Seeking advice for a Domestic Abuse Victim in a homeless situation

[RakshaWolfe]

Hello,
My mother has finally, recently left my dad due to domestic abuse, after years of my family and I begging her to do it, and now she has nowhere to go except to flee the US to come to live in Canada with us. She is about to turn 69 and is currently on disability, she has been dependant on my father for quiet a number of years and we fear that we do not have the time to wait for her to apply for regular entry into Canada. Once the court case concludes the local shelter is not able to assist her anymore and she will be homeless. My spouse and I fear that my father will find her and do terrible things to her after the local government is finished helping her. We feel that the only way she would be completely free of him is if she is able to come to Canada where he would not be permitted due to being a convicted criminal. I am currently looking into getting her to come here under a Super-Visa however I want to make sure that becoming a Refugee Claimant isn't a better way to go since we need expediency of the highest order since the court case will be concluding in the next three months and it could take 6 months to a year for a Super-Visa to be processed and those are limited for how many are issued as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all,
Raksha Wolfe

 

[CanGoldDigger]

Super Visa is a good and quite a quick option. And you don't have grounds for a refugee claim.

 

[canuck78]

Hello,
My mother has finally, recently left my dad due to domestic abuse, after years of my family and I begging her to do it, and now she has nowhere to go except to flee the US to come to live in Canada with us. She is about to turn 69 and is currently on disability, she has been dependant on my father for quiet a number of years and we fear that we do not have the time to wait for her to apply for regular entry into Canada. Once the court case concludes the local shelter is not able to assist her anymore and she will be homeless. My spouse and I fear that my father will find her and do terrible things to her after the local government is finished helping her. We feel that the only way she would be completely free of him is if she is able to come to Canada where he would not be permitted due to being a convicted criminal. I am currently looking into getting her to come here under a Super-Visa however I want to make sure that becoming a Refugee Claimant isn't a better way to go since we need expediency of the highest order since the court case will be concluding in the next three months and it could take 6 months to a year for a Super-Visa to be processed and those are limited for how many are issued as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all,
Raksha Wolfe

This is a complex case. If she is disabled a supervisa may not be a good option because her preexisting conditions are unlikely to be covered. She may also not pass a medical. She would have to try to get access to healthcare as a private payer and she’d need to pay for supervisa insurance. The fact that she has minimal ties to the US like a home, job, etc. and no savings may also be a problem because a supervisa is a visitor visa that is up to 5-7 years if you are compliant with the terms of the supervisa but you are expected to return home. If she is a US citizen it will be difficult to get asylum in Canada. She would be expected to move somewhere else in the US and prove that she has relocated in the US and your father has found her each time and the police have not been able to protect her. Would suggest consulting an immigration lawyer. If they guarantee she has a case to remain in Canada permanently then consult another lawyer. There are about to be done significant immigration reforms that would impact cases like your mothers.

 

[RakshaWolfe]

Super Visa is a good and quite a quick option. And you don't have grounds for a refugee claim.

You're sure about that? The IRBC site in the Claimant's Guide is says that "women who fear domestic violence can be given refugee protection in Canada if they meet the United Nations (UN) definition of a Convention refugee. The UN defines Convention refugees as people who have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their membership in a particular social group, like that of women who are escaping domestic violence, who are in need of protection and can prove that if they return to their home country, they will face a danger of torture, a risk to their life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. Will receive status if found eligible following an application review and hearing.

 

[RakshaWolfe]

This is a complex case. If she is disabled a supervisa may not be a good option because her preexisting conditions are unlikely to be covered. She may also not pass a medical. She would have to try to get access to healthcare as a private payer and she’d need to pay for supervisa insurance. The fact that she has minimal ties to the US like a home, job, etc. and no savings may also be a problem because a supervisa is a visitor visa that is up to 5-7 years if you are compliant with the terms of the supervisa but you are expected to return home. If she is a US citizen it will be difficult to get asylum in Canada. She would be expected to move somewhere else in the US and prove that she has relocated in the US and your father has found her each time and the police have not been able to protect her. Would suggest consulting an immigration lawyer. If they guarantee she has a case to remain in Canada permanently then consult another lawyer. There are about to be done significant immigration reforms that would impact cases like your mothers.

That is what I was afraid of in regards to the Super-Visa. I wasn't confident that she would get it based on the lack of ties to the US and the fact that we would in fact be wanting her to stay in defiantly. We fear that he is going to end her life if she stays in the US, he has come close on several occasions, there is documentation of it. So far the police have been dang-near short of useless in this matter. I really don't want my mother to be another statistic of to little too late and her story gets plastered on The First 48 or 60 minutes all because I am not there to stop him and couldn't get her to safety fast enough trying to cut through all this freaking red tape. It really sucks that her native heritage is not enough for a status card that would allow her to cross the border without all this trouble.

 

[canuck78]

That is what I was afraid of in regards to the Super-Visa. I wasn't confident that she would get it based on the lack of ties to the US and the fact that we would in fact be wanting her to stay in defiantly. We fear that he is going to end her life if she stays in the US, he has come close on several occasions, there is documentation of it. So far the police have been dang-near short of useless in this matter. I really don't want my mother to be another statistic of to little too late and her story gets plastered on The First 48 or 60 minutes all because I am not there to stop him and couldn't get her to safety fast enough trying to cut through all this freaking red tape. It really sucks that her native heritage is not enough for a status card that would allow her to cross the border without all this trouble.

Has she relocated to other states? Across the country? Canada is very reluctant to offer asylum to US citizens. In terms of the supervisa even if approved she will have to return home whether at the end of her visit or if she is not able to secure supervisa insurance or pay for it. Supervisa insurance is only emergency travel insurance. If she needs routine healthcare or treatment for chronic conditions that is not covered. Given the lack of capacity in our healthcare system access to care for private pay patients may not also even be possible unless it is an emergency. If she has access to certain benefits in the US she needs to consider what the loss of the income or benefits and what happens if she has to return to the US on her own schedule or earlier.