US Government Charges for ESTA Visa

Thirty three countries belong to the United States Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens from select countries to enter without a visa for a 90 day period (providing travel is limited to pursuits like leisure visits or conference attendance). A couple of years ago the United States Department of Homeland Security introduced mandatory registration under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, more commonly known as ESTA.

Until now, ESTA registration has been free of charges, but the Department of Homeland Security has announced that from 9 September 2010 travelers FROM Visa Waiver countries will be charged US $14 to apply for their ESTA registration. The charges will be used to promote US tourism and will contribute towards the cost of administering the ESTA system.

ESTA registration was developed as a security measure in the wake of 9/11. Pre-registration allows the US government to assess who will be entering the country before they board their flight.   Passengers without ESTA clearance can be refused entry when they arrive at US immigration.

ESTA approval must be applied for at least 72 hours before boarding a flight to the United States. It is valid for multiple entries to the US two years providing the traveler is still using the same passport, uses the same name and does not have a crime or contagious disease. If personal details such as these have changed, they must re-apply for an ESTA visa.

Canada continues to fast track Haitian family class sponsorships

For a family be reunited in Canada, a sponsor must file an application with Citizenship and Immigration. A sponsor must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident at least 18 years of age living in Canada. This category of immigration includes the following relatives of a sponsor: spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child, adopted child, parent, grandparent, or an orphaned relative under 18 years of age who is the sponsor’s brother or sister, nephew, niece, grandchild or adopted child. Each type of relationship has its own set of forms, requirements, and supporting documents that must be submitted to Citizenship and Immigration.

Sponsoring parents, grandparents, or an orphaned relative (under 18 years of age who is the sponsor’s brother or sister, nephew, niece, grandchild, or adopted child)  is permissible under this program of immigration providing the sponsor is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who lives in Canada and is at least 18 years of age

New opportunity for immigrants: more occupations in-demand in Canada

Canada Permanent resident card is the dream of many would-be immigrants from all over the world. One of the ways to qualify is to apply as a skilled worker in one of the qualifying occupations.  Last month the Federal government added 11 new professions to the list which is great news for dentists, dentist, pharmacists and architects among others. The reasons for this is that most regions in Canada are experiencing a shortage of professionals and skilled workers in these occupations, and some cities and regions have a particularly high need for workers with this experience that is why they have the best chance for success in finding full-time permanent employment in Canada.

Here is a list of the 11 new occupations:

• Architects
• Biologists
• Contractors and Supervisors in mechanic trades
• Dentists
• Dental Hygienists
• Insurance agents
• Pharmacists
• Primary Production managers
• Professionals in Business services to Managers
• Psychologists
• Social workers

In order to qualify in one of the 11 new occupations, skilled workers should have at least 1 year of paid experience within the last ten years. Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that Canadian government has amended its current immigration procedures to put even greater emphasis on reducing the Federal Skilled Worker application backlog.

For those skilled workers applying under the occupation list, the government will limit the number of applications considered for processing to 20,000 total per year. Within the 20,000 limit, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupation will be considered. This limit, however,  does not apply to applicants with a job offer.

Compulsory Language Test for all Citizenship Applicants

Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister for Immigration and Multi-culturalism announcement last month regarding compulsory language tests for anyone applying for Canadian Citizenship was attacked by the Canadian Bar Association as being ‘underhand and abusive.’ This is the second time this change has been proposed by the Canadian government; when it was first introduced in 2008, it was quickly withdrawn due to public outcry. The Canadian Bar Association also sent a lengthy report to the government outlining the reasons against compulsory language tests for all applicants.

Prior to Kenney’s surprise announcement, applicants were able to prove their English/ French language proficiency with other documentation like degree certificates and employer letters, rather than take the  International English Language Testing System or Test d’evaluation de Francais. Under the new legislation, all would-be citizens must take a recognized language test in French or English even if those languages are their native languages. This change is somewhat farcical when taking into consideration the fact that last year 30,000 native English and French speakers applied for permanent residence in Canada. Additionally, the test means unnecessary expense and time wasting for native English/French speakers; the test costs $325 and it takes several hours to complete it.

