Christopher Anders is a shareholder of Parker, Butte & Lane in Oregon (www.pbl.net), and a practicing lawyer who represents asylum seekers before the Asylum Offices of USCIS and in removal proceedings before the Immigration Courts of EOIR.

We discuss how record refugee flows are impacting politics and public opinion about refugees in both Canada and the United States. Also included is a sentimental sideline about the longevity of good pets (it’s a “tortoise and the hare” parable all over again…)

Sam Cooper is an award-winning investigative journalist and best-selling author. He is the founder of The Bureau, and his book, Wilful Blindness – How a Criminal network of narcos, tycoons and Chinese Communist Party agents infiltrated the West, debuted as a #1-seller on Amazon, in Canada.

We discuss the United Front, foreign interference in Canada, Canadian enforcement issues, IRCC casting a wide security screening net that seems to encompass all Chinese with STEM backgrounds, Parliamentarians allegedly involved in collusion with foreign governments, international students voting in nomination ridings, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, 3/PLA and whether things are improving.

Published cases involving inadmissibility to Canada due to membership in either the United Front or the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office include Meng v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), Zhang v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) and Gao v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration).

Li v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1753 is the decision in which the Chief Justice of the Federal Court expanded the definition of espionage to include those who may be coerced by China into providing information.

The past Borderlines episode where we mentioned Lai Changxing can be found here.

Arshdeep Kahlon is an immigration lawyer in Brampton. He was counsel in Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1369, where the Court had to determine whether it is misrepresentation for an applicant in a visa application to not disclose that they were previously not granted entry to the United States while flagpoling.

Topics include what flagpoling is, when one should flagpole vs. applying for a visa online, misrepresentation, how judicial reviews work and advocacy strategies and tips.

Raj Sharma K.C. is a regular guest on the Borderlines podcast, an a renowned immigration lawyer in Calgary, where he is a partner at Stewart Sharma Harsanyi.

On this episode, we discuss spousal sponsorship applications and appeals, means of showing that a relationship is genuine, arranged marriage, the primary purpose of a marriage, interview preparation, how Immigration Appeal Division appeals work, (language) interpretation issues, in person hearings vs. remote, res judicata and inconsistencies in relationship history.