Anyone know a good Candadian immigration attorney?

[Lyric 0]

Hey guys. I'm about to lose my mind just trying to research information on possible Canadian immigration. I have spoken with one attorney who did not charge anything for a phone consult but if I hire them it's going to be $3000 at least! I cannot afford that. AT all. sigh. Plus, I dont' want to just get info from one person and run with it, in case they are misinforming me. I don't know. I read through the immigration guide and I'm just completely confused.

She said that we could apply for conjugal spouse immigration for me and once it's done then I would be a permanent resident and could work immediately but it could take 4-6 months if she helped us but longer if we did it ourselves. Much like the spouse visa in the U.S. I suppose. I was also told that I could come there to visit and then if we happened to marry while I'm there then I could still live there and apply within the country but that could take as long as a year to get processed, or we could marry and I could come back to the States and we could apply for spousal, and that would be the quickest way. Plus, supposedly I could still come to Canada and visit him while waiting for it to go through. She said I'd only need to tell customs I'm there to visit a friend. I don't know about that. sigh.

She also said that he could NOT be on disability and sponsor me, that they would refuse our case. I just want to cry. I don't know any good way to handle this and I don't know who I can trust to lead me in the right direction and not charge me my life savings and then some to guide my way.

I guess there is no such thing as a 'good' attorney who won't rob us blind.

I'm just trying to do preliminary research so that I am prepared to know what to do when the time comes.

It's all I can do to keep from panicking about all this.

[Reba 2]

I went to a guy in Toronto who Did Not charge an arm and a leg, and didn't even ask for our first born.

I don't know if he can help you, he usually works on refugee immigrant cases, but look him up anyhow. His name is Raul Boulakia, and I'd give you his number, but I have no idea where I've put his card, or even if I still have it. His offices are downtown Toronto. Call him for a consult, ya never know. There are others in his offices, so even if he can't, maybe he can tell you someone who can.

He's the only immigration lawyer I know tho.

Oh, and the one year processing for in-Canada spousal sounds about right. Give or take a few months. A friend of mine from GA just finished hers in Sask a couple months ago, but she was there on a student visa, and was able to continue studies and part-time work by extending her student visa.

Edited October 20, 2006 by Reba

[thermophile 0]

sorry don't know a lawyer, but I'd stay away from the one that you talked to on the phone. anyone who tells you to tell the border guard that you are just visiting a friend when you are actually visiting a sig. other and you have an immigration app. in play is not good. And as far as I know conjugal is only for couples that are not allowed to marry-ie gay couples before that was legal.

My Canadian timeline: I applied to immigrate as an out of country applicant in Nov 2004(we were already married). then I moved up there in Dec 2004, when I crossed the border they pre-landed me as in imported all of my worldly goods. the app was sent back to us in Jan 2005 and promptly fixed and returned. in April 2005 we looked into why it was taking so long and found out that the application was lost. so resubmitted it at the end of May. I got my landing visa at the end of September. We may have had a bit quicker processing from May on because we had been in the system then it got lost, I don't know. I'm pretty sure that out of country applicants are processed via a faster route.

I miss Canada and can't wait till I finally finish school and can move back.

oh I found this web board really helpful through the whole Canadian immigration process

britishexpats.com

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://forums.serbinski.com/index.php?sid=...9e0066bcbee3f79

Scroll down and you will see the heading "Business & Personal Immigration to Canada" Not a super duper resource, but one none the less

[Married_my_love 0]

She said that we could apply for conjugal spouse immigration for me and once it's done then I would be a permanent resident and could work immediately but it could take 4-6 months if she helped us but longer if we did it ourselves.

This lawyer you spoke with.... ok, first of all Conjugal is the hardest most difficult one to get approved, and it is very often denied. Most people I have read who tried it ended up getting married and reapplying out of frustration.

Second, we drove over the border without my visa approved yet, told them exactly what we were doing, and did not have to lie. I agree with the post that is bad that it was suggested you lie to POE!

and Third, I will try and find you actual posts of people who were able to sponsor while on disability. You just can't sponsor on welfare, as far as I remember.

I know I told you before, but I really encourage you to sign on to roadtocanada.com it is the "VJ" of canada immigration, everyone there is going thru it and very helpful. I still don't think you need to pay a lawyer to do it, but it is of course your choice.

I don't understand the lawyer saying it would take you longer if you do it yourselves, you still have to gather all the stuff... seems fishy to me.

[Married_my_love 0]

from a post on RTC, someone who has already received approval in principle, whose husband is on disability

The sponsorship form IMM 1344A Eligibility Assessment Part E, #5 asks if you are in receipt of social assistance for a reason other than disability. If you are disabled, that is the only kind of social assistance that doesn't disqualify you.

[Reba 2]

a lawyer is not supposed to say to a potential client that they can speed up an immigration petition, because its just not true. There's nothing they can do that you can't do. They have no pull with immigration, and if they tell you they do, run away. Those are the ones who are just out there to take your money.

My own experience with CIC is not at all good, and I despise them with a passion. But I do know several people who've got thru the system successfully, with all types of visas. Yes, conjugal sponsorship is difficult, but since you have all the paperwork from USCIS as evidence, it may not be so bad for you. You have proof of relationship, and proof that you had intended to get married in the US with a K1. As Canada does not have a fiancee visa, the conjugal partner sponsorship is your next option. My husband and I were going to do that, but then he was barred from entering because of a stupid mis-filed juvie charge, and that complicated matters considerably.

You can also just go to Canada for your 6 month visit, get married a month after you enter, and then apply to stay as a spouse. Take your pick.

[thermophile 0]

If you're planning on getting married someday, why not do it now before you start the application process? We got married by a judge so we could start applying for immigration then had a big party/fake wedding for all the friends and fam 7 months later. He came here and was just honest that we were going to get married in the states while he was here-he had to talk to UCIS for 15 minutes or so and he had no proof that he would be going back to Canada after the wedding except his return ticket. I wouldn't recommend having no proof at all, but it worked out for us.

I think that I crossed the border 7 or 8 times while my application was in process at CIC and didn't really have any problems-I was on a temporary resident visa which was issued when I moved to Canada Dec 2004 and had to renew it once. technically they could take your temp resident visa away if you leave Canada, but then someone else would have to issue you a new one...it never happend to me but that doesn't make it impossible. I have the opposite feelings as Reba; a really good experience with CIC and pretty much hate USCIS. we didn't use a lawyer with either process