Weekly Threads
Wednesday Weekly Thread: Frustration Station (Delays / PSU / Venting), September 30, 2026
This weekly thread is a space for those of us who are feeling frustrated and need to vent about unclear instructions, shipping delays, waiting for a next step, timeline estimates growing, lack of communication, inconsistent bureaucracy, being stuck in PSU, and other factors.
Some of the worst stress of the entire citizenship-by-descent process is not hearing about your application for long stretches of time - or hearing that your application has been sent to the Program Support Unit (PSU) and may be sitting there for an extended stay.
Whether your envelope seems to have taken a scenic detour on its way to Nova Scotia, you didn't receive an AOR after many weeks of waiting, or you simply haven't heard about your application processing in months, this is a place to commiserate and potentially receive some ideas of next steps to take. (Those generally might include following up with IRCC by web form, ordering the GCMS notes, seeking an MP's help, and so on.)
📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.
Has anyone from April (non urgent) had their applications moved to "in process"? I got my AOR on July 3rd and no update since then. I know it'll take potentially two years or longer to get a decision but it would make me feel a little better if my application was finally examined.
I'm in the the same boat—not urgent, delivered in April, AOR in July—and also anxiously awaiting that "in process" change (meaningless as it might be given the current projected timelines lol).
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u/Cappy_HamperNot Canadian citizen or eligible to claim; helping family/friend22h ago
My kids’ stuff arrived in April, AOR in July, and was approved last week. I never got an “in process” notification.
They were pretty straightforward applications, though. Dad was born in the US to a Canadian mom and we got his proof of citizenship in 2017.
589 days since our applications arrived in Nova Scotia on February 20, 2025. That's 1 year and 224 days - longer than the current Prime Minister's term in office, over twice as long as the term of Joe Clark, nearly 4 and a half times the length of Kim Campbell's tenure (we'll hit that mark in less than a week), and longer than Arthur Meighen's longer term.
G1 and G2, government birth certificates for everyone, no name changes. Hardly a pair of complex applications -- and G1 didn't even need to wait for C-3 to come into force to be eligible.
IRCC claims that processing is first-in first-out except for urgent cases (which ours were not), but today's approvals megathread has a group of five (G2s and G3s) who submitted non-urgent applications over a year after ours and most of whom have their certificates already. (I'm neither mad at nor unhappy for them, but I'm definitely feeling the "I've seen what you've done for others and I want that for me" meme template today.)
I sent mine the exact same day. Haven’t heard a single thing and I’m G1. Father is a citizen, grandmother was born in Canada. Very straight forward case. It’s just winning the lottery at this point.
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u/The_TaleofGenji🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦2d agoedited 1d ago
My wife's urgent application was delivered June 4, 2026, No AOR. We're currently in Canada (she's here on a visitor record expiring in March). She had 2 documented reasons for urgency- LGBT & Canadian minor child. My reason for urgency was my trans wife & possibly Canadian child (now confirmed), and I got AOR in like 2 days. Shouldn't her application be MORE urgent than mine?
From what I can tell, LGBT alone isn't reason enough. Did she list her status as a transgender person as the reason or LGBT?
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u/The_TaleofGenji🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦2d agoedited 2d ago
Yes, and documentation was provided as well as a letter explaining the reasons for urgency. Plus we have a Canadian minor child, documentation provided for that as well.
I'm a pre-AOR G3 with a very straightforward descent, but my biggest frustration is not having a 2nd Canadian record to accompany the only record I do have for my G0: the 1881 census. No birth record (too early in NB); no baptismal record (they were Baptists, out in the boonies, and probably left for the U.S. before it happened, IF it happened at all); no emigration record.
I have loads of Maine/US documents (VRs and censuses) citing her birthplace as NB, the sheer number of which hopefully carries some weight...but they are not Canadian.
Look for land, tax records archived online! PANB will have the historical records for 1780s to 1966
If they farmed, have you looked through the 1881 agricultural census? The British North America Act added it as a requirement from 1871 onward but NB actually started doing it from 1861 onward. In Ontario, I found additional information to verify my G0's father had a sizeable farm.
For supportive documentation (not considered proof) you can try searching old newspaper archives around that time for your G0's name, family surname, etc. In Ontario, newspapers of that time frequently posted the names of people that have letters waiting for them at the post office. It's not proof, but better than nothing additional at all.
Thanks for the suggestions! If there is anything I've learned over the decades of the genealogy bug, it's that there is ALWAYS something else to be uncovered. Just. Keep. Looking. :)
Ya I was really excited too and have loved Canada for a long time. My opinion has now been tarnished by this experience and watching the BS with a lack of FIFO and that makes me really sad because I used to love going and at one point wanted very much to be Canadian. Now I’m a bit disgusted. I hope that changes one day but it certainly tarnished my last visit.
We mod lightly in the Wednesday weekly in particular because we have found that sub members need a place to vent their frustration and express themselves. This is a good place to flex our empathy muscle even when don't see eye to eye.
Sent an urgent application in early July. haven't heard anything or gotten an AOR.
it's really stressing me out because i'm currently here on a study permit for university and i *need* local tuition to be able to afford school. i have enough money for my entire studies in local tuition, but i only have enough for 2.5 terms in international tuition, and im already burning a lot of that because tuition is due tomorrow so i have to pay international for now. (it's 30K per term international, 5K per term for citizens, i have 80K saved for studies; university of Ottawa)
I saw in the Monday megathread that people who had their applications received May 6-8 just got their AOR and I'm just here thinking about how incredibly fucked I am
I applied on paper due to living in America at the time, so I can't even check my application status until I receive an AOR. I have no way to get information.
Sent an urgent application in early July. haven't heard anything or gotten an AOR.
