Success: IAD Appeal

Many IRCC websites point out that applicants are not required to hire an immigration lawyer to help them with their applications. This is 100% correct. Applicants who have the time and skills to complete the forms and compile the supporting documents and draft the letters of support and understand the potential issues and identity those issues before the Officer reviews their package and includes sufficient explanations to address all the potential concerns should not hire a lawyer. They should do their applications by themselves. For applicants who do not have the knowledge or experience to do this work, we recommend they find a professional. Unfortunately, IRCC guides are not clear. Instructions on the Government of Canada website do not address all the possible situations and it is very difficult for applicants to find answers. That leads to refusals.

In some cases, we can help the applicant appeal the IRCC refusal to the IAD (IRB). We love helping clients through the appeal process. When we meet people at this point, they are often going through significant stress. No one wants to get a refusal from IRCC. They have already spent significant time and energy to get to that point.

We give them a light at the end of the tunnel. Since 2007, Alastair Clarke has been helping clients get positive decisions from the IAD. Not every case has been successful; however, he has helped clients who have lost hope. He has helped clients who retained other lawyers who failed and he was able to reverse the decision to get a positive result. We love tough cases.

Today we can share a tough case. Our client tried to sponsor her mother through the P/GP Sponsorship Application. This was a messy situation involving issues of financing, Minimum Necessary Income (MNI), changes to the family size calculation and other issues. The family has gone through a lot over the past few years. They hired an immigration consultant who gave them bad advice. When they got the IRCC refusal, they were shocked and disappointed. Thankfully, we were able to help and fix the problems.

Here is a brief timeline of events:

• 2010 – Parents separated
• 2013 – Sponsor arrived to Canada
• Parents unable to get divorced
• 2018 – Increase in family size
• Change in employment
• Break in employment
• Family issues
• 2022 – Submitted P/GP Sponsorship application
• 2024 – IRCC Refusal
• 2024 – Client contacted CIL for help
• 2024 – Team at CIL worked with Sponsor and applicants
• 2025 – Negotiated with Minister’s Counsel
• 2025 – Prepared package with supporting documents
• 2025 – Positive decision from IAD
• 2025 – Contacted Visa Office regarding positive decision and made request for EXPEDITED PROCESSING.

At this point, there is a good chance this family will be allowed to be permanently together in Canada. They have not yet passed the finish line and they are close. The issues have been resolved and they are back on track.

We love helping clients with IAD appeals. Ideally, the application would have been done properly at the beginning to avoid the appeal. We try to encourage people to hire professional help at the beginning. That saves time and money. More importantly, it can avoid the stress and anxiety.

Immigration is so important for many families. Getting a refusal from IRCC can be extremely frustrating and it can lead to significant health issues.

We do our best to guide our clients through all the steps and we hope for positive results, just like this IAD appeal.