Keyork Immigration Law

TORONTO 416 479-3632 MONTREAL 514 664-1227 [email protected]

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Interview with a Guidance Counsellor

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Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

 

Discover the Interview with Aimy Andraos - Guidance Counsellor at Salto Conseil and how guidance counselling may facilitate your immigration journey

 

In this video, we interview Aimy Andraos, Guidance Counselor at Salto Conseil and discuss the following topics and more!

  • What is a guidance counselor and what services do they offer?
  • What led Aimy to become a guidance counselor?
  • What is the methodology of going through sessions with a guidance counselor?
  • How can a guidance counselor help in finding the right employment, changing careers or navigating education programs?
  • Can a guidance counselor help newcomers in Canada?
  • How about foreign nationals abroad (professionals, business owners, students) thinking of moving to Canada for work or study?
  • What are the challenges/misconceptions of immigrating to Canada?
  • Why should someone consider immigrating to Quebec versus an English speaking province?
  • How did COVID-19 affect the labor market?
  • What can we expect in terms of employment and personal lives post pandemic?

 

Jorge’s immigration journey from Cuba to the United States

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Photo by Jeremy Dorrough on Unsplash

I have been practicing immigration law for over 10 years now, and despite all of my knowledge and expertise, it was still quite a stressful and overwhelming process to prepare and file my own application in 2020. When I help my clients with their applications, I am rational, organized and calm. However, preparing my own application made me realize the anxiety and stress such applications can cause.

In this video we hear the experience of Jorge's immigration process from Cuba to the United States through the green card lottery program. We discuss Cuba, immigration, communism and much more!

File Takeover

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What is a file takeover?

 

  • A file takeover is when you have already submitted your immigration application, either by yourself or with another representative and you now wish to have our office take over representation of the file;
  • Upon discussion with you, we will be able to determine if we are able to take over your application and what the benefits will be for you.

Why would I want to do a file takeover?

 

Immigration applications are often a stressful process with multiple bumps in the road, even when creating and submitting seemingly simple applications. Along the way, you might find that you want to hire a lawyer, or switch lawyers. There are many reasons this might happen, including:

  • You are unhappy with your current representative;
  • Your current representative is no longer able to adequately assist you and you were referred to or sought out other representation;
  • You are unsure whether the application was correctly submitted or you do not know at which stage your application is at in the processing stream;
  • You are in the process of preparing an application on your own and feel overwhelmed;
  • You have realized that your immigration situation is more complicated than you previously thought and would like a lawyer to help you address these complications in your soon to be submitted application or your current pending application;
  • Your file is processing, and you are facing unexpected challenges (no news from immigration, a residency questionnaire, requests for further documents or information, interviews, receipt of a fairness letter, etc.) and you would like guidance;
  • You simply would like the security of having someone to be there for you for any future hurdles along the way to guide you and provide you with adequate legal advice.

What can we do for you when we take over your file?

 

When taking over submitted applications and incomplete applications, depending on your case, we may proceed as follows depending on the unique circumstances of your case:

  • Contacting immigration authorities to advise of our representation and ensuring that going forward we are the ones who receive all correspondence;
  • Requesting a full copy of your file (forms, supporting documents, etc.) from you, if you have kept copies;
  • If you have not, we will request that you submit to us a list of all the documentation you have submitted as best as you can remember;
  • Applying for an ATIP request in order to get a full copy of your file directly from IRCC or CBSA to obtain all documentation submitted as well as view notes from officers;
  • Preparing a legal submission letter outlining the relevant issues and clarifying facts which may have been forgotten or not well explained;
  • Submitting to you a list of documents to collect to strengthen your file which we would submit to immigration;
  • Regularly following up with immigration to ensure that your file is processing correctly and updating the file when required.

Every immigration application is unique. If you are looking for new representation on your file, we would be pleased to discuss this with you and develop a strategy to ensure that your pending application is as complete as possible.

 

Assessing your Criminality

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Criminal Assessment – Keyork Immigration Law

Determining criminal admissibility in Canada is a complex legal and immigration matter. Admissibility to Canada will depend on the type of charge/conviction that you have received along with the facts related to the incident that led to the offense, the type of sentence received (imprisonment, fines, probation, license suspension, community hours, etc.), how much time has elapsed since the full completion of the sentence as well as the Canadian equivalency of the charge/conviction (if the offence was committed outside of Canada) in the Canadian Criminal Code.

Note that in some cases, an offence only needs to be committed and not charged or convicted in order to render you criminally inadmissible to Canada. Therefore, in some cases, even if your record in your country is clean, that your charges/convictions were dismissed, suspended or dropped, you may still be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada given Canadian Immigration Law.

 

What can we do to help?

