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But weeks have turned into months, and Abd-Al-Hadi said it’s been radio silence since from the Canadian visa post in Lebanon, a country that has been caught up in Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

“I could only tell my girls there’s a problem with the plane for the delay,” said the Edmonton woman. “It took Immigration seven years to assess my husband’s case before they refused it. Why is our file still stuck in the system? Shouldn’t they prioritize it?”

For many refused spousal sponsors, winning an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division does not necessarily mean that a quick reunification is in sight; it can often mean further delays, which some lawyers say has been a systemic issue at other visa posts as well.

“It’s almost like the appellants in Canada are being punished for challenging these decisions,” said lawyer Richard Wazana, who represented Abd-Al-Hadi. “The irony is that you could almost file a new application and get a decision faster than it’s taking for these files to be reopened.”

The immigration department’s website said an outside-Canada spousal sponsorship application now takes an average of 10 months to process. For Abd-Al-Hadi, it’s been 20 months since their case was refused in March 2023 and eight months since they won the appeal. 

Immigration lawyer Jonathon W. Jurmain, based in Thorold, Ont., said it’s a mystery why it takes so long to process a case that’s referred back by the tribunal even though the adjudicator’s judgment must first be sent to the Immigration Department in Canada, which then returns the application to the overseas visa post for reassessment.

These days, all documents are electronic and their transfers are just a keystroke away, he said, adding that these files — having already been examined thoroughly once — are the easiest for the department to clear out in the system for efficiency. No one knows if these cases are treated as a priority or placed again at the end of the queue, he added.

“The basis for the (initial) refusal is almost always genuineness,” said Jurmain. “And if the IAD tribunal overturns that, there’s really nothing for the officer to look at anymore other than admissibility.

“Technically this application has been in process since it was originally filed, so they should slip in ahead of other (new) applications, specifically because the officer does not have as much to review.”

One of his recent clients won an appeal in January but it wasn’t until September that they heard back from the Beirut visa post asking for additional documents. Another case involving a spouse in India was ordered to be reopened in March, and numerous requests to the visa post have received no response.

In an email to the Star, the Immigration Department said “historically,” these files are assigned back to an officer for immediate review as soon as applications are received, and updated information will be requested accordingly.

“Each application is unique,” it said. “Some applications may have had a significant amount of time that has passed between the refusal and the (Immigration Appeal Division’s) decision. All activities that have expired with the initial application have to be renewed, including updated documents from the client.”

º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøimmigration lawyer Raoul Boulakia said he has never been given a formal or informal explanation by officials about these delays, even in cases where government counsel consented to reopen a previously refused spousal sponsorship application.

However, he suspects the delay has to do with the annual quota the government sets for permanent residents. In 2025, for instance, Ottawa has  70,000 spots for sponsored spouses, partners and children. From experience, officials would have a general idea how many applications they need to process to fill the spots. But the forecast could still be off and cases returned for new decisions may not be accounted for.

“So the visa post says, ‘We could process this. We will grant it, but let’s stall till next year because our numbers are already at this,’” said Boulakia, whose one client waited 17 months for a new decision after a successful appeal to the tribunal.

Prolonged family separation stemming from administrative delays takes a heavy emotional and financial toll on applicants. 

Abd-Al-Hadi has spent tens of thousands of dollars on trips to visit her husband, Mohamad Joumaa, 42, sometimes spending a couple months away, which has made it hard for her to hold an apartment or regular job in Canada.

Having worked in daycare, customer services, a bakery and teaching Arabic, the 36-year-old woman has had to pay for her plane tickets in instalments, sold furniture and taken loans to scrape together money to cover these trips and support her daughters.

“We don’t have a couch at home. We don’t have beds for my kids. They are sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” said Abd-Al-Hadi, who met her husband in 2011 through his sister before they got married a year later. “I’m trying to save money.”

She travelled back and forth between Canada and Lebanon until 2015 when she became pregnant and decided to sponsor her husband to raise the family in Canada. She was approved as a sponsor, and the file was sent to Beirut. Five years later, officials told them Joumaa was inadmissible because he omitted in his application a 2006 criminal conviction (over a fraudulent passport use) and he had unsuccessfully sought asylum in Europe. The application was refused in June 2023.

At the tribunal hearing in March, government counsel recommended the appeal be allowed based on the best interests of his children and the couple’s remorse about the misrepresentation.

“This family has waited so many years to be together,” said Wazana, who is now asking the Federal Court to compel immigration officials to make a prompt decision in Abd-Al-Hadi’s case. “That’s all the more reason why they should not wait one day longer for him to to come here.”

The Immigration Department said it cannot comment on an active case before the court.