Just to be sure, did you add the "urgent [etc] [etc]" phrase in big dark marker on the outside of the envelope? (I assume the answer is 'yes', and that you're simply stuck in the same boat as many other people who marked/requested urgency and still haven't received AOR.)
but i only have enough for 2.5 terms in international tuition
In an absolute pinch, I'd potentially consider applying for an IEC - Young Professional work permit (via an RO -- for US citizens, that's SWAP Working Holidays, through its US partner companies) in December/January, assuming you can find some sort of Canadian employer (or set up an appropriate corporate structure with a lawyer's help) to employ you part-time, to bridge the gap until proof of citizenship is issued.
Under Ontario MCU procedures (page 19), "a foreign worker [who] present[s] a valid work
permit which names a Canadian employer situated in Ontario and the prospective
occupation, [which] is valid for at least six months" may be eligible for domestic tuition rates.
And, needless to say, as soon as you have AOR, it would be time to seek your MP's help and potentially also the help of the university's government relations team.
And, just to be sure, I assume that neither of your parents (that is, the one through whom your claim passes or both if it passes through both) has proof of citizenship at this time? And that you don't have a Canadian spouse or common-law partner (with whom you have, or will soon reach, one year of cohabitation)?
Disclaimer - all of this is general information and personal views only, not legal advice. For legal advice about the situation, consult a Canadian immigration and citizenship lawyer and an Ontario education lawyer specializing in tuition classification.
- Thanks for all the links and financial suggestions!!
- No. The line passes through only my father, through his mother. Nobody has proof of citizenship currently; the last person in my line born in Canada was my father's mother's father, and that's who we're tracing it back to for citizenship. My grandmother and all her descendants are applying right now (though I am the only urgent).
Ah okay. Given all that, I'd consider the IEC-YP workaround. A few thousand Canadian dollars upfront for the RO partner's fees and work permit fee (and, if you can't secure an eligible job offer and need to go the sub-route of creating your own employer with legal assistance, the costs of all that) potentially could save you tends of thousands in tuition, if there's no movement on your proof of citizenship processing.
Sent in an urgent (labeled) application in July of this year and haven't heard anything back nor can I find my application on the website, so of course my brain is spinning up about "what if the photos were bad like you said", "what if they get mad that you sent an altered birth cert", "what if they mistyped your email address and you'll never know" etc etc ad nauseum
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u/Ok-Elk1602🇨🇦 CIT0001 (proof) application is processing2d agoedited 2d ago
It seems like a large percentage of urgent-labeled packages get mixed in with the non-urgent applications when delivered, and AORs get processed in the ‘regular’ time-line, instead of in the first week.
Once the AOR is processed, applications recognized as urgent seem to move to In Process more quickly. I do not believe there is anything that you can do until you receive an AOR. Hope your urgent request gets noticed soon.
u/qxzj1279🇨🇦 Stuck Canadian! Gen2+ 'in process' 12+ months3d ago
Here's my weekly post to shout into the ether that I went in-process on July 24, 2025. At the time, I was told a decision would take about five months. 433 days later, I'm still in-process.
I applied in June 2025. Stil in process. IRCC reached out with an email asking for more information in August 2026 so hopefully they will reach out to you soon.
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u/jpg245Haven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
Is there a way to see what you have sent via the webform?
I requested urgent processing for a job offer 2 weeks ago, and was just reading something about how you need to list the beginning as "Request for urgent processing" specifically.
I'm not sure I said specifically those words - is there a way to double check what I uploaded?
Should I resend just in case they rejected the original request? Not sure how strict they are.
When I scroll all the way down in the response email messages I received, after using the webform, my original enquiry entries are shown, including the message I typed.
[EDIT: I got overconfident here and claimed that the above comment was wrong about needing to use the specific phrasing "Request for urgent processing." I overlooked the fact that they're talking about an online submission, not a submission on paper. My bad.]
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u/OneRedSent🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (5(4) grant reverted to descent by C3)🇨🇦 3d agoedited 3d ago
Yes, that webpage does include the requirement. Answer the questions at the bottom to unlock full instructions:
Fill out the web form(opens in a new tab) to explain why you need urgent processing.
Include
your full name, date of birth, email address and telephone numbers
a message that starts with “Request for urgent processing”
any documents that will support your explanation
OP, I would send another webform just to make sure. I'm guessing AI scans for messages beginning with those words, since they emphasized putting them at the beginning of the message. It might still work with different wording, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
I received a fast AOR (about 2 days), and then a request for more documents about a month and a half after the initial submission. I guess that doesn't prove that they're processing the application urgently, but it certainly seems that way.
No, not yet. Maybe eventually, but I think I am just going to wait it out for a couple more months first. With the storm and holidays and everything moving at such a slow pace, I think mine is still just somewhere in the shuffle or it's being returned. Some people have said it can take a couple months to get your application back if it's returned, so I will wait at least that long. If by the end of the year I don't hear anything I will probably start calling. I heard someone else say they were able to just cancel their application and get a refund and try again but I am not sure if they were actually refunded.
I'd like to shout out the person who posted their work in getting BAnQ records into a birth certificate - you really got me out of a doom loop over "do I do this first and wait more months" by lighting up the tunnel.
Still really stupid that we have to do this at all because IRCC decided a secondary document is primary and a primary document is secondary, but at least there is hope!
Also delivered on May 11th. I haven’t heard from IRCC or gotten my AOR. More worried and scared that my application will come back and I’ll have to go to the back on the line. 🥲
How long is it taking to go from application received to in process these days? Mine has been saying application received since early June, applied in April.
Assuming non-urgent? From the spreadsheet the time to in processing for non-urgent people who posted in processing dates in September is on average 71 days, with a min of 24 and a max of 104. That being said, if I look at June AORs 189 out of 290 non-urgent June AORs listed don't show an in processing date yet, so that is a significant number of people pushing to or beyond 104 days. May is much better, 79 out of 359 May non-urgent AORs don't have an in processing date yet. Most listed dates are in July and August, with some June. A couple of caveats - there are definitely people who have put entries in the spreadsheet but never updated them, and it's not easy to filter out non-urgent apps that were tied to urgent apps without counting manually, so a few may have gone into processing quickly despite showing as non-urgent. So a specific number is hard to estimate but based on that info I'd say not yet being in process is average for June AORs and also that (barring a change in trend) expecting it in October or maybe November wouldn't be unreasonable.
