Service Canada's Lightning Speed and LMIA TIPS

You'll never guess what we received in the mail?! After hearing from so many families that the LMIA (Labor Market Impact Assessment) can take up to 10-12 weeks or more, I was shocked when we received verbal approval earlier this week (at the two week post-submission mark), but imagine my surprise...my utter disbelief when the official positive LMO (Labor Market Opinion) showed up in the mail today!! (...okay yesterday, but it took me 24 hours to remember to write this post). They had said on Tuesday that I would receive it by late next week, and by golly it came at lightning speed!!

Here's our timeline so far:

LMIA Application Submission: Monday October 6th
LMIA fee shows up on my MasterCard: Monday Oct 20th
Verbal confirmation of positive LMO attempt (we played phone tag for a day): Monday Oct 20th
Verbal confirmation of positive LMO: Tuesday Oct 21st
Positive LMO official letter: Friday Oct 24th

This means that the total turnaround time was two and a half weeks!...18 days to be exact!

My Top Five Things to Remember When Filing the LMIA:

1. Be Detail Oriented. Cross your t's and dot your i's, don't leave any box unfilled. If something doesn't apply to your situation, then write "n/a", but don't leave empty boxes.
2. Be Thorough. Provide as much detail as possible. Not only will it provide them with adequate information so that they don't have to follow up with you, but it will put your mind at ease.
3. Be Honest. Don't try to write what you think the ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) office wants to hear...write your story and your truth. Life always works out better when you're honest.
4. Use the Right Template. Don't try to create your own employee contract; use the template provided by Service Canada as this ensures faster turnaround time.
5. Be Kind. It's always best to be kind, so chipper up when you get that call from the ESDC office and make friends with the individual managing your file...not because it will get you approved faster (although it might), but rather because it's the right thing to do. :-)

I am über impressed. Shouts out to Service Canada for doing a rocking good job on this one.