Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case

Canada Immigration Forum (discussion group)


 
       
Subject: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case
Hi All,
I applied on 10 Feb 2004 does that action apply to my case?? it is a nightmare. We will withdraw our files then if so!!!!

[24-11-2004,08:20]
Romantic Warrior
Well honey... (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
That would solve your problems
[24-11-2004,10:57]
Dear Romantic Warrior...
2004 (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
no the law suit does not affect your application. it just means any application that was in the Q prior to the rule changes must be examined under the old rule/new rules - which ever is better for the applicant. The pre-2002 applications are the only ones that are now being offered a guaranteed completion/answer date. I am hearing various reports of how many applications are involved (30-40,000 total is one I have seen). Most of these applications would be coming from consulates where the waits are already very, very long (India, Malaysia, Pakistan etc) and therefore the promise dates are showing so far away. Some consulates may not have any pre-2002 applications in their system at all (such as Paris).

I wish there was a better way to help everyone with this

[24-11-2004,13:18]
sharon
(in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
It concerns all applications prior to 1/01/02 and where no decission is made yet (still about 100.000! )
So, if your application is pre-2002 but you received an interview waiver, it doesn´t concern you since a decission was made.
And don´t forget this is only a proposal and it´s far from sure it will go through.

[24-11-2004,14:20]
John
(in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
I FOUND THIS ON ANOTHER SITE.


Dear Sir/Madam:
Thank you for your email.

In June 2002, the government of Canada introduced changes to the immigration law. One of the changes that was introduced was a rule that indicated that the new point system would apply retroactively to all persons who had
applied prior to the change in the law. The effect of this was that many persons who qualified when they applied under the old law would no longer qualify.

A group of 17 lawyers in Canada commenced a lawsuit to try to force the government to respect the commitment that it had made to persons who had paid money and applied under the old system. As a result of the case, the government changed the law on December 1, 2003 so that an applicant for a visa in the skilled worker, self-employed, entrepreneur or investor categories who applied before January 1, 2002 but did not receive a selection decision before April 1, 2003 will be assessed under the selection
criteria of the former Immigration Act (the ones in place before you applied) or the new act, whichever is more favourable to you. Under the Settlement Agreement the Minister of Immigration Canada has now promised to
process all such applications received in 2001 within 42 months of the date of settlement. This is a significant improvement over the time period the Minister originally felt that the process to clear up the backlog would take. It is also the maximum time that processing can take and your application may be processed more quickly.

Pursuant to the change of settlement, the government has promised the following:

1. All persons who applied prior to January 1, 2002 are entitled to be processed under the more favourable rules that were in place prior to January 1, 2002. In addition, they can also seek to qualify under the new rules that are in effect as of today. They have the choice.

2. Under the proposed agreement, the government has also agreed to guarantee that all applications will be processed within 40 months. In addition, all persons who applied in 1999 will be processed within one year and all persons who applied in 2000 will be processed within two years.

3. Other terms of the settlement include a right to apply to transfer your file, a right to obtain points for job offers in Canada that are approved under the new rules as opposed to the more stringent former criteria, and other matters that will facilitate processing of the application.

4. If you have already received a positive selection decision in your case there is no need to do anything. This class action will not affect that decision.

5. The notice applies to those applicants in the skilled worker, self-employed, entrepreneur and investor categories (See Article 2 (a)). If you did not apply in these categories you can ignore the notice as it
does not apply to you.

As class counsel, it is our responsibility to answer any questions that you have about the terms of the settlement.

We cannot intervene with respect to your individual cases at this time. There is nothing that we can do to expedite your case.

However, if your application was filed in 1999 or before and you do not receive an answer within one year then you should notify us and we will be able to notify the government, who must then give you an answer within 90 days.

In addition, if your application was filed in 2000 and you do not receive an answer within 24 months, you should notify us and we can demand a decision within 90 days.

If you filed in 2001, after 40 months, we can make a similar request.

If the settlement does not go through then the government is under no obligation to process within any specified time period.

There is nothing that we can do to expedite your individual cases.

We cannot assist you with respect to any particular matter dealing with the merits of your applications. That is not the role of class counsel in the settlement. If you have a concern then you must contact your lawyer or retain counsel.

