So much has been going on here at North Star Immigration Law that my head is spinning. We are expanding to a bigger space in a few months, have hired a new articling clerk and are in the process of a website revamp. To all the people whose calls I haven’t returned in the past few weeks – my apologies, I am getting to you!  But all of this pales in comparison to the changes afoot in immigration law and policy. The new permanent residence process for spouses of Canadians is in full swing, and the reason I know this is that the lawyers in our office who deal with these applications are often … [Read more...]

Here are my 20 (ok, 21) tweets in blog form: The people crossing into Canada via the US are not exploiting a legal loophole. It's not illegal to ask for asylum in Canada.  The UDHR makes it mandatory to allow people to seek asylum  An inland or port-of-entry refugee claimant does not displace a regular immigrant. There is no queue when it comes to refugees. So there is no “queue jumping”. Geographic and geopolitical luck means that Canada has smaller refugee #s than countries in Europe, but our system handles over 10,000 inland claims per year. Overseas refugee resettlement to Canada is … [Read more...]

On January 27, 2017, the new Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP for short) was announced then soundly eclipsed by the fallout from an ice storm, an immigration mess in the US and then a terrorist attack at a Quebec mosque. So much for fanfare. But the new program warrants a close look.  I am enthusiastic about it because of the implications for international companies looking to establish new operations in Atlantic Canada. Until now, we didn’t have any provincial temporary programs to attract workers who could also become permanent residents in the long term. The only way … [Read more...]

Last week, in a small but symbolic gesture, Canada seemed to align with the US on the reopening of the NAFTA. I was disappointed that we didn’t stand with Mexico and criticize the rhetoric coming from the US on an agreement that no one seemed to be seriously questioning before the US election cycle. But I assumed our foreign affairs department had its reasons to keep quiet. What do I know about trade, anyway? I thought. Then with an Executive Order, the US resurrected the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipeline plans. And this was spun as good news in Canada. Ok, I thought, maybe there is … [Read more...]

Here at North Star Immigration Law, we have a Department of Love. This is the group of lawyers (and one fabulous paralegal) who work on all the family class files. You know: the long distance relationships that turn into love and marriage and baby (and sometimes – no kidding - puppy) carriages. In December, IRCC announced it was going to simplify the spousal sponsorship process, so I asked the Love Department for some thoughts about the new process. The new process requires two additional steps that will be initiated by IRCC: Schedule A Background Application Form (you cannot submit … [Read more...]

Today, IRCC implements the new Ministerial Instructions for Express Entry. So just like that, the playing field changes, the path to PR shifts and applicants must adapt to the new points allocations. As mentioned in this Walrus article, this could make it easier for employer-specific, LMIA-exempt work permit holders to compete for permanent residence. While not earth-shattering, this will be good news for some applicants, such as people here on NAFTA work permits. Unsurprisingly, it will be bad news for others: LMIAs are no longer the golden ticket to PR: now your position and skill … [Read more...]

The night of the US election, before the results were fully in, I tweeted this: Dear US friends: if this is actually happening, please come to Canada. And bring Hawaii. #Vote2016 #USElection2016 I was kidding of course. (Well actually, not the part about Hawaii. Canada has always needed a tropical province where we can drink Caesars. And, yes, we know we’d be terrible colonizers and if it came right down to it, Hawaii would throw us out and become sovereign before anyone could say humuhumunukunukuapua`a) But now that the dust is settling and the calls and inquiries from Americans have … [Read more...]

Mark Holthe, an immigration lawyer in Lethbridge, Alberta was kind enough to invite me to be a guest on his latest podcast. It was a super fun experience and great to speak to a fellow Albertan. Thanks Mark! … [Read more...]

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has an uncanny way of implementing systems meant to simplify things – that end up obscuring the process and driving applicants bananas. It’s so irksome (or IRCC-some? HA!) Crummy puns aside, this system and process can be incredibly stressful. People’s lives and futures depend on the information IRCC has about their applications. A Toronto Star story provides a good example of what happens when you try to get a simple answer over the phone from the IRCC call centre agents. IRCC eliminated front-counter services several years ago. … [Read more...]