Immigration INTO Canada
Please find for your info a typical response from 3-DNET legal council re an "accepted" immigration candidate.
Thank you for your communication. We have carefully reviewed the information provided to us and wish to opine that your member is likely to qualify for Canadian permanent residence under the Independent category. Accordingly we are taking the liberty of providing herewith, our offer of services with additional information that you may find useful.
As well we are attaching for your review, our recent Internet publication outlining the benefits of engaging the services of legal counsel for representations in the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration field.
Upon reviewing the attachments herewith, should you wish to proceed with our assistance or raise issues for clarification, kindly communicate with us at your convenience.
RE: Canadian Permanent Residence
__________________________________For the past number of years our law firm has specialized in the area of Canadian Citizenship & Immigration law. Based in Ottawa and with associate offices abroad, our firm regularly and successfully represents foreign nationals from countries throughout the world. Most of our clients establish residence in the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba or British Columbia.
At the present time, the Canadian government grants permanent resident visas to professionals and skilled workers under the Independent category, who possess employment skills and experience which are compatible with occupations "open" to prospective immigrants to Canada. An applicant is assessed under various factors which will indicate whether there is a strong likelihood that the applicant will successfully establish himself/herself in Canada.
We should point out however that the various occupations which are open to prospective immigrants to Canada, are continuously being revised by the Canadian immigration authorities to reflect Canada's changing labour market requirements.
As well, the Canadian Government announced in January 1998, that new regulatory changes will be implemented which will substantially modify Canada's current immigration program. The proposed changes which are still under review, are far reaching in that they will likely radically alter the current selection criteria under the Independent category.
We encourage interested qualified applicants to proceed with the filing of their applications and government filing fees in a timely fashion so as to ensure the preservation of their present qualifications and the processing of their applications in advance of the influx of applications, which is anticipated in the upcoming months ahead.
Following our review of your member's credentials, it is our opinion that based on current selection criteria, your imminent application for Canadian permanent residence would likely succeed under the Independent category. This opinion is based on our assumption that the information which you provided to us is complete and will be accurately presented to a visa office in accordance with our interpretations of Citizenship & Immigration Canada policy on the selection of independent applicants. As well, it is our assumption that your personal net worth is sufficient to ensure that you will be financially self sufficient during the initial six month period of settlement in Canada. (Please refer to "Settlement Funds", below).
With respect to your decision to retain expert legal counsel to assist you, we observe from our years of experience in the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration field, that many Canadian visa offices outwardly appear to be "user friendly" to prospective applicants. This is due in part to the fact that Canada has instituted a Cost Recovery Programme which provides for the levying of processing fees for all services rendered to the general public in the immigration field. Indeed each visa office is now required to justify its ongoing existence from a financial and staffing viewpoint.
At the present time, the Canadian immigration Cost Recovery Programme is quickly becoming a major source of revenue for the Immigration Ministry and is one of the most expensive such programmes in the world in terms of fees charged for services rendered. Accordingly and unlike the United States, you pay for an assessment regardless of the outcome. For example, a family comprising of applicant, spouse and underage dependent child would result in non refundable processing fees of CAD $1100. The processing fees for an unmarried applicant with no dependent children would amount to CAD $500.
In addition to this amount, a Right Of Landing Fee in the amount of CAD $975 is levied to any person who is at least 19 years of age and applying for residence. The landing fee unlike the processing fee, may be paid prior to the issuance of visas.
All applications filed with Canadian visa offices are initially "paper screened" by a locally engaged staff member who may lack formal training in the immigration field. From our experience, it is imperative that all the important issues of an applicant's case are clearly and accurately presented at the time of application submission.
Your case would be filed with an appropriate Canadian visa office where our cases proceed to final disposition within approximately 4 - 18 months after file submission, depending on the processing venue. Both you and your spouse (if applicable), would be required to attend a selection interview. The processing venue will be selected with your consultation, when the application is ready for submission. Variances in processing times depend on which visa office will process the application, and whether or not an interview waiver is granted in your application.
We are pleased to advise however that a number of our cases are being interview waived. This is a procedural modality which a particular visa office may dispense with, where a prospective applicant has the necessary qualifications and has provided the appropriate documentation for assessment. Readers are cautioned however that interview waiver is a=20 highly discretionary aspect of the process and representations made to a prospective applicant which link the services offerred by a particular firm and the likelihood of an interview waiver, should be viewed with suspect and caution. The fact is that we do not control the outcome on whether your application will proceed to interview waiver or a selection interview. Should you require a selection interview, we are confident that the insight we will share with you during the process will likely impact favourably on the outcome of your application.
With respect to the services we provide, we are attaching herewith, our Firm Profile which includes a summary of same. Indeed, we are committed to providing our clientele with assistance both before, during and after they have become landed permanent residents of Canada.