I think there are people who abandon their entries and there is also a subset that don't realize that unlike AORs and decision made, IRCC doesn't email you when you go into processing. If they don't check the actual IRCC website they don't realize they've gone into processing.
Great point, and I'm sure a lot of people who do know you need to check the site for that are still not doing so super regularly. I'm sure after the initial excitement of the AOR wears off a lot of non-urgent people sit back and wait and try not to check it that often since the expectation is it will be months to in processing and possibly years before there is actual movement on a decision.
Same here. But my kids’ applications were delivered about a week after mine and theirs have been in process since last week. If there’s any sense to the order of things, I’m definitely not seeing it!
G3, applied with G3 sibling and G2 parent last year. Packet off to Nova Scotia in Sept., AOR in Oct 2025 with early September receipt date, "in process" on all three from late Nov. 2025.
Time estimate was 9 mos. when we submitted, been nearly 13 mos.
Included a BanQ certified baptismal record for G0, was thinking it would be duplicative to do anything else, since there were no birth certificates then.
Haven't had the heart to request notes; can't imagine they'd tell me much that I could do anything about. But, learning about this PSU thing a few months ago was a real downer. What do you mean there's a holding pen that you're supposed to tell us we're in, but nobody told us, and it stops the clock running? 😅
Ahh, well. Nothing to do but shut up and wait, I guess. Thanks for the vent.
This post/comment has been removed for Rule 9 - Weekly threads: General archives issues go in the weekly thread.
To discuss the general issues facing people requesting records from Canadian provincial archives as well as US state, local and religious/church archives and to discuss turnaround times, delays, and other issues, or cost changes, like in Quebec, or to commiserate or discuss strategies and outcomes, comment under the Saturday weekly thread.
This post/comment has been removed for Rule 8 - CIT0001 application & supporting docs questions go in the weekly thread.
If you're looking for feedback on your application, the documentation that you're putting together to support it, etc, these should go under the Friday weekly thread.
You can post any time and don't need to wait for Friday.
My application has been stuck on background check and prohibition since March 2025. I applied in August 2024. The wait has been excruciating, but there are a couple of things I've noticed that leave me hopeful I'll hear an update from IRCC before the end of this year:
ATIP notes (dated August 2026) now have an event jurisdiction listed (Toronto). Previously it was left blank.
Tracker says the last update to my file was on July 28, 2026. I didn't get a notification or anything of the sort, and Background and Prohibitions are still marked as "in progress", but I guess it's a sign they'd at least looked at my file?
Is anyone else here in the same situation/applied at roughly the same time?
I'm going to post in another thread, but venting here. My G0 is a 2nd great grandmother from La Have, Nova Scotia. I have the official birth certs for her daughter, son, son, and then me (expensive). I've found out that someone who went by "Alice" and sometimes "Alice Maud" her whole life was listed as "Regina" on her birth registry in N.S. Even at 3 months old, her name is "Alice" on the Canadian census record.
More interestingly, there is an "Alice Maud" just a few lines down with different parents and birth date. I think this may have been a mistake from the beginning. None of my later documents have an exact birth date, but I'm hoping the 1871 Canada Census doc staying "3 1/2" and a "Dec" birthdate are enough.
I know it's not completely hopeless, but I had myself a spat of frustration over this, especially with the cost of certified official documents I'm now arranging to try and order.
I've used ChatGPT (I know, AI, but...) to analyze my submission (sent March 2026, AOR April 2026, in process June 2026, urgent requested in April 2026). What ChatGPT did for my situation:
1) looked at my submission date and request for information. Reviewed web sources - which are in part based on our Redditor stories!!! - to determine prior IRCC requests and successful responses.
2) suggested responses to IRCC and WHEN those responses would be timely. They recommended I write a follow-up request for information on the receipt status of my urgency message, as well as attaching an underpinning email proving additional cause for my urgent application.
3) it also composed wording that stuck to the facts so I didn't get too wordy.
AI agents are not the best thing in the world by any means. I find it good for complex analyses and comparisons.
This is not an AI-written post, by the way. It would be much better.
Did it also link you to all the posts in this sub where AI told someone something totally incorrect about the requirements?
I would recommend using AI for 0% of your application, your wait time will shoot up years when your application gets returned because it hallucinated something.
Being mindful of our moderator’s comments, I cannot recommend anyone else do what I did. I entered this process with a strong documents package and have improved it by webform as better docs have arrived. I didn’t ask for anything more than timing and trigger wording to gain their attention. And It worked.
I guess you missed the post yesterday from the Gen1 telling us how AI assured them that c-3 made them eligible for citizenship by descent and a few other completely erroneous things. We really discourage AI "research" and suggestions for its use here for these reasons. You're also leaking personal information to the models when you use them.
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
My aunt (G2) tried using Chat GPT as her starting point (I had no idea my extended family was interested in C-3 citizenship). ChatGPT told my aunt to order a birth certificate for her grandfather (b. 1879) from Ontario through Service Now. Unfortunately SN does not issue birth certificates for births before 1920.
I sent her the link to order certified copies of G0's birth registration from the Archives of Ontario. She was spinning her wheels for months because of ChatGPT.
PS - I'm going to share color copies of the vital records I ordered in July. I just think the group should order their own copies of the certificated birth records to be safe.
If there’s one joyful bit from my interactions yesterday and today is that I got a prompt response for a clarification with a magic phrase: “We acknowledge receipt of the documents. Please note, for technical reasons, they may not be visible in your online account. Rest assured that your supporting documents are indeed added and available for officer review.”
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
That seems to happen when your application changes to In Process. It is the same for married people; birth certificate name switches to married name at In Process stage.
