Immigration MattersBack

Federal Court Applications:

Almost any decision of the immigration, refugee or citizenship authorities can be appealed to the Federal Court. There are a few exceptions where other courts have specific jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the decision. Generally speaking, if you have received a refusal decision from the immigration authorities, you can appeal it to the Federal Court within 15 days for a decision made in Canada, and 60 days for a decision made outside of Canada.

Refused Cases – Request for Reconsideration
Sometimes when a visa application is refused, it is advisable to request for reconsideration prior to proceeding to appeal. If the application was refused due to not enough information or it is believed that the information was misunderstood, request for reconsideration might be the right step to take. In this case, updated or additional information would have to be provided for the application to be reconsidered. Mehta and Bansal Law has considerable experience assisting clients with requests for reconsideration in negative immigration decisions. Give us a call today if your application has been rejected so that we can help you prepare a convincing submission to the relevant decision-maker and obtain a favourable result.

Delayed Cases – Mandamus Appeals at the Federal Court

A writ of mandamus or simply mandamus, which means “we command” in Latin, is the name of one of the prerogative writs in the common law, and is issued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly. If your case has been stalled and you are awaiting a decision on a Canadian permanent or temporary Visa application, you can appeal for a decision to be made. For example, where the immigration authorities have unreasonably delayed the processing of a Visa application, an appeal to the Canadian Federal Court can be made requesting that the Court order the immigration authorities to complete the processing of the application immediately. This is where this judicial remedy called Mandamus comes into play. Give us a call at Mehta and Bansal so we can help you evaluate if this is the route for you to take for your delayed application.

Citizenship Appeals at the Federal Court: Permanent Residents whose application for Citizenship is denied can appeal to the federal court within 15 days of the rejection. The court will review the case and determine whether the judgement was made in error, whether it was fair and was in accordance with the law. Once it is reviewed and the findings demonstrate that the decision was made in error, the court will send the case back to the citizenship authorities to re-decide the application. This whole process can be completed by the law firm on behalf of the applicant. At Mehta and Bansal Law, we can take care of the appeal for you and you can rest assured that we will ensure that all the facets of the application are taken care of. Give us a call today for a consultation.

Refugee Claim Denied: The Refugee Appeal Division is a tribunal branch of the Immigration and Refugee Board. This Division hears cases regarding refused refugee claims at the Refugee Protection Division. The Refugee Appeal Division allows the claimant or in some cases the Minister the opportunity to prove that the panel at the Refugee Protection Division erred in fact or law or both in making their decision. The appeal is largely paper based and does not generally entail an oral hearing, although the Refugee Appeal Division may call for a hearing if they believe one is required on specific grounds. As a refugee claimant, you may not be eligible to file an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division if:

• Your claim has been rejected because of an order of surrender under the Extradition Act
• You are a designated foreign national
• Your claim is considered to have no credible basis by the RPD
• The RPD states that your claim is manifestly unfounded
• You entered Canada from the USA through an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement
• Your claim was withdrawn or denied because it was abandoned
• Your claim was referred to the IRB prior to the new refugee protection provisions

Come and speak to us at Mehta and Bansal Law if you or someone else needs help with refugee claims being denied. We will help you understand your eligibility to file an appeal and help you through this complicated process.