A renowned sociologist gains unprecedented access to Canadian immigration offices and reveals how visa officers determine who gets in to Canada – and who stays out.
Description
Every year, over 1.3 million people apply to visit, work, or settle in Canada and discover that their future rests in visa officers’ hands. How do these officers decide who gets in? Seeking answers to this question, Vic Satzewich gained access to eleven overseas visa offices. Points of Entry reveals immigration officers in action as they determine credibility and risk. Contrary to popular opinion, individual bias rarely enters into their decisions. Instead, a combination of experience, organizational culture, and accumulated local knowledge shapes their decision to issue a visa or dig deeper into some people’s stories and histories.
Reviews
Satzewich’s first-hand account of the inner workings at the Department of Immigration is not merely timely, it is excellent. Satzewich visited 11 Canadian visa offices abroad, interviewed 128 staff and witnessed 42 interviews with immigrants. It was unprecedented access … Points of Entry is crisp and compelling, written with objectivity and an extraordinary eye for detail. To read it is to understand why Syrian boys died on a beach, and why politicians lament that “doing the right thing is not always easy” — and then feel slightly ashamed.
- Holly Doan
This carefully researched and well-written book makes a major contribution to the field of immigration policy and its implementation.
- D.A. Chekki