Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Overview of Judicial Review of Immigration Refusals

Summary: If your immigration application has been rejected, you may have the option to challenge the refusal in the Federal Court. The type of rejection and whether it can be appealed to the Federal Court or another tribunal depends on the specific circumstances. Some decisions, such as those made on family class sponsorships, can be appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which is a tribunal within the Immigration and Refugee Board. Other decisions, such as those made on tourist visas, work visas, and other permanent residency applications, can only be challenged at the Federal Court of Canada. The time frame for filing a challenge varies based on where the decision was made and ranges from 15 to 60 days. A successful challenge to a decision requires showing that the officer made a misapprehension of the facts, error of law, or committed a breach of natural justice or procedural fairness. To increase your chances of success, it is recommended to retain an immigration lawyer to review the details of the rejection and the strengths and weaknesses of your case. If your immigration application has been refused you may have the ability to challenge that refusal at the Federal Court. Look... Read more →

Interview on the Jon McComb Show - February 5, 2019 - Immigration Consequences for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu Guilty Plea

Paul Jefferson: "Yes, we helped [inaudible 00:00:03] but at the same time he's a human being who ... he's not a serial killer. He didn't go out and kill anybody that day." Jon McComb: The thoughts of Paul Jefferson. He is a billet parent for the Humboldt Broncos. Speaking about Jaskirat Singh Sidhu at a sentence hearing last week and questions remain about the fate of the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt bus crash. He's going to be sentenced on March 22nd for 29 dangerous driving causing death charges. Mr. Sidhu is a Canadian permanent resident but not a citizen. Any sentence over six months makes him liable for deportation back to his native India. Would a sentence of several years, or many years, make him eligible to be deported to India and is that the proper response in this kind of case? Joining us on the line now from Calgary is immigration lawyer Raj Sharma. Mr. Sharma, nice to have you on our program. Raj Sharma: My pleasure. Jon McComb: Tell me, because basically all people who come to Canada from another country, unless they become citizens, are liable for deportation if they commit a serious crime.... Read more →

Interview on the family class - Danielle Smith AM770 February 1, 2019

Danielle Smith: All right. Welcome back. There's two issues that I wanted to talk to Raj Sharma about. One of them was the issue of the family reunification program, and the kind of catastrophe that has become under the Liberals. There were problems under the Conservatives, but he describes this one now. He says, "I think a cohort of moderately intelligent twelve-year-olds could have come up with a better system for family reunification in some of the black Friday door crashers model that we saw yesterday." So, I want to find out just how bad that went and what his solutions are for fixing it, but then also get his take on the Humboldt driver, who he has just tweeted out. He says that he has a shot at avoiding deportation regardless of the length of sentence imposed. We'll talk about both of those. Raj Sharma, of course, is a Calgary immigration lawyer, and he joins me now. Raj, thanks so much for being with me. Raj Sharma: My pleasure. Danielle Smith: Tell me about the Black Friday door crash, and you warned that this was going to happen, but remind us of what the problem is with the system,... Read more →

Will Jaskirat Singh Sidhu be Deported?

Will Jaskirat Singh Sidhu be deported? My thoughts -starts at about 13:40 of this interview with Danielle Smith of AM770. Danielle Smith: Okay. Now everybody is wondering why, right? Why did he blow through the stop sign? So Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, I will read his full statement. Of course it's quite short, but his lawyer says that the victim's family has been asking why his client went through the stop sign. He said, "I'm disappointed to say that I can't tell people what happened. He simply doesn't know. He beats himself up every day. Why didn't I see the signs? Why didn't I stop?" He said that Sidhu immigrated from India five years ago, and three weeks before the crash was hired by a small trucking company in Calgary. He spent two weeks driving with another driver before heading out on his own for his first time in the area near Tisdale. about 15 minutes before the collision, Sidhu stopped to adjust tarps covering his load. As he was heading towards the intersection, he was still focused on the tarps, and was looking in his rear mirrors. Danielle Smith: He said, "Sidhu didn't see the intersection and he didn't see... Read more →