Parents Visitor Visa Issue Due to Negligence from the Representative

[turjo25]

Hello,

I am a permanent resident in Canada. My parents applied for a visitor visa to come and meet me here. They paid an agent through an agency to represent them and fill up their form, the agent made an error. He did not mention that my parents' visa had been refused by the USA earlier. The migration officer working on their application noticed this error and sent an email to my parents' email address to clarify it within 10 days or else risk a refusal and a ban for 5 years.

This agent seems completely inexperienced and clueless about this question and never asked my parents anything about their prior refusal from any other country. My elderly parents have very little knowledge of filling up visa application form online so they hired this agent and he got them into this situation. We are thinking about asking the agent to reply to the email sent by the migration officer and admit that he has made the error due to his inexperience and carelessness (which is the truth). But, we are afriad that the agent may not be willing to admit that it was his fault.

If he refuses to admit it was his fault, can my parents reply directly to the email sent by the migration officer and explain to them what happened? Or since the agent is my parents' representative, the only way to contact migration officer is through him only?

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Naturgrl]

Hello,

I am a permanent resident in Canada. My parents applied for a visitor visa to come and meet me here. They paid an agent through an agency to represent them and fill up their form, the agent made an error. He did not mention that my parents' visa had been refused by the USA earlier. The migration officer working on their application noticed this error and sent an email to my parents' email address to clarify it within 10 days or else risk a refusal and a ban for 5 years.

This agent seems completely inexperienced and clueless about this question and never asked my parents anything about their prior refusal from any other country. My elderly parents have very little knowledge of filling up visa application form online so they hired this agent and he got them into this situation. We are thinking about asking the agent to reply to the email sent by the migration officer and admit that he has made the error due to his inexperience and carelessness (which is the truth). But, we are afriad that the agent may not be willing to admit that it was his fault.

If he refuses to admit it was his fault, can my parents reply directly to the email sent by the migration officer and explain to them what happened? Or since the agent is my parents' representative, the only way to contact migration officer is through him only?

Thank you for any suggestions.

IRCC has clear statements that if you use an agent, you are still responsible for the information. Your parents signed the form and are responsible for all that is submitted. IRCC doesn’t care that the agent made a mistake as it is up to the applicant to correct missing or incorrect information. Agent doesn’t need to admit fault except to your parents. Your parents can submit a statement explaining that they forgot to include the information, and apologize for it. Parents take responsibility for the error and they cannot blame the agent.

So three things may happen 1) parents get a 5 year ban, 2) ban overturned but TRV refused so getting future TRVs may be difficult, or 3) ban overturned and get TRV.

 

[turjo25]

IRCC has clear statements that if you use an agent, you are still responsible for the information. Your parents signed the form and are responsible for all that is submitted. IRCC doesn’t care that the agent made a mistake as it is up to the applicant to correct missing or incorrect information. Agent doesn’t need to admit fault except to your parents. Your parents can submit a statement explaining that they forgot to include the information, and apologize for it. Parents take responsibility for the error and they cannot blame the agent.

So three things may happen 1) parents get a 5 year ban, 2) ban overturned but TRV refused so getting future TRVs may be difficult, or 3) ban overturned and get TRV.

Thank you for your reply. So, shall my parents send a generic reply stating that they have made a mistake and apologize for it? I am just thinking how convinced the migration officer might be if they see that my parents have made a mistake of forgetting where they applied only 4 years ago. It does not make any sense. Even if they do not blame this agent, should not they at least give a reason for how it happened or what resulted into this mistake? The only mistake that I can think about is that they trusted too much into this agent's ability and did not check his work thoroughly.

Is it okay if in the explanation reply, they mention what led to this mistake (that is how agents made the error due to his inexperience and my parents depended too much on another person) and then my parents admit their fault of relying too much on another person and apologize for it? I just want the migration officer to know the actual reason in details in case my parents ever re-apply.

