Borderlines

Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary. We discuss spousal sponsorship applications and appeals, showing that a relationship is genuine, arranged marriage, the primary purpose of a marriage, interview preparation, how Immigration Appeal Division appeals work, interpretation issues, in person hearings vs. remote, res judicata and inconsistencies in a relationship history.

Andrew Hayes is an American immigration lawyer who practices out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He previously appeared on episodes #32 - Keep Out the Poor - How Canada and the US Address Immigrants on Welfare, with Andrew Hayes, #37 - The Closure of the Canada - US Border and the Supreme Court's DACA Decision, and #41 - Judges Virtue Signalling Inside and Outside of Court. We discuss various types of US visa refusals, including administrative processing and ESTA cancellations, and the uncertainty in Canadian immigration law of whether these constitute refusals that need to be disclosed in applications. Also covered are denials of entry to the United States, with a particular focus on what actually happens at US Customs and Border Patrol when someone flagpoles.

Deanna and Steven discuss what we consider to be some top Federal Court immigration decisions to this point in 2024.Cases include Toor v. Canada, 2024 FC 1146 (restoration), Chung v. Canada, 2024 FC 1218 (misrepresentation when a degree is obtained through plagerism), Abdool v. Canada, 2024 FC 1172 (misrepresentation and involuntary cancellations of US entry attempts), and Alohan v. Canada, 2024 FC 1122 (reconsideration requests).

Siavash Shekarian is an immigration lawyer in Toronto, and the Executive Member & Public Affairs Liaison of the Ontario Bar Association, Citizenship and Immigration Law Section.

Deanna and Steven discuss Canada's caregiver programs, including the Live-in Caregiver Program (1992 to 2014), the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots (2014 to 2019), the Interim Pathway for Caregivers (4 March 4 to 8 July 2019), the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots (starting 18 June 2019 - 18 June 2024), and the new proposed program.Topics include whether Canada needs caregiver programs, open work permits, permanent residence right away, caregivers leaving the occupation after getting permanent residence, processing delays and more.

Eoin Logan is a lawyer at Meridian Law Group. Fifty percent of his practice is suing immigration consultants and lawyers for professional negligence.

A discussion of the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers program, a program which provides ppen work permit for vulnerable foreign workers who are victims of abuse. We also discuss access to justice issues. Jonathan Braun and Amanda Aziz are lawyers who work at the Migrant Workers Centre, an organization in Vancouver that promotes and advances access to justice for migrant workers by providing legal services, advocacy, research, public education and engaging in law and policy reform initiatives.Juliana Dalley is a lawyer at the Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic, the only legal clinic in British Columbia specializing in immigration and refugee maters.

Part 1 of 2 in a historical deep dive of Chinese immigration to Canada. This episode covers the period of 1850 - 1885, and includes an overview of events in China at the time (including the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion), Chinese migration during the British Columbia gold rush, the merger of the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Colony of British Columbia, numerous British Columbian laws designed to make reduce the number of Chinese in the Province, the building of the Trans Canada Railway, the Royal Commission on Chinese Migration to Canada and the Chinese Head Tax.

Zeynab Ziaie Moayyed is an immigration lawyer in Toronto. She can be found on X at @ZeynabZiaieWe discuss Chinook, AI triage and IRCC's Integrity Trend Analysis Tool.