Igor had long been planning to leave this country, which was slowly but surely destroying all his hopes. One by one, the dreams of childhood, adolescence, and youth crumbled and turned to dust... The reasons varied, but analyzing them led him to the conclusion that dreams could only be realized in another country. So he began an active search on the Internet for everything related to immigration. After a couple of months, he drew conclusions: 1) temporary employment was fundamentally unsuitable (only permanent residence would do!); 2) business immigration was clearly unaffordable (he had only a vocational school diploma and experience as an interpreter at receptions for official delegations); 3) there was a great deal of information about emigration for professional (independent) immigrants to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; 4) of these three countries, Canada was somehow closer to his heart.
Next came a review of the local press. Here, too, there were the most offers for processing documents for permanent residence in Canada. After visiting several firms, Igor became convinced that he did not have enough money to leave for Canada. So when, at yet another Canadian immigration firm, he learned that there was an option to legally go to the Land of the Maple Leaf for just $1,000, his choice of firm was already made.
The charming and, most importantly, experienced consultant simply convinced Igor that profession did not matter: the main thing was the goal, and profession was something that could be acquired. Another consultant (a specialist in selecting in-demand professions in Canada) was ready to sign Igor up for programming courses right away: just a few months—and an official programmer’s diploma in your pocket! Moreover, if you paid for the courses in full rather than making a partial prepayment, you didn’t have to attend classes at all—it was enough to show up for a formal exam or test. And so Igor suddenly became a programmer, the kind Canada needed...
But the courses and the services of a Canadian lawyer had to be paid for, and there was no money. It turned out there was demand for Igor’s good English—they found him a lady. And the lady had money that she was ready to spend right away on realizing the Canadian dream. Moreover, the future spouse promised $2,000 in bonuses immediately after moving to Canada.
For some reason, Igor was not at all embarrassed by the consultant’s recommendation to get married immediately, that is, before receiving a positive result from the embassy interview. No, of course, he did not rush headlong into the turbulent sea of immigration; he even consulted a lawyer he knew. But all his advice was somehow forgotten as soon as Igor began talking on the phone with the Canadian lawyer. Doctor J. Karpmanson from Toronto even said that Igor had only one problem: not to lose his conversational English skills during the 4-5 months before he came to the embassy for an interview.
Moreover, the “experienced consultant” had found a way to save Igor and his future spouse money. He would be hired as a translator at a very respected institute, in the foreign languages department. And they’d even make an entry in his employment record! And if a request came from the Canadian embassy, they would respond in writing “as needed.” “Well, now,” thought Igor, “we can definitely register a legal marriage and sign a contract.” No sooner said than done. The contract was signed, and the parties contributed the prepayment for Doctor J. Karpmanson’s services and the consular fee in proportion to their participation in the joint “enterprise.” To mark the occasion, the lawyer promised Igor over the phone (!) to personally take up his case immediately.
After two or three weeks of euphoria, Igor began to worry: the documents had been submitted to the Canadian embassy in Warsaw, where, according to online reviews, the processing times were not the shortest. And the choice of profession was now no longer quite clear. Although he had consulted with an immigration lawyer before this. And that lawyer had said something not entirely pleasant... At this point vague doubts began to torment Igor: perhaps he should somehow check the entry in his employment record, especially since there was an acquaintance at that institute?
The acquaintance came with bad news. It turned out that, first, there was no order appointing Igor to the department; second, there was no position of translator in the foreign languages department at that institute; third, no one at the department had any idea about Igor. And finally, the institute used a completely different seal from the one in the employment record.
Igor was horrified by such news. And then there was also a letter from Warsaw, in which a Canadian embassy official reported the opening of a case, but strongly asked not to disturb the consular department until... January 31, 2005, because the average processing time for documents was 44 months.
His wife was simply shocked by such news, and by the “personal” handling of the case by J. Karpmanson—simply furious. The consultants reassured both unfortunates: not everything was lost, the employment record, they said, was in perfect order, you couldn’t ask for better for the embassy in Warsaw. And they referred to the contract: everything, they said, was in accordance with the contract and current legislation. But they would definitely come up with something, and J. Karpmanson would personally take part.
