To Whom
This May Concern:
I am a regulated Canadian
immigration consultant and a member in good standing with the Immigration
Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).
During the second half
of 2014, my consultant practice , First Choice
Immigration, assisted two temporary
foreign workers from the Philippines with their B.C. provincial nominee program
(PNP) application.
Honorato
Peralta and Vanessa Tamondong arrived in
British Columbia from the Philippines in 2009 under the temporary foreign
worker program.
They held steady
jobs and had a son born in Canada. With their work permits expiring in August, they
employed us to assist them with their PNP applications, which provides
accelerated immigration for foreign workers who plan to live in the province
permanently.
The
couple had recently moved from Vancouver Island to the Vancouver area. It is
important to note the temporary foreign worker program had always shown the
couple approved for the Vancouver area, not Vancouver Island, therefore they
never had the right work permit for Victoria. With their work permits expiring,
they relocated back to the mainland.
Upon arrival, information
and paperwork provided to First Choice Immigration by email from the applicants
stated that Honorata Peralta worked in Richmond
and further that Vanessa Tamondong worked in Surrey. The
application for PNP was submitted as such.
When immigration
officials visited the Richmond location, they
found that Honorata Peralta had not worked at
this location.
It was at this time that my
clients accused me of supplying incorrect work location information on their
applications which resulted in both applications being denied. They took their
story to Mable Elmore, a New Democrat with media connections, and their version
of events aired on the news. In addition to being accused of submitting
inaccurate work locations, my reputation was smeared on National Media.
All documentation submitted to me
was through email, and knowing I submitted exactly as presented by my clients,
I decided to hire a lawyer. It was through this consultation that my lawyer
advised suing the couple would be pointless as they had no money and would
therefore never be in a position to be held accountable to pay damages for
defamation of character.
It is interesting to note that Honorata Peralta acknowledged that he
lied about where he had been working in an
interview with immigration workers. The couple was deported, not for
alleged errors over First Choice Immigration's paperwork, but because they were
caught working in an undisclosed location.
I enjoy my work as an Immigration
Consultant and take great pride in honest and ethical work when it comes to helping
foreign workers seeking temporary or permanent residency in Canada. In 8 years of practice, I and First Choice Immigration have had over 400
successfully approved applications.
While the case decision here is
extremely unfortunate, it is of utmost importance that clients working with
Immigration Consultants provide 100% accurate information.
Sincerely,
Ajay, Sehgal, Member of the ICCRC
