How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
Apr 21st 2015, 9:01 am
#1
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How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
I have to say first you are all so helpful- thank you!
We told the company who have offered my husband a job that we want to manage the visa process ourselves. They have not submitted an LMIA yet and the women in the office that would need to do it said she had a nightmare when she did it last time. Can i ask has the process changed through the new express entry system? It looks to me that there is just one application that they need to fill out which shouldn't be too onerous??
They also suggested that they thought the LMIA would be quicker to process if a lawyer was dealing with it- this doesn't seem right to me? Why would it be any quicker- I would have thought they shouldn't be able to fast track anything. Maybe I'm wrong??
Thanks for your thoughts
We told the company who have offered my husband a job that we want to manage the visa process ourselves. They have not submitted an LMIA yet and the women in the office that would need to do it said she had a nightmare when she did it last time. Can i ask has the process changed through the new express entry system? It looks to me that there is just one application that they need to fill out which shouldn't be too onerous??
They also suggested that they thought the LMIA would be quicker to process if a lawyer was dealing with it- this doesn't seem right to me? Why would it be any quicker- I would have thought they shouldn't be able to fast track anything. Maybe I'm wrong??
Thanks for your thoughts
Apr 21st 2015, 9:42 am
#2
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Re: How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
You're right, and they're wrong! A lawyer can't speed things up at all, although they can ensure that the application is right first time round and avoid any delays from incomplete info or having to reapply. But if it's a complete application then ESDC don't fasttrack those from lawyers or consultants.
The LMIA process hasn't changed at all since the new EE system, it's still the same, although there is now an option to get a free LMIA which is only used to support a PR app (no use if you want to go sooner on a TWP though). You can look at all the forms and requirements here - Hiring Temporary Foreign Workers for Higher-skilled Occupations | ESDC
It's not usually a nightmare, as long as they can prove that they've advertised the job and no Canadian can be found to do it, so make sure they've got lots of proof of advertising in different places and details of who applied and why they weren't suitable, and fingers crossed it should be ok.
HTH, good luck.
The LMIA process hasn't changed at all since the new EE system, it's still the same, although there is now an option to get a free LMIA which is only used to support a PR app (no use if you want to go sooner on a TWP though). You can look at all the forms and requirements here - Hiring Temporary Foreign Workers for Higher-skilled Occupations | ESDC
It's not usually a nightmare, as long as they can prove that they've advertised the job and no Canadian can be found to do it, so make sure they've got lots of proof of advertising in different places and details of who applied and why they weren't suitable, and fingers crossed it should be ok.
HTH, good luck.
Apr 21st 2015, 3:16 pm
#3
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Re: How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
Not to troll but my company used a law firm to prepare the LMIA application.
In total they applied 3 times.
The first time they entered the wrong address of my company's head office which resulted in an incomplete/incorrect application.
The second time they managed to enter the correct address but they noticed my salary was a bit short of the national average for someone in my field and experience so they changed my job description to match a lower level of pay. The govt spotted this and said hey you can't do that, refused.
Before they submitted the third application my employer gave me the pay rise so I was on par with the standard salary (although I was not working for them at the time so it didn't help me at all) and they reapplied. By now the govt was presumably suspicious of this law firm and they started auditing them. During the audit no applications for LMIA's from the law firm could be processed. The audit went on from April 2014 to February 2015. The third and final application was refused. I waited from January 2014 to Feb 2015 only for my company to say they will not reapply for me, they changed law firms because they found them to be incompetent.
In short if you do use a lawyer/law firm be sure you pick one that knows what it is doing.
Apr 21st 2015, 3:55 pm
#4
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Re: How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
Not to troll but my company used a law firm to prepare the LMIA application.
In total they applied 3 times.
The first time they entered the wrong address of my company's head office which resulted in an incomplete/incorrect application.
The second time they managed to enter the correct address but they noticed my salary was a bit short of the national average for someone in my field and experience so they changed my job description to match a lower level of pay. The govt spotted this and said hey you can't do that, refused.
Before they submitted the third application my employer gave me the pay rise so I was on par with the standard salary (although I was not working for them at the time so it didn't help me at all) and they reapplied. By now the govt was presumably suspicious of this law firm and they started auditing them. During the audit no applications for LMIA's from the law firm could be processed. The audit went on from April 2014 to February 2015. The third and final application was refused. I waited from January 2014 to Feb 2015 only for my company to say they will not reapply for me, they changed law firms because they found them to be incompetent.
In short if you do use a lawyer/law firm be sure you pick one that knows what it is doing.
In total they applied 3 times.
The first time they entered the wrong address of my company's head office which resulted in an incomplete/incorrect application.
The second time they managed to enter the correct address but they noticed my salary was a bit short of the national average for someone in my field and experience so they changed my job description to match a lower level of pay. The govt spotted this and said hey you can't do that, refused.
Before they submitted the third application my employer gave me the pay rise so I was on par with the standard salary (although I was not working for them at the time so it didn't help me at all) and they reapplied. By now the govt was presumably suspicious of this law firm and they started auditing them. During the audit no applications for LMIA's from the law firm could be processed. The audit went on from April 2014 to February 2015. The third and final application was refused. I waited from January 2014 to Feb 2015 only for my company to say they will not reapply for me, they changed law firms because they found them to be incompetent.
In short if you do use a lawyer/law firm be sure you pick one that knows what it is doing.
Hope you manage to find another job offer/LMIA soon.
Apr 21st 2015, 3:58 pm
#5
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Re: How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
Thanks, I am just waiting for my spousal PR app. No point in giving the govt more money and getting nothing back!
Apr 21st 2015, 3:59 pm
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Apr 21st 2015, 7:45 pm
#7
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Re: How hard is it for a company to apply for LMIA??
Thanks for your help. Andrew what a nightmare! I hope it all works out for you
