RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News – MAY 2013 RHYME & REASON When I wrote last month’s column, the list of qualifying occupations for the new Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) class had not been released.  Just recently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced the following list of occupations which may qualify an applicant under the FSW class even without a validated job offer from a Canadian employer: 0211   Engineering managers 1112   Financial and investment analysts 2113   Geoscientists and oceanographers 2131   Civil engineers 2132   Mechanical engineers 2134   Chemical engineers 2143   Mining engineers 2145   Petroleum engineers 2144   Geological engineers 2146   Aerospace engineers 2147   Computer engineers (except software engineers/designers) 2154   Land surveyors 2174   ...

Filipiniana News – April 2013 RHYME & REASON On 1 July 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) temporarily stopped accepting applications for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker category unless the applicant has a validated arranged employment offer from a Canadian employer,  is enrolled in good standing in a PhD program for the last two years or graduated from a PhD program within the last 12 months from a Canadian university.    Many have been waiting for CIC to announce when the Federal Skilled Worker Program will be reopened and to see what the new program will look like.  Recent announcements from CIC have given us a general idea of the changes, which are expected to include the following: ·          Language points will be given the biggest weight among all the selection factors for up to a maximum of 28 points (or 24 points for the first official language and 4 points for the sec...

Filipiniana News – March  2013 RHYME & REASON Since most immigration applications are submitted without legal representation, it is often only when these applications are refused that the applicants will decide to seek the legal services of an immigration lawyer.  The first question asked of the lawyer is, can we appeal the negative decision?  It must be noted that there are limited types of immigration decisions that can be appealed with the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).   Most immigration decisions however, can be elevated to the Federal Court via an application for leave and judicial review.  What is the difference between these two legal remedies?  Isn’t the Federal Court application also a form of appeal?   In the sense that it gives a further chance to be heard by another decision maker, yes, it may be considered a form of “appeal”.  Under Canadian immigration law howeve...

Filipiniana News – February 2013 RHYME & REASON A recent series of articles in the Toronto Star dealing with experiences of victims of spousal sponsorship fraud prompted me to revive this topic that I have discussed a few times in this column.  Sadly, these stories and even some comments from readers reveal a continuing lack of knowledge and/or misunderstanding of the complex and ever-changing immigration laws, including those involving spousal sponsorships.  There are two types of spousal sponsorship applications. The first is the outside Canada sponsorships that are initially submitted to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario and then forwarded to the visa office where the applicant spouse is a resident or citizen.  The second is the inland application under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class that is submitted to the CIC Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta.  Depending on t...

Filipiniana News – January 2013 RHYME & REASON If you are a permanent resident planning to travel outside Canada but whose permanent resident (PR) card is about to expire, please ensure that you apply for a renewal several months in advance of your intended travel date.   These days, there are much longer delays in the processing of PR cards, whether for initial,  renewal or replacement cards, due to CIC’s much stricter scrutiny of residency compliance.  It appears that the recent discovery of fraudulent citizenship and PR card residency claims have unfortunately led to the prejudice of everybody else, even for those not guilty of similarly fraudulent activity.  If a permanent resident needs to travel urgently and the PR card cannot be issued before one has to leave Canada, CIC can try to expedite processing if the application is submitted at least three weeks before departure and no issues arise during processing.   If this does not wo...

Filipiniana News – December 2012 RHYME & REASON Despite the entry into force of a laudable legislation termed, “Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants” (Bill C-35) in June 2011, it appears that ghosts consultants are still operating in these parts with relative impunity.      For those not familiar with the term, “ghost consultants” usually refer to people who accept fees or other consideration for providing immigration advice or services but whose identities are not on any of the documentation submitted to the government mainly because they are not duly-licensed lawyers, paralegals or immigration consultants.     Bill C-35 (officially called, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act), makes it an “ offence for anyone other than an authorized representative to conduct business, for a fee or other consideration, at any stage of an application or proceeding.” Ghost consultants therefore, are clearly punishable under ...

Filipiniana News – November 2012 RHYME & REASON     When people find out that I am an immigration lawyer in Canada, one of the most frequently asked questions is this:  “what is the easiest and fastest way to immigrate to Canada?”   The proper response to this type of question is that there is no short and simple answer as it would greatly depend on the specific qualifications and circumstances of the prospective immigrant.    However, a number of prospective immigrants (or their families) have told me that they were advised that the fastest and easiest way to immigrate to Canada is to be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse.   They were told that they can try to look for (or even pay) a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to marry them, submit an application for spousal sponsorship and voila, one can obtain permanent resident status in a few or several months.  Some are also told that they...