Has your spousal sponsorship been refused, or have you not met your permanent residency obligations, or has a removal order been issued against you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be able to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (“IAD”) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. These are just a few examples of cases you can bring to the IAD.
The IAD has the authority to quash and remedy decisions from the following decision-makers: visa officers, immigration officers, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers, and Immigration Division members.
If you have received a negative decision from any of these decision-makers, you may be eligible to appeal their decision. To do so, you must first file a Notice of Appeal with the IAD. Please note that the Notice of Appeal must be filed within strict timelines.
An appeal before the IAD is like a court trial. At your hearing, a member of the IAD will be present for the hearing, who will decide the matter. A Minister’s counsel, who will be challenging your evidence and arguments will also be present. You, the appellant, and your legal counsel will be present. Finally, you can choose to have witnesses testify on your behalf at your hearing. They can be physically present there or give evidence via phone or video conference. Also, you can choose to submit evidence to the IAD, in advance of your hearing to be used on the date of your hearing.
Most often, everyone who testifies, including you as appellant, will be cross-examined by the Minister’s counsel. The Member can and often does pose questions to the appellant and their witnesses. After all the evidence is heard, the Member will ask both parties, you and Minister’s counsel to make oral submissions. Once done, the Member will either give their decision at the hearing or, as sometimes happens, reserve their decision for a later date when they will render it in writing.
If you are successful in your appeal, the Member can render the decision the decision-maker below, should have made in your favour or the Member can send the matter back to be reconsidered by another decision-maker.
IAD appeals often involve complex legal issues and facts. Therefore, you need experienced legal counsel to handle your appeal. You can retain Eastman Law Office with confidence knowing that we have the required experience and knowledge to ensure that your appeal has the maximum possibility of succeeding.
So call Eastman Law Office right away at (905) 451-1550 or e-mail us at contact@theimmigrater.com to start working on your IAD appeal.
