Punjabi Speaking Immigration Lawyer in Brampton

The application itself, and every supporting document, whatever language the consultation was conducted in. That surprises people who assume a Punjabi speaking firm can therefore handle a Punjabi document end to end. It cannot, for a specific reason: neither a family member nor the immigration representative acting on the file is permitted to translate it, so this firm is barred from translating a client's own documents whatever languages are spoken here.

The mechanics of what a compliant translation package actually needs are the same whichever language the original is in, and Darshan Patel, who assembles applications for the firm, sets them out in full: the certified translator's stamp, the scan of the original it was worked from, and what to do where no certified translator is available.

What a Punjabi speaking lawyer adds is on the reading side rather than the writing side: going through a Punjabi document with the client before it is sent for translation, so nothing in it is missed or misunderstood, and the translation itself still comes from someone else.

Interpretation at the Immigration and Refugee Board is arranged through the Board rather than brought along, and it is requested in advance rather than raised on the day. A hearing where the interpreter and the member are hearing Punjabi for the first time at the same moment is not the hearing anybody wanted.

Preparation is separate from that. Going through the evidence beforehand in Punjabi, so that the answers at the hearing are the client's own and not a rehearsed translation of somebody else's, is the part that changes how a hearing goes.

Kapil Rathod, the principal lawyer, and Aleena Azam, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, both consult in Punjabi directly rather than through somebody relaying for them. Which of the two is the right person for a file depends on what it is: an RCIC consultation is the lower rate and covers most filings, and a matter bound for the Federal Court or the Immigration and Refugee Board needs the lawyer.

Getting a certified copy made, or having a document notarised for use outside Ontario, is separate work again and is done by the firm's notary public. None of these three roles substitutes for another, and a consultation is where it becomes clear which one the file actually needs.