No, interpretation service is not necessary to understand your GCMS notes. You can see a sample GCMS file here and the most important and interesting part of the file is usually at the very end in the Notes section. It is here that the immigration officers observations and reasoning for decisions made are noted. If the visa was refused then the GCMS notes will contain in-depth reasons as to why the refusal decision was made. Such notes are easy to understand and you don’t need to pay someone to help you understand your GCMS notes.
Below is a sample of what a GCMS file interpretation may look like. The notes entered in the GCMS system by an immigration officer are easy to understand, provide useful information and does not require interpretation.
CAIPS/GCMS Notes Interpretation prepared for:
Client John Doe – New Delhi File # B 123 456 789
May 10th 2017
Summary
It is possible to tell at a glance from page 1 of a client’s CAIPS/GCMS file the current status of their application, as much of the relevant information is here in the section halfway down page 1 on the left-hand side.
Paper Screening Decision (PSDEC) – your file passed paper screening on the 15th August 2015
Selection Decision (SELDEC) – your file passed selection decision on 1st April 2016 following the completion of your interview
Background Checks (BDEC) – unfortunately your background checks have not yet been completed
Medical Decision (MEDDEC) – when your medicals have been ‘rubber stamped’ in Ottawa the date will be entered here
Other Requirements (OREQ) – if there are any other outstanding requirements they are mentioned here
Final Decision (FINDEC) – when your passports are stamped with your visas the date will be entered here.
Visa Officer’s Comments
You will see the visa officers’ comments relating to your application on pages 2 – 8 – there is obviously a lot of information here but we have attempted to pick out the most important pieces for you.
The comments relating to your interview can be found starting at the bottom of page 3 and continuing on pages 4 and 5 – the officer was obviously completely satisfied and notes ‘applicant passes SELDEC’, and then makes notes on the various items that need to be followed up, including outstanding documents and the request for your background checks. He/she also requested that your educational qualifications be verified.
The entries for the remainder of 2016 (page 6) are largely ‘housekeeping’ entries, such as status enquiries from you and your consultant, although CIC notes that your qualifications were verified and your initial background check requests were sent on 14th November 2016. It appears that the CIC officer still wanted more verification of your employment at this stage.
At the top of page 7, there is confirmation that your initial background checks were completed on 26th January 2017 – this is just the first stage of background checks, however.
The remainder of page 7 relates largely to verifying your employment history – CIC appears satisfied with this.
You will see an entry at the middle of page 8 with a lot of ‘***’ – unfortunately this means that part of your file was censored (CIC is allowed to do this for security reasons) but it appears from entries below that CIC wants to ask you to attend a further interview (likely a security interview). This seems to be fairly routine for our clients who have had any form of military service, and we have had a number of clients pass them successfully, so we would not be overly concerned about this.
Other Areas to Note
Pages 1/2 – there is some confusion about the official ‘bring forward’ date for your file – on page 1 it is listed as 14th August 2017 but at the top of page 2 it is listed as 13th March 2018 ! Usually we would say the latter is most likely to be correct, but we are fairly certain that CIC will move much more quickly than that in arranging your second interview
Pages 9/10 – summary of medical information –meds were assessed ‘M01’ which is fine – hopefully CIC will grant you an extension to your meds!
Page 10 – points total – as you can see, you were awarded 64 points at paper screening but this was increased to 79 points following your interview
Pages 12/13 – personal information – it is worth checking that there are no errors here as this will save time later when your visas are ready for issue
Any Other Comments
We certainly hope that you hear from CIC soon about your second interview – if you haven’t heard anything from them in a few months time, contact us again and we will request your file again so you can see if the situation has changed in any way.
As you can see from the above sample that GCMS interpretation service is not necessary. The details from your GCMS file will help you with the following;
- Lets you know the status of your visa application
- Lets you know if your representative is doing his/her job
- Helps your prepare for interview and gather documents
- Understand visa refusal reasons
You can request your CAIPS and GCMS file in 3 easy steps at GcmsNotes.com
