According to CBC News, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) has launched an investigation into a website guaranteeing immigrants easy access to Canada and advising them to use false pretexts in order to take advantage of the country’s free health care and social programs. On its website, which was taken offline on Thursday, Quick Visa Canada offered clients “a cheap, quick and effective way to come to Canada.”

For $2,250 US, the company said, it would help potential immigrants come to Canada as tourists and then assist them in filing a claim for refugee status. “We will provide you with a listing of different motives so that you can choose the one that best suits you,” the company’s website said. “The motives that we will present to you are very easy to explain to the immigration officials. For example many of our clients choose the type of motives in which they claim that there were part of an organization (anti abortion, human rights, Gay or Lesbian movement, etc, etc) back in their home country and that some people were against that movement. We guarantee you that the immigration official will not return you to your country.”

Organizations that provide assistance to immigrants and refugees were outraged by the website’s claims. “As far as we’re concerned it is fraud, it is false representation,” said Stephan Reichold, executive director of the Quebec Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Services. “[The website] puts in doubt the integrity of the system. It opens the door to attacks — people will say all refugees are fraudsters,” said Richard Goldman, co-ordinator of the committee to aid refugees.

On the website, the company claims its founder is lawyer Claude Lamoureux, based in Chateauguay, Que. But, when a team of reporters from CBC/Radio-Canada showed up at Lamoureux’s office — the man they met was not the one pictured on the website. Lamoureux claimed he has been the victim of identity theft and said he has complained to the RCMP.

Quick Visa Canada representative Hayde Linares said her job is only to refer refugees to a colleague in Egypt. CBC/Radio-Canada, with the help of a Spanish-speaking collaborator, called the phone number listed on the website and arranged a meeting with a Quick Visa Canada representative in a Montreal office. Hayde Linares said she could help the Spanish-speaking man get access to medicare and welfare, and that a colleague would help him come up with a story. The owner of the company, Giovanni Germinario, did not return calls for comment.

Inciting someone to make a false declaration to an immigration official is an offence, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine. No charges have been laid to date.

The full article is available here. You are also encouraged to read our article on how to choose a Canadian representative.

According to the Toronto Sun, Canadian immigration officials say there’s little they can do to stop “child brides” from being sponsored into Canada by much older husbands who wed them in arranged marriages abroad. Immigration officials in Canada and Pakistan say all they can do is reject the sponsorships of husbands trying to bring their child-brides to Canada. The men have to reapply when the bride turns 16. The marriages are permitted under Sharia Law.

Muslim men, who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents return to their homeland to wed a “child bride” in an arranged marriage in which a dowry is given to the girl’s parents. Officials said some of the brides can be 14 years old or younger and are “forced” to marry. The practice occurs in a host of countries including: Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Lebanon.

The full article is available here.

In light of the recent natural catastrophes in Chile, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has reminded Chileans of U.S. immigration benefits available to eligible Chilean nationals upon request. USCIS understands that a natural catastrophe can affect an individual’s ability to establish or maintain lawful immigration status. Temporary relief measures available to nationals of Chile may include:

1. The grant of an application for change or extension of nonimmigrant status on behalf of a Chilean national who is currently in the United States, even in cases where the request is submitted after the individual’s authorized period of admission has expired;
2. Re-parole of individuals granted parole by USCIS;
3. Extension of certain grants of advance parole, expedited processing of advance parole requests;
4. Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship for F-1 students;
5. Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relative(s) of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”);
6. Expedited issuance of employment authorization where appropriate; and
7. Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without documents in coordination with the Department of State.

For more information on USCIS humanitarian programs, applicants are encouraged to visit the USCIS website or to call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 [only callers within the United States may use this 800 number].

On March 10, 2010, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) is streamlining the process for assessing the language skills of applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience classes. “The language requirements themselves have not changed,” said Minister Kenney. “But beginning April 10, 2010, prospective immigrants will be required to prove their English and French language abilities at the time they apply. This requirement supports our commitment to fast, fair and efficient application processing.”

Previously, to prove language ability in French or English, applicants could either submit an independent, third-party test (the IELTS for English or the TEF for French) or a written submission to a visa officer. The written submission was intended for people whose first language is either English or French. However, many applicants whose first language was not English or French were taking advantage of the written submission. The submission wouldn’t adequately prove their ability and they would have to provide further evidence, leading to processing delays that could take months.

“We expect that applicants will have the language skills they claim on their application. Now, applicants in these categories will have only one opportunity to prove their language ability,” said Minister Kenney. “They can still make a written submission to a visa officer if they wish, but only once.”

“We strongly encourage applicants whose first language isn’t English or French to take a language test,” said Minister Kenney. “We don’t want immigrants to be surprised if their written submission doesn’t match their reported ability, and they don’t get the desired assessment.”