Although we are a law firm with a particular specialization in the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration field, we regularly collaborate with reputed professional organizations in Canada, in order to provide our clients with the broad based counsel which they require.
On the basis of our longstanding experience in representing Canadian corporations in their efforts to engage the services of foreign national employees, we believe it to be an advantage to those candidates who initially obtain permanent residence status prior to "entering" the Canadian labour market. This increases the marketability of a potential applicant for the prospective Canadian employer.
We recognize that our clientele has undertaken the necessary time to become familiar with the general procedures in the Canadian Immigration Field. Our clients generally include applicants who are highly educated and who have acquired a sufficient level of expertise in their fields of specialization, to qualify for Canadian permanent residence.
Furthermore, we recognize that while many of our clients can prepare and file their applications on their own, our clients elect to retain our services because they prefer to engage qualified counsel at a reasonable cost, to handle the entire application process. The reality is that the rights of applicants for Canadian immigration are often preserved, and even enhanced, when represented by effective legal counsel. Admittedly, even the Government of Canada acknowledges in its own writings that "When lawyers and consultants present their clients cases in a clear and concise manner, processing is expedited and simplified" - (Canadian Embassy, Moscow, "Guidelines For Representatives" - October 28, 1996).
In a more recent communication, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration affirms in its Operations Memorandum OP 98-15 ("Policy and Instructions on dealing with client representatives" - May 29, 1998), that "Client representatives have a legitimate role to play in assisting persons who apply to visit or immigrate to Canada".
Should you wish to retain our services to represent your interests, our counsel fees would be established in accordance with one of the following three OPTIONS.
OPTION A:
US $5000 - Our services would include the effective preparation of all application forms for yourself and your accompanying dependants (if applicable); the thorough presentation of your qualifications through our detailed written submissions; the selection and filing of your application with the appropriate visa office; providing active and ongoing monitoring and tracking of your filed application; ensuring, the timely scheduling of your selection interview; providing written preparations/training overview for the selection interview; ensuring the timely receipt of medical examination forms; providing you with the coordinates of Health & Welfare Canada designated medical practitioners in the city of your preference; providing written submissions and subsequent representations where required, to the appropriate federal and provincial licensing assessment authorities; assisting you with Canadian security clearance requirements; ensuring receipt of permanent resident visas within reasonable delays; and providing you with current references to employment opportunities in Canada.
Our fees of US $5000 would be payable in three instalments with the first remittance of US $3000 to be paid upon the formalizing of our mandate; US $1200 upon receipt of medical instructions and/or a notice of selection interview=; and the balance of US $800 following a favourable selection decision by the visa office.
Our fees do not include the government filing fees of CAD $500 for each adult plus $100 for each dependent child.
While we are not able to guarantee the success of your case, we do abide by a full "money back guarantee" policy, where the application for permanent residence is refused for a lack of qualifications. In other words, in the event the application is rejected by the visa office and our firm is unable to overturn such decision, and save and except for a medical or security inadmissibility, or your failure to adhere to the terms and conditions of our contract of engagement, our firm undertakes to provide you with a full refund of the counsel fees paid to us, excluding the processing fees levied by the processing Visa Office. As advised the Government of Canada will refund back the Right Of Landing fee in the unlikely event your application is refused.
For your reference however, we are pleased to inform you that less than 2% of the many hundreds of our cases filed under the independent category, were refused in 1997.
OPTION B
US $7000 - A number of our clients prefer to initiate a well researched employment search program BEFORE they actually arrive in Canada.
Therefore, we are pleased to advise that our counsel fees in addition to all of the elements described in Option A, can include our services in combination with 3-DNET under OPTION B, to coordinate an effective self-directed employment search program. It is this aspect of our mandate which we believe enables our firm to maintain an unparalleled advantage over other firms in the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration field while offering our clientele a service which reflects our unqualified commitment to their settlement needs.
The self directed employment (SDE) search will be carried out concurrently with the processing of the application(s) for permanent residence. The SDE search will include the following services: drafting a revised Canadian labour market-effective Resume; conducting a thorough Canadian labour market employment search to identify potential employers in major Canadian cities and compiling a detailed data base of such employers currently hiring in your field of specialization; drafting letters of introduction to potential employers; preparing pre-addressed mailing labels; providing effective telephone follow - up/interview strategies.
In the case where a selection interview is scheduled, we undertake to provide you with a complete and detailed SDE search package 21 days prior to the interview. In the case of an interview waiver, you will receive the SDE search package as outlined above, with your Canadian permanent residence visa.
Persons selecting our services under OPTION B will also receive at no charge, a copy of our resume guide publication.
