spousal sponsorship

[Riley Haas]

ok but even if someone were to be in a genuine relationship, what im trying to understand is how an immigration officer uses his/her discretion to determine if someone under the spousal sponsorship will be granted permanent residency or not?

The best answer to that is in that study you found and posted.

do you think that all immigration officers will be fair and just or does it depend on the individual at hand?

I think it's part of their job description to be "fair." I mean, you never know, but these people are operating in a highly regulated environment.

i guess what i really want to know is this, how can a married couple with one of the spouses having a case exactly like mine know or determine on their own if permanent residency will even be granted or not?

There's only one way to answer this question. And that's if you were married to a Canadian and they sponsored you. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and that won't change no matter how many times you ask.

other than immigration lawyers, what expert in this case in particular should i consult with who can tell me what the immigration officer will decide in a case where one spouse has been deported from the united states as a legal permanent resident for an aggravated felony if whether or not he or she will obtain permanent residency to canada or not?

Nobody can give you an exact answer. They can give your their best guess, based on their experience. (For example, we have been doing sponsorships for over a decade, so our consultants have a pretty good idea of what will work and what won't.) Anyone who claims they can tell you exactly what is going to happen is lying to you. Nobody other than lawyers and consultants are allowed to give paid advice. There may be non-profits out there who can give free advice, but their advice would also be recommendations, not promises. Nobody can know, for sure, what the officer will decide. They can just make educated guesses.

 

[richard.williams]

then lets just say for the sake of argument that i had a friend who happened to be an immigration officer, would they tell me before paperwork was ever even submitted or not? what is the percentage of spousal sponsorships that get denied vs. ones that do get approved? so then what youre saying that its simply a matter of trial and error then in your opinion??????????????? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

It's not exactly trial and error. There are clear guidelines and consultants and lawyers know them better than anyone else because they have submitted many applications rather than just one.

I have no idea whether or not your hypothetical friend would hypothetically tell you about your hypothetical application.

I don't know the percentages. StatsCan might. Our rate of success is close to 100% (I don't know the exact figure) and if you take into account appeals, it's very nearly 100%. But that's because we don't take on all applications. Yours, for example, we would decline to submit, knowing what we know now. (Actually, we wouldn't have a choice there. Our consultants would not be allowed to submit your application knowing what we know, in order to comply with the licensing body.)

 

[richard.williams]

well if it isnt trial and error, what are you saying then??????? that its a calculated risk then????????????? if i didnt have the criminal record from the u.s. do you think that my chances would be better than in your opinion?????? what if i had never lived in the u.s. and also not have that criminal record from the u.s. as well???? if its not a matter of trial and error then what are you saying then???? if lets say a couple got married and the husband sponsored his wife from korea lets say and their application was denied for whatever reason, then what are they to do with their marriage then if she cannot come to canada to join her husband then? will the marriage be in vain then????? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

well if it isnt trial and error, what are you saying then??????? that its a calculated risk then?

"Trial and error" would imply that nobody knows anything - that we just submit applications and then, when they're rejected, we submit again. That is not how this works. If your application is rejected you may appeal (in certain circumstances) but that's it. There's no trying again.
There's no "calculated risk" aspect either, for people in genuine relationships.

if i didnt have the criminal record from the u.s. do you think that my chances would be better than in your opinion?

The issue is whether or not the relationship - a hypothetical one in your "case" - is genuine. Your criminal record would have to be addressed first, as I said before. It's a separate application. Someone without a criminal record would have a better chance, sure, as they wouldn't have to address that. Because, first, you have to deal with the criminal rehabilitation application, that, for someone who was in an actual, genuine relationship with a Canadian, that would be more of a hurdle than the sponsorship.

I really don't know how I can help you. You keep asking the variations of the same question and I give you variations of the same answer. It's all moot anyway, since you don't have a Canadian spouse.

 

[richard.williams]

let me ask you this then, why do i get the feeling that australia is less populated and therefore in more need to populate that continent vs. canada? look at this, http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/300- where on their government website do you see anything about criminal inadmissibility or marriage fraud like the one on canadas website????? doesnt that tell you something about situation in australia which might be different from the one in canada??????????? im trying to hint something at you about both countries. its almost as though australia is somewhat easier, you know what i mean? rsvp.

 

[richard.williams]

let me ask you something new then if youre willing to answer this question instead of the old one then. like a year ago or two, i was reading an article in a newspaper here in EL SALVADOR where a canadian company called maple leaf that processes meat like pork and beef wanted to hire foreign workers here to fill in a labor shortage up in canada for some reason. like maybe 100+ workers from EL SALVADOR were accepted and they left for canada after being hired by maple foods meat company that processes meat. if i were to get hired by maple foods and work for a two year contract and after that get married up in canada, does this improve my chances of getting permanent residency????? this is what i mean, http://hrbdf.org/case_studies/migrant-workers/migrant_workers/responsible_recruitment_of_foreign_workers.html#.Vbrv3kBjOiI

i guess what i wanna know is if a person who was deported from the united states for an aggravated felony under u.s. immigration laws because of intent to deliver a controlled substance was hired by maple foods and went to canada to work for a two year contract, can they obtain permanent residency or not? would this fall under the provincial program and if so, how do you think that they could obtain permanent residency assuming it was the provincial sponsorship program if at all?????????????????????? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

if i were to get hired by maple foods and work for a two year contract and after that get married up in Canada, does this improve my chances of getting permanent residency?