Once we have made a Criminal Assessment, we will be able to determine if you are criminally inadmissible to Canada or not and what arguments can be made in order to support your case. If you are admissible, we might only recommend that you enter Canada with an Entry Package to facilitate your entry in the event that you fall on an uncooperative CBSA officer.

If you are inadmissible, we will be able to discuss potential options for criminal rehabilitation and/or TRP in order to enter Canada soon or in the near future following processing times (for example a criminal rehabilitation or a long term TRP can take about 6-12 months to process at a Consulate or High Commission outside of Canada whereas a one entry TRP can be made right at the border). The approval or necessity to file these applications will also depend on the reasons why you wish to enter Canada and also the type of life you have been living since you last criminal offence.

During your consultation, we will ask you to complete the attached Criminality questionnaire and to also provide us all criminal documentation related to your case in your possession (judgments, disposition, FBI report, state clearances, police reports, etc.). Ideally, we would also like to receive from you a brief personal statement about the details of the offence (s) (dates, what happened, where, who was involved, what was your state of mind at that moment, why do you think this occurred, etc.) as this will make our consultation smoother and we will have more time for the lawyer to ask you more pertinent and precise questions.

What is an ATIP Application and how it can benefit you, if you are searching for your immigration records?

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What is an ATIP Application and how it can benefit you, if you are searching for your immigration records?

  • ATIP stands for Access to Information and Privacy – It is an online request in order to obtain copies of your immigration application;
  • In certain situation, we want to receive copies of the entire immigration file or certain sections of it in order to learn what was previously said and done, what is the status of a client but most importantly to ensure that all new application are consistent with what was previously submitted and if not, to provide an adequate explanation – this can avoid misrepresentations which can result in refusals and bars from entering Canada;
  • This can include previously submitted applications and decisions;
  • We can request to receive decisions, correspondence, forms, documents and officer’s notes;
  • Depending on your applications with Canadian immigration authorities, we can request to obtain documentation from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA);
  • Typically requests are suppose to be processed in 30 days, however in some cases, processing may be longer depending on backlogs;
  • Should processing times exceed what is expected, follow ups can be submitted;
  • An ATIP application must be completed with the correct information and the consent form uploaded must also be adequately prepared – simple errors will result in the application not being processed causing further delays;
  • Once the copy of the application is received, we proceed to a review and an assessment of the documentation – depending on the immigration history and applications submitted, the copy could be a few pages to hundreds of pages;
  • If you are submitting an immigration application and you are unsure if you currently have any pending application, if you were previously refused and what documentation and information was submitted, an ATIP request might be recommended;
  • If you have been through the enforcement process with CBSA and did not show up for an interview, there might be a warrant for your arrest issued by CBSA and the RCMP – an ATIP request would allow us to determine this and advise you accordingly.

Changes to the Citizenship Act

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canadian citizenship changes

Most Recent Changes to Canada’s Rules for Citizenship Applicants

Within the last three years, we have seen a mass overhaul to the Citizenship Act of 1977. In 2017, some of those initial changes were reverted back to reflect the previous rules.  All of the back and forth can be confusing, so we are outlining the major points you should know if you are applying for Canadian citizenship.

A Quick Recap of Changes Over the Last Three Years

In 2014, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act came into force and introduced the biggest changes to Canadian citizenship laws since the 1970s.  These changes meant stricter residence requirements, a new intent to reside in Canada requirement, new age requirements for applicants taking language skills and citizenship tests and broader discretion for the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to grant and revoke citizenship.

In June 2017, the Trudeau government passed Bill C-6, an Act to Amend the Citizenship Act. Some important changes from that Bill came into effect in June.
As a reminder, the biggest changes from June were:

   • the reversal of the requirement that applicants intend to physically reside in Canada once they become citizens;

   • the reversal of the requirement that applicants intend to physically reside in Canada once they become citizens;

   • the reversal of certain provisions that only applied to dual citizens; and• new eligibility for minors to apply on their own without necessarily having a parent with Canadian citizenship.

The second wave of changes from Bill C-6 took effect on October 11, 2017. The most recent changes include:

   • The time applicants are required to be physically present in Canada was reduced from 4 out of 6 to 3 out of 5 years;

   • Any days spent in Canada before becoming a permanent resident (within 5 years of the date you make an application for citizenship) count as half days up to a maximum of one year (i.e. 365 days) toward the 3 out of 5-year physical presence requirement;

   • The age range for language and knowledge testing has been reduced back to 18-54 years old (from 14-64 years). This means that only applicants between 18-54 will need to prove English or French language ability and take the citizenship test; and

   • Applicants are only required to file income taxes in Canada for 3 out of 5 years before applying for citizenship.

What This Means for Current Permanent Residents

The two key takeaways for current permanent residents are that you no longer need to wait until you have accumulated four years of physical residency – you can apply as soon as you have hit three years. This opens up the application process a year earlier for many permanent residents.

