Ontario woman’s family missed birth of her child due to visitor visa delays
It’s been over a year since Faith Emenike filled out an application in hopes that her family would be able to visit her in Canada as she gave birth to her first child—but all she’s heard is radio silence.
“There should be communication back and forth,” the Toronto resident told CTV News Toronto. “It’s caused me to be so depressed. It’s just too much.”
“I was expecting my mom to be here,” she added.
Emenike first filled out an application for a visitor visa between May and June of 2021, after learning she was pregnant. The idea, she said, was to bring her mother, father, and brother to Canada from Nigeria to help with childcare and offer emotional support.
But something went wrong when the family tried to re-enter the application portal. They couldn't access it.
Emenike's sister-in-law, who also submitted an application for her mother, suggested she try a different portal that was available for applicants.
Emenike decided to cut her loses and reapply. The second application, along with supporting documents and biometric data, was sent in early January 2022. A screenshot of the application form, viewed by CTV News Toronto, shows it was submitted along with payment, but since then, the family has not heard a word.
“We didn’t get anything,” she said. “The application has just been stagnant since January 9.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Her daughter is now almost a year old, and the family is exhausted from trying to contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government agency that processes visas. They say they have tried reaching out dozens of times, only to get automatic responses in return. In some of the emails, Emenike included a note from her family doctor and gynecologist saying that she requires her family to come to Canada.
When the family reached out to the immigration office in Nairobi, Kenya, where her parent’s application is being funnelled, they received an automated response saying someone would respond to the enquiry within 28 days, and that they should fill out a form online.
“At some point, I was filling out web forms every day,” Emenike said. “It was just becoming draining. But I wake up in the morning I take care of my child. And then I'm filling web forms.”
Twenty-eight days have now long-passed, and the family hasn't heard anything from either office. Meanwhile, Emenike says her sister-in-law was able to bring her mother into the country successfully in less time—about six months.
"Approve the visa or say something," Emenike said. "If you want me to reapply, let me know … Don't just keep me in limbo.”
Faith Emenike and her daughter are seen in her Toronto home.
Emenike underwent a Caesarean section and said she was really struggling at home alone when her husband went to work. She has been diagnosed with depression and believes it is, at least in part, a result of the arduous visa process.
Meanwhile, Emenike's parents have missed out on the first year of their granddaughter’s life, something they say has caused them a lot of stress.
“It’s very traumatic,” Emenike’s mother, Dominica Akemu, told CTV News Toronto in a video interview from Nigeria. “It’s made me feel that maybe I failed as a mother.”
“It was really draining emotionally for me.”
VISA PROCESSING AT ‘ALL-TIME LOW,’ LAWYER SAYS
According to the IRCC, processing times for visitor visas from Nigeria stands at about 388 days.
A spokesperson told CTV News Toronto these processing times are based on how long it took to process 80 per cent of applications in the past six to eight weeks.
“Because of this, it is important to note that as we work through the backlog of applications, processing times can be skewed by outliers, in particular applications from our older inventory that were previously on hold for a long period of time and are now being processed,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Once the backlog of these applications are cleared, we will start to see processing times more reflective of reality.”
Immigration Lawyer Ravi Jain said the backlog of applications is likely the only thing delaying the visa process.
“In terms of both the processing times and the level of customer service, it's just at an all-time low,” he told CTV News Toronto. "There’s no reason someone should be waiting 300 plus days for a visitor application. I mean that's ridiculous."
Jain stressed that while this is a Canada-wide issue likely spurred by the pandemic; it shouldn’t take over a year to review an application, which he says includes an assessment of the person’s ties to their home country and the reason they want to visit.
“Here's a woman who had a baby and wants her mom. What's wrong with that?”
A letter confirms Faith Emenike's visitor visa application was processed.
The IRCC said that, as of Jan. 31, there were over 1.2 million temporary residence applications in the queue, including more than 68,000 visitor applications.
The IRCC processed more than 5.2 million decisions regarding permanent residency, temporary residencies, and citizenships in 2022, the spokesperson said.
A year earlier, that number was 2.7 million.
Anyone who applied for a visitor visa before Sept. 7, 2021, and has not been contacted by IRCC, has the option to submit a new visa application, the IRCC said. However, only certain people are eligible, and once a new application is submitted, the old one is waved.
Emenike says she just wants to know where her application stands, so that if there is any information missing, she can start working on it.
“It’s been like radio silence,” she said.
She said she reached out to her local MP in hopes that someone can get her answers, but was told the immigration office didn’t find her case urgent enough—an idea she just can’t understand.
“Is childbirth not urgent enough? What is more urgent than that?”
CTV News Toronto has reached out to Ali Ehsassi, MP for Willowdale, who said he could not disuss Emenike's file due to privacy reasons.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Allison Hurst
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.