In the News: Immigration Fraud

Today in the news:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Charges+laid+immigration+scam+involving+suspicious/7160669/story.html

Now, if you follow me on Twitter (@MBlogger2) you will know that I am answering questions on Yahoo Answers and trying to share the knowledge I’ve gained from research for this blog with a wider audience. One question that I see fairly frequently on that site is about marriage. Usually it’s two young people who want to be together and feel that marriage is their only option for citizenship and therefore their continued relationship.

Now, of course you should only get married WHEN and IF you actually want to because you love someone. However, that’s an ideal and often doesn’t happen in the “real world”. I’m not just talking about immigration fraud marriages, but a lot of marriages happen because people feel they SHOULD or they HAVE to, not because they WANT to… but that aside…

I’m just going to put this out there, but you probably shouldn’t marry someone with immigration as your primary goal. I’m not really sure why people who are not vulnerable or financially needy (like the ones the individual in the article above took advantage of) would think it was a good idea to commit something which could potentially get them charged with fraud. Heck, you can be charged with fraud and have your spouse’s visa denied even if your love is “real and genuine”. All the government needs to do is doubt you, and it seems that they are inclined to do so.

I don’t know what inspires so many teens on the internet to believe marriage is the answer to spending more time with their cross-border sweetheart, but the article above should show them that there is intense government scrutiny of sponsorship and marriage. (Maybe its Romeo and Juliet, or author Elizabeth Gilbert?)

Here’s the official information from www.cic.gc.ca:

“There are some people who think marriage to a Canadian citizen will be their ticket to Canada.

It is a crime for foreign nationals to marry Canadian citizens or permanent residents only to gain entry into Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is working to prevent these fraudulent marriages.

In many cases, sponsors and foreign applicants arrange a “marriage of convenience”: a marriage or common-law relationship where the sole purpose is for the sponsored spouse to immigrate to Canada.

CIC officers are specially trained to recognize genuine immigration applications, and they know how to detect marriages of convenience. They use several methods to uncover marriage fraud, including document checks, site visits and interviews with sponsors and applicants. Canadian citizens or permanent residents found to be part of a marriage of convenience for immigration purposes may be charged with a crime.”

More info on immigration fraud here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/fraud/index.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/fraud/marriage.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/antifraud.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/fraud.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-03-09.asp

http://visalawcanada.blogspot.ca/2012/08/large-scale-marriage-scam-alleged-39.html

Debunking Myths About Canada/Canadians

Debunking Canadian Myths

There’s a lot of misinformation about Canada out there, largely thanks to the way we are portrayed in the media. I’m going to set the record straight on a few common myths about Canada and Canadians.

