November 10, 2010

Screening Your Own Client

Many lawyers have encountered the client who is progressing through the system only to find there is an admissibility issue i.e. minor criminality dating several years that jeopardises the entire system. In our post 911 world the premium is on security clearances. Start early in screening your own client for criminality, work history, resort to social assistance and detailed profiles of family members who have dealt with CIC in the past.

Take for example an in land client. Screening should include not only the usual criminal checks but checks with social services to establish if your client has accessed these services. A detailed account of these screens should be included in your submission because it communicates to the officer you understand the psychology and practicality of an immigration file. In other words, you have not only sought to highlight your client’s strengths but you have scrutinized your client, as would the Department. This leads to trust and credibility with Citizenship & immigration Canada.