Dikshit Soni, RCIC

⚠️ PFL on an Express Entry file. Spouse marked non-accompanying. Refusal and inadmissibility both on the table. Not only was it overturned. The spouse and the child are now on the application as accompanying members. —- You read about PFLs for non-accompanying spouses and everyone assumes it's a dead end. I've been putting out case studies on files like this for years. We've handled a lot of them. Get proper help at the right time and situations can dramatically change. This is the latest one and I'm particularly proud of it. _____ An X follower reached out to me after his PR application had already gone in. He'd got his ITA. Problem was, with his wife on the application his score fell under the cut off for that round. She's already here with him in Canada on a SOWP. With dependent children as well. His rep's fix was to mark her non-accompanying when the file went in. He already knew a PFL was coming. Raised it with his rep's office more than once and they kept brushing it off. Told him not to worry about it. Then the PFL came. Says he may be inadmissible. 7 days to answer. He came back to me. Here's what his rep told him to do: - ask IRCC for more time, they'd get 60 to 90 days (seldom works and not the best approach) - get a medical letter saying his wife can't travel. They sent him the wording (potential misrepresentation) - get a second one for her mother abroad, a health problem back home, so it looks like the family is leaving Canada anyway (potential misrepresentation) Both letters came as blank templates (seemingly AI generated). Fill in the name, fill in the condition. He wasn't comfortable with any of it. Messaged me again. I told him what I thought and gave him the counter to take back. He put it to his rep. They refused to run it. Won’t even give him his documents they submitted unless he signed a termination agreement. That was enough for him. Changed representation and came to us with one day left on the deadline. Submissions filed the next day. IRCC has now asked for the fees for his wife and child, marking them as accompanying members on the file, PFL concerns neutralized. The most interesting part here is we were not just responding to a PFL, but spouse and the child went from non-accompanying to on the application. In the same file, same application number, already in process. One week. That's the power of representation.

About time. But enforcement action is lacking. Had a case recently. A Brampton firm that markets itself on social media as an immigration firm, 50k+ followers on instagram, physical office at a prime location. Not licensed. Guy on a closed work permit. His employer gave him no job. He “consults” them. They told him since he doesn’t have a job, he has to take studies to maintain his status (False) and to enrol at a private college for a 2 yr program. Private colleges in Ontario have had no PAL allocation since 2024, so there's no study permit to get there. Almost $20k in fees over two years so far; for a “dummy” admission. He specifically is asked to not attend college or go ask for verification from the institute. Firm said they will manage the paperwork, you just keep paying the fee. Obviously not a cent reached a college. He had no idea. Now, he’s also in a genuine relationship with someone graduating in Canada in December. They told them to get married. They would handle all the “paperwork” for $5k. Another $5 to 10k to run a fake payroll so when she applies for a PGWP, he applies for a spousal open work permit. There are hundreds of firms like this operating in Canada and abroad. Thousands of people paying them. Enforcement runs on proof. Proof needs someone to come forward. Victims don't. They're scared, even when they've done nothing wrong or followed unscruplous advice.. Waiting for victims or some complaint is what keeps them going. Be proactive. Mystery shopping. Hire someone to pose as a customer, ask for the service and record what they're sold and charged. Banks and retailers use it to test their staff. Government should use it here. Send in undercover applicants. The proof and deterrence comes from them, not from the people being scammed.

"ThePrint covered the FIR. This is the attention to detail on their complaint. A police case against "Unknown1". Nobody.
Offence window: 30 minutes on Oct 12. My post is from Oct 6. •Same links are listed twice. •Same accounts are listed three times. •A profile link is counted as a post. •A notice that quotes the wrong FIR number. 🤦‍♂️ •A complaint that never says what was even false. My post is on that complaint. An anonymous message, as received, about an Academy of Learning college. An absolute joke of a sloppy, complaint. —- On separate news, this is interesting too. ESS Global's own Facebook page features Mr. Gurinder Bhatti. Its Surrey, BC office is listed on Google as an "Immigration & naturalization service". Today I searched the @College_IC register of RCICs for company names containing "ESS Global". No records. For background: in Canada, only licensed consultants, lawyers and Quebec notaries can give paid immigration advice, or offer to. Unlicensed, it's an offence under IRPA s.91, up to two years in prison and a fine. That's up to the regulator to enforce. ThePrint also reports that Mr. Bhatti chairs the group behind the Academy of Learning colleges in Canada, the network my post named. People here asked questions. So far, the answer is a (joke of a) police case in another country. That would make wonderful PR right? Public record. Read it yourself