1. We all know how to build an igloo. FALSE. Building an igloo is seriously tough work and very few Canadians would be able to do it even with proper instruction. Years ago, I was in the Northern Canadian equivalent of Scouts and was shown how to build an igloo. I was shocked to know it’s not all hard packed snow, but blocks of ice! It was hard work and at the  end of the day I barely finished half of my igloo and it collapsed anyway.
2. Everyone in Quebec speaks French. FALSE. Not only are there purely English-speaking people in Quebec, there are also an abundance of bilingual and multilingual Quebecois.
3. The national sport of Canada is Hockey. TECHNICALLY FALSE. Any Canadian trivia buff worth their salt knows our official national sport is Lacrosse, a game invented by Aboriginal tribes. Hockey is technically our “national pastime”. However, really good Canadian trivia buffs know that in 1994 the Federal Government worked out a way to make both Lacrosse and Hockey our official National Sport. Lacrosse is out National summer sport. Hockey is our National winter sport. Ta-da!
4. All of our police are red-jacket wearing Mounties. FALSE. We have other police forces who wear blue-type uniforms etc. Also, Mounties only wear red for special occasions as the red uniform is their “dress uniform”. Many Canadians only see Mounties in red on American TV shows or while watching the “Musical Ride”.
5. Canadians have a strong, weird accent. FALSE-ISH. Well, I have never heard any Canadians speak in the accent adopted by movies such as Strange Brew. However, it sounds as though it may have been based on the regional accents of those living in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, it has still been over-rendered and made ridiculous for comedic purposes on TV and in film.
6. All Canadians are white and speak English. FALSE. Canada is a multicultural country. People of all races, ethnicities, and walks of life live here. Only in pop culture do you see this false homogenized view of Canada. If you look at the real make-up of this country, it is very diverse.
7. Toronto is the capital of Canada. FALSE. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. However, the big TO does have some special things about it even if it isn’t the political center of the Canadian universe. Toronto is the largest Canadian city and the capital of its Province, Ontario.
8. Most Canadian Aboriginals live on rural reservations far from civilization and still hunt for food. FALSE. The majority of Canada’s Aboriginal population live in urban centers these days and buy their food from the supermarket.
9. Most Canadian roads outside the city aren’t paved. HMMMM FALSE-ISH… Yes, we have gravel roads and dirt roads, and even winter-only roads with ice bridges, but most official roads shown on the maps are paved. Of course, there are always very rural range roads and unofficial roads that won’t be paved, but chances are most places you want to drive to in Canada are accessible via paved roads.
10.  All Canadians love the current healthcare system. FALSE. For years, there have been factions in every Province who want to open up healthcare to two-tier and/or privatized solutions. No issue is without both sides of the coin in Canada, as in all other countries.
11.  Canada has no entertainment industry. FALSE. A surprising number of your favourite celebrities are Canadians. Many move to the USA for more opportunities as their careers grow, but there is an industry here where they make their debuts. Ex. Nina Dobrev (of Vampire Diaries fame) is a Canadian citizen (and a Bulgarian immigrant!) who used to act in the popular Canadian teen-soap/drama “Degrassi”.

In the News: FSW Program and Spousal Sponsorship

Your news update of the day:

-          Still a very big issue in the news this week are the unveiled changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Apparently, Jason Kenney & Co. think that twenty-somethings in other countries have it together enough to decide to permanently immigrate somewhere (possibly) halfway across the world for work, leaving behind all their childhood familiar places, friends, and experiences. (The new points system is aimed at getting more 20 and 30-somethings. Over 35-ers who may bring wisdom and experience to their workplace it seems, are not as valued by the government.) I don’t know about you but if you asked the average 20-30 year old Canadian to commit to immigrating to another country for work, I doubt many of them would. And if they did, would they have the job skills in place to succeed abroad? Would they have the wisdom and experience? Read more here: http://canadavisalaw.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/new-federal-skilled-worker-rules-published/

-          Also trending in Alberta news lately: Online romances, marriage and spousal sponsorship. Real love or Immigration fraud? Are there ulterior motives at play in online cross-border romance? If yes, then aren’t there also ulterior motives at play in Canadians-only relationships too? Read more here: http://visalawcanada.blogspot.ca/2012/08/online-romances-raise-questions-motives.html and here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/08/22/edmonton-miltimore-immigration-wife-philippines.html

In the News: August 17, 2012

Today is turning out to be a big day in the news for ethnic, cultural, and immigration stories. Here are some of the stories I read this morning that I think are worth taking a look at!

On Focus Groups, Ethnicity Debates, and Banknotes: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Bank+Canada+bans+image+Asianlooking+woman+from+banknotes/7105230/story.html

On Line-ups and Canadian Passivity: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/Staples+queue+jumping+This+Canada/7102390/story.html

On the Possibility That a Member of the Russian Punk Group, Pussy Riot, and Charged with Hooliganism is a Canadian Permanent Resident: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/17/pussy-riot-case-takes-canadian-twist/

http://visalawcanada.blogspot.ca/2012/08/pussy-riot-canadian-residency-connection.html

On Whether or Not Quebec’s Election is Showing Signs of Racism and Xenophobia: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/08/16/tasha-kheiriddin-in-quebec-xenophobia-is-alive-and-well/

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/08/15/chris-selley-intolerance-is-intolerance-even-in-quebec/

Suggested Reading: Blogs to Follow

Here are some blogs I currently follow that are great resources for those looking for more information on Canadian Immigration issues:

http://www.universalimmigration.com/blog/

http://unfaircicnews.wordpress.com/

http://immicanada.wordpress.com/

http://www.immigrationexperience.ca/

http://diversityintheworkplace.ca/wordpress/

Systematic Discrimination in Canadian Immigration (Historical)

Systematic Discrimination in Canadian Immigration (Historical)

Today I want to take a closer look at a part of Canadian history than Canadians don’t like to talk about. There are significant spans of time in Canadian history where our government created and upheld some very racist laws pertaining to refugees, immigrants, and immigration. Some of these laws were very overt and blatantly discriminatory while others were more subtly non-inclusive. As Canadians we should be ashamed of these terrible laws that are a part of our past. However, that shame should not cause us to sweep these horrible bits of history under the rug because we need to remember them in order to ensure that they never happen again.

Here are some examples for Canada’s past that we should keep in mind and prevent them from happening again:

1. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1885-1923)

This act “imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants of $50, [which] increased to $100 in 1900 and to $500 in 1903” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). During the years of this act “more than $22 million were collected in head tax payments” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

2. The Chinese Immigration Act (1923-1947)

This act meant “almost total prohibition of Chinese immigration in Canada” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

3. Order in Council (1908)

This was known as the “’continuous passage rule’ which had the effect of excluding from immigration people who could not make a direct journey to Canada” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). Who were they discriminating against and trying to keep out? Reportedly, “immigrants from India, since there was at the time no direct voyage from India” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000) to Canada. This rule did not apply to Europeans however, except in the 1920’s when it was used to discriminate against Eastern Europeans (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

4. Order in Council (1911)

This “prohibited ‘any immigrant belonging to the Negro race, which race is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada’” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). This order was “never proclaimed” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000) but the government clearly tried to discriminate against immigrants from the African continent in even proposing such a law.

5. Prohibition of Immigration by Doukhobors, Mennonites and Hutterites (1919-1922)

What reason did the government give for prohibiting these individuals? Apparently it was their “’peculiar habits, modes of life and methods of holding property’” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). Apparently, communal agrarian communities were against Canadian values at the time. I suspect this had to do with the Bolsheviks in Russia at the time and the fear that Communism would spread, which ties back into the information in my previous post: discrimination towards immigrants often happens during troubling times, and immigrants are the target because they are convenient scapegoats.

Busting Racism and Discrimination Myths About Immigrants

I wonder if much of the discrimination and racism that Canadian immigrants/new Canadians face is the result of ignorance. There are so many myths and stereotypes out there that if they were believed to be true, might make people more inclined to behave in a negative way towards immigrants.

All of the myths in this article are based purely off my own experience. These are things that I have personally heard people say or read in other blogs/web forums. These myths might not be representative of everything that is out there. Please comment on anything you feel was omitted in the comments section, on twitter, via email, or youtube.



Myth #1: “Immigrants get a free ride at Canadian universities and then go back to their home countries and use all that free education to benefit their home country instead of Canada.”

There are so many things wrong with the above statement. I’m going to have to break this myth down piece by piece:

-It seems that the people who say things like this are a little bit confused about the basic definition of an immigrant. They seem to be forgetting that immigrant implies “settling” in a new country instead of temporarily staying somewhere while going to school. They also do not seem to understand the distinction between an International Student (who comes to Canada on a student visa) and an Immigrant (who may come to Canada on a variety of other visas).

-International students do NOT get a “free ride at Canadian universities”. In fact, they have to pay higher fees than Canadian citizens do. Few Canadians that I have encountered, particularly here in Alberta, realize how heavily the government subsidizes post-secondary education for Canadian citizens. At many universities local students only pay a fraction of the tuition that international students do. The figures vary based on each province and university, but if you’re curious you should ask an international university student what their tuition is and compare it to the amount paid by a local student at the same institution. The results might surprise you. Now, to be absolutely fair in this discussion, I should point out that international students might have more scholarship and subsidization opportunities available to them. However, there are also many scholarship and loan/grant options available to non-international students. The whole point of scholarships, loans/grants, subsidies is to try to level the playing field as much as possible so that all qualified individuals can attend post-secondary education.

Here are some figures I found from a sampling of Canadian Universities:

My sources:
http://www.students.ubc.ca/coursesreg/tuition-fees-deposits/tuition-fees/
http://www.registrarsoffice.ualberta.ca/Costs-Tuition-Feesaspx
http://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/tuition-charges/fallwinter-term-tuition-and-fees/undergraduate-fees

As you can see, based on a data from these three well known Canadian Universities, the average international student pays $13, 044.00 more than a Canadian citizen or resident. That’s a far cry from a “free ride”.



Myth #2:“You let one immigrant in and then they bring over their entire family, who will just sit on welfare, use and abuse our healthcare system, and never get jobs or contribute to Canadian society!”

You see this myth emerge often in comments on news stories about immigrants who are trying to sponsor their families for Canadian residence. Now, with any system there will be people who take advantage of it, but there are measures in place to ensure that the family members that are brought over on sponsorship will not be a burden to Canadian tax payers. (People should also keep in mind that immigrants and permanent residents are also taxpayers in this country when they work here, so it’s not as though they aren’t contributing to the system.) These measures are (according to the CIC official website):

1.      Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their spouses, common-laws, conjugal partners, and dependant children. This means that the immigrant in question has to have already worked in Canada, contributed to taxes, and jumped through all the other hoops in place. (BTW, this is “Family Class” sponsorship that I’m talking about here.)

2.      When sponsoring a family member, the sponsor has to sign documents that commit them to provide for their family member/dependant financially. They must provide financial support for that person for 3 years after they become a permanent resident. If the person they are sponsoring is their child, they have to provide financial support for 10 years, or until the child turns 25 (whichever comes first). This means that “Joe taxpayer” isn’t supporting these people, the individual immigrant is.

3.      If an individual signed the above agreement before to get a family member residency and failed to deliver (ex the family member ended up using social assistance before the 3 years were up) they are NOT eligible to sponsor a family member again.

4.      A person cannot be a sponsor if they receive financial assistance (unless it is for a disability).

5.      There’s a minimum income require to sponsor a given number of people. See here (search LICO): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5196ETOC.asp#table3 This means only financially viable individuals can sponsor relatives.

6.      Currently there is a hold on applications to sponsor Grandparents and Parents. These applications are not being processed. So, contrary to popular belief young people are not coming here, and then bringing over their elderly relations to use up our healthcare resources. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/index.asp




Myth #3: "Immigrants get let into Canada all the time and they don’t even speak our language(s)!”

This is another argument you often see in the comments section on news stories relating to immigrants.

However, if people making these comments read the news more carefully they would know about the recent changes that require immigrants to demonstrate a given competency level in either of our two official languages.

Also, why does it seem that many people are afraid of people speaking in languages they don’t understand? Do you honestly think the Russia mother and daughter on the bus are whispering about you or something? It’s pretty self-involved to think that just because someone can speak in a different language that they are conspiring against you/Canadians/English-speakers when they do it. Different languages shape the way we form our thoughts, so it might be much easier for someone to express a given though in their native tongue or in a second language other than English or French. Why do you think translation is hard to do? Some thoughts just don’t have an equivalent in all languages!



Myth #4: “Immigrants are destroying Canadian culture! We let them keep their cultures, and we lose our own. They are colonizing us!”

This is something I’ve seen on some right-wing blogs/sites/comments.

To bust this myth, there isn’t much I can provide in terms of hard evidence. I can only offer this argument against the myth:

If someone claims that “immigrants are destroying Canadian culture” I always find myself asking the question: What is Canadian culture anyway? Do we even have one unified culture that can be destroyed, in the first place? Just asking these kinds of questions chips a hole in the Canadian culture myth.