If you are happy with these changes you need not file any documents. If you have questions about how this might affect your individual application please contact the consultant or lawyer who has been handling your case.

If you have individual questions with respect to your individual files that are not related to the settlement then you must contact your own consultant or lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer then you can contact a lawyer through the Lawyer Referral Service. Their telephone number in Toronto is 1-900-565-4577 and their number in British Columbia is 1-604-687-3221.

If you still have questions and you do not have a lawyer or consultant and you cannot contact the Lawyer Referral Service, then you may call Dan Miller by telephone at 416-225-7049 who will briefly discuss your case as it relates to the class action settlement.

If you have any concerns about the settlement agreement, please feel free to e-mail us and ask us further questions.

Yours very truly,
RON FOERSTER , DAN MILLER, RICHARD KURLAND AND LORNE WALDMAN
Class counsel for the proposed class action

[24-11-2004,14:44]
sharon
Status about my case. (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
I have applied in October 2001. All the formalities are over. I have got an interview waiver. Further, I have also finished my medical examination. It is now five months that I have finished it.

But as yet I have not received any further information on visa stamping. And I have received a copy of above law suit from Operational Coordination and policy liaison - selection.

So, my query is that Does it mean that my application decision is taken and the lawsuit does not apply to my application.

Thanks and regards,
Sid.

[28-11-2004,09:14]
SID
42 months !!! (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
Dear Class Counsel,

I have been filed in Sep 2001, and i have been waiting for the interview since then. The last time i visited the Canadian Embassy in Damascus they told me that the interview will be soon in coming 6 months.

Now based on the LawSuit you are talking about, i noticed that i have to wait for more 42 months to get the decision ???

Regards
Nabil Orfali

[01-12-2004,10:10]
Nabil
Does it apply to my case? Please guide.. (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
Dear Class Counsel,
I´d applied for permanent residence in Canada in July 2000. In 2001, due to my job, i had to change my address of which I clearly informed the Visa Office in writing 3 times (I delivered the letter by hand as well as posted it). I did not receive any information/acknowledgement from the Visa Office. In 2002 Feb, I got a message from an acquaintance about some letter from the CIC he received at my old address, saying that I had failed to appear for the interview. Since I had no information about any interview, I contacted the CIC. They informed that I will be called for an interview within one year. For the past two years, I have been asked to submit several documents, most of which I had already submitted even earlier. After having submitted all the required documens, In Nov this year, I got yet another letter from CIC saying that they have finally stopped assessing my application. Last week, I got this Notice about Rasolzadeh Class Action directly from Canada. Now I really fail to understand my position in all this. Please could you tell me how does this class action affect me? What is my situation considering all the facts? Any advice/ suggestion/ help would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[01-12-2004,14:04]
Mahesh
Does it apply to my case? Please guide.. (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
Dear Class Counsel,
I´d applied for permanent residence in Canada in July 2000. In 2001, due to my job, i had to change my address of which I clearly informed the Visa Office in writing 3 times (I delivered the letter by hand as well as posted it). I did not receive any information/acknowledgement from the Visa Office. In 2002 Feb, I got a message from an acquaintance about some letter from the CIC he received at my old address, saying that I had failed to appear for the interview. Since I had no information about any interview, I contacted the CIC. They informed that I will be called for an interview within one year. For the past two years, I have been asked to submit several documents, most of which I had already submitted even earlier. After having submitted all the required documens, In Nov this year, I got yet another letter from CIC saying that they have finally stopped assessing my application. Last week, I got this Notice about Rasolzadeh Class Action directly from Canada. Now I really fail to understand my position in all this. Please could you tell me how does this class action affect me? What is my situation considering all the facts? Any advice/ suggestion/ help would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[01-12-2004,14:04]
Mahesh
opt-out (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
dear all
i´m also confused about this subject; but there is somthing mentioned about opt-out forms .
What do u think the affect will be on the applications if we opt-out and deny this rasolzadeh action, does the processing procedure and the timeframe will be the same as before this class was posted?
i mean if we opt-out , is it good or bad ?
what do u think please any reply !!!!!!

[09-01-2005,19:47]
kuala
opt-out (in reply to: Does RASOLZADEH CLASS ACTION apply to my case)
sorry;
Nabil Orfali
but i have the same situation as you , and do not know what to do.

[09-01-2005,19:51]
kuala