The Canadian Bar Association maintains that Minister Kenney has broken the law by making this change. Under Canadian law, any proposed revisions to the law have to be published in the Canada Gazette, giving the general public 30 days notice to address the change before it goes before the federal cabinet.

A spokesman for the bar association, David Matas who himself is an immigration lawyer in Winnipeg alleged that the change is a breach against applicants rights particularly those from French or English speaking countries. He said that by making changes like this outside of the law, any minister could make changes to the law without legal consultation.

Matas continued, “This was done in an underhanded sort of way, because the law which says you don’t need language testing remains. The government hasn’t repealed the law; they’ve just given instructions not to process applications which don’t have testing results. To me, that is an abusive way of going, for the government to get what they want without going through the proper procedures.”

Toronto lawyer Cathryn Sawicki, also a practicing immigration lawyer has filed arguments in the Federal Court against the minister and another motion asking for an immediate, temporary stop-order on the new processing requirement. She said, “All we’re saying is that if the minister wants to make changes, please do so through the proper mechanism,” said Sawicki at the downtown Toronto courthouse. “Don’t unilaterally think you can change the law and have that accepted. It doesn’t work like that.”

The motion is expected to be heard by the end of July.

Inadmissible to Canada

Prospective  immigrants to Canada who have been previously convicted of any criminal offence may be prohibited from working,  visiting, studying or applying for permanent residence in Canada. Even minor offences such as traffic violations may render a person inadmissible to Canada.

Examples of convictions that could make one inadmissible to Canada include the following: Driving With Ability Impaired (DWAI), Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Theft, Assault, Obstruction of Justice, Disorderly Conduct. However, prospective immigrants to Canada should keep in mind that there are several ways of coming to Canada despite having criminal convictions in the past:

A. Criminal Rehabilitation. If a person has been convicted of one or more offences and more than 5 years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence, including probation, that individual is eligible to submit an Application for Criminal Rehabilitation. On the application one is required to provide information about the conviction and  proof that they are not likely to re-offend.

B. Temporary Resident Permit : It could be useful if a person was convicted of an offence and less than 5 years has elapsed since the  conviction. in this case  the individual is technically criminally inadmissible to Canada. However, a Temporary Resident Permit allows a person to be admitted to Canada for a specific purpose if the person can show why it is necessary for them to enter Canada and why he or she is not a risk to the Canadian society.

C. Deemed Rehabilitation: If an individual was convicted of an offence outside Canada and the equivalent Canadian offence does not incur a  sentence of 10 years or more, the person is considered to have been rehabilitated.  Proof of completion of the sentence must be provide, although no application is required.

D. Non-Convictions: There is a certain class of sentences such as deferred adjudication or conditional discharges which are not considered convictions for the purposes of Canadian immigration. Since sentences vary from state to state and country to country, each case must be examined on its own . For example the distinction between misdemeanor and felony that exists  in U.S. law is not an important distinction for the purposes of Canadian immigration, because even misdemeanor convictions may result in criminal inadmissibility for the purposes of Canadian immigration.

Alberta PNP Program to allow sponsorship of distant relatives

Family Sponsorship under Canada’s Federal Immigration Program is generally limited to immediate relatives namely, spouses, common-law and conjugal partners, dependent children under 22 years of age, parents, grandparents and orphaned children.

Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor any of the above relatives to live in Canada providing they meet Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s eligibility criteria. However anyone who wanted to sponsor distant relatives such as brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles etc. have been unable to do so under the federal program; distant relatives have had to apply under different immigration categories such as the Federal Skilled Worker program.

Rules over the sponsorship of distant relatives have changed in the province of Alberta, which now allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents who live in the province to sponsor distant relatives under the Alberta Provincial Nominee Program. The benefit to relatives sponsored to Alberta is that they can take advantage of its low taxes and high salaries.

