Our immigration law firm has a YouTube Video channel that features our lawyers discussing the various aspects of Canadian and US Immigration Visas and applications.  You can also access some of our immigration videos directly on our website here

Online videos are becoming an increasingly popular medium for disseminating information. Enjoy the videos!

Sometimes it is important it take a step back and gain some perspective about why we do what we do. As immigration lawyers, we handle thousands of immigration and visa applications. There are a lot of technical issues to think about on a daily basis in order to properly process these applications. To do our job we have to consult the immigration regulations and manuals to make sure things go smoothly. Often I think about what is behind all these rules and regulations etc. The answer is more “big picture stuff” like demographics, policy and politics. Below is some perspective on the “big picture” that may help answer some questions about the why things are the way they are in the context of Canadian immigration.  

The population shortage in Canada has led to a very positive attitude towards enticing immigrants to live and do business in the Great White North. After World War II,  Canada accepted large numbers of refugees, known then as “Displaced Persons,” from destroyed European countries. They were Italians, Poles, Czechs, and others who wanted to be accepted in a country without war, where they could build a new life.

Life was and is comparatively good in their new home: Canada is a top-ranked country, often reaching the number one place to live in the world based on key measures. Universal health care is a major benefit, with basic access for all. The environment is cleaner than other places, the education system is excellent, neighborhoods are generally safe, and there’s overall racial harmony and equality in the workplace. It goes without saying that nobody is considered a target because of where he or she from.

That tradition has brought a wide diversity of ethnic communities; thirty-six separate ethnicities have populations of over 100,000 in Canada. Almost every country in the world is represented within the population.

Decades later, the population is still shrinking at a rate of 1.5% so hard-working new citizens are needed to make the economy work. The economic class of immigrants is desirable to bring money and skills into the country. Someone moving here to work is expected to have money to survive for six months. Entry to Canada usually starts with a temporary residence in Canada such as work permit or visa applications, which later can lead to Canadian permanent resident status. There are thirty-eight skilled job classificationspursued by Immigration Canada as worthy of fast-track processing under the Skilled Worker Category.

There is a liberal policy to allow Family Class immigration to Canada. This is generally the easiest way to qualify for an immigrant visa. And once a person is a Canadian permanent resident it can be a fairly straightforward matter to bring certain relatives into the country. There may of course be complications which have to be assessed and managed by an immigration lawyer.

Another category for Canada Immigration is for Business Immigrants or for the Business Class, where an applicant typically immigrant owns at least a third of a business and has $300,000 in business assets. This is category is called Entrepreneur. The intent is to create new jobs for Canadians, thus stimulating the economy. The government needs taxpayers so this plan looks good on paper. In practice this can lead to abuse and it results in financial loss without the government realizing it.

There is also the Immigrant Investor Category where the applicant is required to have a net worth of at least $800.000Cnd and make an investment of $400,000Cnd for a 5 year period. This amount can be financed under certain conditions.  

In terms of statistics regarding the various immigration categories, here is a breakdown for a four-year period (2004-2008) of new residents to Canada: Family Class 65,567; Economic Immigrants 149,072; Refugees 21,860; other immigrants 10,742 – for a total of 247,243 people who have gone through the process in the last four years. Almost ten percent of those granted entry were refugees. Many who show up to claim refugee status remain in the country even if their claim is rejected. This is caused by a poorly-defined screening process that has resulted in tens of thousands of warrants and deportation orders (which are not usually enforced).

When dealing with governments it is always best to use the services of an immigration lawyer who deals in Canadian Immigration matters so that the correct procedure is followed the first time. Any mistake can force the applicant to begin all over again or worse, get a refusal from Canada Immigration. Therefore it is often  hiring a professional avoid lengthy delays in reprocessing or appealing. The immigration lawyer will know the most appropriate form to expedite the application. The odds are definitely in favor of the immigrant who knows where he or she going in terms of paperwork or procedure.

Q.  My family intends to apply for Permanent Residence and we are deciding whether or not we should hire an immigration lawyer to represent us. What are the pros and cons?

_____________________

A.  The question as to whether to retain the services of an immigration lawyer to help you with your immigration or visa application is of course a personal one. However, having being involved with thousands of immigration and visa applications over the years, I can tell you that all to many applications are refused, delayed and mishandled by just about everyone involved in the process from the government authorities to the applicants themselves.

The role of an immigration lawyer as I see it is to facilitate the immigration application process to its conclusion, making the procedure as “painless” as possible. Further where an immigration or visa application is refused, the lawyer should vigorously fight for his or her client’s rights where there is a chance to overturn the decision on appeal.

Moving to or working in another country is a major and sometimes life changing decision. Getting it right is obviously important. In a perfect world, it would be nice to just fill out a form, submit it and wait for your Visa. The immigration system is, unfortunately, far from perfect–despite what you may be lead to believe.

Even Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) itself sadly contributes to the “myth” of easy access. The first page of their website discusses the need to hire legal counsel for the immigration process. Their message is beware of fraud and that special treatment will not be given to you just because you hired a lawyer.

While it is true that applicants should be careful about who they hire to represent them and to always check their representative’s credentials, hiring a competent immigration lawyer certainly helps more than hurts! I think CIC is doing a disservice to applicants and their families by skewing the message here. In fairness, CIC should also publish their immigration refusal rates on their home page which would reveal the real picture.  Many of our cases deal with immigration application refusals from people who decided to go it alone thinking that the government is on their side; that all they have to do is follow the instructions on the website or application kit and pay a filing fee. Again we do not live in a perfect world. Application decisions are made by real people not computers.

The message here is hiring an immigration lawyer is up to you. But all told, the pros in doing so certainly outweigh the cons.

Every year Toronto puts on a spectacular festival enjoyed by over one million participants. Caribana is in its 42nd year and is a 3 week long festival celebrating Caribbean culture which has been welcomed by Toronto and other cities throughout Canada . Caribana is a festival of food, entertainment, culture and fun.

Our law firm is proud to have served so many people from the Caribbean and other parts of the world including South Asia with their visa and immigration needs.  More information on the festival can be found here.

Enjoy the festival!  

We at Niren and Associates Immigration Lawyers wish all our clients and friends a Happy Canada Day.

For many of you, Canada Day is a special holiday as Canada is your new adopted home. Immigrants from around the world have chosen and continue to choose Canada as a destination to live, work and study. Our law firm is proud to have played a small part in helping individuals, families and businesses come to Canada by processing their Canada Visa applications. We are honored that so many of you have trusted us as partners in bringing you and your families to Canada. We promise to continue our commitment to our clients to get the best possible results for them for all their immigration and visa needs.

Enjoy the day!

In a recent poll, Toronto was ranked 4th as one of the most livable cities in the world. Vancouver, another Canadian city was ranked 1st. The survey covered 140 cities based on 30 factors concerning living conditions. Toronto’s strong economic base and vibrant downtown contributed to the findings.

We at Niren and Associates Immigration Lawyers are proud that our Toronto law firm has helped thousands of immigrants, workers , students and visitors to obtain visas to come to Toronto as well as to other Canadian great cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal Hamilton and Halifax. We are grateful to be participants in welcoming so many talented individuals to our great cities. Our mission has always been to bring our clients to where they want to go and Toronto remains one of the most attractive destinations in the world to live, work and raise a family.

Thank you for trusting us to make your dreams a reality.

For inquires about Canadian and US Visas contact us at 1 866 929 0991 or visit us on the web at www.VisaPlace.com