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Joined refugee claims, whant to be separated

EliRf

Member
Sep 10, 2019
19
2
Hi
I claimed refugee on Novemver 2019, at the same day with my sister, we hired a lawyerwhich unfortunately is not very responsible. Me and my sister have two different Basis of claim files. Recently we have got a letter from refugee board that shows a single hearing day for both of us. We didn't want our hearings to be joined to gather but unfortunately our lawyer did nothing about it. I have asked for consultation from other lawyers and they all said it was not the good idea to get a joined hearing date.
Since then a lot has happened to me, I have got married last summer and I am expecting to have my baby this July. On top of this the hearing date is exactly on the same week that I will be delivering my baby! Our lawyer even did not considered my situation when he got us the hearing date.

I am so worried, I have applied through spousal sponsorship program as well recently and as far as I know I can withdraw my case at this point. But my sister is worried because she thinks if I withdraw my case either she will be rejected or the hearing date will be postponed! And she doesn't want the date to be any later than this!

I am really in a bad situation, I don't know what to do. Although my sister isn't thinking about me and is really selfish because she doesn't want to postpone our hearing date, I don't want to do anything that would be bad for her!

What is your opinion on this? What should I do?

1. If I withdraw my case would it be bad for my sister?
2. If I want our hearings to be separated, do they postpone the hearing date for my sister? Or she can do it at the given date?
3. Is it better to become a citizen through spousal sponsorship rather than refugee claim?
4. What would you do if you were me? I am having a baby for the first time in my life, approximately then, I will be going through a c section. Lots of pain. There will be lots of stress as well. I am worried about me and my baby.

Please help.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Toronto
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Hi
I claimed refugee on Novemver 2019, at the same day with my sister, we hired a lawyerwhich unfortunately is not very responsible. Me and my sister have two different Basis of claim files. Recently we have got a letter from refugee board that shows a single hearing day for both of us. We didn't want our hearings to be joined to gather but unfortunately our lawyer did nothing about it. I have asked for consultation from other lawyers and they all said it was not the good idea to get a joined hearing date.
Since then a lot has happened to me, I have got married last summer and I am expecting to have my baby this July. On top of this the hearing date is exactly on the same week that I will be delivering my baby! Our lawyer even did not considered my situation when he got us the hearing date.

I am so worried, I have applied through spousal sponsorship program as well recently and as far as I know I can withdraw my case at this point. But my sister is worried because she thinks if I withdraw my case either she will be rejected or the hearing date will be postponed! And she doesn't want the date to be any later than this!

I am really in a bad situation, I don't know what to do. Although my sister isn't thinking about me and is really selfish because she doesn't want to postpone our hearing date, I don't want to do anything that would be bad for her!

What is your opinion on this? What should I do?

1. If I withdraw my case would it be bad for my sister?
2. If I want our hearings to be separated, do they postpone the hearing date for my sister? Or she can do it at the given date?
3. Is it better to become a citizen through spousal sponsorship rather than refugee claim?
4. What would you do if you were me? I am having a baby for the first time in my life, approximately then, I will be going through a c section. Lots of pain. There will be lots of stress as well. I am worried about me and my baby.

Please help.
I don't think it's a good idea to withdraw your refugee claim. If you withdraw the refugee claim, this makes the removal order active. Even with a spousal sponsorship application in progress, you can still be removed. When did you submit the spousal sponsorship application?

If you get PR through the refugee process and are the primary applicant, then you cannot return to your home country until after you become a citizen and also should not use or renew your home country passport. Other than that, there's really no difference.

Your lawyer would have been given a date - rather than being able to chose a date. I can't comment on the rest of your questions. You really need to be working with a good lawyer. If you don't have confidence in your current lawyer, consider finding a new one.
 

Simba112

VIP Member
Mar 25, 2021
4,264
1,549
Hi
I claimed refugee on Novemver 2019, at the same day with my sister, we hired a lawyerwhich unfortunately is not very responsible. Me and my sister have two different Basis of claim files. Recently we have got a letter from refugee board that shows a single hearing day for both of us. We didn't want our hearings to be joined to gather but unfortunately our lawyer did nothing about it. I have asked for consultation from other lawyers and they all said it was not the good idea to get a joined hearing date.
Since then a lot has happened to me, I have got married last summer and I am expecting to have my baby this July. On top of this the hearing date is exactly on the same week that I will be delivering my baby! Our lawyer even did not considered my situation when he got us the hearing date.

