Spousal Sponsorship Application Review Service

[Ironman12]

Hi there,

We are planning to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. We have prepared the application and all the supporting documents but before we send it out we would like to have a professional to review it and give us feedback. We have been looking on the internet for a consultant/lawyer that could help but most firm don't offer application review services.
Can someone refer me a consultant or a lawyer that offer this service? It will be great if the firm is located in the great Montreal area.

Thanks

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi there,

We are planning to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. We have prepared the application and all the supporting documents but before we send it out we would like to have a professional to review it and give us feedback. We have been looking on the internet for a consultant/lawyer that could help but most firm don't offer application review services.
Can someone refer me a consultant or a lawyer that offer this service? It will be great if the firm is located in the great Montreal area.

Thanks

Moderators of the forum, Cohen Immigration Law, are in Montreal and one of the best. Click on their link at the top of the page.

 

[scylla]

Hi there,

We are planning to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. We have prepared the application and all the supporting documents but before we send it out we would like to have a professional to review it and give us feedback. We have been looking on the internet for a consultant/lawyer that could help but most firm don't offer application review services.
Can someone refer me a consultant or a lawyer that offer this service? It will be great if the firm is located in the great Montreal area.

Thanks

To the best of my knowledge, a lawyer will not provide this service. A lawyer will only take on the management of the entire application. Reach out to the firm that pays for this forum and ask. Perhaps I'm wrong about this

IMO you would need to go with a consultant. However I'm not sure I would trust a consultant.

 

[Ponga]

Hi there,

We are planning to apply for inland spousal sponsorship. We have prepared the application and all the supporting documents but before we send it out we would like to have a professional to review it and give us feedback. We have been looking on the internet for a consultant/lawyer that could help but most firm don't offer application review services.
Can someone refer me a consultant or a lawyer that offer this service? It will be great if the firm is located in the great Montreal area.

Thanks

While it is a scary and arduous task, it's not something that usually requires a lawyer or consultant UNLESS you have real concerns/issues that you need help with. Dig into the treads/posts here (especially ones from others from the applicant's country) to see if you find similarities with your situation. You can also provide more information to this thread so that those of us that have already `gotten off the ride', can provide feedback/suggestions.

FYI, even if you are in Canada, you can submit an Outland application, which (at one time) was usually processed faster.

 

[Ironman12]

While it is a scary and arduous task, it's not something that usually requires a lawyer or consultant UNLESS you have real concerns/issues that you need help with. Dig into the treads/posts here (especially ones from others from the applicant's country) to see if you find similarities with your situation. You can also provide more information to this thread so that those of us that have already `gotten off the ride', can provide feedback/suggestions.

FYI, even if you are in Canada, you can submit an Outland application, which (at one time) was usually processed faster.

Thank you for the suggestion.
We do have a concern. PA is out of status and have worked without authorization. Although we know that there is a public policy exempting applicants without status, we are worried that this will have an impact as we disclosed on the application all the employer that PA worked for.

 

[Ponga]

Thank you for the suggestion.
We do have a concern. PA is out of status and have worked without authorization. Although we know that there is a public policy exempting applicants without status, we are worried that this will have an impact as we disclosed on the application all the employer that PA worked for.

You absolutely did the right thing! Had you not, you ran the risk of being denied. Not because of the unauthorized work, but because of misrepresentation, for which IRCC has a zero tolerance policy.

 

[Ironman12]

You absolutely did the right thing! Had you not, you ran the risk of being denied. Not because of the unauthorized work, but because of misrepresentation, for which IRCC has a zero tolerance policy.

Has anyone ever been challenged by IRCC on a spousal sponsorship application only because PA has worked without authorization?

 

[Ironman12]

Moderators of the forum, Cohen Immigration Law, are in Montreal and one of the best. Click on their link at the top of the page.

thanks for the suggestion, I already contacted them but they don't offer the review service.

 

[Ponga]

Has anyone ever been challenged by IRCC on a spousal sponsorship application only because PA has worked without authorization?

