I had a fun time chatting with Chantal Desloges and Cathryn Sawicki on their new immigration podcast -Welcome Home. We talked about practicing in the complex area of inadmissibility law. Topics covered: The amount of discretion that remains in the hands of an Officer even when confronted with inadmissibility; The challenges and rewards inherent in
Many international student applicants have been found to have used false documents to secure their student visas/study permits. Some are aware of the use of false documents. Some are innocent dupes and victims at the hands unscrupulous agents. Some are discovered at the visa office. Some are found out during an examination when they land
It was a pleasure collaborating with my co-author Aris Daghighian in writing a text on the Canadian Inadmissibility Law and Remedies. There is no facet of immigration practice more complex and consequential than inadmissibility. The purpose of this text is to assist counsel in navigating the law surrounding restrictions and prohibitions upon entry and the
This year IRCC will pull 30,000 “interest to sponsor” forms from the remaining 2020 pool. The draw will take place the week of September 20, 2021. Those who submitted their interests last year, may have a chance this year. They’ll need to keep an eye out for their emails for the invites. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/selected.html
SUPPORTING AFGHAN NATIONALS To help address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the Government of Canada has announced two special immigration programs to help resettle Afghans to Canada. You may be eligible for one of two special programs: Immigration program for Afghan nationals, and their families, who assisted the Government of Canada Humanitarian
What role does a pending refugee claim play in family law proceedings? In the case of M.A.A. v. D.E.M.E 2020 ONCA 486, the appellant mother brought her three minor children from Kuwait to Canada without the respondent father’s consent. On arrival in Canada, she sought refugee status for herself and the children. She claims she
There is a big difference between immigration litigation and completing and filing immigration applications. In the UK, there is a distinction between litigators (or barristers) and solicitors. Both of course are important but require different skills sets. Immigration hearings and appeals (and judicial review matters before the Federal Court) requires counsel that can effectively advocate
At long last, the parent/grandparent sponsorship is re-opening. Additional details can be found on the IRCC website, and here. It’s a relatively large draw and may help to assuage the sentiments of families that have been separated by international borders and of course, the ravages of COVID-19.
It was an honour to contribute to the study by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) on the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration system. The final report can be found here; Download Immigration in the time of COVID-19 Report of the Standing Committee. There has been massive disruption to our immigration system.
Firm founder Raj Sharma was interviewed on CBC last week and asked to share his thoughts on citizenship delay and the backlog. Immigration Officers have had to scramble this past year, and the near 20% increase in citizenship backlog was, to be honest, almost welcome news after a year of incredible frustration and delays in
More good news from IRCC. There is a new pathway for international graduates for those that work in essential occupations. The foreign national must: Have accumulated at least one (1) year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time experience (1,560 hours), in Canada, in an eligible occupation listed in Annex A or Annex
It was a pleasure appearing before Justice Mosley of the Federal Court this last Monday. We challenged a decision of the Refugee Appeal Division that excluded our client from Refugee protection because of his permanent residence status in Italy. Like all exclusion clauses Article 1E is a complicated analysis and one that lends itself to
Borderlines · #48 – Responding to Procedural Fairness Letters, with Raj Sharma Firm founder Raj Sharma joined Steven Meurrens and Deana Okun-Nachoff on their excellent podcast, Borderlines. The discussion started with the Procedural Fairness Letter and went on to talk about Officer bias/tunnel vision among other interesting topics. Transcript follows: Steven Meurrens: Hello,
Record Suspension A criminal record can have severe adverse consequences on parts of your life such as your employment prospects and your ability to volunteer with vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. It can also limit your immigration opportunities. Your record may prevent you from many opportunities that would otherwise be available
Danielle Smith: Get to that though, we have another topic that we want to deal with. I feel I’m going to be off side was you guys all day today because I was sort of talking this over with my producers and there’s a story in the news about the Humboldt Broncos crash truck driver
It was a pleasure talking to CTV’s veteran reporter Kevin Green yesterday on the impact of the US election on Canada’s immigration system. Immigration benefits One group that would benefit from a Trump win are those helping people immigrate to Canada. . Raj Sharma, a Calgary Immigration lawyer, said a Trump win would drive
It was a pleasure appearing before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration today (Friday, November 6, 2020) regarding its study of the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration system. My opening statement follows the video embed: Thank you Madam Chair; committee members. It’s my pleasure to appear before this Committee again
On November 6, 2020 I appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on the impact of COVID-19 on our immigration system. I made an opening statement and took questions regarding a pathway to permanent residency for so-called low skilled workers (revealed as front-line and essential workers by this pandemic). I
