Monday, August 25, 2008

A cautionary immigration tale

I just read a terrible story in a column by a lawyer at Mamann & Associates Immigration Lawyers. A guy planned to fly to Canada just two days before the expiration of his permanent residency Visa. But he got sick and had to stay in the hospital before leaving. By the time he arrived to Canada, his Visa was just one week old. Immigration officials unfortunately have no leeway and told him to start the process all over again, possibly taking another three years. And he would have to pay most of the fees again.
Luis and I flew from New York on June 30, and our Visa expired July 13. We are so lucky nothing happened to delay our arrival.

I'm going to post the column as soon as I get permission from the law office.

1 comment:

squirrelmama said...

Wow. A lot could have gone wrong with your emigration - and didn't. A lot could have gone wrong at the border - and didn't. If the worst of it is that your car (with the heavily tinted windows) has to go back to the States and then come back home to Canada after a few days (and a few cups of Starbucks for you), let that be the worst of it. What grief that poor man must have had. Bureaucracy isn't worth the paper it's printed on.