Not quite sure what you mean by `challenged by IRCC', but the fact is that the PA did work without authorization, which others here have reported as well and it did NOT impact their PR approval. What could a lawyer do that you haven't already done? Write something on their letterhead saying that they can explain why the PA worked without authorization. You have already disclosed this information and hopefully included a brief explanation why. Again, it's the honesty that IRCC ultimately cares about, but I am not discounting the fact that it was a mistake on the part of the PA to work without authorization.

Perhaps these will help:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/spouse-overstayed-and-worked-illegally.666958/

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/out-of-status-lesbian-who-worked-illegally-need-help.574680/

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/out-of-status-work.578456/#post-7171276

 

[Ponga]

More info that may be helpful:
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf

This outlines the entire process of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class sponsorship (Inland application)
See bottom of page 31- and pages 64-67.

What is “lack of status” under the public policy?
For the purposes of the spousal public policy (see Appendix A), persons with a “lack of status” refers to those in the following situations:


persons who have overstayed a visa, visitor record, work permit, study permit or
temporary resident permit;

persons who have worked or studied without being authorized to do so as prescribed by
the Act;

persons who have entered Canada without a visa or other document required by the Regulations;

-etc.-

So, working without authorization and overstaying as a visitor, both fall under the public policy. The fact that the PA has 2 of these, in and of itself, doesn't seem to indicate that the applicant will be refused. Having an approved sponsor and proving to/convincing IRCC that the relationship is genuine, are by far the two biggest pieces of the puzzle, because without either one, the applicant would be refused. Disclosing the unauthorized work is also very much an important piece, too.

[EDIT]
Since the PA does not have legal status, skip the previous suggestion of considering an Outland application (from within Canada). The public policy does not apply to an Outland applicant (in Canada).

IMHO, time is an enemy for you because of the status issue. Please submit the application ASAP, because while there is the public policy...it is NOT a guarantee that a person without status will not be removed (although seemingly unlikely with an Inland application submitted).

Lastly, please clarify your previous post where you state that the unauthorized `employer' was listed, that the PA also answered truthfully if they had worked without authorization (I seem to recall that being a question in the application, but...it's `been a minute' since we went through this). Assume so, but just double checking.

 

[Ironman12]

More info that may be helpful:
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf

This outlines the entire process of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class sponsorship (Inland application)
See bottom of page 31- and pages 64-67.

What is “lack of status” under the public policy?
For the purposes of the spousal public policy (see Appendix A), persons with a “lack of status” refers to those in the following situations:


persons who have overstayed a visa, visitor record, work permit, study permit or
temporary resident permit;

persons who have worked or studied without being authorized to do so as prescribed by
the Act;

persons who have entered Canada without a visa or other document required by the Regulations;

-etc.-

So, working without authorization and overstaying as a visitor, both fall under the public policy. The fact that the PA has 2 of these, in and of itself, doesn't seem to indicate that the applicant will be refused. Having an approved sponsor and proving to/convincing IRCC that the relationship is genuine, are by far the two biggest pieces of the puzzle, because without either one, the applicant would be refused. Disclosing the unauthorized work is also very much an important piece, too.

[EDIT]
Since the PA does not have legal status, skip the previous suggestion of considering an Outland application (from within Canada). The public policy does not apply to an Outland applicant (in Canada).

IMHO, time is an enemy for you because of the status issue. Please submit the application ASAP, because while there is the public policy...it is NOT a guarantee that a person without status will not be removed (although seemingly unlikely with an Inland application submitted).

Lastly, please clarify your previous post where you state that the unauthorized `employer' was listed, that the PA also answered truthfully if they had worked without authorization (I seem to recall that being a question in the application, but...it's `been a minute' since we went through this). Assume so, but just double checking.

Thank you for your answer. And as an update, I went to see an immigration lawyer to review my "ready to submit application". She helped provide few tips on my cover letter. IMHO, I don't think I learned something new about my application by seeing a lawyer but I guess I needed to do it for my peace of mind.

For your last question, I was referring to the Schedule A Background form that the PA has to fill out. The PA has to mention his current activity and if he is employed he has to write the name of the company.