without hesitation: the border. Stretching 5,525 miles long, the boundary between the United States and its northern neighbor is the longest non-militarized common border in the world, and it means, explains Tremblay, managing director of the Canadian arm of Fragomen Global Immigration Services, that he and the nine attorneys and specialists he works with must take a slightly different approach to immigration. “The flow of people and goods that cross the border each day is truly amazing,” says Tremblay. “Canadian businesses that trade with the US are used to turning on a sk Philippe Tremblay to describe what makes immigration unique – not to mention a challenge – in Canada and he will undoubtedly say one thing dime, so we have to be field warriors so to speak. We cannot have a service-center approach.” It’s about being proactive as well as reactive, Tremblay continues. “It’s critical for us to have good contact and communication with numerous points of entry, and we must be up to date. When a client calls, he might be traveling the same day. It’s about helping him quickly meet his business needs.” To that end, being part of the greater Fragomen entity is a major plus and the Canadian office is able to leverage the firm’s global presence. “The business community in Canada is discovering that we are the first real major player in the global immigration field,” Tremblay says. “We don’t have to start from scratch for each client…I can connect immediately.” The office, located in Toronto, Ontario, handles all types of Canadian work permits and finds the bulk of its work on the inbound side, from granting visitors and temporary workers from a host of countries entry, to helping clients—many of which are large multinationals—establish operations in the country, as well as arranging permanent resident status. “We’re servicing global clients who have the need to move personnel into Canada,” Tremblay says, adding that clients run the gamut of industries. “On top of that, we do a significant amount of consular processing for clients who must travel abroad.” It is also Tremblay’s objective to grow the firm’s Canadian client base. “Canada is simply a huge market,” he notes. “It’s the number one trade partner with the United States, and there are untapped business opportunities here.” One of the distinct advantages clients enjoy when moving personnel into Canada is the fact that immigration processes are generally the same amongst the country’s provinces, Quebec being the one exception. And it is a market that is receptive to immigrants. “I would classify Canada as a receiving country,” Tremblay says. “We have lots of tools to work with to make the process smooth.” It’s not to say that Canada doesn’t have a robust immigration process. In fact, employees are often caught off guard, for example, when attempting to move back and forth between the US and Canada, Tremblay says. “The countries are cousins, but this often leads to a lack of knowledge about immigration,” he says. “I can’t count how many times clients have been stuck at the border…it’s this mindset that you can enter to work without the proper status. It creates urgency.” A major initiative for Tremblay and his colleagues, then, is to properly educate clients before such issues arise – creating this notion of a solid “border practice.” It starts with having an in-depth understanding of border procedures on both sides, which in turn makes crossing back and forth easier. “It’s about making it a more comfortable process,” he says. “We build the petition in such a way that the officer knows exactly where to look for the proper information, making a decision come faster and easier. We work with them as a colleague, and with our well-established credibility and expertise, in turn we become facilitators for the client.” “When a client calls, he might be traveling the same day. It’s about helping him quickly meet his business needs.” Immigration expertise is something Tremblay has spent a lifetime cultivating. At 16, Tremblay moved with his family to France from Quebec when his father took a contract position in the country – but ended up needing the support of an immigration attorney when the post didn’t work out as planned. That attorney made a lasting impression on Tremblay. “It had a dramatic impact on my life,” he says. Fast forward to today, and Tremblay, who practiced at his own firm in Montreal for 10 years before joining Fragomen, has been able to return the favor. “We recently received a call that a Canadian citizen working in India was dealing with a family emergency and needed his parents to travel from Canada right away,” Tremblay says. “Even though the Indian consulate was closed and a Canadian holiday was the following Monday, we were able to obtain visas for the parents within one day. The feeling when we succeed is so rewarding.” Philippe Tremblay can be reached in Fragomen’s Toronto office by calling +1 416 866 2188 or by email at [email protected]. More information about Fragomen can be found at www.fragomen.com. GLOBAL IMMIGRATION SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT Canada’s Field Warriors Philippe Tremblay and Fragomen Streamline Immigration in Canada A
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without hesitation: the border. Stretching 5,525 miles long,
the boundary between the United States and its northern
neighbor is the longest non-militarized common border in
the world, and it means, explains Tremblay, managing
director of the Canadian arm of Fragomen Global
Immigration Services, that he and the nine attorneys and
specialists he works with must take a slightly di�erent
approach to immigration.
