Gerami Law PC is proud to announce that its founder and managing lawyer, Ms. Arghavan Gerami, has been nominated for Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2021 in the Human Rights, Advocacy and Criminal category. Since opening her firm in 2011, Ms. Gerami has litigated complex immigration and refugee cases, taken on time-sensitive stay of removal motions, and appeared before all divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). She has represented individuals before the Superior Court of Justice, as well as the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. Additionally, she ..read more

Report Reveals Data, Suggestions on Recovering from Pandemic’s Impact on Immigration A new report has revealed data pertaining to how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected immigration to Canada. The report was published by the Conference Board of Canada, which is a Canadian research organization that reports on various issues. Titled “Counting on Immigration,” the report provides analysis on how the pandemic has affected various numbers relating to immigration. Specifically, it looks at topics from immigrant classes to the geographic spread of immigrants – all of which are contextualized by the e ..read more

Lifting of Travel Restrictions Will be Gradual, Not Immediate  After over a year of restricted travel between Canada and the United States, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking at potentially reopening the world’s longest international border. According to Bloomberg, the federal government is only in early discussions, so the border will likely not be reopening right away. In fact, the travel restrictions that have been in place since March 2020 are expected to be extended into June again later this week. However, Canada will continue to allow international flights to arrive ..read more

Why the Resumption of Deportations of Vulnerable Individuals is Detrimental Nearly seven months have passed since Canada announced in November 2020 that it would resume removals and deportations after an eight month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This suspension had limited removals to cases of “serious” inadmissibility. The decision to resume removals provoked an outcry from immigration advocates, who argued that the decision jeopardized public safety and asked that the previous policy be reinstated (CARL, CBA). Since that time, Canada has experienced two more “waves” of infection t ..read more

New Pathways Will Create Up to 90,000 Permanent Resident Spots On the 14th of April 2021, an announcement was made by Immigration Minster Marco Mendicino. He announced that Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (‘IRCC’) plans to create several immigration pathways which will allow up to 90,000 permanent resident spots for essential workers and international graduates who currently reside in and work in Canada. The temporary program, which came into effect on the 6th of May 2021, is a unique opportunity for low-wage, low-skilled workers to convert their temporary resid ..read more

New Options for International Students to Remain in Canada Post-Graduation Canada is launching two new temporary permanent residence pathways for international student graduates looking to extend their stay in Canada after they graduate. The goal of these new pathways is to make it easier for skilled international students to fill labour shortages, and aid in Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery. Both pathways will be available to international students that currently live anywhere in Canada outside of Quebec, or are planning to live outside Quebec. Details About These New Programs The fir ..read more

Government Pledges $428.9 Million to Help Create the New Platform As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increasing processing times for immigration applications, the federal government is in the process of creating a new digital platform to help expedite the process. The new system is expected to launch in 2023 and will improve application processing and increase support for applicants. The federal government has pledged $428.9 million for the project over the next five years in the 2021 federal budget. The funds will go towards creating the new platform and gradually replacing the ..read more

The Portal Will Open 90,000 Spots for Permanent Residence This Thursday Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it will launch a new portal allowing some immigrants to apply for permanent residence on Thursday May 6. However, the planned rollout of the portal has earned criticism from immigration lawyers, who have called it “unfair.” The portal was announced by IRCC on April 14. They say it will offer 90,000 permanent residence spots to healthcare workers, essential workers, and post-secondary students. The streams will remain open until November 6, 2021, or until th ..read more

New Processing Deadline Would Help Reunite Refugee Families More Quickly The national advocacy group, Canadian Council for Refugees, is calling on the federal government to reduce processing times for children’s immigration applications to just six months. The group has described the current wait times for application processing as “unacceptable.” According to Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, Canada is legally obligated under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to process family reunification applications humanely and expeditiously. Den ..read more

On April 15th,2021 the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal struck down a challenge against the Safe Third Country Agreement (‘STCA’) with the United States. This agreement was signed in 2002 between Canada and the United States requiring refugees arriving in both countries to apply for asylum in the first country they arrive in, barring some exceptions (Federal Court of Appeal, 19-20). These exceptions include those who have family in Canada and unaccompanied minors. The agreement also does not apply to those who enter Canada at irregular border crossings or those arriving through air or sea trav ..read more