Filipiniana News – JUNE
2013
RHYME & REASON
Citizenship and
Immigration Canada recently posted a notice on its website which reads:
“June 11, 2013 — The
Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) union is currently
taking strike action. PAFSO union
members responsible for processing visa applications have been walking out of
offices in Canada and overseas.
Posted processing times for both temporary and
permanent resident visa applications do not take into account work stoppages.
Anyone applying for a
visa should anticipate delays and submit their application as far in advance as
possible.
Contingency plans are already in place to ensure
all offices remain open and are providing at least a minimum level of service.
Priority will be placed on urgent humanitarian applications.
CIC continues to closely monitor the situation.”
This notice serves to highlight once more the fact
that Canada’s immigration system is far
from being perfect and will always be subject to human limitations and
fallibility.
For instance, processing delays are the
most frequent complaint vis-à-vis immigration applications. As many people know only too well,
immigration applications can easily fall into a seeming blackhole for months
and even years on end. However, this
should not lead to complacency and/or helplessness. Instead, this reality should encourage us to
come up with efficient and creative ways of dealing with such a system,
imperfections and all.
In my immigration law practice, I have
often encountered situations where clients were prejudiced by errors committed
not by them, but by the frontline immigration officers or clerks handling their
files. The errors could simply be
typographical: e.g. that their personal
or contact information were wrongly entered or that the notices were sent to
the wrong address. They may also
consist of unexplained processing delays in the issuance of decisions or of
visas and landing documents long after a positive decision has been
rendered. Worse, the errors could also
be substantive, i.e. arbitrary decisions or reasons for refusal especially in
applications involving the exercise of discretion which makes it difficult to
predict outcomes despite what the law, regulations or judicial precedents
provide.
Typographical errors can often be dealt
with most easily by correcting them at the earliest opportunity. Pointing out these errors to the appropriate
office should be simple enough if the applicant realizes the mistake earlier
on. A bigger problem could arise when
the communication from CIC is never received because it was sent to a wrong
address. One way to avoid this problem
is to regularly check with the CIC call center or to follow up directly with
the office concerned if a decision is not received within the “normal”
processing times that are published on the CIC website. By doing so, the applicant will eventually
learn if a communication has been sent and if so, provide notice to CIC that it
was never received.
Procedural delays, on the other hand, are
clearly part of a bigger problem within the government bureaucracy and is
something that needs immediate reform.
However, further delays can be reduced if not avoided when one submits
as “complete” an application package as possible and makes full disclosure of
all relevant information to avoid the need for CIC to require further
submissions.
In the case of substantive errors (or
procedural errors resulting to violations of natural justice), the remedies
could include making a request for reconsideration, invoking a statutory right
to appeal or submitting an application for leave and judicial review with the
Federal Court. These procedures have
specific legal requisites and limitations and will not necessarily lead to
desired outcomes. At the very least,
they give one a second kick at the can from the perspective of another
adjudicator, judge or decision maker.
That having been said, it cannot be
overemphasized that a healthy dose of patience and perseverance are required
when dealing with our immigration system.
We should therefore avoid contributing to the problem by failing to be
thorough, honest and judicious in all submissions or representations made. At the same time, we need to remain vigilant
and persistent in advocating for positive change until our messages are fully
heard and acted upon.
Even though we might sometimes find
ourselves seemingly trapped and totally discouraged, taking proactive steps to
address the issues is the only way forward.
When we always try our best to overcome struggles within an imperfect
system, we can still remain perfectly confident and hopeful that things can
only get better.
For now, it is hoped that the current
strike action by Canadian visa officers worldwide will help in resolving some
of the deeply rooted problems within the immigration system, instead of making
them worse.
This article is for legal information
purposes only and not intended to provide specific legal advice. It is strongly advised that you consult with
a legal professional to discuss your particular circumstances.
The author is a Canadian immigration
lawyer and may be reached at tel. no. (416) 901-8497 or via email at
deanna@santoslaw.ca.
Comments
Post a Comment