⚠️ A real refusal from October 2026. Please read before you claim CoQ points. A candidate claimed 50 CRS points for a Certificate of Qualification in a skilled trade, using an Ontario Exterminator Licence (pesticide). NOC 73202, Pest Controllers and Fumigators, is on the eligible trades list. They were invited in a CEC draw, then refused after the officer reviewed the file. Why the points were rejected:
- IRCC only gives these points for a valid CoQ issued by a competent provincial or federal authority (para 26(2)(a) of the Ministerial Instructions)
- The officer treated the licence as permission to do regulated work (like applying pesticides), not proof of trade competency
- The evidence didn't show that it's a regulated trade in Ontario or that a CoQ is issued for it
- A university certificate that qualifies you to apply for the licence carried "little weight" The 50 points came off, the score fell below the lowest invitee in that draw, and the application was refused under 11.2(1)(b) of the Act. The refusal is dated October 15, 2026, read the refusal reasons. Being on the trades list doesn't mean your licence counts as a CoQ. Before you claim these points, confirm with the issuing authority that what you hold is a CoQ, and that it was issued by a competent authority for a regulated trade. Point still stands.

⚠️ Be careful with NOC codes. Many are overlapping or close. Web developers (21234) sit in the lowest tier, software developers (21232) in the middle, and web designers (21233) aren't on the list at all. Same with accounting technician vs accountant, and electrician vs industrial electrician. It's tempting to change your NOC to land on the list. Don't. IRCC will look harder at anything changed after the announcement. Expect PFLs even if your documents are built to fit the code. Your duties decide your NOC, not the list. IRCC keeps tabs on changes even at the EOI stage. Don't take it for granted.

Just updated our Express Entry points tool, so you can now see your actual new CRS score. Enter your current CRS score, pick your occupation’s NOC code) and your years of Canadian experience, and it shows your new CRS after 3 November 2026. Example: 480 today + 40 = 520. It shows your total after the change, and how many points are actually new. 
 Remember though, Work experience and a job offer never stack. It only counts the higher route.

Got a call today. Caller: Sir, do you help in paper based marriage? Me: Do you want to apply for spousal sponsorship on a paper application? Caller: No sir. Paper based. As in fake. For PR.🤦 I've never been so politely asked to commit a crime.

Something I have been asked a few times since the announcement: “I already work in Canada and I also have a job offer. Do I get points for both?” No. IRCC says you can only receive points for Canadian work experience or an eligible job offer, not both. The system counts whichever is higher. Example from the tool (screenshot 2): a web developer with 1 year of Canadian experience and an offer in the same occupation. Experience route: 53 + 20 = 73 Job offer route: 50 Counted: 73, not 123

This guy says this is all a “fake letter to drive followers.” What he doesn’t realise: a police complaint in Punjab lists 35 X accounts and about 119 links. One of my posts is among them. X sent me the legal notice by email. The FIR is public record and is already being shared. The complainant is Paras Sharma, advocate, on behalf of GB Realty Group. It’s all in the papers. I’m not a journalist. I shared an anonymous message about how some colleges run their operations, and I named no person. Going after that is petty and, more importantly, DESPERATE. I haven’t commented on the contents of the FIR. But going by how these things play out, I’d call this a self goal and a hail mary, and I don’t think it ends well for whoever came up with it. Mark my words, this will backfire. One post of mine is now a police case, a legal notice and a public document that far more people are reading, commenting on and reacting to. All this did was amplify it. I’m not going anywhere. You wanted to do this, so let’s do it. Bring it on.

Recent events reminded me of the Streisand effect. The background was: In 2003, an aerial photo of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home sat on a coastline photography site. It had been viewed only 6 times, two of them by her own lawyers. She then sued to have it removed. Within a month, hundreds of thousands had seen it. Six views became hundreds of thousands. Nobody was looking until someone tried to make sure no one would, and all it did was amplify it. Just saying...

This came today. For disclosure, quoting the post it refers to. Read the post. Read the FIR. My post names no person and no company called GB Realty. Then an FIR is filed in Mohali (Punjab), India and it names GB Realty and its MD. P.S. I'm not drawing the link. I'm just pointing out who did. Interesting!!