 

[Naturgrl]

Thank you for your reply. So, shall my parents send a generic reply stating that they have made a mistake and apologize for it? I am just thinking how convinced the migration officer might be if they see that my parents have made a mistake of forgetting where they applied only 4 years ago. It does not make any sense. Even if they do not blame this agent, should not they at least give a reason for how it happened or what resulted into this mistake? The only mistake that I can think about is that they trusted too much into this agent's ability and did not check his work thoroughly.

Is it okay if in the explanation reply, they mention what led to this mistake (that is how agents made the error due to his inexperience and my parents depended too much on another person) and then my parents admit their fault of relying too much on another person and apologize for it? I just want the migration officer to know the actual reason in details in case my parents ever re-apply.

They have to be honest. For most PFLs, you hire a Canadian immigration lawyer because your parents are facing a 5 year ban. So you may want to pay to have a lawyer draft the letter. If they are not confident in their response then hire a lawyer and pay thousands.

They cannot blame the agent as it is very clear from IRCC that you are responsible for all the information in your application and you sign it off. It is their fault. IRCC doesn’t want to read that they are blaming someone else. Did they tell the agent about the refusal? Even if they did, it doesn’t matter.

 

[Canada2020eh]

Thank you for your reply. So, shall my parents send a generic reply stating that they have made a mistake and apologize for it? I am just thinking how convinced the migration officer might be if they see that my parents have made a mistake of forgetting where they applied only 4 years ago. It does not make any sense. Even if they do not blame this agent, should not they at least give a reason for how it happened or what resulted into this mistake? The only mistake that I can think about is that they trusted too much into this agent's ability and did not check his work thoroughly.

Is it okay if in the explanation reply, they mention what led to this mistake (that is how agents made the error due to his inexperience and my parents depended too much on another person) and then my parents admit their fault of relying too much on another person and apologize for it? I just want the migration officer to know the actual reason in details in case my parents ever re-apply.

I would suggest that your parents use wording something like. "Due to a lack of communication between us and the agent, the USA refusal wasn't included in the application. We did not intentionally omit the refusal, it was an oversight on our part." Or something like that. As @Naturgrl said, do not try to put the blame onto the agent. Your parents are responsible for the docs provided in their app regardless of it being the agents fault. Don't talk about the agents inexperience or negligence, that sounds like they are trying to shift the blame away from themselves. They can certainly provide an explanation of the circumstances for the refusal.

They should handle this by themselves, submit the reply via web form ASAP, they were given a deadline to do it. I also suggest they get rid of the agent as their representative.

Edited to add, after canceling the agent to be their rep they are allowed to appoint another one. It could be you if you think you are able to do the job. I would not hire another agent to take over.

 

[turjo25]

They have to be honest. For most PFLs, you hire a Canadian immigration lawyer because your parents are facing a 5 year ban. So you may want to pay to have a lawyer draft the letter. If they are not confident in their response then hire a lawyer and pay thousands.

They cannot blame the agent as it is very clear from IRCC that you are responsible for all the information in your application and you sign it off. It is their fault. IRCC doesn’t want to read that they are blaming someone else. Did they tell the agent about the refusal? Even if they did, it doesn’t matter.

My parents informed the agent afterwards and he was surprised. The question is from section 2b) which reads something like, "regarding being previously refused a visa or permit, denied entry or ordered to leave Canada or any other country or territory." So, the agent told my parents that he assumed the question meant prior refusal from Canada only and not any other country.

Now the agent is suggesting to send a reply where my parents in first person admit that it was their mistake, and apologize for it and sign the letter and send it. My only gripe with it is that it's not believable. If sent something so simple, the migrant officer may mistakenly think that my parents were intentionally being dishonest which is not true. It feels so unfair that they were not even asked this question.

 

[turjo25]

I would suggest that your parents use wording something like. "Due to a lack of communication between us and the agent, the USA refusal wasn't included in the application. We did not intentionally omit the refusal, it was an oversight on our part." Or something like that. As @Naturgrl said, do not try to put the blame onto the agent. Your parents are responsible for the docs provided in their app regardless of it being the agents fault. Don't talk about the agents inexperience or negligence, that sounds like they are trying to shift the blame away from themselves. They can certainly provide an explanation of the circumstances for the refusal.