You would have to resolve your inadmissibility first - i.e. you would still need to deal with the criminal rehabilitation.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has been cracking down on the Temporary Foreign Worker program corruption but I have no idea whether or not that affects Maple Leaf Foods specifically. Basically, if they offer you a job, and they can prove to the government that they need to hire foreign workers, you can get a temporary work permit (provided, of course, you have already gotten your criminal rehabilitation).
At that point, it depends on the job and your location. In a few parts of the country, "semi skilled" work experience in Canada can be used towards permanent residence. But in most parts, you need "skilled" experience. So if you were doing something simple for them, you would still need to find a different avenue to permanent residence.

i guess what i wanna know is if a person who was deported from the united states for an aggravated felony under u.s. immigration laws because of intent to deliver a controlled substance was hired by maple foods and went to Canada to work for a two year contract, can they obtain permanent residency or not?

You still have to resolve your inadmissibility first. You would not be eligible for a temporary work permit without first resolving that (unless you were somehow granted a temporary resident permit as well, which would only delay having to apply for criminal rehabilitation).

would this fall under the provincial program and if so, how do you think that they could obtain permanent residency assuming it was the provincial sponsorship program if at all?

That depends entirely on the province you would be working and living in.

 

[richard.williams]

ok lets say that my inadmissibility gets solved first and then i get hired by maple foods. i work for them for a two year contract, could then i apply for permanent residency or would getting married after those two years be more in my favor assuming that maybe there were no other venues? when you say other venues, what do you mean specifically? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

Marriage would help you if you were in an "unskilled" or "semi-skilled" occupation in most places. With a "skilled" occupation, you could apply for permanent residence after one year.
http://www.immigroup.com/canadian-immigration

 

[richard.williams]

what do you mean marriage would help if in unskilled labor? first criminal inadmissibility right? then get hired by maple foods? after the two year contract, then marriage? do you think that it would be at least like an 80% chance if not more that permanent residency could be granted in this fashion or are you just making an educated guess? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

You said

ok lets say that my inadmissibility gets solved first and then i get hired by maple foods. i work for them for a two year contract, could then i apply for permanent residency or would getting married after those two years be more in my favor assuming that maybe there were no other venues? when you say other venues, what do you mean specifically?

That's what I was answering. Of course, you need to get your inadmissibility resolved first.

If you're working on a temporary work permit in an unskilled job, you will not be able to use that work experience to apply for Permanent Residence (PR). If you are working in Canada on a temporary work permit in a "semi skilled" occupation, you might be able to apply for PR, depending on where you live in Canada, but, again, you are likely not eligible to apply. So marriage would be one of the few options available to you, to get PR.

I can't give you odds or anything like that, as I've stated multiple times. There are no guarantees.

 

[richard.williams]

well, let me ask you this then, i got deported in january 2012, how long does it take for criminal inadmissibility? 5 or 10 years? also, something else that i forgot to mention was that i have a degree in legal interpretation and translation from a public state university in california. if an employer decided to hire me would the criminal inadmissibility go first and if so, what then????? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

You have to wait 5 or 10 years before you apply, depending on the charge. In some severe cases, you are never eligible. Criminal inadmissibility, to my knowledge, is completely concerned with the criminal charges, not with the immigration-related results (I could be totally wrong - one of our consultants would know), so what matters is when you finished serving your sentence (time in jail, fines, probation, etc.) not when you were deported.

As I have told you over and over again, Criminal Inadmissibility needs to be resolved before anything else. You cannot immigrate to Canada if you are inadmissible.

 

[richard.williams]

when you say 5 or 10 years but in my case, which one is it? im confused here. rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

Well that depends on a lot of things. Remind me what the charge was again. (And the sentence.)

 

[richard.williams]

i got arrested in the state of texas for possession of cocaine which was like one kilo in an undercover sting operation by the sheriff after doing something dumb online and got probation rather than go to prison. my probation was originally 4 years but got like 2 only. had i been found guilty it would have been like 5 years in prison. you do the math unless you need more information. rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

A lot depends on how they "equivalate" the charge. The probation definitely helps make it seem less severe, but that's a lot of drugs. It's the sentence and the exact wording of the charges you ended up being sentenced to, rather than the deportation, that should be of the biggest concern in terms of criminal rehabilitation.

 

[richard.williams]

it was conspiracy to deliver drugs/intent to deliver 454 grams of cocaine in an undercover sting operation. how do canadian authorities get in contact with their american counterparts? would there be a way to determine more in this case? rsvp.

 

[Riley Haas]

American and Canadian authorities share all sorts of records. In Canada, such a crime would go into a national database that American authorities can view. I don't know exactly how it happens in the US.

In order to find more information you have to read the Canadian criminal code and find out how your charges compare to Canadian ones. Or you can hire someone to do it for you.