Toronto Lawyer recommendations?

[pip_kerr]

Hi there, I have managed to do a lot of research as well as ask a few important questions on this forum regarding my immigration issues, all I must add were answered very quickly! This forum is amazing!

My question is now does anyone know or can recommend a good reasonably priced immigration lawyer based in Toronto that I can cross check all my research and answers with? Both my partner and my previous employers want to know that I have exhausted every avenue and loophole before giving up on my quest to be able to work in Canada.

At the moment I have been getting quotes from around $200-300 just for a consultation, I know lawyers are expensive but just for a few questions this seems a bit steep. I want to check with people on this forum to see what a decent price would be and if they have contacts.

I will include my story below incase anyone wants to add or pass onto any lawyers they may know. Thanks in advance!

Hello, I want to speak to a lawyer regarding my current situation and find out what I can do next, also I want to check if the information I have researched is correct. I am a 30 year old Australian male living in Toronto and I have just finished up my second Canadian IEC work permit, I applied for a 3rd before it expired but it unfortunately it was refused. I am now out of status and had to leave my job on the spot as I do not want to break any laws here. My fiance is Canadian and we have been together now for over 2 years, 18 months of them have been spent here in Toronto.
We plan to do a PR sponsorship eventually but right now the timing does not suit us, I read that because I am out of status if we applied for a PR now it would be 8 months before I would receive an OWP, 4months restoring my status to visitor, then 4 months applying for OWP.
My fiance and I also have a 3 month trip planned for Australia in Jan as two of my sisters are having babies and we want to be there to help, so if we apply for a PR now not only would I not be able to work for 8 months but I would also not be able to leave the country until it is granted, right?
So now I am looking to stay in Canada until we leave in Jan, my partner can support me (if there is no option of working legally) and then we can apply for an outland visa when in Oz. How long would this usually take?
I just want to speak to a professional to crosscheck my facts and info and make sure I am not missing any loopholes or other option, as well as make sure that I am not doing something illegal that might cause problems in the future.

Sincerely Christian Borwick

Thanks again.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi there, I have managed to do a lot of research as well as ask a few important questions on this forum regarding my immigration issues, all I must add were answered very quickly! This forum is amazing!

My question is now does anyone know or can recommend a good reasonably priced immigration lawyer based in Toronto that I can cross check all my research and answers with? Both my partner and my previous employers want to know that I have exhausted every avenue and loophole before giving up on my quest to be able to work in Canada.

At the moment I have been getting quotes from around $200-300 just for a consultation, I know lawyers are expensive but just for a few questions this seems a bit steep. I want to check with people on this forum to see what a decent price would be and if they have contacts.

I will include my story below incase anyone wants to add or pass onto any lawyers they may know. Thanks in advance!

Hello, I want to speak to a lawyer regarding my current situation and find out what I can do next, also I want to check if the information I have researched is correct. I am a 30 year old Australian male living in Toronto and I have just finished up my second Canadian IEC work permit, I applied for a 3rd before it expired but it unfortunately it was refused. I am now out of status and had to leave my job on the spot as I do not want to break any laws here. My fiance is Canadian and we have been together now for over 2 years, 18 months of them have been spent here in Toronto.
We plan to do a PR sponsorship eventually but right now the timing does not suit us, I read that because I am out of status if we applied for a PR now it would be 8 months before I would receive an OWP, 4months restoring my status to visitor, then 4 months applying for OWP.
My fiance and I also have a 3 month trip planned for Australia in Jan as two of my sisters are having babies and we want to be there to help, so if we apply for a PR now not only would I not be able to work for 8 months but I would also not be able to leave the country until it is granted, right?
So now I am looking to stay in Canada until we leave in Jan, my partner can support me (if there is no option of working legally) and then we can apply for an outland visa when in Oz. How long would this usually take?
I just want to speak to a professional to crosscheck my facts and info and make sure I am not missing any loopholes or other option, as well as make sure that I am not doing something illegal that might cause problems in the future.

Sincerely Christian Borwick

Thanks again.

You don't need a lawyer, your case is incredibly simple.

Assuming you've been living together at least 12 consecutive months (and have proof of it) you are common-law partners. Apply immediately for PR using an OUTLAND application. It will most likely be processed in the Sydney visa office which is very quick (should be 8 months give or take).

While the Outland app is processing, you are free to travel to and from Canada as often or for as long as you like. You can stay in Canada as a visitor during the processing. It's only with an INLAND app that you are expected to remain inside Canada during entire processing time.

There is no OWP associated with an outland app, so you will need to wait until app is approved and you land as a PR before you can work again. But as mentioned Sydney is a super quick office so you shouldn't need to wait long.

In the meantime if you just let your IEC expire without converting it to visitor status, you are here illegally. If this was within last 90 days you should apply for restoration of status to get valid visitor status back. Or alternatively could try taking a day trip to the US and back again which would give you new visitor status upon re-entry.

 

[pip_kerr]

Thanks Rob_TO for the quick response. My IEC expired 2 weeks ago, does this change anything u stated? Right now I am without status, so would I need to restore my status to a visitor visa before applying for an outland PR? Thanks

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks Rob_TO for the quick response. My IEC expired 2 weeks ago, does this change anything u stated? Right now I am without status, so would I need to restore my status to a visitor visa before applying for an outland PR? Thanks

It would be a good idea to apply while having valid status. It may not be essential, but your app could face delays if they see you were out of status when applied.

As mentioned, you can pay a fee (I think in the $200 range) and restore your status while in Canada here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/validity/restoration.asp

Or for free you can leave/re-enter Canada (a little bit riskier in case they deny you re-entry for any reason, though most likely should be ok)

 

[pip_kerr]

Yeah I heard it can be risky crossing the border, especially after being denied a work permit. Maybe I can explain to them that I need to restore my status before I can apply for my PR? That would surely be reasonable?
The Issue with me applying to restore to a visitor visa inland is that it takes minimum 4 months apparently, so that would be 4 months application time, followed by 8 months outland visa processing time. Nearly a year without working is not good for me.

Thanks again reply.

 

[pip_kerr]

I just want to ask a quick question about something that has bugged me during this whole process. I applied for my new IEC work permit before my previous one expired, when it did expire I was able to keep working under the same rules because I applied before expiration date. unfortunately it was refused and now what I want to know is why doesn't the government allow a couple of weeks or some ample time to switch to a visitor visor or something? Surely being made without status just makes it extremely hard for the person trying sort stuff out? I feel like I am stuck in limbo land with hardly any options that don't take a lengthy portion of time.
Do you think if I crossed the border and came back in as a visitor, explaining to the officer in charge that I need to do this in order to move forward with a PR they would find that reasonable?

Thanks