to immigrate to Canada. Canada receives approximately half a million immigrants every year, so it was clear that immigration law would be one of the major fields of legal services in Canada. To become a lawyer in Canada, I studied for a Master’s degree in Law at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, and I received my Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee of Accreditation of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. I then wrote the Barrister and Solicitor Examinations in Ontario, Canada. How did you become proficient in immigration law? First, I had to work on my own immigration application. I served as corporate counsel at two of Canada’s largest immigration service providers: Golden Group and WWICS. I studied an immigration consultant diploma, and before being a lawyer in Canada, I became a regulated immigration consultant. Being an immigration consultant helped me to pay for my law school expenses and gain significant experience in Canadian immigration matters. In Canada, immigration law is not a mandatory course in law school, therefore it is like a self-studied field of law. My immigration consultant diploma was an intensive six-month program. This is the reason I am proficient in Canada immigration law. In the past, you have said that the most important thing for newly arrived immigrants to focus on is becoming part of a community. Can you expand on this? Adaptability is one the main factors for successful immigration. Adaptability, by definition, means one’s ability to change, or be changed, to fit different circumstances. For the purposes of immigration, adaptability is the immigrant’s ability to adjust to life and prosper in their new home. Social integration is the process during which newcomers are incorporated into the social structure of the host society – in our case, Canada. The good thing about Canada is the country has a very clear road map for all new immigrants. As I did, newcomers must simply follow it. Integrating is the most important step of the whole immigration process. For example, I learned the Canadian culture by going to language schools and universities. I spent almost five years on my Canadian education. As an immigration lawyer, I always guide my clients on how to become a part of the community in Canada. What developments are you currently observing in the immigration space? What trends do you expect to see in the coming years? Although the government of Canada is planning to receive around 1.5 million immigrants before the year 2025, the figure is less than 1000 people annually under business immigration systems such as the self-employed or start-up visa programs. In this context, Canada’s immigration policy has been heading south since 2014. While I am not against refugee, I do not understand why the government of Canada prefers to receive refugee claimants rather than entrepreneurs and investors. Some of my current concerns are: a. Mass refusals of temporary residence visas such as work permits, study permits, and visitor visa applications by using Excel BASE-assisted software Chinook; b. The unfair strategy of refusing visa applications to empty the IRCC’s backlog; c. Making it difficult for international students and skilled workers and even entrepreneurs to immigrate to Canada, pushing them to become refugee claimants; d. Gambling with applicants and their representatives by refusing their visa applications and letting them take the 28 LAWYERMONTHLYDECEMBER 2022
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