Denied PR after 7 year wait and asked to leave Canada despite entire family now PR in Canada

[Brylowski]

Has anyone had a similar situation?:

My girlfriend, whose brother applied her for PR some 7 years ago, had just received a letter informing her that she was denied PR status because she was no longer a student or dependent due to being over 23 years of age. When she applied, she was in first-year university in Canada (where she paid foreigner tuition of upwards of $100,000 CAD for a Bachelors) and did not expect the response to take 7 years. Now, we are engaged to be married and her entire family (mother, father, two brothers) are all here and have their PR, but the government are asking her to leave! She has nowhere to go back to! And Venezuela is very dangerous, and her family doesn't live there. Im seriously worried for her and don't know what to do.

We were advised to get married asap and because she doesn't want any chance of having a bad record, she wants to follow the request to leave (in 30 days!!) the country. She will likely go to Mexico as Venezuela is too dangerous. They are treating her like some criminal despite her being a lawyer from Venezuela, having followed all the rules and paying extortionist tuition rates, and having the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. This is a tragedy. Can someone please advise?

I'm reading horror stories that once she leaves, to reapply for sponsorship after we get married, it could take another year before she's able to return. Is this true? Is there a faster way to get her back to Canada? Or perhaps there's a route that avoid leaving the country altogether?

Any advice is very much appreciated.

For the record, I am a Canadian citizen and we are engaged to be married.

 

[WhiteWalker89]

My girlfriend, whose brother applied her for PR some 7 years ago, had just received a letter informing her that she was denied PR status because she was no longer a student or dependent due to being over 23 years or age. When she applied, she was first-year university in Canada (where she paid foreigner tuition of upwards of $100,000 CAD for a Bachelors) and did not expect it to take 7 years. Now, we are engaged to be married and her entire family (mother, father, two brothers) are all here and have their PR, but they are asking her to leave! She has nowhere to go back to! And Venezuela is very dangerous, and her family doesn't live there. Im seriously worried for her and don't know what to do.

We were advised to get married asap and because she doesn't want any chance of having a bad record, she wants to follow the request to leave (in 30 days!!) the country. She will likely go to Mexico as Venezuela is too dangerous. They are treating her like some criminal despite her being a lawyer from Venezuela, having followed all the rules and paying extortionist tuition rates, and having the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. This is a tragedy. Can someone please advise?

I'm reading horror stories that once she leaves, to reapply for sponsorship after we get married, it could take another year before she's able to return. Is this true? Is there a faster way to get her back to Canada? Or perhaps there's a route that avoid leaving the country altogether?

Any advice is very much appreciated.

For the record, I am a Canadian citizen and her fiancee.

Advice 1. Hire an experienced attorney right away to see what your options are.

Advice 2. Take my advice with a pinch of salt, as I am not an immigration attorney nor an expert in Canadian immigration laws, but from my own experience and application process I have researched and read a lot. I would suggest for you two to get married ASAP if that is what you really want, then send in an application for sponsorship as INLAND as soon as possible, she might be able to get implied status while her application is pending, meaning she would be protected from deportation while a decision is being made on her case, now I could be totally wrong here, just trying to help. Maybe some of the more experience members can pitch in.

Best of luck, and never give up.

 

[Brylowski]

Thanks WhiteWalker89. I appreciate your feedback, salt free. I've heard this suggestion from others so we are set to get married in a couple weeks. However, the notice to leave the country is 30 days from the date she received the letter. Given how slow they are to respond to anything, she would have to stay past the 30 days and thereby tarnish her record, which may compromise her PR application going forward. That's my concern.

• Anyone have any insight into this?
• If we get married, does it buy her more time? Or must she leave regardless?

 

[WhiteWalker89]

Thanks WhiteWalker89. I appreciate your feedback, salt free. I've heard this suggestion from others so we are set to get married in a couple weeks. However, the notice to leave the country is 30 days from the date she received the letter. Given how slow they are to respond to anything, she would have to stay past the 30 days and thereby tarnish her record, which may compromise her PR application going forward. That's my concern.

• Anyone have any insight into this?
• If we get married, does it buy her more time? Or must she leave regardless?

Could you get a quick consultation with an attorney?

