Smith Immigration Law
4 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 425 handling Immigration Law.
About Smith Immigration Law
Smith Immigration Law is a Toronto immigration and refugee law practice, based on Danforth Avenue in the city's east end. Adrienne Smith founded the firm after working as a strategic policy advisor at the federal Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and as a partner at another downtown Toronto immigration firm. The practice today includes four lawyers along with a legal assistant and a case coordinator, and it covers the full range of Canadian immigration work: study and work permits, visitor visas, family and spousal sponsorship, refugee claims, citizenship applications, judicial review at the Federal Court, and cases involving inadmissibility or removal. It also works directly with post secondary institutions and small businesses that need help bringing in students, faculty, or employees from abroad.
The firm is particularly known for its LGBTQ+ immigration and refugee work, built around the idea that Canada's asylum system can protect people fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Smith received the Canadian Bar Association's Founders' Award, teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law and Queen's University, and has appeared at the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Smith also co-authored a book on family class sponsorship and wrote a chapter on LGBTQ+ immigration for a Canadian legal text.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Adrienne Smith, the firm's founder, received the Canadian Bar Association's Founders' Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions and a future leader in immigration law.
- Smith co-authored Family Class Sponsorship in Canadian Immigration Law (2021) and wrote a chapter on LGBTQ+ immigration for the text LGBTQ2+ Law: Practice Issues and Analysis (2020).
- Smith teaches immigration law as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law and an adjunct instructor at Queen's University.
In the community
- The firm publishes LGBTQ+ immigration resource guides, including a practical guide for people in the United States considering relocation to Canada and reference materials for other legal practitioners, developed with input credited to lawyer Susan Ursel, Lisa Freedman, Jacqui Pegg, and EGALE.
Good to know
LGBTQ+ friendlyLawyers 4
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The firm's office sits on the western stretch of Danforth Avenue, the corridor Torontonians know as Greektown. Greek immigrants began settling along the Danforth in the 1950s and 1960s, and by the 1970s and 1980s it was regarded as the largest Greektown in North America, with street signs along the western Danforth still posted in both English and Greek today. It's a fitting backdrop for a firm built around immigration law: a neighbourhood shaped, block by block, by newcomers who came to Toronto from somewhere else.
That history sits alongside the strip's present day identity as one of the city's densest restaurant rows, and the annual Taste of the Danforth festival each August still draws on the same Greek heritage that first put the neighbourhood on the map.
Frequently asked questions
- Can Smith Immigration Law help me sponsor my same sex partner to immigrate to Canada?
- Yes. The firm's spousal sponsorship practice covers same sex and opposite sex partners, guiding Canadian citizens and permanent residents through sponsoring a partner for immigration to Canada, including the paperwork and documentation that program requires.
- I'm fleeing persecution because of my sexual orientation or gender identity. Can the firm help me claim refugee protection in Canada?
- Yes. Smith Immigration Law has a dedicated LGBTQ+ refugee practice and describes Canada as a country long recognized as a safe haven for people fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The firm prepares claims, gathers evidence, and represents clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board.
- My employer in Toronto wants to hire me from abroad. Can Smith Immigration Law get me a work permit?
- The firm handles employer supported work permits, including Labour Market Impact Assessment applications, LMIA exempt categories, and Post Graduation Work Permits, and also advises Canadian businesses directly on bringing in workers, including intra company transfers and the Global Talent Stream.
- My study permit application to a Canadian college or university was refused. Can the firm help me reapply?
- Yes. The firm reviews refused Study Permit applications and helps clients reapply or address the reasons for refusal, and it also advises international students on restoring expired status and on Post Graduation Work Permit and permanent residence planning once they've finished their studies.
- My permanent residence or refugee claim was refused. Can Smith Immigration Law challenge the decision?
- The firm represents clients in Judicial Review applications before the Federal Court of Canada, challenging refusals of refugee claims, permanent residence denials, temporary resident visa rejections, and Pre-Removal Risk Assessment decisions.
- How does a consultation with Smith Immigration Law work?
- The firm offers a one hour consultation for $350 plus HST, credited toward legal fees if you retain the firm afterward. It includes a review of your situation, an explanation of your options, and an overview of the documents, timeline, and costs involved, and it can be done by Zoom, phone, or in person.
Where to find them
253 Danforth Avenue, Suite 200, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2 · 647-365-1801
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