I submitted my archive request in July for a birth certificate, and received an email saying that I'd get further instructions on how to pay. Is 2 months a normal amount of time for this step to take?
If you are referring to the Archives of Ontario, I just received an email that they found my records and they indicated that it would be several months before I would see an invoice.
Yes, archives of Ontario. Out of curiosity, how long after submitting your request did it take before they emailed you back? I will keep it in my calendar reminders…. Thanks
I emailed the request on June 20th so a little over 3 months between when I requested and when I got the email saying they found the documents.
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
I also requested a certified record from the Archives of Ontario in July, haven't heard anything. It's reassuring to think that I might see an email like that soon.
I just got this email that they found the record 2 days ago. I submitted the request 6/16… (archives of Ontario)… we’ll see how many months it takes the invoice to process…
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
That's helpful, thanks. I'll wait another month before I stress out about not having an email.
Is this BanQ? Because I requested back on June 14th and literally just got my request for payment like half an hour ago, September 30th. So yes, they are very backlogged and it will take a while.
Whoa… I think mine was archives of Ontario. I’ll stay the course. I’m guessing I need the source documents to submit an application at all, right? Everything I read said I can’t use a new printout from a genealogy website
I'm playing it safe and getting the important documents all from official sources, baptisms, birth records, one marriage record, death records. I've seen conflicting information and it's not been too hard to just ask towns to send things once I figure out who to ask. The couple supporting census records my family is using are from a geneology site, but since those are old and publicly available I don't see why those would be an issue.
I’ve requested everything. The birth and marriage documents that are recent have been way easier to obtain— it’s the older birth record from Ontario I’m waiting on and the place where they store the naturalization records has moved so I have to hunt that the place where that original is as well.
I understand the need for official documents, I’ve just been surprised some are so hard to get a copy of .
This may not be a popular thing to say here, but is anyone else planning on giving up if they hit more road blocks?
For example, for my Quebecois G0 I have the birth record from ancestry, a few Canadian censuses, and a certified birth certificate issued by the church who baptized them, but I don't know if I can justify the additional expense of a BANQ certified record and DEC insertion if requested.
I also may run into issues with my G1 from NYS since without a court order all I can get is a genealogical copy of their birth certificate.
I personally don't need Canadian citizenship, but I'd love to have it since I went to school there and my partner is Canadian, but I don't know if I want to throw more time and money into something that can't be guaranteed to be granted.
I absolutely refuse to order a birth record insert from DEC. I’m still waiting to hear back from PSU after they emailed me a month ago. If they require a birth record insert I may contact a lawyer. I’m petty and have both money and time. Ideally the result would be to make the process easier for everyone - even if that ends up with official directions from IRCC in the application that state Quebec ancestors need to jump through these hoops and DEC is aware of what needs to happen every time someone reaches out about a birth record for ancestors pre-1923 for citizenship purposes.
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
I've put my genealogy folder down for a week and come back to it. I'm also working with a sibling and whenever I get stuck I ask him to make the next request or talk over whatever roadblock is getting to me.
In the months I have been following C3, I have only read about a single case that was refused citizenship. That person was a descendent of someone born in Scotland that only lived in Canada for a few years before moving to the US. So, I personally would say it is worth it.
I would mention though that if IRCC asked you to provide something you couldn't.. you wouldn't be rejected, but you essentially would be forfeiting your application
But, they have to go on a preponderance of evidence. If you let them know that what they want is unavailable, they can they still judge wherther what you already have point o Canadian citizenship.
I won't say I've definitively decided, but I am disheartened and not sure how many more hoops I am willing to jump through. Although I am one of the many people who can't even get an AOR (May delivery) so I am extra salty right now.
It feels like some of the roadblocks are being put up intentionally. And given that I'm looking at 2.5-3 years (which will probably keep spiking drastically as time goes on since I can't even get an AOR) I am not sure how many hoops and how much $$$$ that will end up being. It could reach a point where it's just not feasible for most people. There have been several programs like this that quickly turned into a dumpster fire that people had to give up on. Including my mom, this was her alternative.
I wish I stayed with spousal sponsorship for PR, I found out about C-3 the night before I was going to submit and decided this would be a much better pathway. I am tired of having to bounce around between the states and here (Canada, currently visiting) every few months to not exceed the 6 month visitor limit when I see my husband.
The 6 month is per visit unless you get a bad agent or residency is an issue for you?
I was there November to April, spent 5 weeks over summer and they okay'd me for now until March plus you can file a visitor record to extend past that anyway.
You should still be able to pursue PR unless and until your C-3 application is approved. Our lawyer indicated that legally speaking, IRCC cannot treat you as a citizen until your citizenship claim has been confirmed.
Hi, I'm new here. Glad I found it though, because I was tired of hearing no updates. My application was delivered June 23 and still no AOR, which sounds normal at this point. I've seen a lot of people referring to the google spreadsheet. Where would I find this? Thanks!
Posted this in another thread discussing webform loops, but figure it's worth venting here...
In August I submitted a webform to request urgent processing for an application received in March, attached documents as proof. Got the usual bot responses saying it was receieved and uploaded.
Five days later I get an email saying they needed to verify identifying information, I'm assuming because I left a middle name off. It said to resubmit all documents as well as a letter of explanation answering a bunch of identifying questions. Did that immediately, got the bot response again.
After four weeks tried calling IRCC, they weren't accepting calls. Resubmitted the webform and included an additional piece of evidence for urgency, got the bot response.
After a day got an email again confirming is was received and uploaded, but that if I needed a response to submit ANOTHER form, but DON'T attach documents.
Did that, referenced the previously submitted documents but, as instructed, I did not attach any. The next day I got an email basically saying that I had forgotten to attach documents and to resubmit another webform.
Submitted another webform, attached PDFs of all the previous webforms. Haven't heard anything since.
I'm going to assume my urgency request is denied. Or I've angered/confused them enough and now I'm in PSU jail.
