Archives for March 2004

Q. What is the typical duration between a selection interview and the issuance of visas?

Answer: after an interview is completed (or an interview waiver has been granted), the process usually enters another phase in which the Canadian Government engages in security background verifications and checks.

(Note: sometimes the security background verification phase begins even prior to an interview, but the norm seems to be once the interview is completed, or the interview waiver has been granted.)

Most of the time this security-phase takes just a couple of months. But in other cases it can take much longer.

Also, if you have moved or changed addresses, or there have been problems with local mail service, you may wish to advise the Canadian Government of a reliable mailing address.

Vancouver MP Hedy Fry led a roundtable discussion on the subject of Canada’s recognition of the career credentials of immigrants.

“It is a tall order in a short time,” said Fry, who was given a mandate by Prime Minister Paul Martin in early December to report on the problem of assessing foreign credentials and helping new immigrants transfer their education and skills to Canadian jobs.

Prime Minister Martin told the gathering it is an important issue and one Canada must address if it is to be competitive in a global labour market.

Consultants Contest Regulation

A group of immigration consultants has filed court actions against the federal government in a bid to stop planned regulation of their activities, due to begin on April 1.

The International Association of Immigration Practitioners, which wants current consultants to be allowed to practise without meeting new standards, filed actions in the Federal Court of Canada and the Ontario Superior Court

The association charges that Ottawa has no authority to set up the regulatory body, the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.

Refugee claimants in the U.S. will have limited time to seek asylum in Canada before a controversial agreement comes into effect requiring them to seek a safe haven in the first country they reach.

The move could decrease the number of refugee claims in Canada by as much as one-third, and has already prompted anxiety at refugee shelters in Buffalo, N.Y., and at other locations along the U.S.-Canada border.

The regulation, known as the Safe Third Country Agreement, was announced in December, 2001, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and then-deputy prime minister John Manley, as part of the “smart border” plan drafted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

However, while Canada passed its regulations in October, 2002, the U.S. stalled until yesterday when officials in Washington finally followed suit.

“The agreement will be implemented after the public has had an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule over the next (months), the comments are reviewed . . . and the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice each issue an interim or final rule,” Eduardo Aguirre, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said yesterday.

“The agreement will enhance the orderly handling of refugee claims and reflect our humanitarian tradition, but also signals that we are dealing harshly with those who would abuse our generosity,” said Jean-Pierre Morin, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.