Armed with professional skills in psychology, leadership and negotiation, I have served corporate leaders and professionals including heads of government and lawyers for the last 25 years, I learned that the acid test for ethical behavior is often our reaction to difficult situations. On this topic, Mr. Tress is first and foremost honest, ethical, accountable and caring. I learned it first hand in working with Mr. Tress and his team, on my spouse’s residency application, a case without precedent.

Furthermore, Mr. Tress has proven to be competent, meticulous (about the details that count) and highly organized to maintain transparency; save each party time; facilitate case tracking; and minimize communication errors. Actually, more than once, Mr. Tress invested precious time to explain his approach (which proved me wrong); yet, he maintained utmost respect!

My spouse and I, therefore, strongly recommend Mr. Steven Tress for anyone seeking a skilled, experienced, honest and caring immigration lawyer.  5 stars

Currently, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) is the national self-governing body overseeing Canadian immigration professionals. The ICCRC began regulating Canadian immigration consultants in 2011, and regulates over 4200 immigration consultants. 

On April 10, Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, stated: “By introducing new legislation, we are going to protect Canadians, prospective newcomers and good-standing immigration and citizenship consultants against the fraudulent consultants who are preying on the most vulnerable.” 

Previously, on April 8, the Globe and Mail published an investigative article which revealed cases of fraudulent immigration consultants accused of exploiting numerous foreign workers.

The proposed changes are also meant to “protect both Canadians and prospective newcomers as well as the many good-standing consultants that are providing immigration and citizenship services ethically and professionally.”

– Written by Wen-Tao Xue, Student-At-Law and guest author on this site.

This development is part of the effort to ensure that all applicants will have equal opportunity to receive an invitation to apply. On the other hand, these changes will also create greater uncertainty, because applicants no longer have any way to secure their place amongst the first 10,000 applicants to be selected. Under the new program, those who receive an application to apply will have 90 days to submit their complete application package. Those who are not selected will be able to indicate their interest again in 2018.

– Written by Kate Paik, legal assistant and guest author on this site.