IMPORTANT NOTICE - PENDING APPLICANTS TO CANADA
Feb 10th 2003, 11:47 am
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IMPORTANT NOTICE - PENDING APPLICANTS TO CANADA
-- http://www.Immigration.ca -- CCIRC Inc. All Rights Reserved. --
February 10, 2003
On June 28, 2002, the Government of Canada introduced new immigration
selection rules governing the Economic Class. The new rules, (the
"transition rules"), stipulate that applications for permanent
resident filed before January 1, 2002, which are not approved in
principle by March 31, 2003, will be assessed under the new selection
criteria at a reduced pass mark of 70 points.
In effect, the government is undertaking to reduce a backlog of many
thousands of pending cases, by implementing new selection criteria,
applied retroactively, that will systematically refuse cases filed
under the former immigration selection rules. It is estimated that
from 150,000 – 250,000 pending applications will not meet the new
selection rules requiring a reduced pass mark of 70 points.
Request Selection Interview before March 31, 2003
Lawyer Colin R. Singer currently represents a number of applicants who
will not meet the reduced pass mark of 70 points if their applications
are not approved in principle under the former immigration selection
rules, before March 31, 2003.
We are currently dispatching formal submissions to visa offices
requesting that our clients be scheduled for a selection interview
before March 31, 2003. Our submissions, addressed to the appropriate
Canadian government authorities at National Headquarters in Ottawa,
argue that failure to assess our clients' applications by March 31,
2003, under the old rules, who will not meet the new selection rules,
is tantamount to breach of contract. The government has received from
our clients cost recovery processing fees and previously made ongoing
promises to assess our clients' applications for permanent residence,
under the old rules. Our affected clients had no way of knowing that
that the government was planning to implement retroactive legislation.
Claim for cost recovery processing fees and related expenses
In law, while government may be in a legal position to enact
legislation with retrospective effect, this does not shield government
from its obligations that were extended to applicants who will be
prejudiced by retroactive legislation enacted by government.
We are now preparing an extensive claim on behalf of our clients who,
despite our formal requests, are not scheduled for a selection
interview before March 31, 2003 and whose applications for residence
are subsequently refused under the new rules.
Our claim will hold the Department of Citizenship liable to refund our
clients the Canadian government processing fees that were paid under
the old rules, subsequently refused under the new rules. Long standing
government policy provided that applicants' qualifications were
"locked-in" once their applications were submitted under the former
immigration rules.
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has no intention at this
time of returning the cost recovery processing fees that were
initially submitted with the application. The department will return
Right of Landing Fees.
Interested readers who wish to preserve their rights relating to the
foregoing are invited to contact Mr. Singer in strict confidence by
Email, at [email protected].
Immigration.ca was Canada's first web site in the immigration industry
and is rated the most popular non-government Canadian immigration web
site by Alexa Internet, a subsidiary of Amazon.com.
-------------------------
COLIN R. SINGER, Attorney
Canadian Citizenship & Immigration
Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc.
510-4999 Ste-Catherine St. West
Montreal, Canada H3Z 1T3
US and Canada Toll Free: 1-888-817-2011
Tel: (514) 487-2011
Fax: (514) 487-2385
WWW: http://www.immigration.ca
E-mail: [email protected]
--------------------------
February 10, 2003
On June 28, 2002, the Government of Canada introduced new immigration
selection rules governing the Economic Class. The new rules, (the
"transition rules"), stipulate that applications for permanent
resident filed before January 1, 2002, which are not approved in
principle by March 31, 2003, will be assessed under the new selection
criteria at a reduced pass mark of 70 points.
In effect, the government is undertaking to reduce a backlog of many
thousands of pending cases, by implementing new selection criteria,
applied retroactively, that will systematically refuse cases filed
under the former immigration selection rules. It is estimated that
from 150,000 – 250,000 pending applications will not meet the new
selection rules requiring a reduced pass mark of 70 points.
Request Selection Interview before March 31, 2003
Lawyer Colin R. Singer currently represents a number of applicants who
will not meet the reduced pass mark of 70 points if their applications
are not approved in principle under the former immigration selection
rules, before March 31, 2003.
We are currently dispatching formal submissions to visa offices
requesting that our clients be scheduled for a selection interview
before March 31, 2003. Our submissions, addressed to the appropriate
Canadian government authorities at National Headquarters in Ottawa,
argue that failure to assess our clients' applications by March 31,
2003, under the old rules, who will not meet the new selection rules,
is tantamount to breach of contract. The government has received from
our clients cost recovery processing fees and previously made ongoing
promises to assess our clients' applications for permanent residence,
under the old rules. Our affected clients had no way of knowing that
that the government was planning to implement retroactive legislation.
Claim for cost recovery processing fees and related expenses
In law, while government may be in a legal position to enact
legislation with retrospective effect, this does not shield government
from its obligations that were extended to applicants who will be
prejudiced by retroactive legislation enacted by government.
We are now preparing an extensive claim on behalf of our clients who,
despite our formal requests, are not scheduled for a selection
interview before March 31, 2003 and whose applications for residence
are subsequently refused under the new rules.
Our claim will hold the Department of Citizenship liable to refund our
clients the Canadian government processing fees that were paid under
the old rules, subsequently refused under the new rules. Long standing
government policy provided that applicants' qualifications were
"locked-in" once their applications were submitted under the former
immigration rules.
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has no intention at this
time of returning the cost recovery processing fees that were
initially submitted with the application. The department will return
Right of Landing Fees.
Interested readers who wish to preserve their rights relating to the
foregoing are invited to contact Mr. Singer in strict confidence by
Email, at [email protected].
Immigration.ca was Canada's first web site in the immigration industry
and is rated the most popular non-government Canadian immigration web
site by Alexa Internet, a subsidiary of Amazon.com.
-------------------------
COLIN R. SINGER, Attorney
Canadian Citizenship & Immigration
Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc.
510-4999 Ste-Catherine St. West
Montreal, Canada H3Z 1T3
US and Canada Toll Free: 1-888-817-2011
Tel: (514) 487-2011
Fax: (514) 487-2385
WWW: http://www.immigration.ca
E-mail: [email protected]
--------------------------
