Our Recent Immigration Success Stories

This Week’s Success Story: Canadian Citizenship by Descent

We were successful on a citizenship case in seeking to confirm an individual was a Canadian citizen, despite having been born outside Canada, and obtaining proof of that citizenship; by descent. The application was complicated as it required substantial research and then examination and assessment of the citizenship legislation dating back many years, and first examining the requirements for citizenship under the 1910 Immigration Act. Then, the implementation of the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947, and all amendments to that Act was required, up until Bill C-37 which was introduced on 10 December 2007 to amend the Act, serving to restore citizenship to a number of individuals. We are pleased to advise that the individual now enjoys Canadian citizenship.

This Week’s Success Story: Study Permit for Son

We have been approached by a father who had a valid work permit for two years and was working in Canada for a few months. He wanted to bring his son from his home country, to live with him in Canada and study here.  His wife had a very lucrative business in their home country and she did not want to interrupt or put on hold her business and come to Canada. But they both agreed that their son would benefit from an education in Canada.

After reading on the internet that a child can study in Canada without a study permit until he graduates from high school, they applied for a visitor visa for the son, indicating they want him to come and be with his father and study here. The application was refused because the visitor visa exception regarding studies in Canada did not apply in this case. It would have been different if they applied for the visitor record at the same time with his father’s work permit application. As it was, they should have applied for a study permit, which they failed to do so. After going through all the documentation and ordering the notes of the visa officer who decided the case, we advised the client on the procedure to be followed. He hired our services and in a very short time, the father was reunited with his son in Canada, to the happiness of the whole family. Thus, the internet provides countless information, it is not easy to interpret correctly the sections of the law that apply in a certain case, in many instances, the “when” and “where” is very important to take into consideration.

This Week’s Success Story: Overcoming Misrepresentation Allegations

Our firm was recently successful in appealing the refusal of a spousal sponsorship application, where the application was refused on the basis of the marriage being non-genuine, which was further complicated by the applicant’s misrepresentation. The refusal, if not appealed, would have meant that the applicant would have been inadmissible to Canada for 5 years, and the family would have continued to be separated. Extensive evidence was collected and presented, and at the hearing the Minister’s counsel eventually agreed and confirmed that the concern of the marriage being in bad faith was alleviated. However, misrepresentation allegations continued to stand, so we zealously argued that the appeal ought to be allowed based on humanitarian and compassionate considerations. We provided strong evidence of the appellant’s difficult circumstances in Canada, her health concerns and lack of care and support when needed the most. We also argued that the applicant’s misrepresentation was not on the serious end of the spectrum, which weighed in favour of granting of special relief. The Member of the Immigration Appeal Division, having weighed all the evidence and testimony, granted the appeal at the end of the hearing.

This Week’s Success Story: Work Permit after an LMIA-based Work Permit Refusal

A client that used another representative came to us in a desperate state. A dentistry cabinet obtained a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to hire a foreign worker (dentist). The client applied for a work permit (WP), using the same representative, but his application was refused. It is very rare that a work permit is refused, given the company wanting to hire him/her received a positive LMIA.

We have reviewed the whole LMIA application and also the previous work permit application and recognized a few pitfalls in the foreign worker’s situation. He was a green card holder, but his credentials were not recognized in the USA. On the other hand, his credentials were recognized in Canada, as he passed all the required exams to become a dentist in Canada. This is a potential point of interest, meaning that he could not practice his occupation in the USA, but only in his home country and in Canada. This might raise an issue with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

We have ordered also the notes of the immigration officer, made in the IRCC system, for the previous work permit application. In our submission, we laid down the scenario and addressed each issue or potential issues that might have arisen after the application was re-submitted online. The client was extremely satisfied with our submissions and congratulated us on our thoroughness. After a couple of weeks, we received notification from IRCC that his work permit application was approved for two years. You can imagine the happiness of the applicant and our satisfaction for a job well-done!