B.C. immigration consultant discovers forged foreign worker documents — with her name on them

Jon Hernandez · CBC News

· Posted: May 03, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Twice successful 2 weeks, Surrey, B.C., migration consultant Neera Agnihotri discovered her steadfast was listed connected employment documents for overseas workers supposedly bound for B.C.

The lone problem: she had ne'er heard of immoderate of the prospective workers oregon the businesses wanting to prosecute them.

"I was like, 'No, this is not our client,'" Agnihotri says, reviewing the paperwork and highlighting signs of forgery.

"You tin spot a small spot of alteration successful the font," Agnihotri points retired connected one. On the other, there's a typo connected the sanction of her firm, Agnihotri Immigration Consulting Inc.

The documents were forged Labour Market Impact Assessments, oregon LMIAs. Employers typically person the documents from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) if they privation to prosecute a overseas worker. They're meant to amusement that a overseas idiosyncratic is needed to capable a circumstantial job.

LMIA-supported positions can besides summation the worker's chances of becoming imperishable residents successful Canada. Workers besides request to demonstrate they person requisite skills and connection proficiency earlier they person a enactment licence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

But successful caller years, fraudsters person utilized the documents to prey connected overseas nationals who are consenting to wage tens of thousands of dollars for them nether the mendacious committedness they'll legally beryllium allowed to unrecorded and enactment successful Canada.

"There are scammers, galore scammers retired determination successful the world, who are making these fake LMIAs and selling them to unsuspecting workers who person this glimmer of anticipation that they mightiness beryllium capable to get a occupation successful Canada," said Cassandra Fultz, an Ontario-based migration consultant.

Previous CBC investigations person uncovered scammers selling fraudulent LMIAs for up to $45,000.

"The occupation is, erstwhile idiosyncratic is desperate, erstwhile idiosyncratic truly wants that occupation oregon that quality to enactment successful Canada, they're consenting to judge it," said Fultz.

WATCH | Scammers selling fraudulent idiosyncratic documents to overseas nationals: 

Forged LMIA

In Agnihotri's case, the LMIAs were brought to her attraction by neighbouring firms that received them connected behalf of the idiosyncratic successful March.

Her firm, Agnihotri Immigration Consulting Inc., was unwittingly listed arsenic a third-party representative on behalf of the employers, an Okanagan operation institution and an Abbotsford trucking business — neither of which she had ever heard of.

Both businesses denied immoderate cognition of the forged LMIA. CBC News has reviewed the documents which Agnihotri has submitted to ESDC for investigation.

Agnihotri suspects erstwhile morganatic LMIAs were replicated by a atrocious histrion and are present being utilized arsenic a template for fake documents. She fears determination could beryllium much forged documents with her company's sanction connected them circulating without her knowledge.

"It's rather concerning, due to the fact that I've lone seen two, and I'm 1 individual, 1 company," said Agnihotri. "We don't cognize however vastly this is happening."

ESDC told CBC News that it does not publically merchandise figures connected LMIA fraud.

Growing challenges

According to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), immoderate lawsuit wherever a prospective worker is asked to wage for an LMIA is considered fraud.

The organization, which represents licensed consultants, says it's warring "unauthorized practitioners" who pose as licensees and effort to merchantability migration documents.

"In a bid of caller enforcement blitzes, we person unopen down much than 5,000 web pages and societal media pages advertizing [unauthorized practitioners]," said an ESDC spokesperson successful a statement.

WATCH | Foreign workers targets of costly schemes: 

Cassandra Fultz, a registered advisor astatine Toronto's Doherty Fultz Immigration successful Toronto, says her bureau routinely gets calls and emails from radical asking if their LMIA documents are existent oregon fake.

"It's ne'er real," said Fultz. "Some of them look beauteous good, they person a batch of the details correct, but immoderate are conscionable a small spot off. And immoderate of them look wholly ridiculous."

"People are forking retired hundreds, and virtually thousands of dollars for these LMIAs, and they're not real. They're conscionable retired that money," said Fultz.

Fultz says scammers volition often impersonate representatives from morganatic firms, truthful she is calling on Ottawa to measurement successful and analyse fraud claims brought guardant by migration consultants who risk losing credibility.

"Regulated professionals person the astir astatine stake. We person the astir to lose," said Fultz.