According to CIC, an immigrant’s English or French language ability is one of the strongest predictors of their success in the job market. Canadian Experience Class applicants must meet minimum language requirements based on the job they do. On a selection grid worth 100 points in total, Federal Skilled Workers can be awarded up to 24 points for their official language ability.

The end result of this change is that applicants seeking permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience classes should take the IELTS and/or TEF test prior to applying, unless their first language is English or French or they can provide compelling evidence to support their claim that they have sufficient language ability.

Today, Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the designation of Greece as a member
of the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”). Greece’s VWP designation represents a major step forward in the continued and long-standing economic and security partnership between the United States and Greece, reflecting more than two years of coordination between the two countries on Greece’s entry into VWP.

In accordance with the VWP designation process, DHS has determined that Greece complies with key security and information sharing requirements, such as: (1) enhanced law enforcement and security-related data sharing with the United States; (2) timely reporting of lost and stolen passports; and (3) the maintenance of high counter-terrorism, law enforcement, border control, aviation and document security standards. In turn, Greek citizens will be permitted to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

With this announcement, Greece joins the 35 nations already participating in VWP, established as a pilot program in 1986 and made permanent on October 30, 2000. Like VWP travelers from other countries, Greek citizens will be required to apply for an Electronic System Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) online, prior to using the VWP.

According to the official announcement, Greek citizens will be able to visit the United States without visas under the VWP in approximately 30 days.

The first Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey was conducted in 2008, before the economic crisis began. The recently-published 2009 survey offers an opportunity to exam the shift in public opinion towards immigrants. Canada was also included in the survey last year.

Some of the key findings for Canada and the United States appear below.

Key Findings for Canada

1. Assessment of the Government’s management of immigration: Good or Fair (59%) / Poor or Very Poor (35%)
2. Public perception of what percentage of the population consists of immigrants: 37% (it is actually 20%)
3. Are there too many immigrants? Yes (24%)
4. Is immigration more of a problem than an opportunity? Yes (25%)
5. Do immigrants take away jobs from or bring down wages of native born workers? Take Jobs Away (32%) / Bring Down Wages (30%)
6. Do legal immigrants increase crime? Yes (29%)
7. Do illegal immigrants increase crime? Yes (51%)
8. Do you favor permanent over temporary migration? Yes (76%)

Overall, Canada’s score card was pretty good. Most Canadians think the Federal Government is doing a good or fair job of managing immigration.

Only 24% of Canadians thought that there were “too many immigrants” and only 25% of Canadians thought that immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity. Even with the current economic climate, a majority of Canadians did not blame immigrants for taking away jobs or bringing down the wages of native-born workers.

Although only 29% of Canadians believed that legal immigrants increased crime in the country, 51% did believe that illegal immigrants increased crime. However, the percentage was higher for all other countries included in the survey, with the exception of France.

In addition, Canadians overestimated the number of immigrants in the country. However, all countries included in the survey made this mistake.

75% of Canadians indicated that legal immigrants who come to the country should be given an opportunity to stay permanently. This would appear to run counter to the Federal Government’s move towards favoring temporary migration over permanent migration.

Key Findings for the United States

1. Assessment of the Government’s management of immigration: Good or Fair (34%) / Poor or Very Poor (63%)
2. Public perception of what percentage of the population consists of immigrants: 35% (it is actually 14%)
3. Are there too many immigrants? Yes (48%)
4. Is immigration more of a problem than an opportunity? Yes (54%)
5. Do immigrants take away jobs from or bring down wages of native born workers? Take Jobs Away (44%) / Bring Down Wages (44%)
6. Do legal immigrants increase crime? Yes (23%)
7. Do illegal immigrants increase crime? Yes (58%)
8. Do you favor permanent over temporary migration? Yes (70%)

The United States clearly did far worse than Canada, although arguably not as badly as some other countries. A majority of Americans believe that the Federal Government is doing a poor or very poor job of managing immigration.

Americans also overestimated the number of immigrants in the country. However, as stated above, every country made this same error.

Almost half of Americans believed that there were too many immigrants in the country and more than half considered immigration to be more of a problem than an opportunity. Almost half of Americans also believed that immigrants took away jobs and reduced wages for native-born workers.

While only 23% of Americans believed that legal immigrants increased crime in the country, 58% thought that illegal immigrants did increase crime. However, this percentage was higher for all other countries included in the survey, with the exception of France and Canada.

Surprisingly, 70% of Americans favored giving legal immigrants who come to the country an opportunity to stay permanently. Of course, the current immigration system in the United States makes it very difficult for many legal workers and international students to seek permanent residence, even when there are no U.S. workers available.

The 2009 Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey is available here.

As previously reported, technical problems relating to the online Form DS-160 (the primary U.S. visa application form) have made it virtually impossible for foreign nationals to seek U.S. visas at consulates that have implemented the new form. Applicants were unable to submit Form DS-160 and consulates were refusing to accept visa applicants without it.

