Countdowns within countdowns

Mr. O mailed his application for a new temporary work visa to Vegreville today, with the understanding that his employer has also sent their app for his LMO to HRSDC. Here's the official link to how this all works. If you clicked that link you'll notice that Mr. O isn't exactly following the rules, but rather taking the advice of a CIC agent. (In stark contrast to the CIC site, the phone reps are wonderfully human - helpful and practical.)

Depending on whether or not he'll have to wait for the LMO (which comes to the employer and then he has to send it to CIC himself) to start processing, it could take from three to six weeks.

Also of note: our PR application was submitted exactly three months ago today. Wheee!

National occupation

So Mr O. is, for the second time in a month, *this* close to scoring a real job. In fact, they'd like him to start next week. Trouble is, you know what the trouble is: six weeks' wait and a long detour to the CHC in London. Whether or not he could apply through a domestic office because he is already in Canada on a temporary permit is unclear.

With a bit of digging, however, it seems that there is a potential short cut: jobs listed on the "National Occupational List" are eligible for concurrent processing, which means that we can send in the visa application before receiving an LMO - which means saving around two weeks.

BUT - and there is always a but - the catch is that, in order to qualify, the application has to go through a foreign office, i.e. CHC. Which would suggest that otherwise he could go through a domestic office, or that as a temporary resident he's not eligible at all. We shall see.