Why was my Immigration Application Refused?

Reading the standardized refusal letter from the immigration authorities leaves you perplexed because you believe you meet all the requirements of your application category. Moreover, you find the refusal to be outrageous and the situation puts you in a state of black fury. You should know that many of our clients have found themselves in the same situation as you.

Standardized response letters are often not sufficient to understand the specific reasons for the agent’s refusal.

The Global Case Management System (GCMS) is IRCC’s integrated system that is used worldwide and internally to process applications for citizenship and immigration services. Before submitting a new application that will inevitably be refused if you do not provide a response to the officer’s reasons for refusal, you must submit Access to Information requests to access the notes entered by officers in GCMS. You might be in for a surprise!

This way, you will be able to consider the agent’s concerns in a second application to maximize your chances of success. The most important thing to avoid once a refusal has been obtained is rushing to launch a second application, blindly, without knowing the reasons why IRCC is refusing. This should be avoided at all costs. The second officer (if different from the first) has access to GCMS notes. You are only damaging your credibility and “reputation” in immigration matters, which will only decrease the likelihood that you will win your next application.

The request for access to information must be made by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. If you are a foreigner, you may grant a warrant to someone in Canada to make the request on your behalf. You will be advised to make multiple requests if you have more than one file or if you wish to obtain your entire file. Access to Information requests can also be made to the Canada Border Services Agency, if appropriate.

If after receiving the results of the access requests, your second request is denied and you still feel that you have been cheated, your option is to seek judicial review of the officer’s decision in the Federal Court of Canada.