Do you recommend immigration consultants?

[dream99]

Do you guys recommend hiring immigration consultants? I think I have a basic understanding of the complete spousal sponsoring application but ofcourse I'm no professional so there's probably a million other things that I don't know about. However, so many people on this site know so much that they can answer most of my questions that I have asked in the past.

So what do you guys think....anyone out there have had any experience with immigration consultants? Do you think it's worth the $$$? Other than the fact that immigration consultant are professionals and know every little thing by the fact, what can they do for you that the pros on this site can't? 

[shamsia]

No

[CharlieD10]

A consultant can actually review your documents, no-one here can do that for you.  S/he will have the opportunity to make practical suggestions on the organization of your application, make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed, things of that nature.  You will (hopefully) get a trained, professional review of your application which will identify any potential weaknesses and suggestions on how to shore them up.

Additionally, if you have complications to your case, a consultant will be able to guide you through how to address these complications so you come out on the right side of the various assessments.

We didn't use a consultant, but I won't knock it, it's not everyone's cup of tea to prepare an application of this kind.  As a professional adviser in the field of accounting, I can tell you there are many business people who find the idea of having to prepare a profit and loss statement and file a tax return something they will run screaming away from.  Enter someone like me, who actually enjoys reducing piles of paper to numbers on a bottom line and is professionally trained to do so.  It works the same way with a good, reputable immigration consultant.  

Please note I qualify immigration consultant with "good" and "reputable".  Just as there are shady accountants, so too there are unscrupulous consultants out there looking to use your situation to make a buck, they don't really give a damn about you personally or Immigration Canada's family reunification objectives.  It's all about how much they can squeeze out of you.

If you decide to use a consultant, for pete's sake, please get someone certified and get recommendations/testimonials from others.

[TGR]

I do not recommend immigration consultants. Unless your case is VERY complicated, the spousal sponsorship process is something you can do yourself. My husband and I initially hired an immigration lawyer because we were scared and panicked and didn't want to be apart for longer than we had to. Once we had paid her half her fee of $8000 (which she told us was a discount because we "seemed like a nice young couple"), I started doing my own research and reading and stumbled across this website. We asked for a refund and she only refunded us $2500 of the $4000 we paid her. At this point, all she had done was get her assistant to email us the immigration forms (which can be found easily on the CIC website) and answer 3 emails, one of which was an email detailing how to deposit money into her account. I realise that she needs to be paid for the work she did, but what she charged seemed unreasonable.

At the same time, I should have done my own research before going to a lawyer, but as I said, it was a difficult time and we didn't want any chances of things going wrong, so we rushed into it.

If you decide to do it on your own, there are a lot of great people on this forum that will help you out with any questions you may have an such!

[Kedeisha]

no

[dream99]

A consultant can actually review your documents, no-one here can do that for you.  S/he will have the opportunity to make practical suggestions on the organization of your application, make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed, things of that nature.  You will (hopefully) get a trained, professional review of your application which will identify any potential weaknesses and suggestions on how to shore them up.

We didn't use a consultant, but I won't knock it, it's not everyone's cup of tea to prepare an application of this kind.  As a professional adviser in the field of accounting, I can tell you there are many business people who find the idea of having to prepare a profit and loss statement and file a tax return something they will run screaming away from.  Enter someone like me, who actually enjoys reducing piles of paper to numbers on a bottom line and is professionally trained to do so.  It works the same way with a good, reputable immigration consultant. 


Please note I qualify immigration consultant with "good" and "reputable".  Just as there are shady accountants, so too there are unscrupulous consultants out there looking to use your situation to make a buck, they don't really give a damn about you personally or Immigration Canada's family reunification objectives.  It's all about how much they can squeeze out of you.

If you decide to use a consultant, for pete's sake, please get someone certified and get recommendations/testimonials from others.

Thanks, Charlie! I thought I would get an answer like this and I agree with you 100%. Just thought I'd get an insight on what others thought

[dream99]

I do not recommend immigration consultants. Unless your case is VERY complicated, the spousal sponsorship process is something you can do yourself. My husband and I initially hired an immigration lawyer because we were scared and panicked and didn't want to be apart for longer than we had to. Once we had paid her half her fee of $8000 (which she told us was a discount because we "seemed like a nice young couple"), I started doing my own research and reading and stumbled across this website. We asked for a refund and she only refunded us $2500 of the $4000 we paid her. At this point, all she had done was get her assistant to email us the immigration forms (which can be found easily on the CIC website) and answer 3 emails, one of which was an email detailing how to deposit money into her account. I realise that she needs to be paid for the work she did, but what she charged seemed unreasonable.

At the same time, I should have done my own research before going to a lawyer, but as I said, it was a difficult time and we didn't want any chances of things going wrong, so we rushed into it.


If you decide to do it on your own, there are a lot of great people on this forum that will help you out with any questions you may have an such!

Thanks for sharing your story, TGR! That sounds really terrible. It's definitely a business for the consultants and like Charlie said I doubt most of them care one bit about their client's results.

[CharlieD10]

We asked for a refund and she only refunded us $2500 of the $4000 we paid her. At this point, all she had done was get her assistant to email us the immigration forms (which can be found easily on the CIC website) and answer 3 emails, one of which was an email detailing how to deposit money into her account. I realise that she needs to be paid for the work she did, but what she charged seemed unreasonable.

Terrible.  Just. Terrible. 

