Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Closing the Barn Doors After the Horses have Bolted

Great chatting with Rishi Nagar on RED FM 106.7 this morning on the developments on the Canada - US border. I also discussed this issue with Danielle Smith last week (and several times this year already) as well as media organizations such as VICE. There's been some effort, both politically, and now there is a piece by the U of C School of Public Policy downplaying the unique events of the past few months. In essence, that Canada can effectively deal with this influx of individuals crossing the border from the US; and, (now via the School of Public Policy) This is not unprecedented that we've seen this before (most notably after the events of 9/11). Well, my law partner, Bjorn Harsanyi, and I were actually there, as an Refugee Protection Officer with the IRB. The reality is that our refugee adjudication system is not set up at present to deal with large numbers of arrivees. Further, these numbers of border crossers is indeed unprecedented. Comparisons to the past don't work for a number of reasons: The projection for 2017 claims by the School of Public Policy do not take into account the massive jump - 7,000 *after* June (they... Read more →

Raj Sharma Interviewed on Haitian and other Migrants Crossing the Quebec/US Border with Danielle Smith 08/16/2017

Danielle Smith: This next topic. Before anybody says that I'm catering to the racists and bigots out there, I want you to know that you're talking about the majority of Canadians. If you're talking about the majority of Canadians who feel this way, then there's going to be, in these poll results I'm about to share with you, there is going to be at least some liberal voters who feel this way. There is an emerging problem, as you've heard about, in Quebec. They've now brought in the army to set up a tent city that can accommodate 1,200 people coming across the border, as they figure out a way to process them. Works fine for the summer. I don't know what's going to happen as we get close to winter. Ipsos-Reid, along with Global, has just done this new poll, and I want you to hear for yourself what some of the results of that poll are, about the level of confidence that they have in Justin Trudeau to be able to fix this mess. I can give you a bit of a hint: not so much. Listen to this. Speaker 2: According to exclusive Ipsos polling, 63% of... Read more →

Blogpost: Adventures at the Border

Words matter at the border and stray words, without further documents or explanation, can have unintended consequences. Our client was attempting to re-enter Canada with her three children. As Americans they did not require visas, however they were questioned intensely at the border regarding their intentions in Canada. In this case, the family had applied for permanent residence through Express Entry, but had not been selected. They wished to re-enter Canada so their children could attend school (they were paying the required student fees) and resolve their long term residency issues (the client's husband was a professional who worked in different locations all over the world as a consultant). The family presumed they could re-enter Canada for these purposes as no member of the family had ever contravened the conditions of their stay previously. In the midst of her interview with the CBSA Officer, our client, when asked about the family's intentions in Canada indicated "of course, we wish to immigrate here and live here permanently." On the face there was nothing wrong with stating this. The family could have been allowed entry on the basis of having dual intent -intention to reside in Canada permanently, but also a willingness... Read more →

Blogpost: The Banality of Indifference - Temporary Resident Visa Refusals

We recently had three separate temporary resident visa refusals that illuminate the banality of indifference through which overseas visa offices routinely refuse visa applications. The differences between the applications and the similarities in the refusals illuminates the problems overseas applicants face when applying to come to Canada: (1) Our client invested as a majority shareholder in a Canadian company. He was a longtime business owner who was going to own and operate the business as he had expertise in the businesses' subject matter and the Canadian partners were essentially silent partners in the business. Bank accounts were provided showing the applicant had a high level of savings, traveled to Europe regularly on a Schengen visa always returning to his home country, and the business was incorporated, had leased space and invested in fixed assets for the business to get off the ground in Canada. The application was refused because the Officer was unconvinced the Applicant could withdraw funds from his overseas bank account to fund the Canadian venture. We are now challenging the decision in Federal Court; (2) Our client applied for a temporary resident visa to visit her boyfriend in Canada five months ago. The processing times for visas... Read more →

10 Questions Americans Want to Ask a Canadian Immigration Lawyer

I had a great discussion with Allison Tierney, a writer with Vice. An American ex-pat herself (when North Americans, or the English, immigrate, they're ex-pats; when others immigrate to North America or the UK, they're immigrants -or worse, "aliens"). For decades, Canada's best and brightest were irresistibly drawn to our great neighbour to the South, like a moth to a flame. It appears that more and more Americans are now realizing that they can also move north and partake of our crazy social experiments like health care for all, or an inclusive military, or our top tier (public) education system. Allison put together a list of ten questions that Americans would want to ask a Canadian immigration lawyer. That article is now up and can be read here. The article includes my thoughts on a certain degree of nonchalence, or perhaps even arrogance inherent in the assumptions that some Americans make; as if they can simply stroll across the border, collect a Canadian passport, pick up a hockey stick at Canadian Tire and a double double at Tim Horton's and Voila! ...I want to deal with the underlying arrogance by Americans whenever this question pops up. Many times they expect... Read more →