Hi fellow CD Members,
Greetings,

Is it better to apply for immigration through a consultant/lawyer or do it yourself?

I guess some of our fellow members like Faisal, Kuwaituser have applied by themselves.I was just wondering is it complicated applying by oneself.

To give the issue a better perspective. I am in the process of filing in my application and so did the rounds with a lawyer and a couple of consultants.They assessed my points, and it seems that I score 73 under the new rules.All the consultants are asking around 3000-4000 USD.Some friends suggested why not fill it up yourself.We had a look at CIC website and downloaded all the forms and instructions.They seem to be tedious but logical.And so crept in the idea why not do it yourself and save this money.

Now my question is once you submit all the certificates, forms and IELTS are there too many queries or questions from the CHC London.And if there are what can they be-I mean can we handle them by ourselves.Or do they need a lawyers help.Would appreciate if you could share some of the queries or rejoinders that you had to answer in the post application stage.


Look forward to your valuable comments and experinces.

Regards
Northwind

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Those who want to make their dreams come true dont sleep

Hi NW,

There are lots of postings already on this including some very good ones. Please use the search feature and you'll find them.

Let me know if you need info on using search.

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Are you there?

Hi BL,

Thanks for the reply. Using the serach is not that difficult.

Indeed there are a lot of posts on this , but they discuss the merits and demerits of the lawyer/self application. None illustrates how complicated the process is. More over I was looking for some info on what sort of rejoinders/queries could come up in the post application stage.

Regards

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Those who want to make their dreams come true dont sleep

Northwind, if you have all qualifications and satisfy the points criterion required by Immigration Canada, then IMO you need not go to a "consultant" (or whatever you may call them). IT will save you money and hassles. If you are in Dubai, it would be preferable to apply to the High Commission in London, UK.

However if your case is in the borderline, you need some tweaking (i.e, idhar ka maal udhar, udhar ka maal idhar etc., ) then it would be better to retain the services of a LAWYER !, specializing in Immigration services for Canada. Make sure the firm hiring the lawyer is based in Canada, and the firm has offices in your country (which in this case would be the UK).

This would be my opinion.
Cheerz

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i would *strongly* agree with ottawa_nerd on the point of getting a *lawyer* versus consultant...

bottom line is, if you can afford it, its always best to be represented, not just in immigration matters but in any other matter as well...

if you feel that the amount lawyer will charge is too much and there is no way you can afford it, then you can go it alone as well, there are a *lot* of people who have done so and have been successful... its not rocket science really, just matter of gathering required documentation and preparing the application... only advantage you will get of hiring a representative is that they will make sure this stage was done correctly, but if you can be delligent enough, you can do so yourself...

once the application is filed, the representative becomes a glorified overpaid post office and thats it (in 98% of cases anyway)...

again, be *very very very* cautious of who you hire, and specially be cautious of consultants... in my experience, and also from experience of people consultnts are crooks... specially some who actually advertize on this board as well...

bottom line is, if you can afford it without much hassle.. get a lawyer...

Well i applied on my own and there are many of my friends who did the same, Its a easy and simple task, Only thing you need to make sure is that you read the guidelines properly and follow each and every step thoroughly

Like Otawa nerd said if your case is on borderline then you sure should take help of Lawyer, Mr Massood is a expert out here and i guess he could be your best shot!!

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Ashish

northwind : Did you send me an email?

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Ashish