Bureau has not refused you. If you go to court, you have no chance of winning, and the lawyer's fee of $5000 will be wasted. After a second thought, we finally did not apply for a mandamus. Now it turns out that she was completely right.

Suzie saw my anxiety and suggested that I consult the local MP. I didn’t know where to find them. She helped me find one in a neighboring town. I called the MP with a try. Actually, she was very enthusiastic. After a month, the news finally came. She Let me have the updated status of my case (which cannot be seen in the GCKEY account). Before that, I also called the Service Centre. After a long Waiting, no one answered. When eventually someone answered, I was told that my case was under processing and no other information was available. I broke down—I tried everything I can think of but still can do nothing except for waiting.

Finally, the first request was received on May 31, 2022. At that time, I was very excited for this progress! However, the long list of requested documents made me feel headache. Had to provide 10 items, as if I were applying for the work permit again. It's another big headache! I was worried about there’s no news, and I was even worried when the news was too breaking! Am good at English, I was sure that it couldn’t help me at all when reading the letter of request. I can understand the information, but I really do not understand what document is requested?

With Suzie’s overtime work, I finally submitted the first request in mid-June. Unexpectedly, on June 21, a second request came again. This time, there was not much requested, and some were already submitted last time. But only one week was given. Without any delay, Suzie submitted the required documents for me on June 26. On July 18, I received the approval letter. I sent Suzie a tip for appreciation, but she refused.

Additionally, I remember that our work permit will expire at the end of August 2022. In February, I asked Suzie to renew it. She said that it was not urgent, your PR should be soon finalized, you only have to wait. It was her prediction that saved me the cost of renewing the work permit.

Here, I really want to say how important it is for us to find a professional representative for a successful application. You need to let the professionals do the job.