Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications 

John Edwards has been a licensed immigration consultant since 2006 and is currently a member in good standing with the College of Immigration & Citizenship Consultants (CICC). He holds a BSc from the University of Guelph and worked in the environmental sciences field for approximately 10 years. He also taught English in South America and Asia prior to entering the immigration consulting profession.

Mr. Edwards is proud to have had the privilege of working alongside and under the guidance of Cecil L. Rotenberg, Q.C. (deceased), known as the "grandfather" or "dean" of Canadian immigration law, where he gained valuable experience in dealing with complex immigration matters.

In addition to being a licensed immigration consultant, Mr. Edwards is a licensed paralegal and a member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario. His representation includes clients in both temporary resident classes and permanent residence applications.

Over the years, he has successfully represented clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board at the Immigration Division, the Refugee Protection Division, and the Immigration Appeal Division. Currently, Mr. Edwards focuses on assisting clients with Humanitarian and Compassionate applications, immigration appeals, and with in-Canada and overseas applicants dealing with inadmissibility issues. He also enjoys teaching and has taught immigration consultancy students at two private colleges in Toronto, as well as paralegal diploma courses at a private college in Hamilton, Ontario. 

IRB Refugee Updates
Sonia Sekhon is a licensed Canadian Barrister and Solicitor in the Province of Ontario and the founding principal of The Legal Café, a boutique law firm based in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Sonia completed her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with Honours at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. During her time abroad, she gained invaluable international legal experience working with private law firms in Brisbane as well as with the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General.

Sonia’s dedication to immigration advocacy led her to earn an Immigration Consultant Diploma with Honours in 2019 and subsequently obtaining a secondary licence in 2022 through the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), reflecting her commitment to comprehensive immigration representation.

Throughout her legal career, Sonia has worked in several practice areas, including Immigration Law, Family Law, Criminal Law, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury, and Administrative Law. Sonia’s passion for helping individuals and families build better futures led her to focus her practice primarily on Canadian Immigration Law.

In addition to her legal work, Sonia serves as a co-founder and chairwoman of a Niagara Falls based not-for-profit organization dedicated to cultural engagement and community development. 

IAD Residency Obligations 

Ali Yamini-Ghaeshi graduated in Immigration Consultant Diploma from Ashton College in 2013. In 2015, he established his immigration firm and started working in North America and Iran.

His firm provides the full range of Canadian immigration services to foreign individuals, small enterprises and multinationals alike. The firm has been active in offering services for various Canadian Immigration programs with over 500 successful applications over the years in various categories such as student visas, work classes, business and investment categories, and all other immigration programs.

He also has participated in many immigration seminars and workshops in different countries like Canada, France, and Germany,

Ali also is a graduated civil engineer from one of the top universities in Iran. He enjoys imparting his knowledge to other people and educates willing persons. He is very good at communicating with people and his practices as an immigration consultant have made him a good lecturer.

The Removal Process

Al Parsai is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant. He runs a successful business in downtown Toronto, Ontario, with many employees.

Al is also the author of "88 Tips on Immigration to Canada." As a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants and the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, Al has represented hundreds of applicants from more than 35 countries to the Canadian immigration authorities.

He has extensive experience as an author, trainer, and public speaker. Over the past 20 years, Al has written ten books and hundreds of articles and has delivered numerous courses, workshops, and speeches in four different countries.