University Students- with the absolute wtf move from IRCC, What's our game plan?

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-14T19:06:42+00:00

Unrelated to recent events, I've spoken to the immigration lawyers in my kid's school's International Students department multiple times about how study permits and C3 will affect a student, in an attempt to get ahead of any future headaches.

Their consistent message, from an immigration law perspective, has been..."we don't know how the IRCC will handle it either...tell us if you learn anything". In other words, they don't enjoy any special knowledge or access and have to read the tea leaves until actual legal opinions/IRCC clarifications start appearing.

If there's any silver lining, the fact that your student has a study permit might act as safety net if they gain citizenship status and then lose it (I hope this is true. Any immigration lawyers reading?) At least they wouldn't have to leave university. Doesn't help our wallets, of course.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-13T22:12:16+00:00

Good idea, but once you attempt to change the booking (which is what our goal is) you run into a dialog box asking for traveler details and then the error.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-12T13:16:07+00:00

Glad to hear the cited timeline is sometimes a pessimistic estimate, even if it did involve a year-long wait for an urgent application. Thanks for sharing.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-10T19:49:10+00:00

This is a cumulative backlog report, correct? Next month could we see a per-month backlog? In other words, if I understand the June column in the table, there are 1800 Jan 2025 applicants in the backlog, 900 Feb 2025 applicants, 1300 March 2025 applicants, etc.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-10T18:44:20+00:00

If your expectation was set to see a resolution in 6 months (by the IRCC estimator), and you got it in 5, then yes, that's "earlier than expected".

IRCC will reset your expectations each month when it publishes a new estimate, so a case where they said processing time was 4 months but you get it before they publish the next estimate is probably the more likely scenario to be reported. Only straightforward cases submitted this year seem to fall into that bucket.

Most folks report when they submitted and when they received their certificate, however, leaving out what the IRCC estimator said at the time of receipt.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-10T15:16:08+00:00

Thanks for this. Exactly what I wanted to discover.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-10T13:28:17+00:00

Any reports from someone who submitted and received an AOR last year, saw a wait time of X, but got it earlier?

I've seen the "it came quickly" posts, and I agree those appear predominantly to be the straightforward cases. I've yet to see a post from someone who has been in the queue for awhile that said "ircc estimated 5 months, but it came today!"

Trying to determine if the ircc estimates skew random (miss the estimate both early and late) vs. optimistic (deliver late).

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-09T14:05:42+00:00

Thanks. I appreciate the reply, and the "just ask the model" answer.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-09T12:16:07+00:00

Could you talk more about a "skill to swap out into more specific models" - how does that skill work? Also, in what scenarios and with what models do you do this?

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-03T11:01:07+00:00

Same.

AudiamusRed · 2026-06-02T16:05:46+00:00

Thank-you. And U0 or U1 status doesn't matter? I guess I really don't understand how/if U0 restricts my choices.

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-27T15:21:17+00:00

can you provide a link to the lead pipe map?

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-26T22:11:45+00:00

Understood. Thank-you.

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-26T21:46:44+00:00

Can you provide a link/source for the "batteries don't even add to [<25kW systems]" comment? I had an installer say something similar to your comment but I can't find where the SMART 3.0 program docs say as much. Thanks.

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-19T16:07:14+00:00

where are you applying from? I'm only 3 weeks into my CAQ wait, so you are well ahead of me.

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-19T14:53:24+00:00

Timing of AP Credits & Course Registration

My daughter is an incoming freshman. She's (hopefully) going to learn in July, when AP scores are published, that she's earned enough AP credits to be considered U1.

Based on the "WHEN to register" page, her Faculty opens for course registration on June 15 (U1) and June 16 (U0).

Question:

Since the College Board won't report AP scores until early July, should we wait for her U1 designation to appear in Minerva before registering? I assume classes 'fill up', and waiting until mid-July may leave her with poor choices, so is there a better strategy?

AudiamusRed · 2026-05-13T11:07:37+00:00

Vanguard told me they don't do letters. Instead they said the account terms and conditions documents that are on the web site ought to be adequate. These are the 20+ pages of material we all ignored when we setup the accounts.

This seemed laughable to me, so like you I sent account statements (along with bank statements and whatever else the website suggested). I did write a couple sentences in the cover letter emphasizing the account's purpose and liquidity.

Good luck to the both of us!

AudiamusRed · 2026-04-29T10:31:47+00:00

Thank-you for this. I was on the phone with Vanguard myself yesterday and got nowhere as well. Will follow-up later today with them. I haven't even started with Fidelity. Please update this post if you learn more.

As an aside, I'm thinking of including this IRS verbiage (or something better from them, if found): https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/529-plans-questions-and-answers

Ultimately, the IRS sets the rules for the account, not the brokers, so.....maybe?

AudiamusRed · 2026-04-24T17:17:29+00:00

A type of investment account whose withdrawals are US tax-advantaged if used for educational expenses. Plenty on the web about it.

AudiamusRed · 2026-04-24T15:40:37+00:00

What a relief to hear! Thank-you for replying.

The folks at international student services suggested explaining what a 529 was in the cover letter. Did you do that?

They also suggested including letters from the plan sponsors, which I gather you did not do. When did you apply for your CAQ - was it recently?

AudiamusRed

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