An April 2021 graduate applied for a PGWP in May 2021 and was still waiting 11 months later — despite the file being marked urgent and IRCC confirming nothing further was needed. The thread's answers were less about expediting (there was no lever left) and more about what waiting actually means:
- There is no real way to expedite. Members noted inland applications are normally faster, 'however you can't do anything to expedite it' — the poster had already exhausted the phone-agent route.
- You keep working on 'applied' status. Because the PGWP was filed before the study permit expired, the applicant remains authorized under maintained (formerly implied) status while the application is in process.
- Members said that work counts toward CEC. One reply stated the experience accumulated on applied status counts as work experience for Canadian Experience Class points. (This is a member claim from the thread — verify current IRCC policy on counting experience gained on maintained status before relying on it.)
Historical note: the extreme 11-month delay reflects the 2021–22 backlog era; current PGWP processing is typically far shorter, but the maintained-status principles are the durable part.