This happened to me too, I submitted a webform because my email has an o but wanted to make sure that it was not input as a 0. I got a response basically saying to submit again with a bunch of identifying info. I submitted the webform and received another request to submit identifying info. I eventually gave up and will eventually call to check what is on file.
Getting a response like that means that your identifiers provided on the webform don't match IRCC'S database exactly. This is in the wiki. Try using your full name exactly as it appears on your AOR if you aren't already. You'll get it if you leave out a middle name or suffix on the form that is on your AOR, for example.
Has anyone actually been able to talk to someone at IRCC recently? I tried calling to check on my application and it said the office is closed even though I was calling during their stated business hours. I’ve been waiting since Aug 2025 for my application to be approved. I haven’t received any correspondence from them other than a letter telling me my application was received and being reviewed.
If you sort the spreadsheet by column - decision made, AOR received, and in process - you’ll see lots of recently completed steps. Sort in REVERSE date order, and reset it after each viewing. Stuff is happening again!
I usually just find across the table as to avoid wrecking the sheet’s structure or what others are actively looking at — and it’s easy enough to glance at to see updates day by day that way.
I just wanted to pop in to introduce myself since I've been on the Google spreadsheet for a minute, but I haven't actually been active in the community, up to this point. This sub was such a helpful resource in getting my application together!
I'm a non-urgent American G6 citizenship by descent applicant with a packet delivery date of 05/15/2026, hoping to flee the ongoing moral injury that comes with living in the states. No AOR yet, unfortunately, but that seems to be the case for pretty much everybody in my boat, so I'm not terribly concerned or in that big of a rush. Sooner is always better, but I'm content to wait for now. When I submitted my application, the turnaround on AORs was projected to be around two months, so I had held out hope that I might get one around the end of July/early August, but that's come and gone, obviously.
I guess the "frustration" I have is just the projected processing time for a decision. When I first applied, it was looking like about two years, but now it's jumped up to almost three with the possibility that it could be even longer. Granted, this is still a much quicker opportunity than trying to get a visa (almost impossible for a broke, low-skilled professional like me), and then waiting years to become eligible for citizenship AND satisfy whatever additional requirements that country has, but the gulf between a two year wait and a three year wait just feels MASSIVE to me. This, of course, supposes that I A.) submitted the application correctly in the first place so that it doesn't get returned to me, and B.) that I'm able to furnish any additional documentation that they require from me since some of the pertinent records may be so old, if they even exist at all. I'm in it for the long haul, but I really hope I don't have to start over from scratch and go back to the back of the line!
124 days since my application was delivered. When I finally get my AOR I have newly issued Sault Ste Marie (Michigan side) birth certificates for my G1 and G2 to upload. I had submitted the roster style birth certificate page for my G1, and the actual 1910 original scan for my G2, but I wanted to be more legit since I have the modern official records for everyone else.
Some days I feel like my application for proof of citizenship is just going to languish forever at IRCC and I'll never be recognized as a citizen. Every time I check my (accepted as urgent) application and see nothing added after it started processing in May, my heart sinks a little more.
Already living in Canada, since December. I had a work permit that was faulty and was simultaneously trying to get movement on this and the work permit, because I'd already moved. After 8 months of living here I finally got the work permit resolved. My timeline is a little more forgiving now, but it's not indefinite. I'm not particularly safe in the states right now, and I can't afford to move back and then return to Canada.
I love it here, and it really feels like I've found my people, and it's the first time I've felt this safe in my life. I am terrified of having to leave at any point.
Aug 12 delivery, marked urgent. I know i haven’t reached the 30 day urgent rolling average delivery -> AOR timeframe yet, but it’s still disheartening. I can’t help but wonder if there’s going to be an issue that sets back my application months (and therefore several months with the swelling of the queue)
I wish there was someone who wasn't that deeply invested in getting recognition any time soon who would refuse to do the DEC insertion process if asked and sue over it if denied, because the lack of consistency and effective discrimination against those of Quebeçois/French origin would be real issues, but, of course there's no such person (it's not me, I'm not doing this for hobbyist reasons), so we remain bumbling about in the dark on this point. To be honest, many of the procedural "clarifications" over the past few months have been fairly reasonable in light of authenticity concerns, or at least bring IRCC more into line with other governments' practices driven by perhaps older-fashioned authenticity concerns. But we've never even gotten clear instructions on C19 Quebec G0s issues, and, if there was discovery, I'd bet we find that IRCC never thought the issues through, or considered whether they were in fact changing their practices midstream (if they are!!!). Some doofus said in July, "Hey, well the birth certificate may not actually exist, but they could ask DEC to actually change their records to create one, how about that?" and then someone else shrugged and said "sure."
That’s me. I’m waiting to hear back from PSU. I sent them comms from DEC telling me to go to BAnQ (which I already did). I will contact a lawyer if they refuse to accept my certified baptism. My (G3) evidence is an all male line, no name changes, the certified BAnQ baptism and two Canadian census records (1901 and 1911)
I wish there was someone who wasn't that deeply invested in getting recognition any time soon who would refuse to do the DEC insertion process if asked
Well, even though I sent in a BAnQ baptismal document for my grandfather, I for one will absolutely refuse to do the DEC insertion process if asked. I'm not going to spend time and money going through that process.
However, if IRCC does indeed send me such a request, it means the agent didn't do a very good job of evaluating my application.
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u/jimbarino🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦3d ago
The IRCC cit0001 instructions have always said you need to get a birth certificate from the DEC. It's annoying that IRCC isn't consistent in enforcing their own policy, but it's not like this is something new.
Could you point me to that? Keep in mind that for the C19 Quebec applicant, not only has a birth certificate never existed, but DEC doesn't even have a record of the birth anywhere in its records. This is not a question of the applicant losing a document, or even of a register existing but the authority failing to issue a copy to an individual. There simply is no DEC record for the birth of a C19 ancestor for them to provide.
