SlimJimbo

Firstly Happy New Year to everyone on this forum and Congratulations to all those that have managed to recieve their visas - Good Luck in the future!

Secondly does it make a difference having a lawyer to handle your immigration case in terms of:

(i) Speed of processing
(ii) Effectiveness of case

I'm more interested in finding out about the first point as I was told that it is usually faster to go through a Solicitor that is authorised by the Canadian govt?

Time to go back to my place in the queue for Canada.

dwgray

All the best to you too!!. I don’t think it will speed up your application in any way. I didn’t use an immigration lawyer and many people on this site did the same. A lawyer has no influence or control regarding the application process. The forms themselves are relatively easy to fill out and of course it takes a lot of time and energy to collate all your documental evidence. But, you can do all of that yourself. Just go through everything with a fine toothcomb and you should be fine.

tmccorm3

A lot of people, including myself, have completed all of the forms without the direct assistance of an Immigration Consultant.

If your case is straight forward and you are confident with the completion of Government forms - then go for it. If you are not too sure on either point then the use of a registered consultant may be the way forward, it gives you that extra level of confidence that your application should not fail because of incomplete documentation - but no guarantees.

I do not think application get processed any quicker based upon who submits it.

Regards and Happy 2006

Tony

jcexit

As far as I understand all cases are treated strictly in the order in which they are received.
Following is the address for the Skilled Worker forms guide...

http://www.canada.org.uk/visa-info/f...ed/swguide.pdf

...and here is the relevant extract...

Hiring a lawyer or consultant
This guide should provide you with all the information you need to complete your forms. It is not necessary to pay anyone to assist you; however, you are free to hire a lawyer or consultant if you wish. Faster or more favourable processing is not given to people with representatives.To learn more about hiring a representative, consult our Web site.

OzRob

I'm sure that this statement is correct. I believe that each application reaches IA in the order that they are received, more or less. However, if there is information or evidence missing I believe that there will be a delay while they request the information or evidence. If they give you that opportunity!!

Another possibility is that the person processing it is having a bad day and decides that a poorly prepared application is just too hard and leaves it for another day or month or..... I know that this shouldn't happen but we all know about human nature.

So where a professional can help speed up an application is to ensure that an application is well prepared. I know that a lot of cases appear simple but unfortunately immigration law is a long way from simple. All you need to do is look at the questions that are asked on this forum. Even scarier is the range of opinions and experiences that are posted.

All you can do is assess your own situation and have a good think about the level of risk you are comfortable with. For me, and most here, the decision to immigrate is no small matter. I came to the conclusion that the money I spent on professional help is money well spent.

NewCanadian

I fully agree with OzRob here. Money spent on expert assisting our family in Canadian immigration process are the money best spent so far in our lives.

Don't listen to those who tell you that you can do it yourself if you can read forms. It is just a big BS.

What do you think is the reason for processing times differences for same visa posts, often reaching 2 or 3 years of difference between fastest and slowest application? The difference is the quality of application package and how conclusive it is.

What do you think is the reason for average 50% refusal rate? Do you really believe that those 50% are idiots who apply without meeting minimum requirements and reaching pass mark???? No, they are not idiots - they simply didn't make their cases.

Think again. Cost of professional help is less than cost of your annual vacation with family. You can skip one vacation but you don't want to lose your chance for approval nor risk long delays in PR process.

iaink

Its a matter of confidence. If you are happy to follow the instructions and have a "simple" background..clearcut qualifications, not much time in foreign countries, no criminal record etc etc then there is really nothing to be gained using a consultant except additional piece of mind. Many people do it themselves and using a consultant will only result in faster processing if you miss some evidence that a consultant would have put in first time. Even with a consultant you will have to do your own legwork getting employers letters, references etc etc, which is the time consuming part of the application anyway.

The benefit of a consultant is piece of mind that all the "i"s are dotted and "t"s crossed, and that the application will be seen in the best light first time around...if you use a good consultant.

If you intend to pay for a consultant then make sure they are CSIC registered (and not just a middle man) and ask about in places like this to check that previous clients are happy.

If you have a simple case and clearly meet the points requirement and are happy following the guides and filling in the gaps in places like this, then save your money...you might need it while you get established over here!

Good luck

CaliforniaBride

This question comes up in the US forum all the time. The general opinion seems to be that in straightforward cases that the applicants can handle the paperwork themselves. The problem being that you may not realise you need a lawyer until you're in a mess.

IMHO, it might be worth getting an initial consultation just for peace of mind.

SlimJimbo

Thankyou all for your responses!

The reason why I asked this question is because I have applied for Immigration with the solicitor. (Colin Singer - Authorised by Canadian Govt)

I recieved my AOR in Feb 05 (London) with the card giving a process time of 21 months. Now the fact that the waiting time has reached 36 months; I wanted to know whether this would affect me.

The response was that it would affect me regardless of when I applied! However going through these guys would save me time since they would prepare my case in the best light - as you guys have mentioned!

Rich_007

Responses will be partisan based on whether applicant has/hasn't used consultant/lawyer. I go with the sensible angle from my learned colleague Iain above..... but then again I would do wouldn't I

Rich

CaliforniaBride

I've done both. Had an RFE (Request for Further Evidence) when we had a lawyer. And everything has gone well since we started doing our own work. Still, one experience doesn't count for much.

Rich_007

Actually counted for an awful lot as far as our one very successful experience was concerned. as we'd never done similar before and were/are not claiming any specific skills or talents that other PR applicants have got.

Rich.

CaliforniaBride

I was just trying not to draw to many conclusions from my own experience.

BTW have you voted yet? Only 2 mins left.

Biiiiink

Common-law partner sponsorship here, didn't use a lawyer, submitted the app before we found this website and the only mistake Mr B made (he was in charge of it all!) was to send it to London instead of Mississauga. This cost us 4wks and would not have happened if we'd used a consultant. *But* to us a 4wk delay was no-way-in-hell worth the 3k GBP a consultant would have charged... so we're glad we didn't bother. I say "didn't bother" as if it was something we considered doing, which it wasn't, but there you go My tuppenceworth!

poeticjustice

As far as I am concern I have been told each application is unique and different from the next and therefore reviewed as such. If you are a detailed individual and organized enough to put an application package together then it is assessed on it's own merits and information. If you are not detailed and forget to include important information in other areas of your life then yes, you need external assistence. I't also depends on the indivdual who is viewing the application contents, time of year quota number reached etc. Making ones case is the ability to submit all the information requested as well as information that will boost your credentials. Either way I wish you the best of luck.