Former Afghan interpreter remained in the dark after changes in government documents on immigration status

Ten days after retired Canadian military nurse Lisa Compton told CBC News about her efforts to bring an Afghan military interpreter and his family to Canada, federal immigration authorities have stopped providing her with updates on his case.

Compton, who completed six assignments in Afghanistan from 2007, met the interpreter during her first tour and became friends with her. Since 2021, she has been trying to bring him and his family to Canada under special immigration rules for Afghans who worked in the Canadian military during the Afghan war.

In 2021, the interpreter completed a form authorizing Compton to act as his official representative with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Recently, she said, the department blocked her access to the interpreter’s file.

“I went back on the phone like I normally do and just called the helpline … and at that point I was told I no longer had access to information, that my record was out of date,” Compton said.

She said she later received an email from an employee at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – seen by CBC News – telling her the form the interpreter had filled out was no longer valid.

Immigration Canada changed the form in November 2021. Compton said she was never asked for a new form until last month.

She said she was frustrated to encounter yet another bureaucratic roadblock while her former colleague and his family were being hunted down by the Taliban.

“Kind of absurd when you realize that you are … informing the IRCC that this gentleman is fleeing from the Taliban and is in hiding and his family is constantly fleeing from one place to another,” she said. “And now they want you to update a form because it has a new form number on it?”

The two documents are very similar. Each asks the applicant to provide contact information for their representative and whether the representative is related to them, is awaiting compensation, or is an immigration consultant.

The newer version replaces the immigration agency’s previous name – Citizenship and Immigration Canada – with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the name the Liberal federal government gave the department in 2015.

Sean Fraser, Secretary of State for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, addresses a news conference in Ottawa on April 6, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Immigration lawyer Arghavan Gerami said it was “unusual” that IRCC insisted on a new form purely as a matter of form.

She said the department would not normally make such a request unless it needed to update the representative’s personal information.

“It’s definitely causing delays and potential access issues,” she said. “There is great concern about these applications. And vulnerable applicants who are in a risky situation find it difficult to submit their applications and their supporting documents and then wait for a response.”

CBC News does not identify the former interpreter. He and his family are hiding in Pakistan on expired visas while waiting for their immigration to Canada to be processed.

He told CBC News he was frustrated and alarmed by this latest bureaucratic snag. He said he had to sneak out of his makeshift shelter at night to find a safe place to fill out the new document online.

“If you don’t want to take us, just tell us directly and not like that,” he said of Immigration Canada. “My family is waiting.”

Compton has told CBC News how the interpreter once protected her from a missile attack on her base in Kandahar, although at the time she was wearing body armor and he was unprotected.

“It’s a matter of life or death”

She said she hoped IRCC’s sudden insistence on a new form was not an act of retaliation against her for speaking out about the delay in processing his application.

“We go and do what the Canadian government asks of us,” she said. “I’ve maintained that by being totally non-political in whatever way. And it’s life or death for my friend.”

After the new form is submitted, she waits 10 business days before she can receive updates again.

IRCC told CBC News it would not comment on individual cases.

A form would “normally remain valid throughout the application process, even if the form changes”.

The department also said that “if certain requested documents are not available, IRCC may accept an explanation as to why the documentation cannot be submitted and trained officers will use their discretion to ensure that the circumstances explained are taken into account.”

It declined to answer a question about how many Canadian immigrant candidates have representatives they received by filling out the old form.

IRCC said the new form requires information on whether a representative will be compensated – although that information is also part of the old form.

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