So we have a good update to share!
We had our medical / RCMP / passport request from MTL. The request actually came through our Senator, who we asked to reach out on our behalf last week. We're elated since I think we are finally in the end game now. This reinforces a suspicion I had, which is the consulate sits on your clearance from the state department for a while until it is convenient for them to process your case. I wanted to make sure we didn't ask for senatorial help until our case was 'ripe' enough to get action by Montreal. The factors & recent timeline of events that led us to reach out were:
- I emailed on April 30th and did not get a response, even though they updated our case in late May.
- Many people around my vintage on the tracker were getting processed between late May and now.
- I had another update on July 9th, but no additional follow up for a couple of weeks.
- I had a hunch that either the May or July update was them receiving the clearance, but they had other priorities.
- After waiting from July 9th for an organic update and document request, and it not coming, we felt we could now ask congress to inquire to help expedite things.
- We used the Senator's webform for assistance on July 25th.
- They confirmed they reached out to the consulate on July 29th.
- We had an update on CEAC on July 30th.
- Today (July 31st) we received an email from the senator with the documentation request, also explaining how the CO reviewed our file on July 30th.
Given the very fast response after the senatorial outreach, I think it is safe to say they helped expedite things. I do, however, believe if we had asked for help months ago (before state department clearance), they would have received push back, making more difficult for them to reach out and expedite things when it is actually possible.
All of this is anecdotal, but I'm sharing the details hoping that maybe it could help people decide when it is appropriate to seek outside assistance.
Oh, and one more thing. since I was asked for RCMP check again, it is safe to say that they are probably only valid for 1 year.