Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Changes to spousal sponsorship rules imminent

Despite my usual antipathy to Minister Kenneys policy, I concur with these new efforts to curtail sponsorship fraud. Looks like spouses will receive conditional visas and sponsors will not be able to sponsor again for 5 years. The article discusses the 'cat and mouse' game immigration officers have engaged in, especially in the Punjab/India and China. http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-moves-to-curb-marriages-of-convenience/article2215245/?service=mobile Read more →

Cut immigration applications to fix backlog, Kenney says - Politics - CBC News

...Kenney seems to be contemplating making sponsors pay $75,000 to bring their parents over to Canada. In any event it seems clear that a cap will be imposed shortly... And what's with lawyer Richard Kurland? He seems to be more of a mouthpiece for the Minister than someone with an independent opinion. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/10/20/pol-kenney-immigration-cut-applications.html Read more →

Allegations that Indo Canadian committed suicide over a fraudulent marriage

http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=11092 Read more →

Family Law Audio Podcast

Raj Sharma and Andy Hayher answer frequently asked questions about family law, including divorce, custody and access, parenting time, spousal and child support. Read more →

Converting LL.B. to J.D.

After an apparent lengthy consultation between students, alumni and faculty, the University of Alberta is changing the name of it's law degree from the LL.B. to the J.D. There is a conversion process for those granted a LL.B. In essence, the LL.B. has to be turned in. I've had mine now for over ten years and will be sending it in this week. I'm not sure that the conversion is really of any significance to me. Some want the J.D. because they would like the recognition in the U.S. job market (given the present economic realities, probably unlikely). For others perhaps its rooted in some kind of Anglophilia. I believe that my educational credentials are more established by my LL.M. As I am a partner of my own firm, I doubt that I will ever need a certain nomenclature for my degree to get a job. So why bother? I'm noticing an increasing trend of law graduates from other common law jurisdictions (like England, India, South Africa) coming and practicing here in Canada. The LL.B. from these countries is a true 'first degree'. Individuals can gain admission to law school straight from high school. Some don't require a LSAT (Law... Read more →

Stopping an imminent deportation

Bjorn and I attended at the Federal Court earlier this week to seek the stay of removal for one of our clients. We were successful. Our client, a 21 year permanent resident of Canada received a removal order for passing a bad cheque (I do not joke). On some really bad advice from a non immigration lawyer, he did not appeal the order. We filed the notice of appeal with an extension of time request which was refused (improperly in our view) and we sought judicial review if that decision. CBSA sought to remove our client on Monday prior to the JR. We relied (in part) on the stay we received in the Jackie Tran in 2009. A news radio broadcast from that busy week is attached: Download Memo Mike: Refugee board for reputed gangster Jackie Tran, one of countless hearings, and appearances, that have been going on for the past 5 years, since Tran was ordered deported from the country. Still fighting deportation to his native Vietnam. CHQR's Aurelio Perri covering this case today. Aurelio, thanks for joining us this afternoon. Aurelio: Hi there Mike. Mike: Now Tran is going to stay behind bars for now, until what? One... Read more →

Radio Program - Law and Society 'Kanun te Samaj'

Some of you may know that Andy Hayher and I have started a radio program tackling legal and social issues on Fairchild Radio (94.7 Tuesdays 7-8 PM MST -- listen to realtime broadcast here). Our first show was on the growing problem of 'dode' - a derivative of opium and a South Asian drug of choice in Canadian cities (particularly Calgary). Our distinguished panel included Jason van Rassel (who wrote of the recent conviction of a Calgarian East Indian Grocer that sparked the show topic) and Darshan Kang MLA, a distinguished individual in the South Asian community and who emerged as the moral voice of the community during the show. Jason was kind enough to capture his thoughts regarding the program, which can be found on the Calgary Herald blog here. Our next show was on the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Our panel members included a counsel for the Commission and Happy Mann, a nominated candidate for the Alberta Wildrose party (which has its own plans for the Alberta Human Rights Commission). Coming up next is a discussion on immigration and marriage fraud. We were delighted to speak to distinguished Ind0-Canadian Ujjal Dosanjh on this topic. Our interview with him... Read more →

Lawyers slam most wanted list

...However, said Waldman, who is a refugee lawyer, “none of them, as far as I’m aware, have been convicted in any criminal proceeding anywhere in the world.” He called the situation an invasion of privacy, “hugely problematic” and a “publicity stunt.”CARL and a number of other legal groups issued a statement on Sept. 21 saying the lists undermine the presumption of innocence and may violate privacy rights. The CARL statement said such lists broadly apply theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) inadmissibility provisions to circumvent the legal system by not having charges in place and, in some cases, without having evidence of any criminal conduct.B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Robert Holmes said the use of tools such as amber alerts and “person-of-interest” alerts is appropriate where proper grounds exist and they are being used to protect public safety and apprehend individuals for trial under the rule of law. However, Holmes criticized the federal government’s published list, which identified 30 individuals from places such as Angola, Haiti, Afghanistan, Peru, Somalia and other countries and described them as “suspected war criminals.” He said the individuals on the “most wanted” list haven’t necessarily been charged with committing war crimes.“What the government is doing... Read more →

Hungary top Refugee Producing Country

Surprising, as these days a European country generally is not a refugee source country:As Canada receives thousands of dubious refugee claims from Hungarian citizens, there's a call for drastic action."How much of our money do we want to hemorrhage before setting a visa requirement on Hungarian nationals, just like we did with the Czech Republic?" asked immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.Between January and August of this year 2,045 people claiming to be refugees came to Canada from Hungary That's 13% of all refugee claims made during that time in Canada, keeping Hungary as this country's top source of refugee claims.QMI Agency has acquired a 2010 Canada Border Services Agency report that concluded most of the claimants from Hungary are Roma – a stateless ethnic group that considers the name 'Gypsy' derogatory.... http://m.torontosun.com/2011/10/01/hungary-still-tops-for-refugee-claims-in-canada ... Raj Sharma LLM Partner Read more →

Criminal and IRPA charges against Immigration Consultant

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, Sep 26, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) filed 149 charges against Yafim Goikhberg, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code. He appeared in court today at the Palais de Justice in Montreal.Mr. Goikhberg is accused of having induced, aided or abetted people to misrepresent themselves and of using forged documents in order to obtain refugee status or a temporary resident permit. He is also accused of acting as an immigration representative in return for fees without authorization, and communicating false or misleading information to encourage immigration to Canada.According to the CBSA investigation, at least 48 people submitted applications based on Mr. Goikhberg's advice, and some of them may have their status in Canada revoked. CBSA investigators also discovered that the accused had assumed other persons' identities during his consulting activities.Public Safety Minister Vic Toews congratulated the CBSA: "I commend the CBSA for its ongoing efforts, together with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, in helping protect people from becoming victims of fraudulent immigration consultants."Immigration consultants are professionals who, in return for fees, provide people with advice, consultation services, assistance or representation services with regard to their applications to Citizenship and... Read more →