3 weeks and counting

Unless we've somehow got the number wrong, it's been three weeks, which is about the average time (according to my highly unscientific research trawling the immigration.ca forums) it takes for an app to go from 'received' to 'in process'. They usually update e-cas on Mondays, so whether we got in just under the line or it's fallen behind a desk somewhere, we won't know till for at least another week.

My curiosity about the immigration officers, their training and systems is growing by the day. I am dying to know what their offices look like, for instance, and what kind of set-up they have. Do they do the background checks themselves, or through consulates, or police? It seems like an interesting job, though I've never met anyone who does it. Have you?

According to Wikipedia, some basic trivia:

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada department employs 5,000 staff, which on a per-capita basis is three times as many as the 15,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees, but recoups some of its department costs through landing fees. In 2006 the Canadian government reduced the landing fee per immigrant by 50%.