[cleo]

Do it yourself, but have someone, maybe your spouse if possible or a trusted friend to check over everything.   Before my husband returned to his country, we spent 10 hours (it was a rainy day anyway) filling out those forms, arguing over the fine points before we felt satisfied we had done everything perfectly.  Even then,  I double checked with posts on this forum just to make certain. I even phoned the help line at CIC.  We made no errors, and though the VO asked for extra documents later on, our application from time of mailing took 7 months to process. We couldn't afford a lawyer anyway. 

[angtao]

My husband and I hired an immigration consultant. He charged us $2500 for everything. I started to get really stressed out reading the entire booklet of how to fill out the forms. I also had so many questions as this entire process was new to me.

I know a few people that did the paperwork on there own and some did it well and others had there case delayed by many months to provide more documents. This is a very important part of your life and you do not want to waste valuable time by doing it yourself and possibly screwing things up.

This is just my opinion. I left it up to the professionals to deal with and went about my daily life. I am glad that we hired someone as anytime I had questions, all I had to do was e-mail him and within 24 hrs I had a response.

I don't think that you actually need to hire a lawyer as many lawyers that I contacted wanted $5000 and up to do the same thing that a consultant can do.

[Battleschool]

My wife and I did a lot of research, reading on this forum, searching government websites, and reviewing of our application.  We felt confident that we were as ready as we could be.  Still, as Angtao said, this is a big deal, and we didn't want to make any mistakes that would delay the process.

We found a consultant that, rather than doing all the work, would just meet with us for a single consultation for something like $100.  We met him armed with questions as to what to expect from immigration, requests for clarification on how to fill out some questions... things like that. 

Even after all the time we had personally spent preparing for the application, we still found some small details that made the process much easier.  For example, he recommended us a place to get the medical exam done that was half the price of the place we had found ourselves.  That alone made his fee worth it.

We came out of the meeting with our questions answered, and much more confident that we could handle the immigration process.  Actually, as I write this, it reminds me I should send him a thank you (we landed a while back, no problems).

If anyone is looking for someone in the K-W area, his name is Chris Daw.  Our experience was very positive.

[rjessome]

If anyone is looking for someone in the K-W area, his name is Chris Daw.  Our experience was very positive.

I know Chris!  He's awesome!

I will echo CharlieD's sentiments.  But then again, we all know what I do for a living so I'm obviously not going to say you don't EVER need a representative!  Most of my clients are either like CharlieD described (would rather stick needles in their eyes than have to face this paperwork) or have some extraordinary issues that need to be addressed with care and proper legal knowledge.  I also do consultations like Chris Daw and have people come to me armed with questions they want answered to clarify some things.  I also do a more formal file review where the whole application is left with me for a week and I go over it with a fine tooth comb and then provide an opinion about what can be done to enhance it or advise where corrections are to be made.  With a file review, it's more expensive than a consultation but cheaper than full representation because I don't do the work nor am I the representative.  I just make sure everything is correct, organized, and complete.  Stakeholders in immigration meet with CIC twice a year to go over procedural issues, ask questions, learn about issues, etc.  By stakeholders I mean the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, and other recognized professional bodies that deal with CIC.  Do you know what the visa officer's BIGGEST complaint is at every meeting?  Applications forms are incomplete, information and documents are missing with no explanation, poor organzation of applications, etc.  Everytime we throw long wait times as a complaint at them, they come back with this.  

I've seen many applications done brilliantly without the help of a representative.  I've also seen messes that you would not believe that have caused extraordinary delays and in some cases, refusals.  And being honest, I have to admit that some of those messes came from crappy lawyers and consultants!  If you want to do it yourself, spend a LOT of time doing research.  Read OP manual 2, the guides, the Act, the Regulations and UNDERSTAND them.  Do NOT rush this application.  Take your time and do it right.  Learn the difference between quality and quantity.  Think about it this way, you are investing your LIFE in your partner, so invest a month of your time into research regarding these applications if you want to do it yourself.  This application will allow you to reunite with your partner in life so give it the attention it deserves.  If you are willing to make that commitment and don't have extraordinary legal issues to deal with, then you CAN do this yourself and do it well.  But please don't discount the value of professional advice from a reputable representative.  GET REFERENCES!!  I'd like to think that most lawyers and consultants take pride in their work and care about our clients.  I know that Chris Daw and I do.  But there are plenty of bad apples as well.

BTW, I'm hiring CharlieD when they get to Canada.  I HATE accounting!  

[CharlieD10]

1)Most of my clients are either like CharlieD described (would rather stick needles in their eyes than have to face this paperwork)

2) ...have some extraordinary issues that need to be addressed with care and proper legal knowledge.  

3) I also do consultations like Chris Daw and have people come to me armed with questions they want answered to clarify some things.  

4) I also do a more formal file review where the whole application is left with me for a week and I go over it with a fine tooth comb and then provide an opinion about what can be done to enhance it or advise where corrections are to be made.  I just make sure everything is correct, organized, and complete.  Do you know what the visa officer's BIGGEST complaint is at every meeting?  Applications forms are incomplete, information and documents are missing with no explanation, poor organzation of applications, etc.  


BTW, I'm hiring CharlieD when they get to Canada.  I HATE accounting!  

And there you have it, what you get from using a consultant from a consultant.

Why do I get the feeling rjessome's accounting records gather dust in a box somewhere until tax time rolls around every year? LOL. 

[rjessome]

Why do I get the feeling rjessome's accounting records gather dust in a box somewhere until tax time rolls around every year? LOL. 

Your feeling would be correct!  And the reality is much worse - box AND plastic bag!!!  You should see me at tax time.  Ugh.   

[CharlieD10]

Your feeling would be correct!  And the reality is much worse - box AND plastic bag!!!  You should see me at tax time.  Ugh.   

Hahaha, in which case, you're exactly like most clients I am used to already!