Might shed some light on this.

 

[Brylowski]

I have one scheduled for monday, but that's 6 days away and time is ticking, especially given that they want her to leave in 30 days

 

[zardoz]

Your original post leaves some open questions.

1) How exactly did her brother "applied her for PR some 7years ago"? Was it as a dependent of a parent?

2) On exactly which date was the application accepted by CIC (as it was called then)?

3) How old was she on that date.

4) What exactly did the rejection letter say?

The eligibility requirements for an applicant and dependents is "locked in" on the date of application acceptance. If conditions applied on that date, they have to be maintained for the full period of the application process. That includes the "dependent in full time education" rule, if it was applicable at the time.

She should not risk being deported. That will cause all sorts of problems. If she is still "in status", perhaps applying for a visa extension as a visitor will buy some time, especially if done on paper, thereby invoking "implied status".

Yes, sponsorship could take a year or longer. Being married, especially at short notice will ring alarm bells with IRCC and provides no "status" benefits anyway.

 

[Brylowski]

Your original post leaves some open questions.

1) How exactly did her brother "applied her for PR some 7years ago"? Was it as a dependent of a parent?

2) On exactly which date was the application accepted by CIC (as it was called then)?

3) How old was she on that date.
4) What exactly did the rejection letter say?

The eligibility requirements for an applicant and dependents is "locked in" on the date of application acceptance. If conditions applied on that date, they have to be maintained for the full period of the application process. That includes the "dependent in full time education" rule, if it was applicable at the time.

She should not risk being deported. That will cause all sorts of problems. If she is still "in status", perhaps applying for a visa extension as a visitor will buy some time, especially if done on paper, thereby invoking "implied status".

Yes, sponsorship could take a year or longer. Being married, especially at short notice will ring alarm bells with IRCC and provides no "status" benefits anyway.

1)Yes, as a dependent child of her dad.
2)On June 24, 2011
3)24 years old
4)“Given your dependent xxxx was an overage dependent at the time of your lock in date, she was required to keep meeting the definition at the time of a final decision on your application. As per the information provided by you, these conditions, namely been continuously enrolled in and attending a post-secondary institution and actively pursuing a course of academic training on a full time basis, ceased in October 2014. As a result, your child does not meet the definition of a family member.
Since xxx is not your dependent child according to the Regulations, she cannot be included in your permanent resident visa application and she has been deleted from this application.”

She lost her status when she couldn’t renew her visa, she didn’t have a valid passport to do so at that moment. Her government didn’t have enough materials to issue passports and when she finally got it, the online system didnt allow her to restore her status. The 90 days to restore her status had expired.
I know, that is why I am so worried. However, our love is genuine and have no fear about providing evidence of it.

Thank you very much for all your help. It means a lot.

 

[mikeymyke]

The fact that her entire family is in Canada might set off alarm bells because they're considered "pull factors" for her to want to immigrate to Canada.

If your engagement was shortly after she got this refusal letter, that could set off alarm bells as well, and you need to show them that your engagement/marriage is for love and not to try to delay deportation or keep her status

 

[scylla]

1)Yes, as a dependent child of her dad.
2)On June 24, 2011
3)24 years old
4)“Given your dependent xxxx was an overage dependent at the time of your lock in date, she was required to keep meeting the definition at the time of a final decision on your application. As per the information provided by you, these conditions, namely been continuously enrolled in and attending a post-secondary institution and actively pursuing a course of academic training on a full time basis, ceased in October 2014. As a result, your child does not meet the definition of a family member.
Since xxx is not your dependent child according to the Regulations, she cannot be included in your permanent resident visa application and she has been deleted from this application.”

She lost her status when she couldn’t renew her visa, she didn’t have a valid passport to do so at that moment. Her government didn’t have enough materials to issue passports and when she finally got it, the online system didnt allow her to restore her status. The 90 days to restore her status had expired.
I know, that is why I am so worried. However, our love is genuine and have no fear about providing evidence of it.

Thank you very much for all your help. It means a lot.

It sounds like she was correctly refused. She was required to remain in school full time without breaks from the time the application was submitted until it was approved.

Does she have a valid passport now? You cannot sponsor her without her having a valid passport.