HISTORICAL CONTEXT: the wait times below reflect late-2023 CEC inland processing and will differ today - check current IRCC processing times.
An applicant with ITA September 20, 2023 and AOR October 2, 2023 asked why there had been no update. Members in the same queue mapped out what to expect:
- The first update typically came ~3 months after AOR for CEC inland applications at the time. One member with an end-of-August AOR got their biometrics/UCI update in late November - about a 3-month gap. Applications were being processed in AOR order, so a silent first quarter was normal, not a problem.
- Expect to redo biometrics. Even applicants who had given biometrics before were being asked to redo them, so members advised being prepared for that request.
- You cannot give biometrics early. Asked whether biometrics could be done proactively after AOR, members were clear: without the Biometric Instruction Letter you cannot book an appointment - wait for the BIL.
- Total processing was running about 5 months end to end for CEC inland at the time, with stages (eligibility, background verification) each taking unpredictable weeks after the first update.
The practical takeaway: after AOR, silence for the first 2-3 months is expected; track others with similar AOR dates rather than panicking, and act only when a letter (BIL, ADR) actually arrives.