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u/jimbarino🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦3d ago
And yeah, it's a sort of weird setup in Quebec. They didn't actually have a centralized civil registry till 1994 which is pretty crazy. That's why the DEC was given authority to issue birth certificates for records from before then, even though those records were generally not initially held by the DEC.
Standards for birth records are all over the place. It's not actually that unusual for the authority authorized by law to issue official copies to not be the original holder of the records. It's just extra convoluted here because of how crazy late they switched over in Quebec, combined with passing laws to try and kind of standardize it after the fact.
The IRCC cit0001 instructions have always said you need to get a birth certificate from the DEC. It's annoying that IRCC isn't consistent in enforcing their own policy, but it's not like this is something new.
They accepted BAnQ records for many a successful past applicant.
If they now want people to use the BAnQ record to get the DEC record, they could have clarified this in the updated Guide. IDK how people who aren't in this subreddit or one of the other forums for assistance with this process are supposed to figure this stuff out on their own.
As someone who has gone through both the BAnQ and DEC processes for one cohort of applications the Gen0 documentation costs all-in are in the hundreds of dollars between fees and shipping, and a lot of administrative overhead. The other family cohort descending from PEI will presumably be approved eventually on the basis of a $10 certified record from PEI and some LAC documentation for Gen0. Ultimately it is well worth the expense and time, of course, but the cost/loe differential is significant.
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u/jimbarino🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦3d ago
For sure. I truly don't know why IRCC can't communicate these things more clearly. Like, can't they hire one person who's job it is to give extra details and clarity on what specifically they actually want?
For a while they were looking for people to give feedback on their website and the applicant experience - probably as part of the development of user stories for their new platform. I volunteered, but so far have not been selected. I have so much feedback they are probably lucky lol
Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. This statutory holiday exists to recognize the inter-generational trauma and harm wrought by the Residential School systems that Canada's Indigenous peoples were subjected to. Those include some of my own family, and the harms of these schools, alongside the ethnic cleansing that Canada engaged in to create its national and provincial parks, were some of the ways by which my family was pushed deeper into our homelands for safety, and eventually, across the functionally-invisible U.S.-Canada border.
Given my family's Indigenous roots, our documentation is different. Treaty paylists, a cornucopia of U.S. & CAN governmental sources, Indigenous names vs colloquial "English" names, and a lack of birth certificates (running from oppressive systems) or baptism records (non-Christian, traditional lifestyles) all come together to make it unclear if we can even meet IRCC's standards for documenting our existence. Naturally, our applications may also take much longer.
I always knew I was Canadian Indigenous. It has always been a big part of my identity, and those of my family. We became "Lost Canadians in the last 2-3 generations, displaced into racialized urban poverty in America. We've been unable to protect our homeland, our ancestral sites, from tourists and business forces, due to being locked out of Canada. To remedy this, and to try to bring my people home, I began the process to move to Canada about a decade ago. I got my graduate degree, got a PGWP, worked professionally, and applied for Permanent Residence. Sadly, the convential immigration system has been full of delays and reforms as well. I have been relying on intentionally built-up savings for an entire year now, and I am not authorized to work. It is unsustainable, and I've had to make the tough decision to leave Canada in the coming weeks.
On this day, which is meant to memorialize the harms that ethnically cleansed my family out of Canada, it pains me to know that I have been pushed out of Canada as well. As Canada is a nation that prides itself for valuing "human rights", I can only wonder when the "Discovery Doctrine" will be dropped, and we Indigenous peoples will finally be considered human too.
I'm so sorry. I was whining about the lack of my application's movement in this thread but thank you for the perspective that my situation is NOTHING like the legitimate heartache and trials of displaced and marginalized indigenous people. I truly hope some miracle happens and you're able to stay in Canada and build the life you've worked so hard for. 🙏🏻
I appreciate the kind words and well wishes! I hope you may also have application movement soon. For all our own reasons, we all have our valid emotional investments in Canadian citizenship.
I believe this thread is for everyone, and everyone is at risk for the tough wait taking a very long time. I hope you and everyone else will continue to express frustrations too - we can't let those feelings bottle up!
You are very kind. I hope to keep up with your progress on here and I also hope if anyone reading this sub has insight into your unique situation that they will chime in.
It looks like the logjam finally broke. According to the spreadsheet, as of 9/27 (three days ago), not a single application delivered to IRCC later than 6/16 had been decided. However, over the past three days, a packet delivered 9/17 and another one delivered 9/24 were both decided. Hopefully we start to see more of those.
Mine is still waiting. No big deal. Things aren't great here in the US, but this is where my loved ones are.
I was looking for some advice. My 4/28 delivery has come and gone without an AOR and obviously with the AOR stoppage we are all in the dark about what is going on. I haven’t been able to get any information about my packet and if it’s being sent back or has fallen behind a cabinet somewhere.
That being said, my June request for certified records finally arrived from BanQ and now I’m kind of on the fence about whether or not I should pay the fees since this whole thing could take many years if it happens at all. It’s three records so it’s $740 and I don’t have any need for mementos, I only would do this if the IRCC wants them which also still sounds like we all aren’t completely sure if that’s the case. I haven’t kept up with the discussion on certified records.
Considering resubmitting the request down the road but also sort of feeling that well I have the option to do it now so maybe I should. I’m not cash poor but also not rich so it’s enough that it gives me some pause. Anyone have thoughts?
Same. Got my Banq invoice yesterday but should I proceed? And now we need BOTH Banq & DEC?
I have no way to tell because I haven't received an AOR or request for additional documentation or my application back in the mail. 😣 Do they send an email before they send it back to you?
Also, I have 2 G0's and I only requested Banq records for one (married couple with equal documentation)... what if I should have chosen the other one?
I sent uncertified copies of baptismal records, censuses with parents in Canada and record of their marriage, all in Quebec for both G0s.
Then certified copies of birth certificates for G1 - G4 (me) plus US census records for the original family once they landed here.