To qualify for sponsorship of a distant relative in Alberta the relative must meet the following criteria:

• Be 21 years old or above
• Have a relative who has been a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for the last 2 years
• Prove that their sponsor has lived in Alberta for the last 2 years
• Be able to prove with valid documentation their blood relationship to the sponsor

The sponsor must meet the following criteria:

• Submit an AINP Family Stream Affidavit of Support promising to financially support the distant relative for a 2 year period

• Prove they have had a regular source of income e.g. through a job, private pension or investments over the last year. If they cannot prove this they must prove they own outright net assets to the value of CDN $15,000 e.g. a car or collection of jewellery could amount to net assets to this value.
• Produce a comprehensive Settlement Plan showing how they will supervise and assist their relatives’ with shelter, food, clothing, finding work and general integration into Alberta society
• Ensure that they have no other outstanding or unfulfilled sponsorship agreements; only one sponsorship agreement per household is allowed

Providing a sponsor can meet all of the above criteria they will be able to bring distant as well as close family members to live with them in Alberta.

Inceased investment required for immigrant investors to Canada

The Canadian Government is set to change the eligibility requirements for the immigrant investor program to ensure that it plays an even greater role in the Canadian economy. The government proposes that new investors to Canada prove that they have a personal net worth of $1.6M, an increase of $800,000 on the old eligibility requirements. Under the new rules, investor immigrants will be required to invest $800,000 over 5 years with the Canadian government – an increase of $400,000.

The logic behind the proposal to increase the investor immigrant investment criteria lies in the fact that the Canadian government has not changed the investment criteria since 1999 leaving Canada with the lowest immigration investment requirements in the world. Each year the immigrant investor program attracts large numbers of applicants because of the low investment rates and this has lead to delays in processing times. Other countries with popular immigrant investor programs demand minimum investments of over CDN 1 Million; Australia will only accept applicants willing to invest CDN $1,438,350, the UK CDN $1,665,700, New Zealand CDN $1,148,250 and the US CDN $1,031,700.

Jason Kenney, Minister for Immigration said, “Canada needs investor immigrants. These changes are necessary to keep Canada’s program competitive with that of other countries, and keep pace with the changing economy.” By increasing the net worth requirement, Canada will still offer the lowest investor immigrant investment rates but will be able to draw investors with significant global business connections and the funds to make secondary investments in Canada.

As of June 26 2010, the Canadian Government has stopped accepting new immigrant investor applications to avoid a last minute rush of applications under the old rules. Applications will be accepted under the new program rules very shortly.

The immigrant investor program allows experienced business people to make a five year interest free investment loan to the Canadian government in exchange for permanent residence. The loan is returned in full after the five year period expires.

Child refugees health issues in Ontario

Children arriving in Canada often as sponsored refugees often have serious health conditions that resolved by screening on arrival, doctors say. Volunteer doctors have set up a pediatric clinic in  Hamilton, Ontario which aims at serving immigrants, refugees and their children in the city. Doctors have studied the health status of children using the clinic by reviewing 342 cases most of them children with an average age of eight. 95% of these children were found to have at least one seriously medical issue that should be addressed.

Refugee children are coming to Ontario from all over the world, but for the last five years, the most common countries of origin were Somalia, Burma and Afghanistan. The majority of the children studied has dental diseases, gum diseases, infectious diseases and nutritional deficiency. Infections like HIV, tuberculosis and malaria were found to be  rare, easily treatable skin infections and stool parasites, were prevailing.

About one fifth of the children were in less than the fifth percentile for height and weight for their age. They need to be monitored closely to ensure the foods they are accustomed to eating are providing adequate nutrition. The consequences of undiagnosed nutritional deficiencies, developmental  and psychosocial problems are at least as important to consider as immunization against infectious diseases.

Immigrants (including refugees) represent about 20 per cent of Canada’s population. Sponsored refugees in Canada are foreign people who have been allowed to immigrate to Canada. These people are usually outside of their and cannot return their for fear of persecution for reason of race, religion or nationality. They view Canada as a durable solution to their situation.

