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Permanent staff members of the Canadian Embassy in in the world with many years experience and perfect knowledge of immigration law. We rely on their professionalism, competence, authority and expertise. (This is the opinion of C.N.Immigration team). DO I NEED AN IMMIGRATION PROFESSIONAL? One of the most often-asked questions we hear is "can I apply by myself?" The short answer is, of course, "Yes, you can!" Anyone can pick up a form from the local Canadian Embassy and "fill out the forms" themselves! That being the case how is it then that so many people choose to seek the services of immigration professional? There are many reasons for this. The first step in understanding the need for immigration professional is to debunk a myth! Many people have this notion that all the immigration consultant does is type out the form and send it in with the required fee and documents! Let us be very clear that this is the very least of what a competent and reliable professional can and should do for you. Assessing Your Chances of Success in Advance One of the most important things you need to know when deciding whether to apply for permanent residence to Canada is your chances of success. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, the application process involves the payment of government fees, portions of which are non-refundable. Secondly, people who apply usually believe they will succeed and therefore conduct their affairs in a way which takes this into account. Decisions which are made or which are avoided during this time can prove to be very costly if the application is not successful or if it is significantly delayed. An experienced immigration professional is able to assess your chances of success with an extremely high degree of certainty before the application is submitted. If the application does not seem viable such an adviser would discourage you from applying at that time or until your circumstances change. Providing Second-Opinion to Visa Offices Pre-Application Assessment Firstly, the role of a Canadian visa post needs to be understood. Its role is not to advocate what is in the best interests of the prospective applicant. That is the role of his/her legal adviser. The role of the visa office is quite different. Its role is to enforce Canada's laws governing the selection of immigrants and to select the best candidates. The immigration professional's role is to highlight the applicant's qualities and to help persuade visa officials that the applicant is worthy of selection and meets all selection criteria. If at first blush you don't appear to qualify for selection, your adviser's role will be to take a second look to see what other alternatives exist to help you make a successful application. Again, this is not something that one should expect the visa officer to do for you any more than you should expect a tax collector to advise you how to arrange your financial affairs in a manner that would expose you to the least amount of income tax! Secondly, the "self-assessments" can be unreliable because they depend not only on the prospective immigrant's categorization of his qualities including his/her experience, language skills etc. but also on his/her interpretation of the selection rules. This can be quite problematic. For example, a person states that he has one year of experience in a particular occupation and applies when, in reality, the person's "work experience" was part of his vocational training leaving him with no qualifying work experience within the meaning of Canada's selection criteria. Accordingly, and in our experience, many would-be applicants have been discouraged from making such applications when they clearly qualified and many applicants who were encouraged to apply did so only to discover that the documentation which was submitted with their application or the answers given at their interview provided additional details which showed them ineligible for selection. An experienced immigration professional will be able to sort out these areas of potential misunderstanding and best ensure that your documents and the answers you will give at your immigration interview will support a successful application before it is submitted. Providing an Objective Analysis of Your Qualifications Many of the decisions that visa officers must make are highly discretionary. A question is found in the context of applications made under the Independent Category of immigrants. The major question the visa officer has to decide at the applicants interview is whether the applicant and his/her dependents can become "successfully established in Canada" having regard to their "adaptability, motivation, initiative, resourcefulness, and other similar qualities". These are questions that will be addressed and which will in most cases be determinative of the person's application. Therefore, before launching an application it is important to determine whether or not such questions will likely be answered favorably. Enhancing Marginal Cases Many, if not most, applications can fairly be described as "border-line cases". The difference between the success and failure of such an application depends largely on the manner in which it is presented. An experienced immigration professional will be able to identify what type of information can be supplied to the visa post or what initiatives the applicant can undertake which are most likely to favorably impress the visa officer considering the application. Your adviser might i.e. recommend improving your language skills and the type of documentation to evidence your improved ability; recommend an exploratory visit to Canada; help you improve your knowledge of Canada and its markets; solicit job offers for you and/or your spouse; help explain a lengthy period of unemployment in your work history; make representations that you have rehabilitated yourself since the commission of a crime in your distant past etc. These representations can, and often do, make a decisive impression on the visa officer. Improving your Chances if Not Qualified Many times a person who seeks to immigrate to Canada simply does not qualify. In such cases an immigration professional should be willing and able to