Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Manprit Aujla-Grewal and it's an honour to appear before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.
By way of background, I started my career in immigration with the IRCC in 2005, as a service delivery agent at the case-processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta. At that time, I processed in-Canada extensions for visitors, students and workers. I also processed in-Canada spousal sponsorships. After my work experience with IRCC, I went on to work with the Alberta immigrant nominee program, with the Ontario provincial nominee program and with the University of Alberta, as an international student adviser. In 2011, I incorporated my company, Canadian Immigration Connections, and have been an immigration consultant for almost a decade.
COVID-19 has presented unexpected challenges for IRCC, and of course, for individuals submitting applications to IRCC. COVID-19 has been difficult for individuals looking to reunite with their partners. I can tell you from my first-hand experience working with IRCC that when a reduction in processing times is the goal, additional resources are required to achieve that goal. Processing times for spousal sponsorships will definitely require attention.
I can also tell you from my work as an immigration consultant that when the processing of spousal sponsorships is kept within Canada, these files are processed very quickly. I have seen spousal sponsorships processed in as little as four months, when the path of the file was from the case-processing centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia, to the processing centre in Mississauga. When files are sent overseas for the finalization of processing, we are looking at timelines of up to 12 months or sometimes longer. Therefore, we need to keep the vast majority of spousal sponsorships processing within Canada. This could be achieved through a dedicated and specifically trained business unit within Canada.
Recently IRCC announced updated procedures with regard to visitor visa applications from individuals who have reached stage one approval on their spousal sponsorships. A way to apply this efficiently would be to allow individuals to submit their visitor visa application with their spousal sponsorship. This is already being done with in-Canada spousal sponsorships and their ability to apply for open work permits. COVID-19 has left many parents and children uncertain about when they will be able to reunite. It appears IRCC has not been able to strike the right balance with regard to the parent sponsorship program, as demand has always exceeded supply. We can take the current lottery system and as others have suggested, we could put in a weighted draw to those sponsors who have entered multiple times but been unsuccessful.
COVID-19 has also left many deserving international students with challenges outside of their control. For many international students, the work experience accumulated while on the post-grad work permit is essential for them to qualify for a permanent residency option. Post-grad work permit-holders unable to find employment as new graduates and facing the challenges of COVID-19, those stranded abroad and recipients of CERB or EI would find their permanent residency options limited. Allowing post-grad work permit-holders a one-time, one-year extension would give these individuals additional time to gain the required work experience to possibly qualify for permanent residency.
I also believe that targeted draws for the Canadian experience class under express entry should continue, as this allows those individuals already in Canada a chance to be selected.
Those are my comments today. I welcome any questions the committee may have. Thank you once again for this opportunity.