The most important document all refugees and their children need is a Certificate of Identity is a document issued to persons legally landed in Canada for less than three years, who are stateless or are unable to obtain a national passport. Refugees who are unsure as to whether they qualify for a certificate of identity can book a consultation with a refugee professional.

Canada’s federal investment immigration program-the big fraud

Under the federal investment immigration program, rich entrepreneurs with a qualifying international business experience are given the chance to immigrate to Canada provided they invest $400,000 in a government-controlled fund for a five-year term. If approved for the program, the immigrant applicant receives a permanent resident visa and, at the end of the five year term, they receive the $400,000 investment back, interest free. This federal investment immigration program is commonly promoted both in Canada and around the world. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants receive permanent resident status every year going through it.

As any savvy business person will agree, investing $400,000 interest free is a lost opportunity, so many investors seek for an opportunity for financing from banks. Here is the interesting part – many consultant and lawyers are actually looking for customers to refer to banks for financing at the cost of $120,000. For this amount the banks lends the required $400,000 to the investor and at the end of the five year term the money is returned straight back to the bank.  The investor is told that the $120,000 covers all interest charges and bank fees and at the end of the five-year term the investor receives no money in return. So far so good. After all, banks are in the business of lending money. Where is the fraud?

Well, based on current interest rates the cost to finance a $400,000 loan for five years is about $1,000 a month, so over 60 months, the cost should be about $60,000. So there are  $60,000 left  – where does that money go?

Let us start looking at the beneficiaries of this  huge interest-free investment – the provincial governments. It turns out that they are paying enormous commissions to the banks, and the banks are paying consultant and lawyers who find customers. Finally, it is the prospective immigrant who is paying this additional cost just to keep the government-banks-lawyers mafia going.

The bottom line is this – if you are looking at the option of immigrating to Canada through the federal investment immigration program, do not bite the $120,000 bait. There are other, cheaper options available. One option is for the investor to borrow the  $400,000 from a bank in their own country, pay the interest and get the whole amount back in 5 years. This way the investor will have brought down the price of their Canada immigration to about $60,000 plus application fees and, if required, legal or consulting fees, which is half of the $120,000 available on the market.

Ministers aim to improve Canada’s immigration system

Immigration is crucial to Canada’s success in the global market. Canada has the largest immigration program in the world. It’s aims to attract immigrants with key skills and investment potential that Canada currently lacks drives its policies.

Immigration Ministers from all provinces and territories and the Canadian government met recently in Ottawa to discuss improvements to the current system. Topics under discussion included the importance of long-term  planning to ensure that those immigrants admitted to Canada serve the countries current and future economic and provincial needs. Emphasis was placed on attracting Skilled Workers who would enhance and succeed in the Canadian labour market. Jason Kenney, Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism commented on the ‘Action Plan for Faster Immigration’, which aims to reduce the massive backlog of Federal Skilled Worker applications. Ministers also discussed the need to permit provincial nominee programs to react to up-and-coming requirements in provincial labour markets. Minister Kenney commented, “If Canada wants to succeed in the global economy, our country must be able to attract and retain immigrants with the skills it needs today while preparing us to face the challenges of the future,”

The ‘Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications’ was also under discussion. The framework is designed to provide a common goal for governments to recognize foreign qualifications in a just, realistic and transparent manner. Ministers also stressed the importance of attracting foreign students to Canadian academic institutions.

Ministers also placed emphasis on the importance of country’s settlement and integration programs. It was decided that controls were need to measure the success of settlement and integration in Canada. The province of Quebec is responsible for its own settlement and integration program, but Ministers from the province agreed to make its best practices available to the other provinces in order for everyone to improve the evaluation process.

Commitment to the Crack Down on Crooked Immigration Consultants was also stressed with emphasis on Canadian immigration reducing the volume of fraud.

Nova Scotia’s Minister of Immigration, Ramona Jennex stressed, “Immigration is important to all provinces and territories. We agreed here to improve our cooperative approach to immigration to ensure its benefits are shared across the country. We are pleased that future meetings will be co-chaired by the federal and provincial governments.”