Professional Involvement (Memberships)
- Instructor – UBC Extended Learning – Immigration: Laws, Policies and Procedures, 2017 – 2019
- Chair, Canadian Bar Association, BC Immigration Law section, 2015 – 2017
- Vice-Chair, Canadian Bar Association, BC Immigration Law section, 2013 – 2015
Education / Bar Admissions
- JD, University of Toronto, 2009
- BA, University of British Columbia, 2006
- Called to the British Columbia bar, 2010
Summary
Steven has focused his law practice exclusively on immigration, refugee and citizenship law since 2010. He works with employers, individuals and families on a broad range of applications for temporary and permanent entry to Canada, as well as citizenship.
In addition to his corporate immigration practice, Steven has extensive practice in challenging refusals and application delays at the Federal Court. He is regularly retained by individuals, businesses, immigration consultants and other lawyers for judicial review and procedural fairness matters. He has appeared before the Federal Court of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Steven is a published columnist, a regular panelist at immigration law conferences, a past instructor at the University of British Columbia’s Certificate in Immigration Laws, Policies and Procedures program, the author of a very widely read blog on Canadian immigration law and the creator of an immigration law podcast called Borderlines, in which he has interviewed other lawyers, retired visa officers and previous Canadian immigration ministers.
Representative work
- Counsel to several successful Vancouver technology start-ups on all immigration matters, including obtaining work permits for key staff, the effects of mergers & acquisitions, and obtaining bulk Labour Market Impact Assessments for highly skilled and difficult to fill positions.
- Represented many individuals in successfully overturning visa refusals at Federal Court, including on matters pertaining to whether the applicant met program eligibility, procedural fairness, and national security.
- Successfully assisted several families normalize the status of family members who had been in Canada without status for several years
- Advising numerous religious organizations in transitioning their religious workers to permanent resident status.
- Represented several companies and unions with complex employer compliance matters.
- Spoke at CAPIC’s NCIC on recent Federal Court of Canada jurisprudence, Lake Louise, May, 2025
- Spoke at Ashton College on significant Federal Court of Canada decisions, Vancouver, June 15, 2023
- Moderated at the CBA’s 2023 National Immigration Law Conference, Ottawa, June 3, 2023
- Moderated a panel at the Canadian Bar Association’s 2022 National Immigration Law Conference on port of entry matters
- Presented at the CBABC’s 2022 Immigration Law conference on Express Entry
- Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Immigration Issues in Depth on the top Federal Court decisions of the year
- Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Working Your Way into Canada seminar on authorization to work without a work permit
- Spoke at CAPIC’s National Citizenship and Immigration Conference on employer compliance
- Presented at IMMSeminars on “Employer Compliance”, June 6, 2019
- “Update on Case Law Related to the Immigration Appeal Division,” Presenter, Ashton College Continuing Professional Development, September 22, 2018
- Co-Chair, Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Conference, Vancouver, May 2016
- “Permanent Residency for Students,” The University of Victoria, March 2, 2016
- “Temporary Residency,” Guest Lecturer, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law – Immigration Law – LAW 377.991, February 2, 2016