tell you the reasons why you don't qualify and what avenues are reasonably open to you to change your circumstances to make you qualify. This will prevent you from undertaking changes which you think might help but which, in reality, will have no positive influence on your qualifications. The most common areas in need of improvement are length of work experience, level of education completed, and language ability. Your adviser should be able to take into account your unique circumstances and identify which areas will yield the greatest increase in your overall point score and in the shortest amount of time. In cases where the applicant has no close relatives living in Canada, the professional can help bring an aunt/uncle/brother/sister/parent etc. to Canada ahead of you who will then entitle you to a "kinship bonus" which will increase your score and which might possibly sustain a successful application. Therefore, even when you know for sure that you don't presently qualify for immigration to Canada there may still be reason to see an experienced immigration practitioner to see how you can become qualified. Avoiding Costly Mistakes Based on Rumors and Gossip There is always a plethora of misinforming, rumor, and gossip that is abounding everywhere and that people foolishly believe and rely upon to their detriment. Many times half the battle is simply sorting out the facts from the fantasies. Acting on such unreliable information can not only cost you the success of your application, but, more importantly, your credibility in any future application that you might wish to make. Many applicants have concealed the fact that they are married or have children because they are told "it will be easier to get in". Such nonsense goes on and on everywhere and can result only in disappointment when it is discovered, as it often is. Choosing a reliable and honest immigration professional will help you conduct your application in manner which will best ensure its success without having to resort to bad, mistaken, or fraudulent information. Applying Under the Right Category Sometimes an applicant has the intention of applying under a particular category in circumstances where it might be more advantageous to apply under a different category. Since a person's qualifications are based on their "intended occupation" in Canada or on their intention to establish or invest in a business it is important to formulate and state an intention that is one which will likely lead to a successful application. For example, a person who is an engineer might qualify for immigration under the "Skilled Worker" Category of immigrants or under the "Entrepreneur" Category. This will depend on whether or not he/she intends to seek employment as an engineer or if he/she intends on setting up his/her own engineering consulting firm. While priority processing is (presumably) given to business applicants, does it make sense in this case to apply under the business category? There are a number of factors which are important to this decision including the person's previous self-employment or management experience and the fact that if the application is made under the business category, the visa that will be issued upon completion of the application will contain a condition that the person must establish the business within 2 years of arrival in Canada or face removal from Canada. Visas issued under the "Independent Category" do not carry any such conditions of admission. Such considerations need to be taken into account long before the application is made. Timing the Application Process In many cases the timing of the application can have a profound effect on its success or failure. Accordingly, having an immigration professional handle your case may help you avoid detrimental timing issues. Generally speaking, a person's qualifications are fixed as of the day the application is submitted. If the application is not timed correctly, (i.e. fast) the application might be successful but the child would not be included as a member of the family unit. Such a "successful" application would, in most cases, be a rather hollow one. An experienced immigration professional will also be aware of any anticipated regulatory changes which might affect an existing client's qualifications. Such an adviser should recommend to the client to submit the application as soon as possible if those changes will adversely affect their qualifications. The application can also be delayed if the anticipated changes in circumstances are favorable to the applicant's circumstances. Anticipating Problems Immigration professional will also help you identify potential problems with your application and provide advice as to how to deal with them in advance. One of the most complex questions affecting an application involves the medical admissibility of the applicant or one of his/her dependents. Quite often, medical officers reviewing a person's medical reports may form the opinion that a medical condition in the applicant's distant past renders the individual inadmissible to Canada. This can include an irregularity in a person's heart even where there has been no previous heart attack or surgery. An immigration professional who is familiar with immigration case law and procedure can assist you in deciding whether or not to submit the application and, if so, what evidence to acquire to help support the medical admissibility of the candidate or a dependent. Providing Interim Advice What you should and should not be doing during the immigration process depends on the circumstances of each individual case. Consultant should give you advice regarding plans for selling off assets, leaving employment, accumulating sufficient funds to effect your settlement in Canada, improving your knowledge of Canada, conducting exploratory visits to Canada, seeking a temporary work permit pending the processing of your application, planning changes to your marital status or planning pregnancies. Proper advice can help you avoid delaying the processing of your application and risking the viability of the application. The Advantages to Hiring a Professional The advantages of seeking professional help in preparing and presenting an immigration application include the following: |
