Posts by Michael Niren

The Federal government has launched a pilot project at the Federal Court in Toronto to see if there is a way to quickly expedite the appeals of time-sensitive work permit, visitor visa and student visa application denials. Currently, it can take as many as 200 days to fully process an appeal for someone who has […]

Did you know that Canada provides Canadian citizens and permanent residents with the opportunity to apply to sponsor their relatives from abroad to come to Canada? Once sponsored to Canada, these relatives – which include spouses, parents or grandparents – are permanent residents themselves. The Parent and Grandparent sponsorship program was suspended a while ago […]

Canada is touting their new Start-Up visa as a way for prospective immigrants to the United States to immigrate faster, better and obtain permanent residency – they just have to choose to immigrate to Canada instead.  “H1B problems? Pivot to Canada. New Start-Up Visa. Low Taxes” says a new billboard in California, put up by […]

The United States Immigration Bill passed the Senate panel, which means that the bill is one step closer to becoming a reality for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States who would be granted a pathway to citizenship. However a plan that allowed people to sponsor spouses of the same sex for green cards […]

Hi Shabnam and Michael. I’m speechless, with the shock still setting in. It’ll take me a while to get used to the idea that we may, in the distant future, be changing our nationalities to being happy proud Canadians! Wow! I know Mimi will be happy, that’s for sure! Also now, I’ve got clarity on the not too distant […]

Having a criminal record is one of the most common reasons that someone would be denied entry to the United States. This means that when a traveler reaches a US customs checkpoint either in an airport or at the border, their criminal record will sometimes render then inadmissible to the country and they will have […]

Not everyone realizes that when you attempt to enter Canada and you have a criminal record, you could be denied entry. Being denied entry to Canada can be extremely distressing, and even embarrassing. It doesn’t matter what kind of plans you have in Canada, or if you have someone waiting for you – you will […]

Permanent residents and Canadian citizens from all over Canada are able to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as well, although this program was suspended in 2011 because the backlog of applications had become too high for applications to be processed in a reasonable amount of time. The government has cleared out […]

Permanent resident cards are government-issued identification given to Canadian permanent residents. Permanent residents are people who have immigrated to Canada permanently, but who are not yet Canadian citizens. They need to renew their permanent resident card every five years or they can run into problems because the permanent resident card is what allows permanent residents […]

Global News has published a great new graphic that shows the history of immigration in Canada dating back to 1957 while a separate infographic shows the history of United States immigration to Canada. Immigration in Canada by country To see the graphic, click here. Immigration in Canada from the United States After a presidential election […]

Being denied entry to the United States can be a very distressing, surprising and unpleasant experience. It can even be embarrassing, provided you didn’t know you were inadmissible. Inadmissibility to the United States Due To Criminal Record If you are declared inadmissible to the United States, it will not matter how much money you spent […]

Having a DUI is a very serious offense in Canada. Both Canada and the United States take criminal records very seriously, and individuals who have criminal records may not be able to enter either country. However one key difference between the two countries is if you have a DUI conviction on your criminal record, you […]

Permanent residents are people who have immigrated to Canada and who can live and work in Canada permanently. However, permanent residents are not yet Canadian citizens and they must maintain certain requirements with their permanent resident cards, which are certain identification cards they must hold. Permanent resident cards expire every five years, when they need […]

“H1B Problems? Pivot to Canada. New Start-Up Visa. Low Taxes,” says a billboard in the middle of Silicon Valley in San Jose, California. The billboard was recently erected by Citizenship and Immigration Canada in an effort to lure skilled and innovative immigrants to Canada instead of the United States. And, it might just work. The […]

The National Household Survey developed by TD Economics has found that newer sources like the Philippines are quickly overtaking countries like China and India when it comes to being the source of the largest number of newcomers to Canada. As per last year’s survey results, one-fifth of Canadians are foreign born, or 6.8 million residents […]