They should handle this by themselves, submit the reply via web form ASAP, they were given a deadline to do it. I also suggest they get rid of the agent as their representative.

Edited to add, after canceling the agent to be their rep they are allowed to appoint another one. It could be you if you think you are able to do the job. I would not hire another agent to take over.

In the inquiry email sent by the migration officer, they included an email address and asked to reply within 10 days. Today is the 8th day. Can my parents simply reply to this email address directly and include their UCI and Application Number in the email? Or does it have to be through the webform or the portal? The agent is asking them to send the letter to him and he will submit on their behalf. But, I want my parents to send it directly without contacting this agent as I have no faith in his ability. The agent made an account on behalf of my parents and submitted all the application through that. My elderly parents do not even know how to log in using their GC key and locked the account for 24 hours during their last try.

If I contact an immigration lawyer here in Canada, can they take over from here for my parents who are sitting in another country?

 

[Naturgrl]

My parents informed the agent afterwards and he was surprised. The question is from section 2b) which reads something like, "regarding being previously refused a visa or permit, denied entry or ordered to leave Canada or any other country or territory." So, the agent told my parents that he assumed the question meant prior refusal from Canada only and not any other country.

Now the agent is suggesting to send a reply where my parents in first person admit that it was their mistake, and apologize for it and sign the letter and send it. My only gripe with it is that it's not believable. If sent something so simple, the migrant officer may mistakenly think that my parents were intentionally being dishonest which is not true. It feels so unfair that they were not even asked this question.

They need to fire their agent. It says “any other country” so they needed to declare the US refusal. They need to be honest as @Canada2020eh said with that wording. How does the letter say to respond. They follow the instructions. It is day 8 so they don’t have much time. Once time has passed, then IRCC makes the call about a 5 year ban.

 

[Canada2020eh]

My parents informed the agent afterwards and he was surprised. The question is from section 2b) which reads something like, "regarding being previously refused a visa or permit, denied entry or ordered to leave Canada or any other country or territory." So, the agent told my parents that he assumed the question meant prior refusal from Canada only and not any other country.

Now the agent is suggesting to send a reply where my parents in first person admit that it was their mistake, and apologize for it and sign the letter and send it. My only gripe with it is that it's not believable. If sent something so simple, the migrant officer may mistakenly think that my parents were intentionally being dishonest which is not true. It feels so unfair that they were not even asked this question.

Put it out of your mind of blaming the agent. If they want to continue the process they should do as @Naturgrl and I suggest. If they don't believe your response they probably won't approve the TRV but if you don't submit a reply that gives an explanation and something IRCC wants to hear then you definitely won't get approval. Up to them and you what you decide to do.

 

[scylla]

In the inquiry email sent by the migration officer, they included an email address and asked to reply within 10 days. Today is the 8th day. Can my parents simply reply to this email address directly and include their UCI and Application Number in the email? Or does it have to be through the webform or the portal? The agent is asking them to send the letter to him and he will submit on their behalf. But, I want my parents to send it directly without contacting this agent as I have no faith in his ability. The agent made an account on behalf of my parents and submitted all the application through that. My elderly parents do not even know how to log in using their GC key and locked the account for 24 hours during their last try.

If I contact an immigration lawyer here in Canada, can they take over from here for my parents who are sitting in another country?

Yes, your parents can send the reply themselves. They do not need to go through the agent.

I'm not sure you have enough time to engage a lawyer at this point with just two days left. But yes, they can help someone in another country.

 

[turjo25]

Put it out of your mind of blaming the agent. If they want to continue the process they should do as @Naturgrl and I suggest. If they don't believe your response they probably won't approve the TRV but if you don't submit a reply that gives an explanation and something IRCC wants to hear then you definitely won't get approval. Up to them and you what you decide to do.

