Family heartbroken as baby boy denied temporary resident visa
Henry (Ted) Parker holds up a photo of his step-grandson as he speaks, his voice wavering with disbelief.
“Can you imagine this beautiful little boy can’t come to Canada to visit his grandmother?”
On March 23, a Canadian Embassy visa section outpost in Mexico denied Parker’s step-grandson, Jepherson Medina Aquino, a temporary resident visa application. The eight-month-old boy, his mother Mairy Aquino Baez and grandmother Maria, are citizens of the Dominican Republic. The denied visa means he is unable to join his mother while she stays with Ted and Maria in North Battleford until September.
Last year, Ted hired Edge Immigration in Saskatoon to help with Maria’s permanent residency application. On her application, she has listed dependants under the age of 22 — Mairy, Jepherson and Maria’s son, Sami. Anyone granted permanent residency can bring family members listed as dependants to Canada, including dependant children and their dependant children.
Ted went to the Dominican Republic to obtain criminal background checks and medical documentation for his wife’s application, and thought it would be a bonus to bring her grandson to Canada so the two of them could meet for the first time.
“My wife hasn’t seen her first grandchild,” he said through tears. “Or hugged or kissed her first grandchild. So, I thought it would be a bonus to bring this baby back here for two or three months with his mother.”
Mairy holds a multiple-entry visa, as does Maria. Maria and Ted Parker married in 2011; Maria first received her visa and moved to Canada to live with her husband in 2013. Ted owns property in the Dominican Republic and has travelled there over the years, while Maria travelled back and forth between Canada and the Dominican Republic prior to applying for permanent resident status.
Maria, who has been granted an indefinite stay in Canada while her permanent residency application is underway, hasn’t visited her grandson in the Dominican Republic. She can leave Canada, but if she is unable to return, that could affect her chances of becoming a permanent resident. If a person applying for a permanent residency leaves Canada before he or she is granted that status, their application will be deemed abandoned if they are unable-to-re-enter-the-country.
The visa application response letter addressed to baby Jepherson thanked him for his interest in visiting Canada, but stated, “After a careful review of your temporary resident visa application and supporting documentation, I have determined that your application does not meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations, I am refusing your application.”
The application was refused on the grounds that it did not satisfy the Canadian visa officer that the child would leave Canada at the end of his stay as a temporary resident. The determining factor was his family ties. The other basis for the refusal was a lack of sufficient documentation to support his or his host’s income and assets.
In response to a Postmedia News request for information, the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent a statement indicating that the baby’s temporary resident visa application was refused “as the officer was not satisfied that there are sufficient family ties and funds in his home country to warrant return at the end of the authorized period of stay.”
The department acknowledged the baby is included on an application for permanent residence that is currently pending — Maria’s application — but said a decision on eligibility has not yet been made.
According to IRCC, the applicant, or in the case of minors, their parents, may re-apply with more documentation in support of the application. The applicant/parents could also ask the federal court to review the decision to deny the visa.
Ted has a notarized letter from the baby’s father authorizing his mother to obtain a visa to “travel at her discretion freely.”
Ted calls the decision to deny the child a visa “absolute stupidity.”
Maria said she feels bad about not being able to see her grandson.
“The family in the Dominican is the most important ... It’s most important than anything,” she said. “I feel very sad.”
Mairy said she wants to travel with her son, but she can’t.
“She loves her baby, but she hasn’t seen her mother since last July,” Ted said.
The family hasn’t had a chance to speak with any Canadian official since Ted returned to Canada with Mairy earlier this month.
Ted said he ran a factory in North Battleford for 22 years, and as a boss, he wouldn’t stand for things that didn’t “fit” his ship. Holding up the letter addressed to his stepgrandson, he said,
“This here doesn’t fit my ship,” he added.