Immigration fraud has always been predominant in the immigration application process. For this reason, authorities such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the RCMP and police have worked together to pursue flagrant instances of fraud and abuse.
The predominance can be displayed through New Can Consultants and immigration consultant Sunny Wang. Sunny was convicted to 7 years in jail for his scheme of creating fake identification and false employment records. “New Can cases” as they were referred to ate up vast resources of CBSA, IRCC, and ultimately the Immigration Division (ID) and Immigration Appeal Division (IAD).
In this investigation, officers discovered hundreds of applicants‘ files and initiated legal proceedings against those applicants for misrepresentation (as well as other charges). As a result, that many individuals had their permanent resident status taken away and received a five-year ban from Canada. Several other New Can’s employees also went to jail for their role in the scam.
Another example is immigration fraud is with Can Asia Consultants and the principal business owners of Rupinder “Ron” Singh Batth and Navdeep Kaur Batth, as well as Balraj “Roger” Singh Bhatti, an immigration lawyer, and his spouse, Sofiane Dahak.
Can Asia’s cases generally involved colluding with local employers in the creation of fake job offers, which they sold to desperate applicants for thousands of dollars. The consultants and employers would split the funds between them and then recycle the money to make it look like the individuals were really employed. The case for Can Asia is still ongoing.
The Bhattis’ offenses consisted of guiding applicants to make false refugee claims. They have pleaded guilty to majority of the charges and are awaiting sentencing in 2022.
Here are some tips to avoid working with an unscrupulous or fraudulent immigration representative:
1) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Be extremely wary of a representative who promises to do everything for you. These representatives may not have your best interest at heart because they are being compensated at every stage of the process. Rather than advising you about what is in your best interests, they are more likely to lead you to places where they earn the most commissions.
Knowing whether a deal sounds too good to be true is also much easier when you understand what the standard range of fees for immigration services are – do your research about what immigration services are charging for similar services.
2) Don’t pay for a job offer
It is illegal to pay for a job offer in Canada.
3) Be accountable for your own application.
You are responsible for your own application. Using the services of an immigration professional does not relieve you of your responsibility or reduce your culpability in the application process.
4) Fake equals fraud
If someone offers to provide you with something fake and you are aware that it is fake, then you are committing fraud.
5) Seek immediate relief from IRCC, CBSA, and the RCMP
Both IRCC and CBSA are aware of the many scams in the marketplace to lure people to or keep them in Canada. IRCC has a unique program for persons who are victims of immigration fraud. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html. If you are a victim or believe you are a victim, it is your responsibility to come forward to officials. This article was originally sourced by Asian Pacific Post.
