The following are charts from Statistics Canada related to various immigration topics. 1) Likelihood to Have Received CERB https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00021-eng.pdf 2) Median Wage and Previous Permits Data reveals that people who immigrate to Canada after previously having a study permit but no work permit have lower wages than immigrants who never studied in Canada at all. Age may be an explanation. Immigrants sponsored by family Economic immigrants, principal applicant Economic immigrants, spouse and dependent Refugees 2010 57.2 75.4 65.4 63.5 2011 55.4 71.9 65.3 60.8 2012 55.4 70.4 65.2 60.1 2013 55.9 70.3 66.6 63.6 2014 57.4 69.0 67.9 63.2 2015 59.9 70.3 69.0 66.5 2016 60.8 71.4 70.8 67.1 2017 62.0 71.6 71.7 70.4 2018 64.3 71.5 73.2 74.4 2019 65.5 72.1 75.1 75.9
What Will Cause A Refused NEXUS Application
As I have previously written about in this blog, there are numerous benefits to being a member in the NEXUS program. Membership in NEXUS enables people to save time through the use of automatic self-serve kiosks at airports, designated lanes at the land border, and expedited security procedures at airports. Indeed, on November 13, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority started a pilot project featuring a new, expedited screening line for NEXUS members at the security screening checkpoint for flights to the U.S. in Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport. NEXUS members who participate in this pilot are permitted to keep shoes, belts and light jackets on and leave laptops, large electronics, and compliant liquids, aerosols and gels in carry-on bags. For many people, one of the frustrating things about the NEXUS program is that the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) website is very vague as to what may cause Canada to refuse someone’s NEXUS application. It states: Canada’s Presentation of Persons (2003) Regulations, SOR/2003-323 (the “PoP Regulations“) are also not clear as to what may disqualify someone from being able to enrol in NEXUS. The Regulations state: 6. The Minister may issue an authorization to a person to present themself in an alternative manner described in paragraph … Read More
Appealing Loss of NEXUS Cards and NEXUS Application Rejections
Anyone who travels frequently understands the benefits of NEXUS membership. At airports, NEXUS members avoid long line-ups and save time using automated self-serve kiosks at eight designated Canadian international airports. The wait-times are much less than they are for non-NEXUS passengers. As well, NEXUS members are expedited through Canadian Air Transport Security Authority airport security screening lanes. This is the case even on domestic flights. Those crossing the US-Canada border by land enjoy a quick and simplified entry process using dedicated lanes. Wait-times are generally a fraction of what they are for non-NEXUS members. It is not uncommon for the NEXUS lane(s) to be empty while the non-NEXUS lanes have wait-times exceeding one hour. If you’ve never heard of NEXUS, you should read more about it on the CBSA website here. Considering all the benefits which membership in NEXUS provides, it is understandable why people whose NEXUS membership applications are rejected often seek recourse, as do people who lose their NEXUS. Legislation Regulation 6.1 of the Presentation of Persons (2003) Regulations, SOR/2003-323 provides that: NEXUS program (air, land and marine) 6.1 The Minister may issue an authorization that is recognized in both Canada and the United States to a person, other than … Read More
Borderlines Podcast #49 – The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Chieu and the Ribic Factors
Chieu v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2002 SCC 3 was a landmark Supreme Court of Canada which affirmed the use of the Ribic factors in the H&C assessment. We discuss these factors and how they are used in immigration appeals. 1:00 – How the assessment of Humanitarian & Compassionate considerations has become somewhat nebulus. 4:00 – A case study of Chieu v. Canada 10:00 – What is an example of a negative country condition in someone’s country of citizenship? 13:00 – The decision and principles in Chieu. 15:00 – The Federal Court of Canada in Zhang v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 927, which seems to limit Chieu. 16:00 – The Ribic factors and the types of immigration appeals. 20:00 How much weight each factor should get. 25:00 – Stories about our appeals. 32:00 – The remorse factor and flexibility. 45:00 – The counter arguments to considering country of citizenship conditions. 50:00 – Consents on appeal.
