Any real advantage in applying through an immigration consultant / lawyer?

[shibinp]

I wonder why people pay a lot of money to consultants/lawyers to apply for PR, especially in case of CEC where the process is simple and clear (as per my experience) and we have a great user guide, forum support etc.

I understand, may be for FSW category, they may need consultants because of points calculation etc.

what you guys think about the difference/advantages between applying our own and applying through a consultancy?? It seems after initial refusal many people wanted to try through consultants/lawyers..
may be whoever is already done/doing through consultancy can really tell us the difference (in documentation, their approach etc.)

 

[CECFEB2013]

Wonderful question, I'm also looking out for an answer for this question since long time.

 

[yahoo7]

There is no real advantage of a lawyer unless you have a complicated situation. Even if you appoint a lawyer, you will still have to gather all the docs, fill up all the docs urself. The lawyer might just do a quick review of the forms you filled up. I have seen a lot of my friends going thru lawyers who did not benefit in any way and got their applications rejected due to various reasons which the lawyer would also not been able to help.

 

[jsm0085]

It very much depends on the person and their case... I have used one, but that was my choice, however, it doesn't mean that I needed to use one. Let me give you some of my reasons for making this choice: -

1) I'm confident that my individual case and application meet the requirements of the CEC application.
2) My lawyer has made a submission that outlines the legislation and requirements to my individual case. As a result of this, I have more confidence that my application will, hopefully, be accepted.
3) Some issues that I overlooked, were picked up and corrected by my representative. Mistakes can easily be made and if you don't discover them before submitting your application, they can not only cause problems but can potentially result in application refusal.
4) I know if I have any issues with my application I will be represented by experts who know the law and have experience of dealing with CIC.

If you have a complicated case, it is worth while considering having representation when submitting your application. As you have pointed out, the forms are fairly clear and good guidance is available. However, you may also have realized that many people on this form have serious concerns about their application after submitting it for numerous reasons, and several others end up receiving a refusal due to errors.

While good representation can potentially help ensure you have completed your application correctly and have provided the correct documentation, it does not itself improve your chances of your application being accepted. An individual who has provided the correct documentation and completed the forms correctly has just as good a chance of being accepted as you do.

If you are considering using a representative, make sure they are legit... This is a fairly big issue at the moment. Use someone who is certified by the correct governing body in your province and where possible check for references / testimonials !

Hope this helps.

 

[yahoo7]

It very much depends on the person and their case... I have used one, but that was my choice, however, it doesn't mean that I needed to use one. Let me give you some of my reasons for making this choice: -

1) I'm confident that my individual case and application meet the requirements of the CEC application.
2) My lawyer has made a submission that outlines the legislation and requirements to my individual case. As a result of this, I have more confidence that my application will, hopefully, be accepted.
3) Some issues that I overlooked, were picked up and corrected by my representative. Mistakes can easily be made and if you don't discover them before submitting your application, they can not only cause problems but can potentially result in application refusal.
4) I know if I have any issues with my application I will be represented by experts who know the law and have experience of dealing with CIC.

If you have a complicated case, it is worth while considering having representation when submitting your application. As you have pointed out, the forms are fairly clear and good guidance is available. However, you may also have realized that many people on this form have serious concerns about their application after submitting it for numerous reasons, and several others end up receiving a refusal due to errors.

While good representation can potentially help ensure you have completed your application correctly and have provided the correct documentation, it does not itself improve your chances of your application being accepted. An individual who has provided the correct documentation and completed the forms correctly has just as good a chance of being accepted as you do.

If you are considering using a representative, make sure they are legit... This is a fairly big issue at the moment. Use someone who is certified by the correct governing body in your province and where possible check for references / testimonials !

Hope this helps.

Very nice explanation by jsm0085

 

[siroccoon]

Representative will make sure you have all the documents as per check list and suggest any additional information required to be included. For example, you only have your first name on your birth certificate where you are advised to include an affidavit explaining why your surname is missing OR some complex situations where you need lawyer's advise. However all the informations are available in canadavisa forums with answers based on experiences.
Yes indeed the charges are quite high ranging from 3K to 6K CAD$ for appointing a representative to submit on your behalf. Its more judgemental but keep in mind, end of the day you have to provide all the information that has to go in the forms (good examples would be personal history and your travels), you have to provide the info in an excel that will go in to the forms. No rep has influence on the decisions VO is making.
Of course there are advantages in going through a rep but its up to you to decide if you really want to spend that much money for submitting the application or do your homework and double check the forms and documents by yourself.

Cheers.

 

[Kamesh]

I don't know if this really answers your question but what we did was to apply on our own but hired a lawyer to review our documents before we submitted it. I can tell you that it was a huge help because he looked through every single line and answered every single question we had. I have to confess that we filled up the forms without any thought to how thorough it should be and the lawyer pointed all the errors we had made (mostly consistency between all the application forms). It cost us $300 for the review and we were certainly more confident when we submitted it. So maybe having a lawyer review your application is a good compromise between spending $$$ to apply through a lawyer and doing an application all on your own.

 

[yahoo7]

I don't know if this really answers your question but what we did was to apply on our own but hired a lawyer to review our documents before we submitted it. I can tell you that it was a huge help because he looked through every single line and answered every single question we had. I have to confess that we filled up the forms without any thought to how thorough it should be and the lawyer pointed all the errors we had made (mostly consistency between all the application forms). It cost us $300 for the review and we were certainly more confident when we submitted it. So maybe having a lawyer review your application is a good compromise between spending $$$ to apply through a lawyer and doing an application all on your own.

can you please share your lawyer details..

 

[srionline117]

Kamesh: pls share lawyer details. Thx.

 

[Kamesh]

This is the place where I scheduled a review -- vancouverlaw.ca

This is another place that does reviews -- thinkr.ca