Hello all,
First I'd like to say hi as a new member to the forum and would like to say I have learned a lot from the questions and answers provided by all of you in these forums. A plethora of information indeed.
I will be try to be as simple and concise as possible but it is a unique situation that I require your expertise comments on so here we go. Please forgive me if some areas seem vague as this is from so long ago this is all I can recollect and remember.
I graduated from a Canadian university in Ontario back in June 2003. After that visited an immigration attorney/lawyer that some fellow colleagues at the time had recommended to me. Long story short he started my PR application as a "Humanitarian & Compassionate" case as he felt at that time it was best since I had just graduated from university and such. The open work permits and such had not come into effect until years later I believe (possibly 2006 onwards, I could be wrong).
After the initial application phase I think it was a period of 3-4 months before he got back to me saying that my application was filed and now since it is "under process" I may continue to live and work within Canada as any other person can. A quick note here, I had obtained a SIN number because during my degree I had secured some part time work on campus (this was allowed for international students at the time but a SIN was required to process payments, taxes, etc.). The immigration attorney said I could use the same SIN without issue and could find a job in my field and start working right away since now I was considered under what I understand to be "implied" status from reading the forums now.
Having said that I proceeded to find work in my field, IT since I had a Computer Science degree, and started working. I think I started working in Oct/Nov 2003. I went from one job to another, climbing the ladder so to speak up until the end of 2005. Every so often checking in with the immigration attorney to see what the status update was with my file, to which I would always get a response of please wait its still under process.
Starting 2006 I was beginning to suspect that something may not be right and started to do my own digging using the local MP office in my area. They somehow managed to get my file transferred from Alberta to Ontario I believe and said NOW some real progress will be made towards your application.
During that year I learned that the attorney I was using was not certified/accredited as an immigration attorney/lawyer as he did not show up on the list of representatives authorized to do such activity in Ontario. This information was available to the public. So I approached one from the list and gave them the above background.
She said that your only chance would be to secure a job offer and apply as a skilled worker and then somehow fast track the situation otherwise would have to leave by the time I was legally allowed to stay. At the time the only thing that gave me a peace of mind was that I had a student permit valid until the end of 2006 (student permits starting from back in 2003 to end of 2006). Now I started to become worried that things may not have progressed correctly as it seemed to me.
Unable to find a job offer in time I decided to voluntarily leave Canada before the end of the expiry of the student permit, for what that is worth. Not sure if it makes a difference at all. This was around September 2006.
Anyhow, after leaving Canada I was in communication with the MP office communicating back and forth and they said they would inform CIC that I had left the country and proceed from there. Apparently during this time a letter was sent to my previous known address on file in Canada, requesting me to appear for an interview appointment in November 2006. I only learned of this letter AFTER the interview date had passed.
Long story short some time in December 2006 upon checking the status of my immigration file on the CIC website I remember reading that since I had now left the country my original conditions for applying no longer apply and I would therefore have to apply for a new application from outside of Canada. It was not a rejection as I asked the MP office if this was the case and they confirmed it was not, just that my status had changed therefore the application was no longer valid.
Now...fast forward to 2017. Actually since then I have applied for visitor visas and visited Canada multiple times from 2013 to date. However, the weird thing is the UCI number is different on my visitor visas then it was for my previous student permits and the immigration file.
I created my EE profile earlier in 2017 and since then have received an ITA. Which brings me to my immigration history and previous PR file question. After reading the above, I would obviously have to answer 'Yes' to the question related to the previous PR file correct? Or no? Forgive my ignorance but this is why I had initially mentioned that this situation is unique. I'm not sure what the file number is supposed to be...my old client ID?
Secondly, say I do say Yes and provide my old client ID, I believe I have a lot of explaining to do in my Letter of Explanation (LOE) right?
Or is the fact that I have a different UCI number stating that I should not say yes to the previous PR file question because either it is no longer relevant because it is from more than 15 years ago?
Also, let's say you guys advise that I do indeed have to explain in the LOE everything mentioned above, how should I go about it? Should I mention more than I have mentioned above, add any specific statements to help me out?
I only have a copy of the original paper based application that the immigration attorney used to file on behalf of me. Since I have moved a lot I do not have a lot of supporting evidence either. Like those CIC updates on their website. There's nothing there under that old client ID anymore. I have found an email or to here and there between me and the MP office but those will not help as they are not that informational.
My additional list of concerns are:
- I worked without a work permit (although I thought at that time you were allowed to once you had implied status)
- This previous PR application will affect the decision and I may get rejected/banned etc. from Canada
- Should I seek legal counsel? (look how it turned out the first time around...just saying)
Additional info from my side that may be of use:
- I am married and my spouse's whole family, except her, have had PR for 3-4 years now and currently live and work in Canada
- Spouse didn't get PR because we got married prior to her whole family class PR being processed and being received (bad luck I guess)
- Worked from Oct/Nov 2003 to early 2005. This was paid work. Even filed taxes and all. After this I did not work but just did an internship until the end of 2005. This was not paid work and was more just to develop my skills and gain experience in the IT field. The organization was willing to hire me as an employee as soon as I received my PR. 2006 onward I just did volunteer work while looking for an actual job.
I apologize for the novel in advance but I really could use some advice on this particular scenario. How would one proceed? If any of you have any further questions before advising then please feel free to ask. This can be a learning lesson for all because I have not found anything similar to this on the forums (at least not yet and I have been reading these forums for a long long time).
Thank you guys in advance.
