Stranded in a foreign country for two months, Ekaterina Usmanova admits she鈥檚 鈥渃ried all the tears [she] could cry out.鈥�
In August, the permanent Canadian resident returned to Russia for the first time in nearly three years to visit her family. Like so many who were unable to visit one another while on opposite sides of the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced them apart
On her return trip to Toronto, the 26-year-old had a layover in Istanbul, Turkiye. That鈥檚 where her journey took a massive detour when her travel wallet and Canadian permanent resident (PR) card were stolen.
As panic began to set in, she recalls thinking, "I've just lost my entire life; I鈥檝e just lost everything I鈥檝e worked for.鈥�
She says blind spots with the security cameras at the airport meant officers couldn鈥檛 see the culprit behind the brazen theft.
Alone in a country she鈥檇 never visited before, Usmanova filed a police report and then went to the Canadian consulate in Istanbul to try and replace her PR card. She wasn鈥檛 even allowed to enter the office and was denied access because she鈥檚 only a permanent resident, not a full citizen.
Her next move was to file paperwork with the Canadian embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara. That was two months ago.
Usmanova has reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on multiple occasions. Exasperated, she tells CTV National News: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been really difficult to get a hold of anyone human, to get any human correspondence.鈥�
Nearly defeated, she admits, 鈥淚've exhausted all of my emotions throughout this really stressful journey.鈥�
Eight years ago, Usmanova moved by herself to Vancouver as a teenager to attend University. Three years ago, she decided to move to Toronto to continue building her life and to start her professional career as a marketing manager and a professional photographer.
She admits, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a home anywhere else but in Canada, because for the majority of my grown-up life that鈥檚 where I鈥檝e lived.鈥�
Travelling with Canadian papers as a permanent resident, she thought her emergency situation as a young woman stuck in a foreign country would expedite any processes by Canadian officials. That hasn鈥檛 been her experience.
鈥淚 thought it would take roughly two, maximum four weeks for me to get my things in order and come back. I definitely had no clue it would have gone this way.鈥�
She adds that the government鈥檚 lack of action 鈥渋s definitely adding a huge, bitter drop into my glass of tears at this point.鈥�
Usmanova said she's had to move 15 times over a 58-day period while in Turkiye. She was forced to leave the country and return to Russia, where she鈥檚 now waiting for any word on when she can return home to Canada.
Last week, she said she received a message from her employer in Toronto.
鈥淯nfortunately, my company had to terminate my position after two months of uncertainty,鈥� she says.
Usmanova is unsure how she'll cover rent on her Toronto condo, where she financially supports her younger sister who's in college and lives with her.
Putting on a brave face, she says, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to think negative. I鈥檓 a big fighter. I don鈥檛 want to think we could lose our apartment.鈥�
Sitting in their shared Toronto condo, her younger sister, Sofiia Usmanova, reads the sticky notes on the fridge that the two would write and leave for each other.
One of Sofiia鈥檚 favourite notes reads, 鈥淭hank you for your unconditional love.鈥�
The 20-year-old says she鈥檚 called immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada multiple times a day for weeks but always receives the same frustrating automated message: 鈥淲e鈥檙e experiencing a high volume of calls, please call back later.鈥�
When asked if she believes the Canadian government is handling her sister's situation with the urgency she believes is required, she flat out says, 鈥渘o, you don鈥檛 feel like you鈥檙e being appreciated or that this case is important to the Canadian government.鈥�
Reflecting on her experience trying to reach a Canadian immigration official for help, the younger Usmanova shares that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not just about her it鈥檚 about the immigration system, the whole system doesn鈥檛 work properly.鈥�
Canada plans to welcome nearly 1.5 million new permanent residents over the next three years, in part to fill crucial job shortages in multiple sectors. However, one immigration lawyer believes Canada鈥檚 system is in chaos and deficiencies need to be addressed immediately.
鈥淭he status quo is not acceptable, you鈥檝e already got huge backlogs, you鈥檝e got huge delays and yet you want to increase immigration simultaneously,鈥� lawyer Matthew Jeffery tells CTV National News.
鈥淭he government has to devote greater resources to the immigration department to ensure the staffing is there to process applications in a timely way.鈥�
CTV National News reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada about Usmanova鈥檚 case multiple times this week. However, they were unable to provide an update before our deadline.
One day after sitting down with CTV National News, Ekaterina Usmanova received an email from the Minister of Immigration鈥檚 office, saying, 鈥減lease be assured that every effort is made to deal with the applications received in the most efficient and effective way. However, due to COVID-19, all existing and new applications will continue to be processed but may experience delays.鈥�
鈥淚 don't think (the email) could remotely be considered as satisfactory,鈥� says Usmanova.
She wants to return home to the life she鈥檚 worked so hard to create in Canada.
She shares this message with anyone who鈥檚 reading her story, including the Canadian government: 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to get back to my life in Canada, I want to get back to my sister to take care of her, I want to return to the life I鈥檝e been building for the last eight years, and my home in Toronto. Please, I want to come home.鈥�
Usmanova has been left in immigration limbo, unable to return home to Canada for 71 days and counting.
