Visitor Record (Visa) Extention REFUSAL!!!

[Ravensheila]

Hello Friends,

We really need your help and advice!!! My GF has a British passport and came to visit me in Canada on April 25, 2012 and she was granted a 1 month Visitor Record. We applied for an extension to Vegreville, AB on May 5, 2012 (before her visitor status expired). Unfortunately we got a letter back on July 10, 2012 stating that our application for a request of an extension has been refused due to ‘I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of the act and regulations’ and she has been asked to leave ‘immediately’. In addition we also got a blue Voluntary departure form which she has to submit to CBSA upon departure.
Needless to say we both are devastated and very disturbed!!!
We both were really confident on our application and we provided all the necessary documentation to confirm that she will be leaving after a period of 6 months.

We will be extremely grateful to you all if you can tell us,

1) Is there any option for us to send in a second application with more details?
2) Try the restoration of status option?
3) When does she have to leave Canada by (days?)?
4) If she leaves how soon can she come back into Canada and will the refusal of extension affect her future entry into Canada?
5) Is it advisable to go to USA for couple of weeks and try to Enter Canada again?

 

[truesmile]

Yes, I'd even say just exit Canada to the U.S. for ONE day! You will have done what they ask, that is "leave". Come back in the next day and get another one-month visitor visa. Whatever they say to that, they would say to "a couple of weeks" also.

 

[misskay]

Do you (or your girlfriend) currently have a permanent residence application in process?

 

[Ravensheila]

Yes I am a Permanent Resident in Canada and she is British just visiting me.

 

[CharlieD10]

1. No.
2. You can try that, you have up to 90 days after current status expires to try for restoration.
3. The voluntary departure order should indicate, I believe it may be 30 days at the most.
4. I don't know, and yes. She will now be scrutinized more closely, because she was refused an extension.
5. I doubt it. She entered the country and was allowed in for less than the normal visitor is allowed. That means her intentions were questioned from the get-go. She applied for and was denied an extension on that visitor record, because the doubt was not allayed by whatever documents you submitted with the application. For her to leave and then try to re-enter the country a short time thereafter means she wants to stay in Canada, so it basically affirms that they were correct to question her intentions. She risks being refused entry and even being excluded from entering for a time.

 

[Ravensheila]

Thank you so much CharlieD10.

so am I correct to say that:

1) Even though we have been refused an extension we can try the restoration option and she can continue staying in Canada without any adverse consequences till we get a reply?

2) The voluntary departure form just says 'immediately', but doesn't specify any time / # of days, so is 30 days reasonable?

Please advise, Thanks.

 

[CharlieD10]

I don't know about no adverse consequences, I just know what the guide says about a restoration:

Restoration of status

You may seek restoration within 90 days after your status as a visitor, student or worker has been lost, if you have only failed to comply with one or more of the following conditions:

You lost status because you remained in Canada longer than the period authorized for your stay (but not longer than 90 days).

The rest of the info on restoration is here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5551ETOC.asp

Immediately is what they said, I just speculated on the 30 days because I know a voluntary departure order can turn into a deportation order if not complied with within 30 days (from reading refugee cases, which doesn't apply in your case). She is without status at the moment, so it would be in her best interests to comply with what they said, which was the "immediately".

 

[computergeek]

You should review ENF 10 "Departures" as well as ENF 6 "Review of Reports under A44(1)"

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf10-eng.pdf
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf06-eng.pdf

The specifics of the type of departure order will depend upon the form that she was sent, however it is quite likely that it will turn into a deportation order

ENF 10 says:

A foreign national who is the subject of a departure order must leave Canada within 30 days of
the departure order becoming enforceable. Failure to physically depart Canada within the 30-day
applicable period and to meet the criteria for a removal order to become enforced under
R240(1)(a) to (c) (see ENF 11, section 12) will result in the departure order becoming a
deportation order under R224(2).

and

10.4. Failure to comply with a departure order
If a person fails to depart by the applicable date, the departure order will automatically become a
deportation order under R224(2). In these cases, officers should:
• initiate a priority investigation;
• if the person is not located, issue a warrant under A55(1) for removal;
• initiate entry into the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC),
• arrest the person for removal;
• detain the person; and
• remove the person.
For further procedures on apprehension, arrest and detention, see ENF 7, section 15 and ENF 20

So my reading is that she really must leave within 30 days. Failure to do so is likely to lead to her departure order turning into a deportation order and once deported she will have a difficult time returning to Canada ever in the future (likely requiring an ARC).

You might also wish to order the FOSS notes for her application to find out why they rejected her request.

I don't see anything in the enforcement manuals that suggests she can properly stay while trying to obtain a restoration of status - and if wrong, she risks being deported, in which case she will need an ARC to ever return back to Canada (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/arc.asp)

 

[Ravensheila]

Thanks for your concern CG & Charlie,

I guess I am just waiting for the answer for whether I can apply for restoration of status for her after the extension request has been refused. That's my last option if it is even an option. Maybe since no one has a definite answer, I can call immigration Canada and find out. Cause the restoration link is not to specific about my question.

 

[Ravensheila]

any idea anyone?

 

[scylla]

Sure - she can try applying for restoration. But given she has been issued a departure order - I think her chances of approval are nil.

Also, the departure order (that turns into a deportation order in 30 days) takes priority over applying for restoration. Meaning that applying for restoration does not protect her from being removed from Canada by officials once the departure order turns into a deportation order on August 10th (or 8th? or 9th).

I think you would be insane to risk all of this and try for restoration. Departure order = it's time to leave and go home. You do not want to end up with a deportation situation. This will create massive complications for anything you want to do in the future.

If I were in your shoes, I would get my girlfriend on a plane back home asap.

If you're considering doing anything other than that - see a good immigration lawyer immediately.