I get it, my parents cannot mention anything that sounds like they are blaming the agent. Can they at least mention that the agent never made them aware about that question about the refusal from other countries which is the source of this error? During the contact through a local immigration consultant, the have written it in the following way on behalf of my parents:

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience our application may have caused due to the error in our submission. The circumstances leading to this oversight were unintentional and primarily resulted from our lack of knowledge of Canadian visa applications. We deeply regret any confusion this may have caused.

I would like to clarify the circumstances surrounding this situation:

• Third-Party Involvement: My husband and I, both senior citizens, engaged the services of an agent through an agency to assist us in completing the visa application. Due to my husband’s work schedule as a Pathology Specialist and the agent's availability only during weekdays, we entrusted him with the task.
• Lack of Awareness: During our interactions with the agent, we were never informed about the specific question regarding previous visa refusals from other countries, which is the source of the error. We became aware of this critical question only after receiving your communication.
  We admitted that we misunderstood question 2b, thinking it pertained solely to visa refusals from Canada. This misunderstanding was a result of our lack of knowledge or awareness of Canadian visa applications.
• Genuine Intentions: I want to emphasize that our intent was never to provide inaccurate information or withhold any details that could affect our application negatively. We have always been law-abiding individuals and have strictly adhered to the rules and regulations of every country we have visited, including Canada.

 

[turjo25]

They need to fire their agent. It says “any other country” so they needed to declare the US refusal. They need to be honest as @Canada2020eh said with that wording. How does the letter say to respond. They follow the instructions. It is day 8 so they don’t have much time. Once time has passed, then IRCC makes the call about a 5 year ban.

What is the procedure of firing the agent? Like simply not going to the agent anymore? Or is there an official procedure for it? My parents have the gc key login information and the password with them and the email from the migration officer contains direct email address. Can they just give it to another person to do it on their behalf? Or does that new person need to be appointed as the new representative?

 

[Naturgrl]

What is the procedure of firing the agent? Like simply not going to the agent anymore? Or is there an official procedure for it? My parents have the gc key login information and the password with them and the email from the migration officer contains direct email address. Can they just give it to another person to do it on their behalf? Or does that new person need to be appointed as the new representative?

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigration-citizenship-representative/change-cancel.html

 

[Naturgrl]

I get it, my parents cannot mention anything that sounds like they are blaming the agent. Can they at least mention that the agent never made them aware about that question about the refusal from other countries which is the source of this error? During the contact through a local immigration consultant, the have written it in the following way on behalf of my parents:

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience our application may have caused due to the error in our submission. The circumstances leading to this oversight were unintentional and primarily resulted from our lack of knowledge of Canadian visa applications. We deeply regret any confusion this may have caused.

I would like to clarify the circumstances surrounding this situation:

• Third-Party Involvement: My husband and I, both senior citizens, engaged the services of an agent through an agency to assist us in completing the visa application. Due to my husband’s work schedule as a Pathology Specialist and the agent's availability only during weekdays, we entrusted him with the task.
• Lack of Awareness: During our interactions with the agent, we were never informed about the specific question regarding previous visa refusals from other countries, which is the source of the error. We became aware of this critical question only after receiving your communication.
  We admitted that we misunderstood question 2b, thinking it pertained solely to visa refusals from Canada. This misunderstanding was a result of our lack of knowledge or awareness of Canadian visa applications.
• Genuine Intentions: I want to emphasize that our intent was never to provide inaccurate information or withhold any details that could affect our application negatively. We have always been law-abiding individuals and have strictly adhered to the rules and regulations of every country we have visited, including Canada.

Stop focusing and blaming the agent. First bullet, your parents are saying they let the agent do the work without reading any of the application. You parents were responsible to read all the questions. Second bullet, again putting blame on the agent and saying that agent didn’t tell them about the specific questions. Parents should have read all the questions. Third bullet, okay as they take responsibility.

 

[turjo25]

Stop focusing and blaming the agent. First bullet, your parents are saying they let the agent do the work without reading any of the application. You parents were responsible to read all the questions. Second bullet, again putting blame on the agent and saying that agent didn’t tell them about the specific questions. Parents should have read all the questions. Third bullet, okay as they take responsibility.

As it turns out the agent did not even fill up his name as the representative.