Students - Part Two

CATEGORY

SEMINAR

FORMAT

LIVE

CPD HOURS

Pending

STREAM DATE

August 7, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. PT

EXPIRATION DATE

August 7, 2026

Price

$28

ABOUT THIS SEMINAR

The August 7, 2025 Immigration Practitioner Centre Continuing Professional Development seminar dives into the complexities of international education pathways in ‘Students – Part Two’.

This is the second Continuing Professional Development Seminar related to ‘Student’ processing for the 2025 Calendar Year.

This seminar is registered to allow for RISIAs and RCICs to be able to secure 2 CPD hours.

This seminar will feature two speakers who will present on the following topics:

Presenter: Marina Snyder – RCIC-IRB - Student Portal Overview and Updates and Advising International Students in relation to items such as: dealing with the overseas processing quota on international students; what strategies may be developed for international students and in managing expectations; and in addressing the greater need for advising and coaching international students.

Presenter: Laura Schemitsch – Lawyer –Advocacy and Dealing with Refusals: Remedies: Re-consideration, Re-apply, and Judicial Reviews; and Case Law.

It is more important than ever for RCICs and RISIAs to recognize the growing need for their guidance in processing international student applications, especially in light of the Canadian government’s study permit cap and the rising number of refusals both within Canada and abroad. 
OUR SPEAKERS

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Laura Schemitsch

Lawyer 

Advocacy and Dealing with Refusals 

Laura Schemitsch has been practicing Canadian immigration and refugee law since 2019, handling a wide range of matters and complexity. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa in 2019 with specializations in Public Law and Law and Social Justice. Before law school, she completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History from McMaster University and a Master of Arts in Art History from Queen’s University.

Laura’s academic work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and major media outlets. In November 2022, she was invited to speak before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in Canada’s House of Commons.

Her passion for immigration and refugee law began in 2017 when she joined Capital Rainbow Refuge, a private sponsorship group supporting LGBTQIA2S+ asylum seekers in Ottawa. She articled at Gerami Law PC, a boutique immigration and refugee law firm in Ottawa, from August 2019 to June 2020, and was hired back as an associate. In June 2020, she relocated to British Columbia with her family, transferred her law license, and practiced in the Sea to Sky region before joining Heron Law Offices in June 2023.

Laura has successfully represented clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and helped individuals navigate complex immigration challenges, including application refusals, humanitarian and compassionate requests, inadmissibility issues, procedural fairness responses, and judicial reviews. She supports employers, entrepreneurs, permanent resident applicants, temporary foreign workers, international students, and visitors throughout their Canadian immigration journeys. 

Marina Snyder 

RCIC-IRB 

Student Portal and Student Strategies and Processing 

Marina Vespoli Snyder is a seasoned Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC-IRB) with over six years of experience since becoming licensed in 2017. She holds additional licences to practice in Quebec (QC) and Saskatchewan (SK). Her expertise spans several key areas, including economic immigration, temporary residence, family reunification, Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs), and citizenship applications.

With a strong foundation in Business Administration and International Commerce, Marina has a particular interest in business immigration.  

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