A student who had studied online from Canada since 2020 and received AIP got a letter from IRCC questioning their prior degree — from a university that, members noted, had been involved in credential incidents and was 'under the radar.'
What members explained:
- Recognize what the letter is. This is a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL) — IRCC suspects misrepresentation and is giving you one formal chance to respond before deciding. A failed response doesn't just mean refusal: it can mean a five-year ban from Canadian applications.
- Don't respond on your own if anything is unclear. The strongest advice in the thread: at PFL stage, engage an immigration lawyer or licensed professional. The stakes (ban vs. approval) dwarf the fee, and the response must be legally coherent, not just heartfelt.
- Get the university itself on record. Because the concern targeted the institution, members advised physically going to the university if possible and collecting reference letters from professors, the HOD, the dean or the principal confirming genuine enrolment and graduation — institutional corroboration is the direct answer to an authenticity doubt.
- Respond completely, once. Address every stated concern with documentary evidence in a single submission. If your university has a troubled reputation, acknowledge and counter it with your specific, verifiable records rather than ignoring it.
- Consistency everywhere matters. Members even scrutinized the poster's own online profile — a reminder that officers can and do cross-check public information against your claimed history.