First I'd like to say hi as a new member to the forum and would like to say I have learned a lot from the questions and answers provided by all of you in these forums. A plethora of information indeed.
I will be try to be as simple and concise as possible but it is a unique situation that I require your expertise comments on so here we go. Please forgive me if some areas seem vague as this is from so long ago this is all I can recollect and remember.
I graduated from a Canadian university in Ontario back in June 2003. After that visited an immigration attorney/lawyer that some fellow colleagues at the time had recommended to me. Long story short he started my PR application as a "Humanitarian & Compassionate" case as he felt at that time it was best since I had just graduated from university and such. The open work permits and such had not come into effect until years later I believe (possibly 2006 onwards, I could be wrong).
After the initial application phase I think it was a period of 3-4 months before he got back to me saying that my application was filed and now since it is "under process" I may continue to live and work within Canada as any other person can. A quick note here, I had obtained a SIN number because during my degree I had secured some part time work on campus (this was allowed for international students at the time but a SIN was required to process payments, taxes, etc.). The immigration attorney said I could use the same SIN without issue and could find a job in my field and start working right away since now I was considered under what I understand to be "implied" status from reading the forums now.
Having said that I proceeded to find work in my field, IT since I had a Computer Science degree, and started working. I think I started working in Oct/Nov 2003. I went from one job to another, climbing the ladder so to speak up until the end of 2005. Every so often checking in with the immigration attorney to see what the status update was with my file, to which I would always get a response of please wait its still under process.
Starting 2006 I was beginning to suspect that something may not be right and started to do my own digging using the local MP office in my area. They somehow managed to get my file transferred from Alberta to Ontario I believe and said NOW some real progress will be made towards your application.
During that year I learned that the attorney I was using was not certified/accredited as an immigration attorney/lawyer as he did not show up on the list of representatives authorized to do such activity in Ontario. This information was available to the public. So I approached one from the list and gave them the above background.
She said that your only chance would be to secure a job offer and apply as a skilled worker and then somehow fast track the situation otherwise would have to leave by the time I was legally allowed to stay. At the time the only thing that gave me a peace of mind was that I had a student permit valid until the end of 2006 (student permits starting from back in 2003 to end of 2006). Now I started to become worried that things may not have progressed correctly as it seemed to me.
Unable to find a job offer in time I decided to voluntarily leave Canada before the end of the expiry of the student permit, for what that is worth. Not sure if it makes a difference at all. This was around September 2006.
Anyhow, after leaving Canada I was in communication with the MP office communicating back and forth and they said they would inform CIC that I had left the country and proceed from there. Apparently during this time a letter was sent to my previous known address on file in Canada, requesting me to appear for an interview appointment in November 2006. I only learned of this letter AFTER the interview date had passed.
Long story short some time in December 2006 upon checking the status of my immigration file on the CIC website I remember reading that since I had now left the country my original conditions for applying no longer apply and I would therefore have to apply for a new application from outside of Canada. It was not a rejection as I asked the MP office if this was the case and they confirmed it was not, just that my status had changed therefore the application was no longer valid.
Now...fast forward to 2017. Actually since then I have applied for visitor visas and visited Canada multiple times from 2013 to date. However, the weird thing is the UCI number is different on my visitor visas then it was for my previous student permits and the immigration file.
I created my EE profile earlier in 2017 and since then have received an ITA. Which brings me to my immigration history and previous PR file question. After reading the above, I would obviously have to answer 'Yes' to the question related to the previous PR file correct? Or no? Forgive my ignorance but this is why I had initially mentioned that this situation is unique. I'm not sure what the file number is supposed to be...my old client ID?
Secondly, say I do say Yes and provide my old client ID, I believe I have a lot of explaining to do in my Letter of Explanation (LOE) right?
Or is the fact that I have a different UCI number stating that I should not say yes to the previous PR file question because either it is no longer relevant because it is from more than 15 years ago?
Also, let's say you guys advise that I do indeed have to explain in the LOE everything mentioned above, how should I go about it? Should I mention more than I have mentioned above, add any specific statements to help me out?
I only have a copy of the original paper based application that the immigration attorney used to file on behalf of me. Since I have moved a lot I do not have a lot of supporting evidence either. Like those CIC updates on their website. There's nothing there under that old client ID anymore. I have found an email or to here and there between me and the MP office but those will not help as they are not that informational.
My additional list of concerns are:
- I worked without a work permit (although I thought at that time you were allowed to once you had implied status)
- This previous PR application will affect the decision and I may get rejected/banned etc. from Canada
- Should I seek legal counsel? (look how it turned out the first time around...just saying)
Additional info from my side that may be of use:
- I am married and my spouse's whole family, except her, have had PR for 3-4 years now and currently live and work in Canada
- Spouse didn't get PR because we got married prior to her whole family class PR being processed and being received (bad luck I guess)
- Worked from Oct/Nov 2003 to early 2005. This was paid work. Even filed taxes and all. After this I did not work but just did an internship until the end of 2005. This was not paid work and was more just to develop my skills and gain experience in the IT field. The organization was willing to hire me as an employee as soon as I received my PR. 2006 onward I just did volunteer work while looking for an actual job.
I apologize for the novel in advance but I really could use some advice on this particular scenario. How would one proceed? If any of you have any further questions before advising then please feel free to ask. This can be a learning lesson for all because I have not found anything similar to this on the forums (at least not yet and I have been reading these forums for a long long time).
Thank you guys in advance.
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