I am so worried, I have applied through spousal sponsorship program as well recently and as far as I know I can withdraw my case at this point. But my sister is worried because she thinks if I withdraw my case either she will be rejected or the hearing date will be postponed! And she doesn't want the date to be any later than this!

I am really in a bad situation, I don't know what to do. Although my sister isn't thinking about me and is really selfish because she doesn't want to postpone our hearing date, I don't want to do anything that would be bad for her!

What is your opinion on this? What should I do?

1. If I withdraw my case would it be bad for my sister?
2. If I want our hearings to be separated, do they postpone the hearing date for my sister? Or she can do it at the given date?
3. Is it better to become a citizen through spousal sponsorship rather than refugee claim?
4. What would you do if you were me? I am having a baby for the first time in my life, approximately then, I will be going through a c section. Lots of pain. There will be lots of stress as well. I am worried about me and my baby.

Please help.
I feel sorry for what you are going through. In my opinion, you should not withdraw your claim, that will activate removal order. Secondly, as you are expecting a baby same time as your hearing, best option is to request another hearing date, whether your sister likes it or not, your health and that of the baby is important. Lastly, as you mentioned you had consultation with other lawyers, take their advice.. at the end you and your sister need to work together.. put everything aside
 

farsxp

Hero Member
Apr 19, 2019
235
93
I feel sorry for what you are going through. In my opinion, you should not withdraw your claim, that will activate removal order. Secondly, as you are expecting a baby same time as your hearing, best option is to request another hearing date, whether your sister likes it or not, your health and that of the baby is important. Lastly, as you mentioned you had consultation with other lawyers, take their advice.. at the end you and your sister need to work together.. put everything aside
First, do not withdraw. If you do you can be removed by activation of your now-inactive removal order. Second, you or your counsel can request a later date for your hearing. This request is sent to the director of the IRB and he will decide whether to accept it or not. The decision to have a joined hearing is actually a request by IRCC sent to IRB and IRB sends a letter to your counsel to ask you and your sister if you two "allow" this file sharing to happen. It seems your lawyer did not provide you with this info and he/she replied to IRB on your behalf without telling you. Or essentially you may have allowed this file sharing to happen by just saying it over the phone without knowing what you had consented to. The exact thing happened to my friend and her boy friend here and unfortunately the IRCC representative and his/her counsel will intervene in their joined hearing.
You need a very good laywer. Your case is extremely complex and it needs to be reviewed in full. Definitely postpone your hearing date. Your sister also needs to know she is going to risk losing her case and causing your case to fail with a joined hearing.
 
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EliRf

Member
Sep 10, 2019
19
2
I don't think it's a good idea to withdraw your refugee claim. If you withdraw the refugee claim, this makes the removal order active. Even with a spousal sponsorship application in progress, you can still be removed. When did you submit the spousal sponsorship application?

If you get PR through the refugee process and are the primary applicant, then you cannot return to your home country until after you become a citizen and also should not use or renew your home country passport. Other than that, there's really no difference.

Your lawyer would have been given a date - rather than being able to chose a date. I can't comment on the rest of your questions. You really need to be working with a good lawyer. If you don't have confidence in your current lawyer, consider finding a new one.
Thanks for the advice
 

EliRf

Member
Sep 10, 2019
19
2
First, do not withdraw. If you do you can be removed by activation of your now-inactive removal order. Second, you or your counsel can request a later date for your hearing. This request is sent to the director of the IRB and he will decide whether to accept it or not. The decision to have a joined hearing is actually a request by IRCC sent to IRB and IRB sends a letter to your counsel to ask you and your sister if you two "allow" this file sharing to happen. It seems your lawyer did not provide you with this info and he/she replied to IRB on your behalf without telling you. Or essentially you may have allowed this file sharing to happen by just saying it over the phone without knowing what you had consented to. The exact thing happened to my friend and her boy friend here and unfortunately the IRCC representative and his/her counsel will intervene in their joined hearing.
You need a very good laywer. Your case is extremely complex and it needs to be reviewed in full. Definitely postpone your hearing date. Your sister also needs to know she is going to risk losing her case and causing your case to fail with a joined hearing.
Thanks for the advice