It was at this point that Igor understood almost everything. He realized that something terrible had happened. He felt cold in his hands and imagined an official in the consular department signing a letter of refusal due to submission of false documents. With the ill-fated contract (but without his emotional wife), Igor came again to the immigration lawyer. The lawyer confirmed Igor's assumption that he could say goodbye to the Canadian dream. Why? The agreement was drawn up in such a way that Igor would not be able to make any claims until 2005 - until the time of his immigration interview. But even in the event of a refusal due to submission of forged documents, no claims can be made against the firm: Igor himself provided the work record book (after all, no one will take responsibility for a forged entry). Under the contract, there is simply no one to claim against in Ukraine: where the "official representative of the firm N. Shcherbakov" lives is unknown (only his signature exists), and the powers of other consultants are not specified at all. It is not yet clear how the documents will be examined at the Canadian embassy in Warsaw, but it is well known that it is common practice for it to send a request to Ukraine at the applicant's place of work and to refuse the latter an immigrant visa due to submission of false documents.
Thus, Igor can only wait in the hope that he will still be called for an interview, that a miracle will happen and no one will ask the institute about the nonexistent position of translator at the Department of Foreign Languages. And, as is well known from immigration practice, miracles do not happen in this world.
Of course, I feel very sorry for Igor. After all, I know him personally and have consulted him more than once on all the options offered to him by Canadian immigration firms. It is all the more unclear why he disregarded my advice. In principle, Igor started out correctly: he independently gathered as much information as possible by all available means; visited all the existing immigration firms in Kharkov, and also went to Kiev; consulted a lawyer about the proposals of immigration firms. But he made one mistake that proved fatal: he did not show the lawyer the contract he intended to sign.
I became aware of Igor's ghostly and minimal chances of leaving for Canada under the category of independent (professional) immigrant after I saw this contract. It was concluded by an individual - an immigration consultant, that is, not a lawyer and not a legal firm. And whether such a firm with the same name exists is unknown: the contract has no seal, but there is an address that appears on the letterhead and under the signatures of the parties. But the address is under the consultant's surname, and next to it is his type of activity - "consulting services in the field of immigration." This means that such an individual can be held accountable only on Canadian territory.
Under the contract, the consultant does "everything that he considers necessary, acceptable, and desirable for achieving the purpose of this contract." At least it is stated that he handles an immigration case in order to secure for the client the status of a permanent resident of Canada. But what exactly is this "immigration case"? How can anyone handle it if the only possible immigration case is opened at the Canadian embassy?
Further. Under the contract, most of the obligations (to pay money, naturally) fall on the client, but what the specific obligations of Dr. J. Karpmanson and the "official representative of the firm N. Shcherbakov" are is unknown. The consultant's services are considered fully performed after the immigrant visas are obtained. This means that if Igor comes to Canada, he will face so many difficulties during the adaptation period that he will curse the country. And such omissions and absurdities in the contract are enough for more than one article...
No, of course, Igor has a chance to get to Canada with the help of Dr. J. Karpmanson - one in a million. In my work, there are more clients who come from such ill-fated consultants than clients I lead from Ukraine to Canada. Someone came three months (!) after the refusal based on the interview results, when the consulting center that had promised to "handle the client's immigration case to the end" abandoned him. Someone cannot force the firm "Ten Canadian Kangaroos" to file an appeal or submit a complaint to the Federal Court of Canada with the help of a Canadian lawyer (and this is provided for in the contracts and immigration agreements!). Someone sent a new package of documents to the embassy instead of an appeal. Every immigration contract specifies the amount that is not returned to the client if he fails the interview, but why these $500-1.500 are not returned - not a word.
What is distressing is that these "specialists" are actively advertised in all printed publications of Ukraine. It is also distressing that they have the audacity to spread deception among those who consider another state a haven of last hope. How can one categorically assert that after September 11, 2001, everyone who had filed immigration applications with the US embassy took them back and filed them with the Canadian embassy? That in Canada there is no refugee admission program, which exists in all states that have signed the UN Convention on Refugees (Canada signed it one of the first)?
What also saddens me is that instead of focusing more closely on the problems of my next client, I have to write this article, if only to somehow restore the reputation of firms providing immigration and legal services in the field of international law. I hope that my little "legal education" will help at least someone navigate the turbulent sea of immigration to Canada.