Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Blog Posting - PRRA Notifications Calgary

In the latter stages of 2015 and in the early part of January 2016, many of our clients have been contacted by the Canada Border Services Agency in Calgary with Pre Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) notifications. PRRA Notification is the first step in the removal/deportation process. If a PRRA eligible individual does not make a PRRA application then, subject to a few exemptions, they may be removal ready. If you have been contacted for a notification and do not attend for an interview, the CBSA is authorized to issue a warrant for your arrest and can arrest you. Therefore, if you have received a notification and are confused as to the process and how the PRRA is intertwined with other immigration processes, we highly recommend you contact our office so we can provide you guidance regarding this very important issue. Read more →

Cultural Sensitivity and the Birth of a Child in Spousal Sponsorship Appeals

The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) handles appeals of refused spousal sponsorships made outside Canada. In the words of Justice Barnes, The Board's task is not an easy one because the genuineness of personal relationships can be difficult to assess from the outside. Gill v. MCI 2010 FC 122 Nonetheless, the IAD must proceed with great care because the consequences of a mistake will be catastrophic for the family (Gill, para 6) Justice Barnes seems to create a presumption that a child born of the marriage is indicative of a genuine relationship and endorses the position that strong countervailing evidence would be required to off-set that presumption. (Gill, para. 6, 8, 9). The Board also has to be cognizant and demonstrate appropriate cultural sensitivity. In an IAD decision (Gill 2009 CanLII 82652 (CA IRB)), the Board stated, ..the parties to a[n] [arranged] marriage will have varying opinions about and differential awareness of the aspects of the other's life...[and] the "genuineness" of the relationship must be examined through the eyes of the parties themselves against the cultural background in which they have lived. [para 34] and at paragraph 40 ..."western harlequin romance ideals do not... Read more →

Blog Posting - Parental Sponsorship Class

The Family Class Sponsorship of Parents and Grandparents will is now open. The initial 5000 applications that were part of the old quota have already been received by the Case Processing Centre. However, based on the Minister's comments, it would appear that the quota is 10,000 for the year: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-will-take-in-10-000-parent-grandparent-sponsorship-applications-this-year-1.3396179 Based on our experience, time is of the essence in filing these applications and it could be that the processing centre already has 10,000 complete applications, but has not made an official announcement yet. There could be other routes to PR even if you are found ineligible to meet the sponsorship requirements or if your parents are already in Canada, or can come to Canada as visitors and you want to look into PR options for them. Please call our office to schedule a consultation to discuss these options if you find your application was not included in the 10,000 quota, but you still want to explore possibilities for your parents to become PRs of Canada. Read more →

Immigration Changes to Watch for in 2016

Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future. - Yoda Predictions are hard. That doesn't seem to stop most from trying their hand at it, particularly at this time of the year. That being said, an attempted scrying in immigration could be a bit easier given the fact that we've just had an election and this government still retains fresh faced enthusiasm, adorable child-like naivete and genuinely believes that it's policies and perhaps promises alone can change the world for the better, a belief that is yet unsullied by scandal and cynicism, unjaded from cruel realities. Trudeau is the anti-Harper and this will determine his destiny. Like matter and anti-matter, or ... As a result, the Trudeau Liberal Government will thus be compelled - driven to: Continue to enunciate big words that are synonyms for progress - and execute (photographed) grand gestures - because the Liberal brand is important and communicating it is even more important - but criticism while in Opposition, and promises while now in power, are a lot easier than implementation. No plan survives contact with the enemy. - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder In terms of immigration policy: More parents and grand-parents. Never mind the... Read more →