The
process of bringing in your same-sex partner to Canada can be handled
by most Canadians without the use for Immigration Consultants or
Lawyers.
If
you want someone else to fill out the paperwork for you, remember
that you will still have to do a great deal of work to gather the
background information and all the supporting documentation required
to satisfy the immigration process.
When
filling the applications yourself, read all the documentation particular
to your case several times prior to filling out the forms. Check
the completed forms also several times before submitting the applications.
Keep a copy of every document that you send in also for your records.
Keep a record or log as to when you send in documents or receive
correspondence back from the Immigration Dept.
Note
that regardless of what might be told to you, Consultants/Lawyers cannot speed
up the process of granting a Visa. Save yourself thousands of dollars
($6,000 -$10,000) and go through the process carefully with your
partner's help.
If you need to consulting with a lawyer or consultant due to some
unusual or non-standard case or condition, it is suggested to limit
your involvement with the lawyer to a consulting session. Then, proceed
to file and track the application yourselves.
If you choose to get professional help, it may be as little as having
a professional check out your completed application before you
send it and advise you of any changes or additions they think would
improve
your application. This would probably cost a few hundred dollars.
You could have a professional handle the whole case for you. They
will fill out forms, assemble documentation, submit the application,
deal with the government and make sure it does what it is supposed
to do, prepare you for your interview and, in general, take much
of the stress off you. This, of course, costs money. At the low end
you may be paying $2,000 - $3,000. At the high end, it might be $6,000
or more for a complicated case. Keep in mind you tend to get what
you pay for and the rates are significant.
You should both trust and be comfortable with whomever you choose.
Since you are doing a same sex case, you should be sure to pick
someone with experience with same sex cases. There are not many of
them - few if any outside of Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. If you
are not in one of these cities, you can deal with one by mail, email,
telephone and courier. This is very common for immigration cases.
Lawyer vs Consultants
Lawyers are regulated by the provincial Bar Association. They may
say they do immigration work but this does not mean they have any
experience with immigration. If they do, they rarely have any experience
working inside the immigration department.
Consultants have been regulated in 2004 in an attempt to crack down
on unscrupulous or incompetent individuals taking advantage of clients.
We recommend that you ensure your Consultant is a member in good
standing with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC
at www.csic.ca). Immigration Canada will not deal with Consultants
who are not CSIC members.
Guarantees:
Money Back Guarantee - Companies offering such guarantees
usually operate on statistics. They know a certain percentage of
cases will be accepted and they are happy being paid by these cases
only, since they do the absolute minimum work on their cases. The
other cases may receive their fees back (if the company is still
in business) but the applicant now has a rejection on their record,
has wasted so much time and does not get back the government processing
fee, translation fees, courier fees, etc. Not recommended.
Guaranteed Success - Some companies guarantee that you
will be successful. Unfortunately, they do not make the final decision.
The Immigration Department has the final say. Not recommended.
If you use a Lawyer or Consultant, they should be a Canadian citizen
or a Canadian permanent resident inside Canada or, if outside Canada,
they should be a Canadian citizen. The government will not deal with
them on your case if they are not.
In dealing with Lawyers or Consultants, let the buyer beware...
Use
the following list at your own risk and expense. The names have
been gleaned from local newspaper and other advertisements.
Hamilton (all
the people below advertise in the Yellow Pages -their G&L friendliness
is unknown.)
Pelech. Otto & Powell
149 Main St. East, Hamilton
Ontario, L8N-1G4
Tel: 905-522-4696
Fax: 905-528-6608
Andrew Confente
Confente & Garcea
69 John St. South, Suite 340, Hamilton
Tel: 905-529-9999John Abrams Law Office
69 John St. South, Suite 300, Hamilton
Tel: 905-522-3600
Howard P. Eisenberg
Barrister & Solicitor
105 Main St. East, Suite 1010, Hamilton
Ontario, L8N-1G6
Tel: 905-527-7981
Fax: 905-529-7791
info@misterhoward.com
www.misterhoward.com
Guidy Mamann, LLB
Mamaan & Associates
Immigration Building, 74 Victoria Ave (at Yonge Arcade)
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 1-800-688-5765, 416-862-0000
Mississauga Tel: 905-507-4300
www.migrationlaw.com
Paul A. Ramacieri
21 King St West, Hamilton
Tel: 905-528-8411Frank M. Raso (advertiser in Hamilton Pride
Pages)
69 John St. South, Suite 200, Hamilton,
Ontario, L8N-2B9
Tel: 905-522-7442, ext 34
Fax: 905-522-7191
fraso@imlaw.ca
Matthew J. Wells & Robert Young
1 James St South, Hamilton
Tel: 905-528-7963
mwells@sfl-a.com
Toronto (all
the people below advertise in the G&L publication, Xtra)
Immigration Link (member CSIC)
1 Gloucester Street, Suite 114B -(by prior appointment only)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 1L8
Peter@immlink.ca
www.immlink.ca
Tel: 416-922-9495, 1-888-922-9495
Brruce Ferreira-Wells (Dir., Org. of
Professional Immigration Consultants)
Bruce Ferreira-Wells Immigration Services
538 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto
Ontario, M6C-1A4 (at St Clair West subway)
Tel: 416-651-8889
info@immigrationservices.ca
www.immigrationservices.ca
Janice P. Warran
Barrister & Solicitor
30 St Clair Ave. W., Suite 400,
Toronto, Ont M4V-3A1
Tel: 416-323-7767
David B. Olson
Barristor & Solister, Notary
120 Carlton St, Suite 215
Toronto, M5A-4K2
Tel: 416-922-4275
Fax: 416-922-9181
davisolson@bellnet.ca
Kirk J. Cooper
Barrister, Solicitor & Notary
120 Carlton St, Suite 215
Toronto, M5A-4K2
Tel: 416-923-4277
kj.cooper@sympatico.ca
www3.sympatico.ca/kj.cooper
Bruce E Walker Law Office
65 Wellesley St East, Toronto
Ontario, M4Y-1G7
Tel: 416-961-7451
bwalker@bwalkerlaw.com
www.bwalkerlaw.com
Michael F. Battista
Wiseman & Battista
Barrister & Solicitor
1033 Bay St, Suite 308, Toronto
Tel: 416-964-2285
battista@wisemanbattista.com