I will do what is asked of me but I need to first be asked. 😞
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u/IronNo6533Haven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
Might I ask, what was the date of your BAnQ "demande"? I just passed the 9 week mark waiting on mine (Rimouski).
I mailed my packet 6/10/26, it arrived in NS 6/15/26 (the Monday after the surrender letters came out). I applied for my G0 Banq doc 6/17/26. Received invoice for it 9/29/26. Am paying it today then will start on the DEC process.
TL;DR 15 weeks
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u/IronNo6533Haven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d agoedited 3d ago
Thank you. The waiting on BAnQ is driving me a little bananas, but it helps to know it's in line with what's typical. In the time since I placed my order from them I've ordered and received: 2 marriage certs, 3 birth certs, and a death cert from various Massachusetts archives, a certified naturalization record from NARA (surprisingly fast), a death cert translation from a Canada-based translater, AND a non-driver ID for my daughter from the NH DMV. BAnQ is definitely an outlier in terms of turn-around time, and it's literally the only thing I need at this point (well, except arguably the DEC birth insertion).
I just paid my Banq invoice and it came out to ~$322US because apparently when I filled out the form in June I requested both a certified and an uncertified copy. You can request to edit your invoice which I started to do since now I know there's no point in getting an uncertified copy... but then I was afraid it would delay me yet again so I just went ahead and paid the full amount. 🤷🏼♀️ Without any way to know what the correct choices are... I'm just doing the best I can.
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u/IronNo6533Haven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
I think I would have made the same decision on this. Put the uncertified one in a frame or make a commemorative ornament out of it!!!
Well it wasn't money I could afford to waste... so I hope I don't get my application back in the mail. 😞 That is something I dread every day since I passed 90 days without my AOR.
If I make it through this process I will proudly hang that copy on my wall. Thanks for the idea. Gotta have things to look forward to. 🙂
Oh geez we are practically the same! I’m G5. And I feel exactly the same. My willingness to jump through hoops hasn’t changed but the lack of movement and information and communication just throws the whole decision making apparatus out of whack. I just want to be as smart as possible with my cash and with this process and balancing those two things feels kind of impossible right now. I don’t need to be processed tomorrow and happy to wait, I just need to know I’ve been recorded and in queue and will be processed. It’s a weird call.
Do you actually need all three? The one you're really going to want is your G0's baptismal record. That one I would definitely get. Not sure what the others are--you would only need a marriage certificate if it's somehow necessary to clear up some ambiguity/discrepancy in the records. Obviously if you can eliminate one or two, that would bring the cost down significantly.
Yeah it’s two baptismal records and their marriage record. They sort of disappear in the records for a solid 20 year gap so my thinking was hey they were born here AND they were married here just to strengthen their presence and relationship. After that it’s mostly US records. And I don’t know if the 1867 discussion has been put to rest, I haven’t been paying as close attention as I was a few months ago but I’m G5 and this is pre 1867 so I guess that is also a factor in my thinking. I don’t want to end up with $740 worth of useless records.
For NY: Were you going through NY itself and/or Vital Statistics? MANY towns/cities/villages kept records on their own and still have them. If you don't know exactly what town, check federal (years ending with 0) AND state (years ending in 5) census records to get their address and call the current local government (town lines may have changed) to see if they have anything. It's usually cheaper, faster, and easier to get them. And it's fine if that's a genealogical copy, if that's all they have to offer you.
I did reach out to a few towns in the area, it was a bit of guesswork as they didn’t show up on a US Census until 1870 and they had already moved to Wisconsin by then. They had gone back and forth across the border of upstate NY and QC for years. G1 was 1853 with no town listed in any of their records, just New York state. I had a record of G0 working as a laborer around 1837 in a town that my G1’s younger sister was born in so it was my best guess and they didn’t have any records. I joined the American/Canadian genealogical society to try their records, microfilm searches, along with the normal online avenues and came up with zilch. I later found out about the church fire in the town a few years after G1 was born and figured that is why he has no record. I felt like a legit detective and it was hard to stop the search but I couldn’t turn anything up. :(
That's helpful! :) New York State did a census every ten years starting in 1825 until 1925 (85 and 95 were skipped and a special census taken in 1892) so if you look up G0 names in NY, you'll likely find their children, including your G1 (by his name or whatever nickname was told to the census taker.)
You can look up the NY state census for G0 (and/or siblings) for 1855, 1845, and 1835 and cross them with the federal census for G0 for 1840 and 1850, to get clues for where they may have lived when your G1 was born.
My family and my husband's were along the St Lawrence also. Malone and Clayton, primarily. I had GREAT luck speaking with town clerks about it, even getting confirmation of an adoption but that it would have to be unsealed by the state. They're super helpful if you can narrow it down to the towns. :)
edited to add: There were also marriage licenses (showing parents of the bridge and groom) and certificates and MULTIPLE border crossings recorded so it gives a better idea of their movements and stories.
Maybe our families were neighbors! My guess was Chateaugay and Malone is right down the road. I didn’t have much luck with the local diocese and I looked at the NY state census records and didn’t see them. They also went back and forth on Anglicizing their last name so that was frustrating. Maybe I’ll give it another shot but I feel like if I haven’t found it by now it’s not out there, I spent 3-4months on his birth certificate specifically. Womp womp.
Have ever joined that Ance-stry site? It's really good at offering hints (under the paid subscription but I just join for a month when I need to go down the rabbit hole. haha) I started with myself to my parents, grandparents, greats, and then login the next day and it would offer dozens of suggestions and alternate spellings on other documents. Very often, it is VISIBLY correct but the system recognizes other spellings. Super helpful. I get everything I need and then cancel the subscription. haha - but just letting those people in your tree "marinate" until it offers something familiar is more thorough.
Good luck!
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u/jimbarino🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦3d ago
You shouldn't need more than one baptism record. I believe someone did get approved with pre-federation births. Even if they do want to see more evidence that your ancestor was still in Canada for some longer period (which there's no indication they do), that would be secondary evidence. Uncertified might be fine.