Canada is not a nation in the ethnic or cultural sense. We are a nation purely in the political understanding of the term. Since the time when the first non-Aboriginals settled here we have not been ethnically or culturally homogenous. Even before the Europeans arrived on the scene, the territory we now know as Canada was one of diverse religious beliefs, languages, and cultures. So, if we have ever had a “Canadian culture” to destroy it was always a culture comprised of many diverse cultures. And how does on destroy a culture of diversity? By imposing homogeneity on it. So, those who argue that immigrants are destroying Canadian culture by bringing their diversity with them, are really the one destroying our culture.

Secondly, if part of knowing and embracing Canadian culture is learning about our nation’s history, then immigrants are likely more up-to-date on Canadian culture than most born-in-Canada Canadians. Why? Well to become a Canadian citizen, permanent residents have to pass a Citizenship test which includes questions about our political and judicial systems, history, and “culture”. I bet many Canadians would do very poorly on this exam if they were to take it.



Myth #5: “Immigrants don’t contribute to Canadian society! They’re all about doing things for their home countries and even if they live here, they don’t care about Canada!”

This myth is usually something I hear uttered, and from that moment on decide to avoid that person completely. Saying something like this is a big mark of ignorance in my books.
So, to bust this terrible myth here’s a list of successful/famous Canadian immigrants and refugees:

1.      Adrienne Clarkson: Refugee. Was the Governor General (the Queen’s top representative in Canada) and is reportedly good friends with British actor Alan Rickman.

2.      Alexander Graham Bell: Immigrant. Invented the harmonic telegraph, which later became the telephone.

3.      Peter Mansbridge: Immigrant. Famous Canadian newscaster.

4.      Robert Herjavec: Immigrant. Wealthy businessman featured on the show Dragons Den.

5.      Olivia Chow: Immigrant. Member of Parliament and wife of the late Jack Layton.

6.      Mike Lazaridis: Immigrant. Founder of Research in Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry company.

7.      Michael Ondaatje: Immigrant. Author.

8.      Gideon Sundback: Immigrant. Inventor of the zipper.

Check This Out: Edmonton Heritage Festival

This weekend in Edmonton, Alberta Canada: Heritage Festival!

I’m for sure going to this amazing celebration of the diverse immigrant origins of Edmontonians/Albertans/Canadians. If you’re around, you should totally check it out.

The festival is free to attend, but you’re encouraged to bring a donation for the Edmonton Food Bank.

The pavilions sell food which you will need to buy food tickets to buy. Arts and crafts are also for sale.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS ON THE WEBSITE HERE: http://www.heritage-festival.com/

Why is it so Hard to Immigrate to Canada? Part 6

Why is it so hard to immigrate to Canada?

Possibility #6:

It is hard to make sense of all the legal mumbo-jumbo contained in the forms for immigration.

No matter whether you are a citizen or a would-be immigrant, government-issued paperwork can be a nightmare! Just look at the lines for passports or taxes for proof.
Add to this, the fact that there is usually a lot of pressure riding on these forms. The last thing anyone wants to do is fill in the wrong field or forget to enter something on their immigration form, resulting in a waste of money and time. If someone is applying for Canadian citizenship, they most likely have hopes and dreams riding on it, and to lose those hopes and dreams to an improperly filled out form would be… well, awful.

Possible solutions:

Well, there’s always the option of engaging the services of an immigration consultant. I don’t know much about these businesses, but I imagine they are fairly costly and therefore not the best solution for every immigrant. Also, I doubt they guarantee that all of their clients will have their applications accepted.

(not endorsing this guy/this company fyi)

This video reminds me, CIC (currently Jason Kenney and Co.) have a youtube channel with helpful videos on filling out forms and other immigration and citizenship related issues. You can trust the information because it comes straight from the source.
http://www.youtube.com/user/CitImmCanada
They have many playlists in both official languages (French and English)

There’s also the CIC website, which you can find here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/


PS Hello to my readers in Russia! :D How's it going?
      And big ups to whoever added me to stumbleupon! You rock mystery netizen!

