024: How to contact Canadian immigration Authorities - even when they don't want you to, with Elizabeth Wozniak

CIP Season 1 Episode 24

Show Notes – Elizabeth Wozniak, Immigration Lawyer - Communicating with Canadian immigration authorities

Liz Wozniak is the owner of North Star Immigration Law Inc., the largest Canadian immigration law firm in the Maritimes. Liz leads a team of four lawyers and one articled clerk in providing legal services and creative solutions in all aspects of Canadian immigration law. 

Liz and her team work in a collaborative environment where only lawyers work on client files and they only charge flat rates.

Liz is originally from Edmonton, Alberta and lived overseas for 5 years (in China and Korea), where she taught English after getting a degree in education from the University of Alberta. She graduated from law school in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2001 where she remains as a lawyer and lives with her spouse and two children.  

Liz is frequently consulted by journalists, government and non-governmental organizations on matters pertaining to immigration law and policy. She regularly presents at conferences, workshops and panel discussions on immigration, legal ethics and legal innovation. 

Question Intro: Tell me a little more about your experience teaching English in China and Korea.  I don’t suppose that had anything to do with you getting into immigration period?

Well… over the past few years it has become increasingly difficult for us as immigration lawyers to be able to speak with anyone within Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) - or other immigration related government departments when we have run into processing delays or other issues with the files we have submitted.

Contacting the government to inquire on an immigration matter has become a real issue.

I’ve brought Liz on to share some insight on this process including some potential tips and strategies in attempting to navigate the painful experience of trying to communicate with all of these lovely government departments.

Question #1:  so if we are an individual who has submitted an application to IRCC and wants to obtain an update on the status of that application, how does one go about doing this? And is there a difference between inquiring on a permanent resident application, versus a temporary resident application? Inside versus Outside Canada?

Question #2: So let’s say that we have an urgent issue that requires us to reach out to an immigration officer on a file that is in process.  Are there other options available to try to deal with the issue as quickly as possible?

Question #3: Bogus IRCC mechanisms for reporting abuse and conditional PR violations.

Question #4:  let’s talk about the CBSA.  Sometimes we have clients that are adjudicating their applications directly at a port of entry.  Is there any way to reach out to these officers at the POEs in advance of someone’s arrival to discuss issues related to an application? Or to speak with an officer who has recently been refused admission to a client?

Question #5:  Okay, let’s now talk about the wonderful world of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and communicating with Service Canada when filing LMIA applications. Do you have any suggestions for navigating this ruthless world?  Are there pitfalls people must be aware of when filing applications?

Question #6:  let’s say you run into issues when the application is being processed.  Is there a way to speak to an officer prior to a refusal?  What options are available to speak with an officer after a refusal has been rendered?