According to the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (“AILA”), the Visa Office continues to work on fixing the DS-160. In the meantime, it has announced that most consulates have temporarily resumed accepting the old Form DS-156s and Form DS-157s. Consular posts in Mexico using an Applicant Service Center cannot use the old form. However, as of March 4, 2010, AILA is not aware of any other posts refusing to accept the old forms.

Applicants with NIV appointments who cannot complete the DS-160 should check the post’s website to verify that the old forms will be accepted.

In November 2009, the Department of State announced that it would deploy the Form DS-160 web-based nonimmigrant visa application form worldwide by April 30, 2010. The Form DS-160 application form combines all information previously collected on the Form DS-156, Form DS-157, and Form DS-158 for appropriate applicants, and the Form DS-3052.

As the United States Consulates in Vancouver and Montreal were part of the initial pilot program, they have already been using Form DS-160 for some time. During the pilot program period, the web-based Form DS-160 was prone to timeouts and other technical difficulties.

Following the announcement that Form DS-160 would be deployed worldwide, many consular posts have now adopted the new Form DS-160. Unfortunately, this has resulted in even more technical problems.

At the present time, the online Form DS-160 is essentially unusable. Most (if not all) visa applicants are unable to complete their Form DS-160 online. Unfortunately, use of Form DS-160 is mandatory at consular posts that have adopted it and they will not issue a visa without one.

In response to this problem, the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association Department of State Liaison Committee has been in contact with the Visa Office regarding the Form DS-160 problem and has urged that all consulates immediately resume accepting the old visa application forms until the problem is solved. However, there is no word yet on what DOS will do to resolve this issue.

Since the end of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, several foreign spectators have now filed refugee claims. Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials said that the seven foreign nationals, whom they can’t identify because of privacy laws, stayed behind after the Olympics ended.

More than 5,500 athletes and officials were accredited for the Vancouver Games and officials expect more of them to surface as claimants during the coming weeks. Typically, claims surface as athletes and officials begin to return home and as the temporary resident status of spectators begin to expire.

Officials said some of the claimants entered Canada from the U.S. by posing as spectators or family members of those participating in the Olympics. Refugee claimants are not rare for international sporting tournaments.

It can take a year or more for refugee cases to be determined by the Immigration and Refugee Board. While waiting for their cases to be decided, applicants are entitled to work and receive health care.

Mr. Jason Kenny, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, says that the seven people who have claimed refugee status after coming to watch the Olympics are from Hungary, Russia and Japan. He also stated that it is “ridiculous” someone from Japan could make that claim and says its a sign the system has broken down.

In a statement issued on February 28, 2010, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenny commented on the recent ruling of the Federal Court, dismissing Mr. Nasoh Raslan’s appeal of his citizenship denial. It is considered somewhat unusual for the Immigration Minister to comment on these types of cases. However, in his statement, Mr. Kenney called the decision in the case of the Syrian immigrant “an unmitigated victory for the rule of law.”

Following the advice of an immigration consultant, Mr. Raslan, a Montreal (Quebec) resident, falsely claimed that his address was in Mississauga (Ontario) because processing was faster than in Quebec. He alleged that he lived in an apartment in Mississauga but the citizenship officer noticed that Mr. Raslan had offered two different apartment numbers for his address on two separate documents. Further investigation revealed that Raslan’s home phone number had been used by 62 other citizenship applicants and that his mailing address had been used by 127 applicants.

When Mr. Raslan appeared before a citizenship judge in October 2008, he maintained that he lived at the Mississauga address and presented a lease agreement to support his claim. The Citizenship Judge ruled that Mr. Raslan was not credible and had not met the necessary residency requirement. Mr. Raslan appealed the decision of the Citizenship Judge to the Federal Court.

The Federal Court found that Mr. Raslan “knowingly and wilfully embarked on a course of conduct to deceive the Citizenship Court concerning his true residence in Canada for the purpose of jumping the queue. He falsified his citizenship application to obtain an advantage which was not his in order thus to obtain a fundamental right – Canadian citizenship.” The Federal Court then dismissed Mr. Raslan’s appeal.

Mr. Raslan’s affidavit filed with the Federal Court said, “I now know that I definitely did not do the right thing but at the time, I thought that applying through Mississauga was simply a common and small stretch to the rules, and I was exhausted by all the applications and the complications so far.” Mr. Raslan was making his third citizenship application since arriving in Canada with his family in August 1999.

In Federal Court, Mr. Raslan’s lawyer argued that his client’s transgression was a “technical” one since he had met the Citizenship Act requirement to maintain a physical presence in Canada for three out of four years. But Judge Lemieux said he could not ignore Mr. Raslan’s lies since to do so would only encourage others to falsify their documents. Mr. Raslan retains his status as a permanent resident of Canada.

Immigration consultants have become a subject of discussion recently. We previously reported that there are more illegal immigration consultants than registered members of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. In addition, we reported that the the RCMP is currently investigating allegations of alleged fraud by immigration consultants in Canada.