Secondly, for those who were counting their physical residency from the date they became a permanent resident, you can now look back to the time you spent in Canada before being granted permanent resident status. You can now use that time spent in Canada before you were a permanent resident by counting any days as a half day, up to the one-year maximum. Don’t forget, you can only look back and use this time within the five year period before you make your application, to ensure that you understand the cutoff date and exactly what counts toward the physical residence requirement.

Both of these changes combined mean that many applicants will be eligible to apply much sooner than they would have been under the last set of rules. If you are waiting to apply for citizenship, take a look at your residence dates – you just might be eligible to apply now.

What’s Next?

Stay tuned, there are further changes coming in later 2017 and 2018, including a new process for citizenship revocation by the Federal Court of Canada and new powers for citizenship officers to be able to seize documents that they suspect are fraudulent, or that they find to be fraudulent. The exact dates for these changes have not yet been announced.

 

Sponsorship of Husband – Successful Application!

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spousal sponsorship

A Successful Husband Spousal Sponsorship Application story!

I am a Canadian citizen and I met my husband in Toronto. He was a citizen of Jordan and was in Canada for a Study Permit. We married and we submitted an overseas spousal sponsorship application. My husband remained in Canada during the processing of the application, first on a Study Permit and then on a Work Permit.

Unfortunately, we submitted the spousal sponsorship without proper representation and our application was refused. We then consulted with Mary Keyork as she had previously obtained a Work Permit for my husband. She recommended that we file an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division of the refusal of the application. She pushed for an Alternative Dispute Resolution conference to be scheduled and it got scheduled. The Alternative Dispute Resolution was successful because Ms. Keyork had prepared and submitted a lot of documentation about the genuineness of our relationship. Ms. Keyork then submitted a request to the visa office in Los Angeles for my husband’s permanent residency application to be re-determined. Last week, my husband received his Confirmation of Permanent Residence. We traveled to the United States for the day and returned to Canada and he became a landed immigrant at the border crossing!

We both appreciate all the hard work Ms. Keyork and her associate Tyna did on our behalf and we recommend Mary Keyork Professional Corporation’s legal services to anyone who needs immigration representation. We could not have done it without them.

Veronique’s Story

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Veronique and Mary Keyork

A client’s story I had to share – Veronique Kanko’s story

I first met Veronique, a citizen of Cameroon, on October 22, 2013, in our Montreal office. Veronique had been living in Canada for about 12 years at the time.

Veronique had initially traveled to Canada from Cameroon in August 2001, at the age of 19, on a study permit. She had decided to study in Canada and broaden her horizons. Veronique graduated from nursing college in Montreal and worked as a nurse for several years. She was praised and loved by her colleagues and employer; she was a wonderful and caring nurse.

Removal from Canada

Unfortunately, a few years after her arrival to Canada, at the age of 23, Veronique found herself in an abusive relationship with a man whose influence led her to be charged and convicted of fraud. Veronique took complete responsibility for her actions, paid her dues and completely turned her life around following the unfortunate event. She also ended the relationship and put everything behind her.

Around November 2007, Veronique met her Canadian husband and had 2 beautiful children. In 2008, Veronique’s husband submitted an inland spousal sponsorship application to sponsor Veronique to Canada, however, as the couple did not retain proper legal representation, and with the complications of her criminal conviction, this sponsorship application was refused in 2010. The couple filed a second application in 2012, but unfortunately, given the criminal inadmissibility issues, this application was refused as well, in 2013.

It is shortly after this second refusal that I met Veronique for a consultation to advise her of her options. I immediately submitted a new inland spousal sponsorship application with a Temporary Resident Permit request (special permit for criminally inadmissible applicants) in order to allow Veronique to remain in Canada with her husband and 2 children. I explained carefully in my applications Veronique’s background, the reason for the previous refusals and the details of her family life in Canada.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later, Veronique was asked to present her at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for an interview. Following her interview, a removal order was issued and Veronique was advised by CBSA that she had to leave Canada within a few weeks and bring in her plane tickets the following week.

Given that Veronique had lived in Canada for the best part of her adult life (over a decade!), the fact she had a Canadian husband whom she was happily married to and her 2 Canadian-born children, aged only 1 and 3 at the time, we decided, in an emergency application, to ask the Federal Court of Canada to stay her removal from Canada. Although I knew that in regards to the law, Veronique has a criminal conviction, which rendered her inadmissible to Canada, I was confident that there were enough humanitarian and compassionate grounds and proof of hardship to allow her to remain in Canada with her family until her immigration paperwork could be sorted out.