ALSO! Follow me on Twitter for real time updates and news stories @MBlogger2

Why is it so Hard to Immigrate to Canada? Part 4

Why is it so hard to immigrate to Canada?

Possibility #4:

It can be tough to find a home or good accommodations in Canada.

While waiting for citizenship or at least permanent residency, many immigrants might be hesitant to commit a large sum of money to buying a home or condo. What if they do not get residency and have to leave? It can hard to sell a house in a hurry in some markets and months, let alone from abroad.

Furthermore, immigration is a costly process that can be tough on the ol’ savings account. Buying property requires a down payment, and that’s money that many new immigrants might not have saved up immediately upon their arrival. After all, many of them are coming to Canada to obtain better jobs so the employment they had in their home country might not have been well-paying.

So, many immigrants end up renting. However, it can be tough to figure out whether or not an apartment is located in a ‘good’ neighborhood when you have no prior knowledge of the city. Cost is also a factor. Additionally, it can be hard to tell what condition and apartment is really in if you are browsing for accommodations online from your country of origin. For these reasons, many immigrants end up living in less than favorable conditions when they first arrive in Canada.


Possible solutions:

Some city police departments provide online resources like Edmonton’s crime map, which can give you a feel for how safe a neighborhood is based on the type of crimes being committed there.
http://crimemapping.edmontonpolice.ca/

Ask for references from prospective landlords and investigate property management companies before you commit to a deposit.
If your written language skills are not the best, have a translator or lawyer look over your rental agreement before you sign it. Warning: this will cost money.
Be aware of each province’s landlord and tenant laws. When you are in Canada, you are protected by the same laws as Canadians. You don’t have to suffer at the hands of a bad landlord any more than any Canadian citizen does. Learn your rights!

If you are younger, you might even want to delay apartment-hunting until after you have arrived in Canada. I met a number of new immigrants and international students in a Montreal HI-Hostel who were staying there until they found more permanent accommodations. Hostels may not be the best solution for everyone but they do offer cheap accommodations and often have kitchens you can use to cook your own meals. Furthermore, there are hostels in most major Canadian centers.
http://www.hihostels.ca/

Check This Out: Mikaera

Canadian immigration/emigration goes both ways! Check out the popular blog life of this Canadian living in Japan! She’s a real cultural ambassador and an excellent example of how anyone can make the best of moving to another country.

Check out her vlog on youtube:

 http://www.youtube.com/user/Ciaela

And her blog on wordpress:

http://ciaela.wordpress.com/

Check This Out: CIC Consultations

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/index.asp

The above link will lead you to a page on the Federal Government Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship's website. If you have any opinions about immigration in Canada, both good and bad, you should check it out! It's a great opportunity to tell your elected officials what you think about the state of immigration in this country.

(Found the link on this right-wing-ish immigration blog FYI: http://canadianimmigrationreform.blogspot.ca/2012/08/have-you-say-you-have-until-end-of.html althought I'd don't agree with most of the viewpoints on that blog, it has still proved helpful in giving me perspective on the other side of the debate and by providing information like that above.)

Check This Out: Expat Explorer Survey

Watch this:

Live on Twitter

Currently tweeting-away ( @MBlogger2  www.twitter.com ) about Canadian Immigration facts and trivia. Tweet me your questions, facts, and trivia about Canadian immigration.

Losing Your Place in the Immigration Queue

I read this news story a couple of weeks back:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/line+Potential+immigrants+have+lost+their+place+queue+tell+their+stories/6937506/story.html

So, the big question in my mind was if the individuals interviewed in this article were representative of what's really going on, you know?

Do you know anyone who's been waiting for years to come to Canada? Do you know anyone who was moved to the back of this "line" and has to now start the whole process over again? Has this happened to you?

Please share any information and stories in the comments.

PS You can follow me on twitter @MBlogger2 or email me at comingtocanadablog@gmail.com

A Brief Video About Immigration