Vancouver Immigration Lawyer
Joshua is the senior partner in our immigration department, providing full-range immigration services to individual and corporate clients world-wide.
Joshua assists clients with immigration processing, admissibility issues, procedural fairness matters and refusals. He regularly appears before the Immigration and Refugee Board (“IRB”), its Appeal Division (“IAD”), and the Federal Court of Canada. Joshua specializes in cases that involve misrepresentation, criminality, security, residency, and detention.
Joshua has a diverse background in immigration law, which includes litigating complex immigration matters and the processing of various temporary residence, permanent residence / citizenship applications, and labour market impact assessments (“LMIA”) to Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada / international Canadian visa offices, Canada Border Services Agency, and ESDC / Service Canada.
Joshua is well-known in the industry for accompanying clients to ports-of-entry across Canada to resolve admissibility issues, and to facilitate the processing of complex work permit applications. He also works with individuals and families – with an emphasis on employment, investment, humanitarian / compassionate and family sponsorship-based applications.
Joshua prides himself in his client-responsiveness, and endeavors to bring his positive and upbeat attitude to every file, regardless of the difficult circumstances that the client may find themselves in. Joshua is passionate about immigration law – and is committed to helping clients turn visions into working realities through creative and innovative immigration strategies and a client-focused approach.
Joshua graduated from law school in 2009 with distinction and a gold medal. He was first called to the Bar in North Dakota, and later called to the Bars in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. Prior to joining Coal Harbour Law as a partner, Joshua practiced immigration law with other leading immigration firms in Canada. Joshua has been listed as a top-10 Vancouver immigration lawyer.
Joshua started law-blogging for The Huffington Post in 2012 – and is regularly consulted by media outlets regarding Canadian immigration law and policy. He previously sat on the Canadian Bar Association’s Executive Committee – Immigration Division, where he participated policy developments that impacted the Canadian legal profession. He has become a regular on the immigration-lecture circuit nation-wide, where he enjoys sharing his working knowledge of complex immigration issues with fellow and prospective immigration professionals and students. Joshua also serves as an adjunct-professor at Queen’s School of Law in Kingston, Ontario, where he teaches Family-Class Immigration.
Outside of work Joshua enjoys trying new restaurants, walking and sailing in the Gulf Islands and Puget Sound.
Joshua also has law offices in Surrey, Victoria and Abbotsford, British Columbia. He can be contacted at joshua@slayenlaw.com and 604-754-2405.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Winnpeg
- Juris Doctor, University of North Dakota
Attention to Detail
Joshua has a diverse background in immigration law, which has included litigating complex immigration matters, and the processing of various temporary residence, permanent residence and citizenship applications to Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and international Canadian visa offices.
Experience
Prior to joining Coal Harbour Law, Joshua practiced immigration law with other leading immigration firms in Canada. He was first called to the Bar in North Dakota (2009), and later called to the Bar in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia.
Guin Sykes Administrative Assistant
Guin is our talented Administrative Assistant who now assists with a wide range of matters after initially joining the firm as a receptionist.
Outside of the office, Guin enjoys rock climbing, fine art, and coffee.
Emily Mountain Junior Legal Assistant
Emily joined the firm in August of 2022 as a Junior Legal Assistant. Being one of the youngest members of our firm, she is passionate about her studies in criminology, which is what sparked her interest in working in the legal industry, and is quickly learning the ins and outs of law. Emily has an extensive background in Customer Service, and loves learning and exploring new skills.
On the weekends, you can find Emily at home with her family, including her cat, Flicker, and her two dogs. She enjoys being outdoors, especially on horseback, and loves hiking up mountains to admire the multitude of colours of autumn from above.
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