Nicholas Keung
Torstar news services
A dying Filipino nanny whose immigration application had been twice denied because she has terminal cancer has now been cleared to apply for landed immigrant status.
At a news conference this morning, lawyer Rafael Fabregas said Juana Tejada received a letter yesterday from Citizenship and Immigration Canada informing her that she was exempted from the medical requirements and can now proceed with her immigration application.
"My husband and I are very grateful to Canada. It was been our wish to have an opportunity to start a better future here. This decision has a big impact on my health, in a positive way. It makes me more powerful in fighting the illness I have," said Tejada, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 during a medical exam for her immigration.
Tejada came to Canada in 2003 under the federal live-in caregiver program, which grants permanent residence status to domestic workers after they complete their three-year assignment and obtain the necessary medical and criminal record clearances.
Her application for landed immigrant status was denied twice after she was deemed a burden to Canada's health-care system because of her illness. Last month, her lawyer asked immigration officials to give her an exemption on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Tejada's supporters set up an online petition and a trust fund for her after learning about her plight in a Star story.
"It is Juana's dying wish to be granted permanent residency. It is without a doubt the right decision to make," Fabregas said.
It's a thing good that Tejada was granted hope... hope to live longer in a place she wanted to be.
Posted by: Chicago Interpreter | October 26, 2009 at 11:54 PM