Karen Gordon

"Karen Gordon" <> wrote in message
    >> (K): You told CSIC that you have been "offering PRO BONO advice" on this
    >> >> newsgroup for "over 5 years"? Did you happen to mention that you take
    >> >> money for your services when you hook a potential immigrant client?

"Andrew Miller" () writes:
    > All of that info, including copies of AOR letters for my clients' cases was
    >> > included in my CSIC application. Nobody needs to apply to CSIC if she or
    >> > he provides assistance pro bono only.

    >> (K): First you tell us you've APPLIED for CSIC membership. Then you tell
    >> us that you've told CSIC that you've been providing "pro bono" advice to
    >> potential immigrants. Now you're saying that "nobody need to apply to
    >> CSIC if she or he provided assistance pro bono only"?
    >> Get this straight, "Andrew Miller": YOU CAN'T EVEN CALL YOURSELF AN
    >> IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT after April 1, 2004 unless you have been REGISTERED
    >> (not 'applied to') with CSIC in Canada. And you continue to do that in
    >> all of your messages here. You are already breaking the rules for
    >> Immigration Consultants in Canada.

"Andrew Miller" () writes:
    > Yes, I applied for CSIC membership because only consultants who are CSIC
    > members will be able to represent their clients for a fee before CIC and IRB
    > when and if our government introduces and implements law amending IRPA
    > Regulations as proposed last December. So far law hasn't been introduced nor
    > implemented. April 1st date is absolutely irrelevant - it was proposed by
    > government to have it implemented by April 1st, but so far they missed their
    > own target.

(K): They've 'missed' nothing, you fake. The law for immigration
consultants took place April 1st - 2 days ago. The Regulations were
published in the Gazette and are now in force.

"Andrew Miller" () writes:
    > And if you can read the proposed law it doesn't say absolutely anything
    > about restricting use of description of "immigration consultant" to CSIC
    > members only. Anyone who is an immigration consultant will be able to call
    > herself or himself as such even after proposed law is implemented. But they
    > won't be able to represent their clients for a fee before CIC. By the same
    > token they will be able to reprsent their pro bono clients before CIC even
    > if they are not members of CSIC.

(K): Try to get this into your twisty little mind, "Andrew Miller".....
ANYONE can offer to help potential immigrants to Canada. ANYONE can take
money from such people, qualified or not. But anyone calling themselves
'immigration consultants' will have to be REGISTERED with the CSIC.

So, if you're NOT a person REGISTERED with the CSIC - not just 'applying
to', like you're trying to convince us you have done, then you're not yet
an Immigration Consultant. Get it? Call yourself anything you like, but
that name, as of April 1, 2004 is now reserved for those who are REGISTERED
with CSIC.

"Andrew Miller" () writes:
    > As you can verify yourself I'm not only not breaking any rules but I am
    > following CSIC rules - I provide pro bono advice not only in this forum, as
    > CSIC asks us to provide pro bono help in addition to our paid services. I
    > was doing it for many years already, well before CSIC was created.

(K): Which means you have been using Usenet to solicit business. That is
contrary to the rules of Usenet usage and also reeks of the 'unscrupulous
consultants' that Canada's newest immigration law is addressing.

    >> >> Did you also happen to mention that you've been calling yourself an
    >> >> Immigration Consultant even after April 1st?

"Andrew Miller" () writes:
    > Please show us any Canadian law already in force or proposed explicitly
    > forbiding anyone who is not CSIC member to call herself or himself an
    > immigration consultant.

    > ../..
    >
    > Andrew Miller
    > Immigration Consultant
    > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > email:
    > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > ________________________________

IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS

In 2002, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada created an
Advisory Committee to identify the various problems within the immigration
consulting industry. The committees job was to report back and propose
recommendations on how to regulate and improve the industry.

The need for regulation stemmed from a number of factors. For many years,
there were no set standards for the levels of education, the quality of
services, or the professional accountability necessary to offer ones
services as an immigration consultant. This lead to confusion among the
immigrant and refugee communities.

For example, many did not understand the differences between a lawyer, an
immigration consultant and a non-governmental organization and were
unfamiliar with Canadas official languages and immigration laws. Even the
filling out of forms was an intimidating task.

The committee found that some consultants were indeed unscrupulous,
holding themselves out as experts on the subject of immigration despite
the fact that they had little or no training or experience. There was also
a concern that this was just the tip of the iceberg because many victims
were either afraid to complain or resided outside of Canada.

As well, there was no formal complaints process established to deal with
those consultants who abused the trust of their clients and therefore
tarnished the industry as a whole.

These findings, coupled with the Committees recommendations, eventually
resulted in the creation of the Canadian Society of Immigration
Consultants (CSIC) an independent and self-regulating body for
immigration consultants who are members and who charge a fee for their
services.

The CSIC is now working to finalize the rules of conduct for members.

As part of the proposed April 2004 amendments to the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Regulations, all practicing immigration consultants <===
in Canada will need to be members in good standing with either the Canadian
Society of Immigration Consultants, a provincial or territorial bar
association or the Chambre des notaires du Québec in order to participate
in new matters before Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the Canadian Border Services
Agency (CBSA).

After April 2004, these three government agencies will only conduct
business on new matters with immigration consultants who are members in
good standing of one of the three groups mentioned above.