Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary. In Borderlines Podcast Episode 69 we discussed his case Mohammad v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 1, in which the Federal Court quashed an Immigration Appeal Division decision, stating that the IAD did not properly give enough weight to the unique contributions that Ms. Mohammad made as a health care worker during COVID-19, and the debt that was owed to her. The IAD disagreed with the Federal Court, and Raj Sharma sought judicial review again. The case, and today’s episode, provides an insight into how redetermination works, and the degree of deference that visa officers and the IAD need to show the Federal Court.Show more
Author: Steven Meurrens
#86 – Refugee Resettlement and the Housing Crisis, with Laura Best
#27 – Civil Forfeiture in Canada, with Bibhas Vaze
Civil forfeiture is a process in which the government seizes assets from persons suspected of involvement with crime without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing. Did you know that in British Columbia the government can seize and forfeit your car if you speed? Or that police can “seize first ask later” for property that is less than $75,000? This was a fascinating look at an area of law that receives little scrutiny, especially in how it can relate to immigration. Bibhas Vaze is a criminal defense lawyer in Vancouver.
#45 – Spousal Sponsorship Delays and Refusals, with Chantal Dube and Syed Farhan Ali
Syed Farhan Ali shares his Canadian immigration story. During the time that his spousal sponsorship application was in process he was denied temporary entry to Canada, missed the birth of his first child and missed her first steps. He recently arrived in Canada after a three year application process. Chantal Dube is a Spokesperson for Spousal Sponsorship Advocates, a group with more than 5,000 members in Canada that argues for reforms to the family reunification process.
3:15 Said tells the story of his spousal sponsorship application. His application took 34 months to process. During the processing of his application Canada denied his visitor visa applications. He missed the birth of his children and their first steps, although he was able to reunite with his wife during brief trips to the United States, which did grant him a visitor visa.
21:00 We discuss the refusal of temporary resident visas for people with spousal sponsorship applications in process, people with frequent travel histories, people with American multiple entry visas, and judicial reviews.
25:00 How long a judicial review takes.
29:50 Assessing genuineness in a spousal sponsorship application, and the distinction between “low risk and high risk” in the checklists.
33:00 The strange quirk in the Family Class where people have to prove that their relationship is genuine but immigrants and foreign workers do not. The same is true for work permits, where the spouses of Canadians cannot apply for work permits from abroad, but the spouses of foreign workers can. 38:00 What are major issues that Sponsorship Advocates seeing?
39:45 What things can trigger genuineness concerns?
45:00 Processing times and approval rates.
55:00 Preventing abuse.
1:03 Is an overzealous hunt for marriage fraud in individual applications the solution to marriage fraud, or are there other measures that can be taken?