“The �ow of people and goods that cross the border
each day is truly amazing,” says Tremblay. “Canadian
businesses that trade with the US are used to turning on a
sk Philippe Tremblay to describe what makes
immigration unique – not to mention a challenge
– in Canada and he will undoubtedly say one thing
dime, so we have to be �eld warriors so to speak. We
cannot have a service-center approach.” It’s about being
proactive as well as reactive, Tremblay continues. “It’s
critical for us to have good contact and communication
with numerous points of entry, and we must be up to date.
When a client calls, he might be traveling the same day. It’s
about helping him quickly meet his business needs.”
To that end, being part of the greater Fragomen entity
is a major plus and the Canadian o�ce is able to leverage
the �rm’s global presence. “The business community in
Canada is discovering that we are the �rst real major player
in the global immigration �eld,” Tremblay says. “We don’t
have to start from scratch for each client…I can connect
immediately.”
The o�ce, located in Toronto, Ontario, handles all
types of Canadian work permits and �nds the bulk of its
work on the inbound side, from granting visitors and
temporary workers from a host of countries entry, to
helping clients—many of which are large
multinationals—establish operations in the country, as
well as arranging permanent resident status.
“We’re servicing global clients who have the need to
move personnel into Canada,” Tremblay says, adding that
clients run the gamut of industries. “On top of that, we do
a signi�cant amount of consular processing for clients who
must travel abroad.” It is also Tremblay’s objective to grow
the �rm’s Canadian client base. “Canada is simply a huge
market,” he notes. “It’s the number one trade partner with
the United States, and there are untapped business
opportunities here.”
One of the distinct advantages clients enjoy when
moving personnel into Canada is the fact that immigration
processes are generally the same amongst the country’s
provinces, Quebec being the one exception. And it is a
market that is receptive to immigrants. “I would classify
Canada as a receiving country,” Tremblay says. “We have
lots of tools to work with to make the process smooth.”
It’s not to say that Canada doesn’t have a robust
immigration process. In fact, employees are often caught
o� guard, for example, when attempting to move back
and forth between the US and Canada, Tremblay says.
“The countries are cousins, but this often leads to a lack of
knowledge about immigration,” he says. “I can’t count how
many times clients have been stuck at the border…it’s this
mindset that you can enter to work without the proper
status. It creates urgency.”
A major initiative for Tremblay and his colleagues,
then, is to properly educate clients before such issues arise
– creating this notion of a solid “border practice.” It starts
with having an in-depth understanding of border
procedures on both sides, which in turn makes crossing
back and forth easier. “It’s about making it a more
comfortable process,” he says. “We build the petition in
such a way that the o�cer knows exactly where to look for
the proper information, making a decision come faster and
easier. We work with them as a colleague, and with our
well-established credibility and expertise, in turn we
become facilitators for the client.”
“When a client calls, he might be traveling the same day. It’s about
helping him quickly meet his business needs.”
Immigration expertise is something Tremblay has
spent a lifetime cultivating. At 16, Tremblay moved with his
family to France from Quebec when his father took a
contract position in the country – but ended up needing
the support of an immigration attorney when the post
didn’t work out as planned. That attorney made a lasting
impression on Tremblay. “It had a dramatic impact on my
life,” he says.
Fast forward to today, and Tremblay, who practiced at
his own �rm in Montreal for 10 years before joining
Fragomen, has been able to return the favor. “We recently
received a call that a Canadian citizen working in India was
dealing with a family emergency and needed his parents
to travel from Canada right away,” Tremblay says. “Even
though the Indian consulate was closed and a Canadian
holiday was the following Monday, we were able to obtain
visas for the parents within one day. The feeling when we
succeed is so rewarding.”
Philippe Tremblay can be reached in Fragomen’s Toronto
o�ce by calling +1 416 866 2188 or by email at
[email protected]. More information about
Fragomen can be found at www.fragomen.com.
GLOBAL IMMIGRATION
S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Canada’s Field WarriorsPhilippe Tremblay and Fragomen Streamline Immigration in Canada
A
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