On the basis of our experience in preparing applicants for a selection interview, we believe that the presentation of the SDE search package at interview, will likely impact favourably on the overall assessment. Canadian visa officers are more inclined to approve an application for permanent residence where there is a strong likelihood that an applicant will successfully settle in Canada.
Under OPTION B, our fees of US $7000 would be payable in three instalments with the first remittance of US $4500 to be paid upon the formalizing of our mandate; US $1800 upon receipt of medical instructions and/or a notice of selection interview; and the balance of US $700 following a favourable selection decision by the visa office.
Under this option, we will continue to abide by a full "money back guarantee" policy, where the application for permanent residence is refused.
Applicants who initially choose to retain our services under OPTION A, may opt for OPTION B at any time during our mandate.
OPTION C
$9000 - A growing number of our clients prefer to secure actual offers of employment before settling in Canada. In many instances, employers will not hire a prospective candidate without conducting an employment interview. Moreover, applicants are often required to attend a second or third interview with a prospective employer before a final decision is taken by the employer to hire.
Therefore, we are pleased to advise that our counsel fees in addition to all of the elements described in Option A, can include our services in combination with 3-DNET under OPTION C, to coordinate a full-service employment program leading to a firm offer of employment.
The Full-Service Employment (FSE) program will be carried out concurrently with the processing of the application(s) for permanent residence or immediately following the issuance of visas, depending on the applicant's preference.
The FSE program will include the following services: drafting a revised Canadian labour market-effective Resume; conducting a thorough Canadian labour market employment search to identify potential employers in the city of intended destination; drafting letters of introduction and contacting the hiring managers of potential employers in the city of intended destination; pre-arranging confirmed employment interviews coincid= ing with applicants' travel itinerary to Canada; assisting in the visitor visa application process (where required), providing ongoing guidance and advice prior and subsequent to employment interviews and providing a list ofall prospective employers whom we contacted, for future follow-up use.
In the case where an immigration selection interview is scheduled, we undertake to provide you with the written contents of our FSE program efforts 30 days prior to the immigration interview. In the case of an immigration interview waiver, we will proceed with our FSE program and schedule employment interviews on your behalf, in accordance with your planned itinerary.
Under our unique FSE program, employers are not charged any referral fees. This results in more interviews and job offers for our clients. Our rate of success in achieving an offer of employment is between 70% and 80%.
Persons selecting our services under OPTION C will also receive at no charge, a copy of our resume guide publication.
Under OPTION C, our fees of US $9000 would be payable in five instalments with the first remittance of US $5000 to be paid upon the formalizing of our mandate; US $2500 upon receipt of medical instructions and/or a notice of selection interview; US $500 following a favourable selection decision by the visa office; US $500 prior to the release of the employment interview schedule and the balance of US $500 upon receipt of a formal offer of employment in Canada.
Under this option while we cannot and do not guarantee an offer of employment, we confirm that the final two payments in total US $1000 is entirely contingent upon your receiving a confirmed offer of employment.
As well under this option, we will continue to abide by a full "money back guarantee" policy, in the unlikely event the application for permanent residence is refused for a lack of qualifications.
Applicants who initially choose to retain our services under OPTION A or OPTION B, may later opt for OPTION C at any time during our mandate.
You may also wish to take comfort in the fact that our fees are established on a contract basis. There are no additional hidden charges for our out of pocket expenses and the like. We do not charge fees for each additional accompanying dependent , as is the case with a number of consulting firms in the field. You may also find from your research that a number of firms charge considerably more and a few may even charge less than we charge. Our fees have been established at the structure referenced herein on the basis of our past extensive experience in submitting visa applications to more than 35 visa offices and, on the basis of the services we provide.
Once our mandate is formalized, then we would immediately forward to you copies of our initiating documentation comprising of application forms, authorization statements and further instructions. Our forms and the procedures we follow take into consideration our unique processing methods.
You would complete the various application forms in draft format and forward them to us for our preparation. As you gather the required supporting documentation, then you would also forward same to us.
Depending on the processing venue, it is our practice to file cases with the minimum documentation required in order to successfully meet the paper screening undertakings. This also enables our cases to be placed in the interview queue without unnecessary delays at the initial stages. We will elaborate on the nature of required documentation (which varies depending on where we submit an application), at the onset of our mandate.
We regularly communicate with and receive correspondence from our clients by fax and Email and this, in addition to being effective, ensures that our submissions are completed in an efficient and timely manner. We endeavour to complete your application within two weeks following receipt of the required documentation specified in our initiating package.
We would caution prospective applicants against delaying the formalizing of a mandate with us while gathering the supporting documentation. It is quite possible that the documentation one may believe necessary at the early stages, may not be necessary at the early stages of our mandate.
Within 3-6 weeks following the filing of your case with the visa office, we will receive a confirmation of application receipt with a notice of interview or interview waiver.
