Work Permit Extension Denied and Employers LMIA Denied

[kelliS007]

Good morning,

I just have a couple questions regarding the place I work at. We have about 4 TFW's that have recently been refused an extension on their work permit and our company has also been refused an LMIA.

The associate that is dealing with this process seems to think there is grounds for appealing.

1. When they applied for the extension, the associate said there was an eight week processing time. I assume these are just estimations and cannot be assumed to be specific. At the time of application the unemployment rate was not as high as it is now and so that was one reason for the refusal.

2. We are being grouped in with FT. McMurray and so the associate thinks this is unfair.

Is there a chance the appeal process will work? We have resumes coming through the door like mad for people unemployed here, but being in an oil town, the employer is worried about the turnover rate. I don't think there has been any effort to hire local, other than seasonal work.

 

[scylla]

I assume you're asking about appealing the LMIA refusal (not the work permits). The work permit refusals obviously can't be appealed since they require approved LMIAs and were correctly refused. Make sure the 4 TFWs stop working immediately to avoid accumulating any undocumented work.

I'm not sure if there's a formal appeal process - however I believe you can informally request reconsideration.

Having said that, I don't really understand how you're going to prove you need foreign workers in the are resumes coming through the door like mad. A turnover rate is a future concern. What's going to be looked at when assessing the LMIA is current hiring conditions. If there's huge unemployment and tons of resumes coming in, I don't see how on earth you're going to justify the need to hire foreign workers. And if there's been no local hiring efforts - that makes your position even worse. It sounds to me like this battle was lost before you even started. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[kelliS007]

I'm not sure if the LMIA is expired or still active and the employer was trying for an extended or new LMIA, but it was resfused.

Now the associate that the company is dealing with is telling these TFWs that they can keep working because they are implied status, and she is appealing the refused work permit decision. Is that the wrong thing to tell them?

I'm not directly involved with the process but my husband has gone through this during his PR application, so I get asked questions sometimes.

If my employer asks for reconsideration, will he have to prove that we need these TFWs? I know when they reapplied for the extensions, we hired A LOT of people for the 80/20 split of Canadian versus TFWs and when Christmas season was over, they were all laid off.

 

[ozlis]

Unless they have a current permit extension in (which it looks like they don't), they don't currently have status implied or otherwise. From the info you have given, I would say that they shouldn't be working. The employer appealing a decision on LMIA has no impact on their immigration status - two separate departments.

In regards to getting a new LMIA - we have bases in Alberta including a couple of oil towns and there is not a chance that LMIA's would be approved in these areas right now. It is just the way of the market at the moment.

 

[scylla]

If their old work permits have already expired - they do not have implied status and are engaged in illegal work right now. They need to stop working immediately or they might create even bigger problems for themselves (if they are caught - they will have to wait out a six month ban before they will qualify to apply for a work permit again). They lost implied status as soon as the work permit extensions were refused.

As for whether the work permit extension refusals can be appealed or not - that depends on the status of the LMIAs. If the LMIAs were refused (per your first message) - appealing the work permit refusals is pointless.

 

[kelliS007]

What are these bases?

How would someone find out if they are working?

 

[ozlis]

What are these bases?

How would someone find out if they are working?

I work in recruitment for a construction company - we have several active sites in Alberta, sorry should have worded that better. If the employer puts the job ad up for a month, I can guarantee they will have in excess of 1000 applicants regardless of the role (I had a job up for two days and had 300 resumes my poor inbox still hasn't recovered).

It would be an issue when they go to get their next permit or leave and try to return - they are currently in the country with no status. Then the questions come about if they have been working, if they are honest then the answer is yes, if they said no, they would need to be prepared to prove it or risk being banned. Either way, they need to restore their status to visitor in the meantime so at the very least they can stay here legally while this is all sorted out.

 

[kelliS007]

I'm worried because I feel like the associate (A.J) is giving the employer the wrong information to give these TFWs. And no one is taking me seriously when I say there can be pretty steep implications if the associate is wrong.

I'm a third party in this, so I can't go directly to the employer and tell him that I know what's going on. But with the economy here in Cold Lake and being a retail company, I don't think the outcome is going to be good for them.

 

[ozlis]

Tough situation, I know you would want to help. At the end of the day it is the responsibility of the visa/permit holder to understand the conditions that they are in the country under - regardless of the information that the employer is giving them.

All you might be able to do is suggest that they gain another qualified third party opinion. Perhaps they can pool together and approach an immigration consultant for a quick meeting.