I am often asked by my friends/clients what I would look for if I was choosing an immigration lawyer for my own private matter. What important considerations would I make?
I think my first advice to those individuals would be to start the process early. There really never is “too early”, but there is certainly late and way too late.
Refusals = All about the Statutory Deadlines.
Particularly for an individual who has recently received an immigration refusal, there may be strict deadlines in which to act. For example, for a judicial review of a decision made inside Canada, you must file your Application for Leave and Judicial Review (“ALJR”) within 15 days of receiving your refusal. Outside of Canada, this can done within 60 days.
Even in the context of reconsideration, one of the guiding principles of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada is that the time between the decision made and your request for reconsideration is a factor in the officer deciding whether to reconsider a decision. I would argue that you have a much better chance seeking reconsideration if it has been days since a refusal rather than weeks or months.
A similar situation exists in Appeals (particularly of residency decisions), where there are strict deadlines to file an appeal and navigate your way back to Canada. A simple day calculation issue can lead to you being without options or severely diminishing your chances of being successful.
Transitioning to Permanent Residence = All About the Timelines.
Moving to the broader immigration planning context, I am always impressed and expressly tell clients that see me when they are still midway through their undergraduate studies that they are doing a very smart thing.
Undergraduates, particularly those preparing for permanent residence in Canada, have a lot of considerations which start even as they pick their major. An international student should be considering timelines for whether they want to pursue graduate studies, when they want to pursue a post-graduate work permit, how they want to accumulate foreign work experience in support of permanent residency, and ultimately how to be competitive for either one of Canada’s economic immigration programs or a Provincial Nominee Program.
Leaving this too late (i.e. on the last year of a PGWP) often creates challenges as there is a time factor barring them from even obtaining the minimum work experience required for future work or obtaining an LMIA that could support their permanent residency.
I Used to Not Believe in Consultations.
Prior to starting work in immigration, I used to think consultations were just a cash grab by representatives hoping to make a quick buck without a long term commitment. Then, I wrote this piece.
Pursuing immigration without a consultation is simply akin to pursuing surgery without meeting the surgeon to go over your surgery needs and whether the hospital/facility is even suitable for your type of work.
As a lawyer, my goal is not to take your money but to secure your end result. If there is no end result in sight, it would be unethical for your to take your money. Simultaneously, I like to present options for a client to be more involved in choosing how they want to proceed. Immigration is ultimately a collaborative process that requires that trust and attention to detail.
Patience and Persistence is a Value.
A benefit that I notice a lot of young lawyers bring to the table, particularly those with emerging practices, is that we put a lot of heart into each of our clients and their cases. Your problems really do become my problems as I step into your shoes as an honourary family member/colleague.
A lot of immigration is in the details. Simply giving a pile of papers to your representative and saying ‘take care of it’ is unfortunately not going to work. Refusals these days are generated not only from the meeting of certain statutory requirements for immigration but often from miscommunication. Missed timelines, deadlines, and last minute panicking. I often will tell my clients to go back and review a document one more time, not because it saves time on my end, but ultimately you know your own facts best and you know your own narratives best.
My applications, particularly the challenging refusals, go through weeks of intensive scrutiny because there are holes and traps at every corner of Canadian immigration law, regulation, and policy. It is my job to point them out, and our job to work through them together.
