Stakeholders like immigration lawyers used to have access to coordinates  of various immigration officers such as Program Managers.  The divulging of such coordinates has become less common.  It is becoming the norm that immigration lawyers have to crowdsource (from other lawyers) information such as the name of the Program Manager at a specific visa office, given the lack of information given by the immigration department.

It is imperative to query the status of more complex cases with a Program Manager.  The lack of transparency makes legal representation of visa-seekers a significant challenge.   This has the effect of shielding the immigration department from lawyers who query delayed files or refused applications.  This state of affairs is an indication that the immigration department does not want to hear from stakeholders during the normal day to day task of advocating for clients’ interests.

There are other barriers imposed by the immigration department to relieve officers from the task of responding to lawyers.  For example some officers who review the use of representative form (the form which registers a lawyer as counsel on a particular visa application) refuse to place said form on file for illogical reasons (e.g. missing one checkmark on the form, or an arbitrary critique of how an address is written).  When said form is not on file the lawyer is unable to represent the visa-seeking client.

Similarly, privacy violations occur when a previous representative remains on file after a new representative has been hired.  This means that the immigration department sends information to an old lawyer  rather than the current lawyer, which also results in delays in processing or even a refusal.  At times a  use of representative form becomes invalid after an arbitrary amount of time, necessitating a new use of representative form.

If your case is delayed or if you are not receiving a meaningful response by an immigration officer,  contact Chaudhary Law Office.