The 39-year-old, a resident of Toronto, had her baby boy in India last year, but despite following all the proper procedures, she was unable to bring him home. Now, after multiple inquiries into the federal government in a nutshell, Sehgal wonders if moving to Canada was the right choice for her and her family. “That was my main motivation: to move here for a better future [my] children, “he told CBC News. “I never thought there would be such a problem.” Sehgal received her permanent residence in 2019. She originally planned to immigrate to Canada in 2020, but then the pandemic struck. Last year, another problem: Sehgal contracted COVID-19 in India. Her doctors advised her to avoid traveling, so she gave birth to her baby there, further delaying her move. She finally arrived in Canada last March, leaving behind her baby and her husband, who has not yet applied to live in Canada. The hope was that by the time she arrived, her son’s application for temporary residence would be approved. It was not. Last month, she decided to apply for permanent residence for her baby, hoping to increase her chances of receiving a response.
The case should have been expedited, some lawyers say
Immigration lawyers say Sehgal’s applications should have been easy to expedite out of compassion, but could have fallen through the cracks of a delayed and inefficient immigration system exacerbated by COVID-19. As of May, the IRCC reports that there are approximately 2.2 million applications for citizenship, temporary and permanent residence pending processing – about one million more than before the pandemic, according to the Canadian Immigration Lawyer Association (CILA). Immigration lawyers Ravi Jain, left, and Adrienne Smith, right, say COVID-19 has worsened immigration timetables and the system is still trying to bridge the gap. (Jain Immigration Law and Battista Smith Migration Law Group) “Why not issue a visitor visa in the meantime so the family can be reunited?” said immigration lawyer Adrienne Smith, who works with the Toronto-based Battista Smith Migration Law Group. According to the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada website, the average processing time for a temporary visa application for someone from India is just over four months. In an email to CBC News, IRCC spokeswoman Nancy Caron said the ministry was processing 80 percent of permanent family residency applications within 12 months and welcomed more than 405,000 new residents just last year. This is the highest annual number of newcomers in Canadian history, according to the IRCC. However, Smith says cases like Sehgal’s can create a vicious circle: the more applicants monitor and ask about their applications, the longer it can take to process because immigration officials have to deal with these consequences. , dividing their time between answering questions and processing applications. He also says lawyers will go to federal court to intervene in particularly outrageous cases, which could further strain resources. Timely processing of applications “would take the pressure off everyone,” he says.
“People are losing faith in our immigration system”
Ravi Jain, a CILA member, says immigration attorneys formed the team last year to find ways to improve the way Canada treats immigrants. He believes that if the system is allowed to remain as it is, it will continue to disappoint both newcomers and Canadians. “It’s not just the reputation of foreigners that worries me. It also results in people losing faith in our immigration system.” In an IRCC statement, Caron said that during the pandemic, the department “prioritized the processing of temporary resident visas for key employees” and family reunification, but has since returned to normal processing times. Caron says the IRCC is using $ 85 million in additional federal funding to reduce application delays by hiring new processing staff and digitizing applications, among other measures. That’s more than the $ 2.1 billion the federal government has pledged to help with the process and the resettlement of new residents over the next five years. However, Jain says there needs to be more transparency in IRCC processing times, applications and reasons for refusal, and better planning for emergencies that could affect processes such as COVID-19. “It’s not good enough to say …” We spend all this money. “We are hiring all these people,” he said. “You did not take turns, and you are responsible.”
Looking for answers
Sehgal, meanwhile, says moving away from her son made her diagnosed with depression. She says she is taking medication to treat it and is looking for counseling. He is also looking at legal advice and help from immigration counselors to find the best way forward. Sehgal wonders what would have happened if she had given birth in Canada or made the same choices knowing that bringing her family to their new home would be such a struggle. “I do not think I would have the courage … if I had known that my baby could not come.”
