The Relationship Between Immigration Law and Social Media

*Blog Posts are not Legal Advice.

Every morning before I check my emails and review my files, I catch up on the latest immigration news. I don't just do this because I love my profession - I do it because it's prudent practice. In immigration law there are constant changes. These changes can directly impact files we are working on. Therefore, staying up to date is critical for our clients. 

Staying up to date involves more than just reading and watching the news – because there is only so much information one can find on their own. It is important to stay glued to social media outlets like twitter, facebook, linkedin and youtube. It is also important to follow immigration lawyers/bloggers that consistently publish articles, because that is how one knows the information they are reading is being updated. A great example is Meurrens on Immigration, which in my view is the most informative immigration blog in Canada (and I do not just say that because the author is a partner at my firm).

In addition to practicing law, it is important that Canadian immigration lawyers are reaching out to the global community. It is important to not only know what is happening with Canadian policy, but also the global community - because doing so can help bring more people to Canada. For instance, when President Trump won the 2016 election we had a huge influx of Americans that wanted consultations on immigration avenues to Canada. By following the election and staying up to date on the issues, I was able to anticipate this influx, and in fact published an article called "9 ways to Immigrate to Canada, According to an Immigration Lawyer" which brought fabulous new clients to my firm – and, more importantly, helped folks come to Canada that wanted to move here.

The results of sharing information via blog posts and social media can be far reaching. As an example, I once published an article on how one can obtain a divorce in Canada from a foreign national in another county, where divorces may be difficult to obtain. A gentlemen walked into my office afterwards and told me that he had no idea he was eligible for a divorce – and that is why he was not marrying his new partner and sponsoring her to Canada. He was overwhelmed with happiness to learn that he could obtain a divorce from Canada. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate that a social media post would elicit such a reaction.

For immigration lawyers, the information we need is often at our fingertips, but we don’t always reach out and grab it because of our files and general lack of time. It is our obligation to ensure we are working with the most up to date information for the benefit of our clients, and to contribute to the worldwide body of knowledge for folks out there that need our help.

*Joshua Slayen is an immigration lawyer with Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers and Solicitors; a full service immigration law firm in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada).