Immigration During the Pandemic: Some Case Studies (Success Stories!)

With borders shut, and news of new Covid variants, most people have put off travel plans indefinitely. Travel between the US and EU, and into Canada is also heavily restricted. However, despite the heavy restrictions, certain business and personal activities are essential, and therefore cannot be shut off entirely. We have helped a number of clients recently who have had to relocate to Canada, the US or travel from Europe for urgent business meetings or study. The immigration landscape was unstable and very unclear. Fortunately for our clients however, they have received their visas, and must now embark on their journey across the Atlantic to North America. We were with them throughout this turbulent time, and made our best effort to ensure that the visa process went smoothly, despite the obstacles. The client identities have been protected for confidentiality purposes.

Study Permit and Visit Visas from Bahrain

We helped a young client who received admission into a Canadian university for study earlier this year. She had deferred her courses and was studying online due to the pandemic. However, she would need to relocate to continue her education. In addition, her parents wanted to join her for her trip, so that they could settle her into her residence. To make matters more complicated, just as the visa application was completed, the Canadian government announced stricter travel restrictions which included mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival. The government also stopped issuing visit visas for visitors to Canada who were not permanent residents or citizens. An exception to this rule was for family members of those with status. After filing the visa application, we instructed the client to email Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), to request the processing of the visa application for herself and her parents under an exception, and to explain why she was eligible for the study permit (study permits remain available in Canada for foreign students). We also reviewed the documentation with qualified advisors and had her indicate to IRCC that her parents needed to travel with her to settle her in. We made sure that she included proof of the relationship between herself and her parents in her communications with IRCC as well. In the end, despite the turbulent landscape, her visa has been issued, and her parent’s visa is on the way. Our team is thrilled with this result. Now we hope the rest of her studies proceed with ease and that her trip to Canada will be fruitful.

Emergency Business Visit to the United States

Our client, a Norwegian resident and business man, needed to go to the United States for an urgent business visit. As an e-commerce entrepreneur, he was scheduled to meet with his fulfillment center to sign an important new deal related to his operations. Business had been postponed for a year, and now time was running out to close the deal. To make matters more complicated, the Presidential Proclamation, issued months ago by the Trump administration, remained in effect. This Proclamation essentially barred all travel between the EU and US. With the advice of our qualified advisors, we managed to help the client arrange alternate travel plans to bypass the Proclamation, by instructing him to travel to the US from outside the EU, after completing mandatory quarantine from outside the EU as well (prior to his US travel). In addition, with our advice, he was able to obtain his visa quickly and easily. Now he is all set to travel across the Atlantic to finalize his business deal. We wish him the best of luck!

For expert Immigration services, contact us at info@borderlesscounsel.com