Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

2017: A Year in Review

Another year is behind us; a New Year is on the horizon. This last year has been a significant one in terms of immigration developments, policy, and legislative enactments/changes. These immigration developments took place under the shadow cast by the Trump presidency. Perhaps Pierre Elliott Trudeau said it best in his Washington Press Club speech made on March 25, 1969, almost a half century ago: "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt ... " Almost 50 years ago, but little has changed. The year started off with the Trump "Muslim ban" and I found myself in a flurry of media interviews given that the hastily rolled out and poorly implemented ban (with no notice to Canada, one of the United States’ largest trading partner). Initially it seemed to apply to Canadian dual nationals. Mere hours later it didn't and our own officials including our Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Ahmed Hussen himself, a "hyphenated Canadian" (having been born in Somalia) had to scramble to make sense of it all. My thoughts... Read more →

A Message and some Advice to International Students

Dear international students. I have a great deal of sympathy and concern for you. You are trying to navigate a new country, studying in your second or third language, away from friends, family and familiar surroundings. You are paying exorbitant fees and your families have likely sacrificed to send you here. So, it breaks my heart whenever a student comes to me after a refusal and potential loss of the opportunity to obtain Permanent Residence status here. By the time you come to me, options may be limited. Some advice from someone older and wiser (me). Do your research; don't rely on the questionable advice or the stated experience of others. Be careful when doing things on your own and get assistance when needed. Have a backup plan. Plan all the way to the end. Good luck! Read more →

Self-Employed Class? Don't Apply through India

The IAD and the Spousal Sponsorship Appeal

Just finished a Sunday prep session for a spousal appeal to be heard tomorrow; stakes are high, consequences of false negative, devastating to a family are significant, so more prep never a bad idea. IAD will hear from both spouses, first the sponsor here in Canada, and then the sponsored person, almost always overseas. The couple needs to satisfy a subjective threshold. They need to satisfy either the IAD or the CBSA (the Minister's counsel can consent to the appeal) that they are indeed in a genuine relationship. But, what is a "genuine" relationship? We know that the IAD/CBSA expects the couple to be able to demonstrate a high degree of knowledge of one another (well and good). However, the couple is also gauged against "our" standard of what is a genuine couple/relationship/marriage. The risk of cultural misunderstanding is high. The IAD/CBSA expect to hear certain things from spouses, and some of these expectations are grounded in a Western ethno-centric world view. Spouses from North America, Western Europe display these hallmarks; other cultures may not. For example, Western couples will know and discuss details regarding past marriages, relationships; couples from other parts of the world would find delving into those... Read more →