Generally, the interview if required, will take place within a period of about 4 - 14 months from file submission, depending on the visa office.
Should the foregoing meet with your approval, kindly confirm your preference and we would be pleased to provide you with our standard Contract of Engagement along with further instructions.
Should you require further clarification regarding our authorized standing or any additional information in this regard, please take the liberty of communicating with the undersigned at your convenience. We are confident that we will be in a position to address most of the outstanding concerns that you may have.
We look forward to the opportunity of perhaps representing your interests in due course.
___________________________________________________________________
SETTLEMENT FUNDS Section 19 of the Immigration Act precludes the admission of persons who are unable or unwilling to support themselves and those persons who are dependent on them for care and support. Exceptions are available where adequate arrangements (other than social assistance) have been made. Applicants who do not meet this criteria can be declared inadmissible. Proof of settlement funds is generally provided immediately prior to visa issuance.
During the past year, public concern has been mounting over the incidences of abuse by certain newly arriving who subscribe to social assistance programmes.
In early 1994, the Department published a series of rules & guidelines aimed at providing officers with an indication of what sums applicants are recommended to possess in order to meet the settlement fund requirements. A Table of Funds Required By Independent Immigrants was also published, covering the initial period of 6 months following landing:
FUNDS REQUIRED BY INDEPENDENT IMMIGRANTS ON LANDING IN CANADA TO SUPPORT SELF AND DEPENDENTS FOR A PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS
(IS 4)
Size of Area of Residence Family Size
>500,000 100,000 30,000 30,000
- 499,999 - 99,999
1 Person7,238 6,563 6,448 6,032
2 Persons9,804 8,892 8,739 8,168
3 Persons12,939 11,778 11,585 10,862
4 Persons14,784 13,447 13,223 12,391
5 Persons16,899 15,438 15,194 14,287
6 Persons18,325 16,740 16,476 15,487
7 Persons20,411 18,705 18,421 17,539
Ea Add Per1,880 1,743 1,722 1,634 These funds are NOT a Sina qua non condition of admission. The six month settlement fund requirement is a policy creation implemented by the Department and is not found in the Regulations.
Visa officers have been instructed not to refuse applicants on the basis of the Table alone and to apply a number of additional factors which include without limitation, the following criteria:
* spouse's potential for employment
* genuine offers of employment
* genuine offers of accommodation
* general assistance from family and friends
* transferable skills of applicantThe application of the Table and the additional factors noted above will vary from post to post in accordance with the particular circumstances of an applicant's case.
As well, certain visa offices adhere to a practice of requesting longevity of fund possession for up to one year, while other offices will issue visas upon the production of evidence of current deposit(s) or bank draft(s) in the name of applicant, spouse or overage dependent child.
Applicants who are not able upon request, to provide evidence of sufficient funds, can petition the visa office to hold the disposition of the case in abeyance for a reasonable period of time, pending efforts by the applicant to comply with this statutory requirement.
_____________________________________________________________________
PROFILE LAW OFFICES a Canadian law firm based in, offering a wide range of services with particular emphasis on those relating to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration law. The firm provides foreign nationals with advice and expertise regarding immigration to and settlementin Canada. Qualification for permanent residence, employment visas, student visas, the removal of visa conditions, and the acquisition of Canadian citizenship are all areas in which the firm specializes. Counsel is provided with respect to personal and corporate financial re-organization, taxation and estate planning and the establishment of off-shore trusts.
The firm also represents clients before Canadian Citizenship and Immigration boards and tribunals, as well as before all courts of the Canadian judicial system including the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. The firm is often consulted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada Officials in order to provide insight when immigration policy is reviewed and modified by the Federal and Provincial Governments.
We frequently represent Canadian Citizens for non immigrant visa applications to the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and have acquired considerable knowledge and expertise with regard to the necessary procedures in this area.
The focus of our activities extends beyond legal matters. We endeavour to offer assistance on both personal and professional levels. Our extensive experience with immigrants to Canada, and our familiarity with the adjustment and adaptation that living in Canada requires, allows us to provide our clients with services that are tailored to their individual needs and characteristics. Emphasis is placed on enabling new residents to integrate into Canadian society as quickly and as easily as possible. Personal and commercial banking arrangements, vocational training, information on business opportunities, employment opportunities and education are some of the services we provide.
The firm also acts as legal counsel to a number of Canadian based institutions and a myriad of small and medium sized domestic and international businesses. This aspect of our practice affords us an in-depth understanding of Canada's business and labour market landscape and adds to our ability to counsel clients who intend to relocate to Canada.
WELCOME TO CANADA !
Where to contact us:
The 3-D Network Company Headquarters is located in Ottawa, Canada
Phone/Fax: 1-613-761-8625
International website:http://www.3dnet.org/
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