The phone rings in the middle of the night……it’s a client…..you haven’t heard from them in a couple of years…..you assume everything is okay but the client is calling from the Immigration Detention Center. He has been detained and is being held for staying in Canada illegally! He’s desperate for your help.
How can this be? You remember having completed his work permit application. The story comes out slowly. Didn’t we get a positive LMO and do your work permit application 2 years ago? The client responds: “Yes we did but I never filed it”. What! Why?
This was definitely an “Oh My God” moment for me. I’m use to having successful cases with positive approvals. What can I do for this client? This is not a question of whether or not we can win this case. The client has been in Canada illegally for 2 years, working and to make matters worse, he was promoting his business on his Facebook page (easy documentation for the CBSA officer in their case against him). There is no winning to be had in this case. He will have to leave Canada because of his failure to file his work permit application. What can I possibly do for him?
It’s frustrating because I want to win this case but can’t. I have to do what I can. What I can do is get him out of detention and minimize the damage (make sure that he can eventually return to his life in Canada). This is a tough case because he knew he was in Canada illegally and he knew he needed a work permit. There was no excusing the clients performance.
I knew that if I accomplish these things it would be as close to a success as we could achieve.
If I got him out of detention, he could get his things in order before he was required to leave the country and if I could minimize the extent of the exclusion order he could return after 1 year.
The CBSA officer was asking for permanent deportation. It was going to be a tough fight.
Before the deportation hearing, I requested that my client bring $5000 as a security bond. I felt that this would indicate our desire to leave as requested and not require further detention.
I felt that with the bond I could get him released and now what I needed was a little luck in finding a sympathetic judge who was willing to listen to my arguments that my client wasn’t a bad person but just a decent person who made a decidedly poor decision but youthful decision to forego filing his Work Permit (after all he had received a positive LMO).
Luck was with us and I got the client released and even though he will need to leave Canada soon, the judge was listened and didn’t impose a permanent deportation order contrary to the CBSA officers request. We now have breathing room to contemplate a strategy for his return in a years. It wasn’t perfect but it was the best we could expect. I know it. My client knows it.
God, I hate those late night phone calls!
Dear Readers,
We have good news for one of our clients, Ms. HY Choi. Her Permanent Resident Visa has been issued and placed in her passport. Congratulations!
Her case was the BC PNP Skilled Workers stream and we got the PNP approval in April 2010. After that, we submitted the federal application forms to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, US at the end of April 2010. Due to the pending caseload at the Buffalo Office, her case file was transferred to the Visa Office in Seattle for expediting the assessment process. It was fortunate for her, because it took only 4 months to hear the approval news after her case was transferred to the Seattle Office.
We know that Ms. Choi, you have been looking forward to this PR Visa. We are very pleased your case was successful and appreciate you for your patience and trust you showed for us. Please pick up your passport and Visa quickly and enjoy a Canadian life as a Permanent Resident!
Best regards,
Imin Consulting
Dear readers,
After having a productive trip to Monterrey, I am getting excited about offering our professional immigration services to the new Mexican market. In the meantime, I would like to introduce new case approval during my absence, and it is my great pleasure to share my clients’ new case approvals on my blog.
First of all, Rosy, congratulations on your work permit approval at the port of entry. I know it was not easy but we got the approval! Now, please enjoy Vancouver as a resident, you are no longer a visitor in Canada.
My favorite neighbor, Naoko, congratulation on your PR approval! (I got your immigration visa stamped passport on my desk, so I will see you today at 11 am.) Now, you can land as a permanent resident. I know you had to go through very difficult procedures, but finally I proved that my advise was the correct path to follow. Remember, your work permit expired as of yesterday, so you’d better change your illegal status to a permanent resident status immediately.
As for Labor Market Opinion approvals, LMO applications for Ms. Yang and Ms. Choi were approved this morning. I know both of you are currently under the “Implied Status”, but your work permit will be approved very soon since we got the LMO confirmations. I had to deal with Service Canada officer during my stay in Monterrey, so those approvals are very special to me since I remotely managed those cases.
My golf teacher, JW, your “Spouse Sponsorship” has been finally approved. Before I left for Monterrey, I notified you that we got the initial approval, so you could apply for an open work permit while waiting for the PR visa, but after I return, now I have the final approval for you, so you do not need to apply the open work permit since you will get a PR visa on your stamp shortly.
Ms. SJ Kim and Mr. HI Kim, thank you for your updates on your receipt of your immigration visa stamped passports from the Seattle Visa Office. Ms. Soo, you had to go through a longer processing time than other clients, but I appreciate your patient and your continuous referrals.
Lastly, all my pending clients, your flowers will be blooming soon, so please let me know if you have any questions….
Daniel Won, Columnist
Immigration Practitioner
Professor of Immigration Law
Dear Readers,
I would like to tell you about my client’s recent work permit application approval at the port of entry at the Vancouver Airport.
Unfortunately, my client had to wait at the immigration (CBSA) office about 5 hours since the CBSA officer did not have a in-depth knowledge or understanding of the Immigration Regulations. What happen was, the officer processed an unnecessary application of Temporary Resident Permit.
In fact, YES, the foreign national who are not from the visa exempt country cannot apply the work permit at the port of entry under the Immigration Regulation S. 18. (1). However, the next Immigration Regulation Subsection S. 18.(2)(a) indicates the exceptions.
Which means, Mexican citizen can apply the work permit at the port of entry if the foreign national has
(1) an offer of employment from a Canadian company
(2) been confirmed by Department of Human Resources Development, in other words, hold a positive Labor Market Opinion confirmation letter that was obtained from HRSDC (which is now called as a Service Canada).
(3) Holds a valid TRV to physically enter the Canada to declare the purpose of the entry. (This time to work in Canada based on the job offer confirmation from the HRSDC).
In summary, after the long wait, CBSA officer finally issued to my client both Work Permit and Temporary Resident Permit, and unfortunately, CBSA officer took not only unnecessary time but also issued an unnecessary document of Temporary Resident Permit.
Dear immigration practitioners, especially who were or are my students at Ashton College, please remember to bring your IRPA with you for the client representation even if you know what you are doing. You may have to show the actual regulations to the CBSA officer if they misunderstand the law, unless you can remember the exact IRPA Subsections.
Daniel Won, Columnist
Immigration Practitioner
Professor of Immigration Law
Good Morning Canadians (or soon to be Canadians),
We have exciting news today!
After submitting a federal PR application to the Buffalo Visa Office based on a PNP approval, we received a request for our client’s original passport. Finally! (The waits for approvals seem to be getting longer and longer…..such is CIC’s work load).
The above paragraph sounds just normal, doesn’t it? However, there was a little incident behind. Let tell you the story.
After a bit more time than the average processing time according to the CIC website passed, we sensed that there was something unusual with the client’s case. We quickly requested the client’s case information from the Seattle Visa Office (the client’s case had been transferred from the Buffalo Visa Office to the Seattle Visa Office) and found out that the Seattle Visa Office had been waiting for the client’s PR Visa issuance without any reason. CIC forgot to request the client’s passport until we made them aware of the situation! It is so unfortunate that the client had to take the medical exam twice and spend the extra unnecessary time waiting, but now, we know everything is back on track.
The Seattle Visa Office promised to swiftly issue the client’s PR Visa, so we will keep you posted.
It pays to stay on top of your case!
Congratulations, Ms. HJ Bang!