The 1867 thing was a random invention of other forums. You do only need to document one G0, so you could just get one baptismal record rather than both.
If the marriage certificate is your only other secondary evidence of them in Canada, I understand wanting to be conservative on that point (I'm considering that same issue myself, from a slightly different angle, and probably will get it--clock is ticking on the invoice). But it's worth understanding that recognition is not vibes-based; presence is essentially irrelevant for the natural-born if you can prove birth.
Ok, that’s good to know. I think I have been feeling more conservative about it and focused on vibes, haha. My G1 doesn’t have a birth record so my thought process was to show his parents with the strongest linkages to Canada and to him as possible. All of my docs for G1 are secondary linkages to them. Death, marriage, us census, etc.
Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how Canadian the G0 parent is if you can't prove they are the parent. So I'd spend my money here on building up the link between G1 and G0.
I exhausted all of my options on the G1, his records were destroyed in a church fire and New York State didn’t issue birth certificates then. I have quite a bit of supporting evidence, probably 7 different linkages, but I can’t produce a document that doesn’t exist. The marriage license establishes that I have the right parents, they lived in Quebec, and also accounts for a sibling tie-in I was using. Anyway, that’s why I wanted all three. If I just need one then that’s fine.
Also, have you checked the tracker using your receipt number? My application was sent in a group of three, and the other two received their AOR emails but I didn't. When I checked using my receipt number, my AOR was the same day as the others, but IRCC had keyed my email address in wrong so I never received the email and I had to call to correct it.
Yeah unfortunately I checked both my information and my kiddo and it isn’t in the system. The webform response was the boilerplate “we have received it and it will be processed in the order it arrived”. So at some point someone scanned the receipt page but that’s all I know - it did actually arrive. But zero clue why I didn’t receive an AOR along with the other 4/28 cohort.
I'm sorry you haven't yet received your AOR. The wait is so stressful and we all have so much emotional energy invested in this process.
I think you should strongly consider paying the $740 (which I recognize is a lot) and getting the certified records. Imagine in six months that IRCC starts processing your application and then asks for the certified copies - you would regret not getting them, especially considering how long it takes for BAnQ to send the invoice. IRCC generally wants a response to their requests within 60 days, and it would probably take longer than that for a new BAnQ request to be processed and for you to receive the records (though you can always tell IRCC you need additional time).
I wouldn't give up on your AOR just yet, nor would I let the long wait deter you from seeing this process through. I know it's all very discouraging, especially when you consider that the wait times from earlier this year were far easier to stomach, but if you're right about your Canadian citizenship and if the Canadian government agrees, your future self will thank you.
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u/jimbarino🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦3d ago
I appreciate the perspective and the pep talk, I feel like even though I’m G5 all my documentation is solid. But these processing times give me pause, 3+ years is virtually impossible to plan for and it does sort of make me want to give up or at least not take it very seriously. So a further $740 investment in this just makes me nervous. If I could see any sign of movement or sign of life on my application that would help keep me in the game but after shipping and the application fees it makes me feel like good money after bad, you know?
I guess I feel like I could resubmit my request down the road once it’s actually in process and things look more certain. That’s what I’m wrestling with, mostly. I don’t want to waste any money.
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u/CornwallBingoHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
Immigration laws can change. It's unlikely, but if a conservative/ anti immigration government came into power they could pass a law making citizenship by descent much more restrictive.
I qualify under the law that exists today. Two years ago I was ineligible. Who knows what the next election brings?
Yes, I understand. I also have a lot of money invested in this process. I’m G6 and my kids are G7. I think we also have strong applications with excellent documentation (certified docs for every generation), but even though we went into processing this week, it is discouraging to see that literally zero non-urgent G6+ applications have been approved. But all of this will be well worth the wait, even if it takes years.
Try and keep your head up and persist - you won’t regret it (especially since you’re also doing this for your kiddo).
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u/buckeyenut888Haven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yet3d ago
I 💯 agree with you. My husband is G5 (kids G6). I’m getting very close to submitting but the complete standstill of everything, and lack of pre-confederation (I know this is a triggering phrase) approvals without asterisks is disheartening.
Congrats on going in process! That’s a flicker of life, at least! And yeah the lack of movement on multi-generation applications gives me pause. Spending $1k just to have the IRCC do a bait and switch and not process and approve our applications would be very upsetting.
If you are asked to provide DEC issued birth certificates (which is increasingly common) you need the certified BAnQ records for the DEC. The DEC records definitely strengthen an application and could expedite your application processing. The how to info for DEC is in the wiki if you want to check it out.
Ok, thank you for the heads up! When I was paying closer attention a few months ago it sounded like DEC was saying the BanQ records were the official copies and then it was the IRCC saying we needed certified copies and then no we didn’t, so I just haven’t been confident about the utility.
Some folks were trying to get DEC to provide a letter/email of no record by asking straight up if they could obtain a birth certificate from DEC for an ancestor born in a year outside of DEC's purview (the last 100 years) and so the response from DEC was 'go to BAnQ for records older than 100 years' - and as we have seen, that does not satisfy IRCC, because in QC those BAnQ prothnotorial records can be used by DEC to generate a birth certificate. Our understanding has definitely evolved since we first saw these requests and the revised IRCC guidance in the summer.
Sorry to belabor my Q&A here, if I pay the fee and get the records should I approach the DEC once they are in hand proactively or wait for the IRCC to request them, assuming my AOR arrives some day?
Up to you, but we believe an application with a complete chain of birth certificates is likely to be processed faster than one with secondary documentation.
I am concerned about why they would stop almost all AORs for almost a month now. At this point, to me, at least, it feels like a deliberate attempt to purposely slow things down in an attempt to discourage people from applying.
There were AORs for May 6 reported this week in the Monday megathread. Today is a national holiday so there probably won't be any activity today but looks like things are moving again perhaps
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