I did not see a Federal Court judge denying her stay in Canada as she met the basic requirements of a spousal sponsorship application – a genuine, committed and loving relationship. Yes she was out of status and yes she had a criminal conviction, but these were errors of the past – she had no other charges or convictions, she was employed, she spoke French and English perfectly, she was educated, she was a fantastic mother and wife, she had a vast network of friends and most importantly, Canada was her home. The positive factors weighed much more in her favor than against her. But most importantly, besides the many reasons she deserved to stay in Canada, the most important one, for me at least, was that she had 2 minor children (and she was their primary caregiver) and their best interest should be the center of all decisions relating to her future in Canada.

What would have been the purpose to deport Veronique from Canada at this stage, as she would be qualified to return once the spousal sponsorship application with the Temporary Resident Permits was finalized? Why separate and dislocate a family unit? Why place young children in such a difficult position?

Stopping Deportation

I appeared at Federal Court of Canada in Montreal on January 28, 2014, to plead her case at 9:30 am. Before we entered, I remember sitting outside the courtroom with Veronique, going over the possible outcomes and at the same time, watching her children walk and play around. I also remember her taking me aside, holding my hands and saying a short prayer – wishing for what is best to happen.

We entered the courtroom and I walked to my seat and podium. Veronique was sitting in the back with her husband and their children. The removal from Canada was a few days later. Although I am not a mother, I can only imagine the thoughts that could have been going through Veronique’s mind in that courtroom: “Will I have to leave Canada in a few days? What about my kids? Should they come with me to Cameroon where I haven’t lived myself in more than 12 years? What about my husband? How will we survive financially? What about my nursing position in Canada? Where will I live in Cameroon? How long would I be separated from my kids if I leave them in Canada? Would my husband be able to take care of the children on his own? What about all my belongings? How is this happening to me…?”

Departure from Canada

The next day, to my greatest shock, I received the dismissal of the Motion and had to advise Veronique that she needed to get on that plane back to Cameroon. I could not believe this – but at this stage, there was nothing else I could have done to keep her in Canada. The Motion for a Stay was the end of all avenues to keep her in Canada.

Veronique and her husband decided that it was in the best interest of the family for the children to live with Veronique in Cameroon. For this initial trip, Veronique’s husband also traveled with them to Cameroon and remained for about 1 month before returning to Canada to resume his employment in order to financially support his family.

Following her departure, I would regularly receive email updates from Veronique. She would tell me that life in Cameroon was difficult, financially and with respect to safety and security for her children. After about 1 year, seeing that life for the children in Cameroon was not suitable, Veronique’s husband flew to Cameroon and returned to Canada along with the children.

I regularly followed up with the Embassy processing Veronique’s overseas spousal sponsorship application and the TRP request. I advised Veronique that the processing would most likely take about 1-2 years, however, it could very well be longer than this, particularly given the fact that I had submitted a request for a special permit for her in order to overcome her criminal inadmissibility and allow her authorization to return to Canada.

At the 2 years mark, given that the application processing time had now gone beyond what was posted online and expected, I began sending regularly updated documents to the Embassy and vigorously requesting the Supervisor to review and finalize the application. I submitted updated photos and documents to demonstrate the hardship and difficulties that the family was enduring. Veronique had now been separated from her children and her husband for over a year, only being able to speak to them on Skype and sometimes, only by WhatsApp messages given the poor network connection.

Although Veronique was going trough a lot of hardship being separated from her husband and her children, her emails to me were always kind and considerate. She never pressured me to get a decision from the Embassy but always, very politely, asked me if it was possible to submit a request for updates. Veronique would even send me kind messages during the holidays and although she herself was going through a nightmare, she always took the time to wish me well.

Return to Canada after 3 years

On November 5, 2016, I received an email from the Supervisor at the Embassy. I had sent him numerous requests to expedite since July 2016, and my last correspondence also advised the Embassy that if I had not received a decision within 30 days, I was going to file a Mandamus request to the Federal Court forcing the Embassy to make a decision. The email I received advised me that the TRP application for Veronique was approved and she was authorized to return to Canada!

I was at a cottage with friends when I received this email on my phone. “Finally” – I screamed out loud looking down at my phone in my room. I immediately emailed Veronique the good news.

Another 3 months later, on February 10, 2017, after 3 years since she left Canada, I received another email from the Supervisor at the Embassy advising me that the Temporary Resident Permit was ready to be issued for Veronique and she was authorized to return to Canada to reunite with her children.

Veronique with her kids

Veronique returned to Canada on March 10, 2017, and was finally reunited with her family. She sent me a picture with her children and also came by my office to say hello – we hugged, in tears both of us. She told me that she never lost her faith and remained strong and hopeful that the time would come for her to be able to return to home. She told me that she believed that what is right always prevails.

Veronique’s strength, courage and her kindness truly marked me. It is not every day that an immigration lawyer has the privilege to work with such a client. It was a privilege to work with someone like Veronique and I wish her all the best in her new life in Canada, for a second time.