By Attorney Henry Moyal
CRUCIAL TO ALWAYS MAINTAIN IMMIGRATION STATUS
Q. I am a Filipino citizen and I am working temporarily in the USA on H1B status. I came to Canada as a visitor and bumped into my high school classmate at a party in Toronto. We started to date and eventually married in Toronto. I was only given two months to stay as a visitor in Canada and I did not renew my status. I am assuming that I am now out of status. My wife sponsored me from inside of Canada but we have not heard from the immigration authorities yet.
A. It is important to always keep your status (whether it is as a visitor , worker or student) intact and valid. This is especially important when a spouse is sponsoring her partner from inside of Canada because one of the crucial elements of that type of case is that the applicant must have valid status. It sounds like you did not have status when you applied and therefore in all likelihood your application from inside of Canada will be refused.
Since you have a work permit in the USA and reside in the USA it is better and faster in my opinion if the sponsorship application is sent “outside” of Canada. In this case in NY, USA.
Q. I am a live in caregiver in Canada. I worked for over two years within the last years as per the live in caregiver program. I applied for permanent residence over 8 months ago and have heard nothing. My work permit has expired long ago and I want to continue to work. How long will it take to obtain permanent residence?
A. I am very concerned regarding the details your describe. Are you saying that you did not renew your work permit? Why? This is very serious as pursuant to the live in caregiver program you may be refused if you have lost your status.
As well, you must be careful with respect to which type of work permit you applied for. If you only applied for an ” open work permit” at the time of the permanent resident application that is not good enough. I would obtain professional advice to determine how best to rectify your situation.
Q. I am a USA Citizen. I want to sponsor my brother to the USA but I understand it takes about ten years to process. Mt brother is over 40 and is a professional. If he arrives in ten years he will be close to retirement and will unlikely find a job. I am interested in having him apply to Canada.I read that the processing times are not as long as a decade.
A. While many complain over the backlog at Canada Immigration and while many complain that it takes too long to process cases, I can say with certainty that the times are much less than a decade. You have not provided information on where your brother lives nor his background. The processing times depends on which embassy is handling the file. In general, if he is educated and has work experience with a high proficiency in English then he will likely qualify. A detailed resume would help to assess his credentials.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed Immigration Lawyer in Toronto, Ontario. The above article is general advice only and not intended to act as a legal document. Send questions in confidence to Balita or to Attorney Moyal by fax, mail or email canada@moyal.com
Subscribe to Immigration Newsweek
