Grace came to Canada from the Philippines in 2004 as a live-in caregiver, leaving her 8 year old with his father. Two years later, she started the process to become a permanent resident on her own and spent several years trying to navigate the system. She has not seen her son since coming to Canada. He is 16 now and she has not seen him for more than half of his life. Her main comment about her separation from her son; “I owe him time”.
She says that Jennifer “is an answer to my prayers”. After meeting with Jennifer and her staff, she would feel a sense of calm return and hope that this was going to work. “I knew that she was the expert and knew how to work through the system to get me my residency”, she said adding “I could say anything, ask any question and not feel silly, I had confidence in her answers”. Grace says that everyone in the office was very approachable and encouraging and when others would say “she’s so expensive”, Grace would reply “I don’t care about the money, this is my life. Money is nothing”.
When she came to Jennifer in May of 2011, she was in danger of being removed from Canada and barred from this country for 2 years, leaving her new young son in Canada without a mother. 13 months later she is scheduled to attend her Permanent Residency landing ceremony. Today, when asked about travelling to see her son next year, Grace smiles as she replies, “I can now make plans”.
— Grace