Honourable Jenny Kwan, thank you so much for mentioning my case here.
Yes, that's correct.
At the time of the birth of my daughter—July 2017—we applied for a Canadian visa from the New York embassy. My wife was pregnant. We drove all the way from Buffalo to New York. My wife and I were present at the consulate general of Canada's office in New York. We applied for a TRV, begging them to please allow me to be there for the birth of my first daughter. Those moments were emotional. We were so hopeful that my wife.... We mentioned in our application that she was pregnant, and we both were present at your office in New York: “Please allow us to be together at this precious moment that's not going to come back again.”
In three or four days, our application was returned. The same thing, paragraph 179(b), was the hindrance, the reason they rejected it. I am in the U.S.A. The U.S.A. granted me a visa to visit based on only four questions. They never asked me for a bank statement or any employment history. The only thing they asked me about was why I was going to the U.S.A.
I told them that my wife is Canadian. I didn't have a Canadian visa. Please allow me to see my wife.
The lady at the other counter looked at the computer for a couple of minutes and granted the visa.
I had no idea for how long. When I got the passport, it was for five years. It's still valid for another half year.
I am really grateful to them. Canada is known for prioritizing family. When we got rejected in 2017 at the time of the birth of my daughter, we were shattered.
My wife went into a severe depression. She took Pristiq, a medicine for depression, which then caused severe issues for my daughter. She is severely autistic because of that medicine.