Borderlines Podcast Episode 48 – Responding to Procedural Fairness Letters, with Raj Sharma
A discussion about responding to procedural fairness letters with digressions on possible bias against people from Punjab, unreasonable documentation requests, tunnel vision amongst visa officers, how if an officer goes out looking for misrepresentation in an application they will probably find it, aggressively banning people from Canada as a deterrance policy, IRCC misleading Parliament about whether it bounces applications for incompleteness and more. Raj Sharma is a Partner at Stewart Sharma Harsanyi in Calgary. He can be found on Twitter @immlawyercanada. 2:30 When does IRCC have to send a procedural fairness letter vs. being able to refuse an application without one? 15:00 Specific issues with the Canadian visa offices in New Delhi and Chandigarh. 21:00 Racialized assessments of visa applications. 23:00 Why hunting for misrep can lead to misrep findings. 25:00 Misrepresentation as a deterrence policy. 35:00 Is there a specific focus on Punjabs? 44:00 Can you tell if someone is lying as soon as you meet them at the start of an interview? 46:00 Preet Bharara on investigations 50:00 When IRCC believes that a job is fake because no employer would wait as long as IRCC’s processing times to fill a position. 1:00 Procedural fairness letters in the citizenship … Read More
Borderlines Podcast #53 – Thoughts on Starting a Career in Immigration Law, with Joshua Sohn
Joshua Sohn practiced immigration law for over 25 years. He is a past president of the Canadian Bar Association’s Immigration section. He worked both as a sole practicioner, at a small firm and at a big 4 accounting firm. We discuss Joshua’s career, what made him go to law school, whether he took immigration courses in law school, how he started in refugee law, differences between working as a solo practicioner, small firm and eventually at a big 4 accounting firm, and then back to a small firm, differences working in a downtown core vs suburb, and managing the stress of practicing immigration law and running a business. There are a lot of nuggets in here for aspiring lawyers and current practicioners. 2:00 Quitting social media after retirement. 9:00 Law school 14:00 Articles 17:30 Are there any courses or law schools that are best to help someone start a career in immigration? 19:30 Starting a career in refugee law. 22:30 Is it possible to make a viable practice just doing refugee law? 29:00 The law firm as training ground. 32:00 Practicing as a sole practitioner vs at a large firm. 35:30 Does it make sense for someone to do just … Read More
When an Applicant’s and a Visa Officer’s Account Differs
It is not uncommon for applicants to have a differing account of what transpired during a visa interview or a port of entry matter from what an immigration officer says occurred. As such, it is very important that applicants take detailed notes of every interaction that they have with government officials. The Federal Court recently dealt with the issue of inconsistencies in Gedara v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2016 FC 209. The Federal Court stated (emphasis added, and citations removed for ease of reading): The affidavits filed by the Applicant and by the Interviewing Officer present opposing accounts of the tone of the interview and whether concerns were specifically communicated. I find the Applicant’s affidavit more persuasive and assign it more weight for the following reasons. I agree with the reasoning in Rukmangathan, above, at paras 30, 31, citing Parveen v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), that “…[v]isa officers deal with many applications, one can expect that they will not have as precise a memory of the event as does the applicant” The interview took place on March 11, 2015, yet the Officer’s affidavit was sworn in December 4, 2015 – approximately nine months later. The extended passage of time and the number of … Read More
COVID-19 Immigration Pathways – TRPR
On April 14, 2021 Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino, announced the creation of two new immigration programs that will allow approximately 90,000 individuals to apply for permanent residence between May 6, 2021 and November 5, 2021. I say approximately because the programs have application caps except for those with upper-basic French language capability. The programs provide an immigration opportunity for many people who previously did not qualify to immigrate. While the application packages for the programs have yet to be released, and there are questions about some of the details, it is important that anyone who is currently in Canada and who wishes to immigrate check to see if they qualify based on the details that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has released so far. There are also certain requirements (passing a language test, being employed) that prospective applicants may need to act on in order to qualify that they should do immediately as applicable. The programs in brief target foreign nationals who have one year of work experience in occupations that IRCC has deemed essential, those who have graduated from a qualifying Canadian post-secondary institution and French speakers. Program A – Permanent Residence for Foreign Nationals in Canada, … Read More
Owner Operator LMIAs
One of the less understood recruitment exemptions in the Labour Market Impact Assessment stream is the exemption for Owner / Operators of a business. The Employment and Social Development Canada website states: Category: Owners/Operators Description: The owner/operator must demonstrate that he is integral to the day-to-day operation of the business and will be actively involved in business processes/service delivery in Canada. In such instances, greater consideration should be given to demonstration by the applicant (owner/operator) that such temporary entry will result in the creation or retention of employment opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents and/or skills transfer to Canadians and permanent residents. Variation: No advertising or recruitment is required. Applicability: All Provinces The Temporary Foreign Worker Program Manual previously stated: The ESDC wiki states: The wiki makes it clear that the following key conditions apply to Owner / Operator LMIAs: ESDC must be satisfied that the foreign national is or will be a principal owner or co-owner of the business in Canada. The company must prove the foreign natinoal’s shareholdings. [redacted] When assessing labour market factors, the focus is on job creation/retention and/or skills transfer. For co-owners, the focus is on job creation / retention and/or skills transfer. For High-Wage … Read More
Settlement Funds
Regulation 76(1)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227 provides that: For the purpose of determining whether a skilled worker, as a member of the federal skilled worker class, will be able to become economically established in Canada, they must be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: (b) the skilled worker must (i) have in the form of transferable and available funds, unencumbered by debts or other obligations, an amount equal to one half of the minimum necessary income applicable in respect of the group of persons consisting of the skilled worker and their family members. Applicants are not required to have settlement funds if the applicant is authorized to work in Canada and has been awarded points for a qualifying offer of arranged employment under Express Entry or for arranged employment in Canada. The funds must be available and transferable; unencumbered by debts or other obligations; and sufficient to support initial establishment in Canada. IRCC Questions and Answers The following are two questions that lawyers asked IRCC’s IMMrep department, and the response. Question – To what extent are people able to use funds within “investment accounts” to satisfy the proof of funds requirement? Question – To what extent … Read More