Ten years as an immigration consultant: Al Parsai’s journey
January 17, 2021, marks my tenth anniversary as an immigration consultant. When I emigrated 19 years ago, I never could imagine picking this profession in my wildest dreams. But here I am. Thanks to the twists and turns of destiny, I became an immigration consultant.
My journey to the immigration consultant designation
Back in 2005, I started a blog about living in Canada. Of course, it all started as a hobby. The blog was in the Persian language. I later started my business Investatech Inc. as a software company for traders in 2007. While in 2008 and 2009, my company was suffering from the economic downturn, my blog was thriving. And one day, it hit me. Why not turning my business into an immigration consulting firm? That very question encouraged me to sign up for the Humber College immigration consulting program in mid-2009. Luckily, I graduated with Honours in August 2010. However, it took me a while to receive my licence on January 17, 2011. I call myself an immigration consultant since then.
How did I evolve in my profession?
Of course, I started with humble beginnings, just like other newbies. However, my stronghold was content creation. Here is the content I have created so far:
- Authoring and publishing “88 Tips on Immigration to Canada.”
- More than 340 articles on settler.ca
- Close to 860 articles on mohajeran.ca
- More than 200 videos on Youtube.com
- Eighty videos and counting on TikTok
- 370+ posts on Instagram
I have also had some collaboration with local and national publications. Of course, content creation helped me expand my business. Moreover, Ashton College invited me to teach the immigration consulting diploma courses in 2016. Tens of practicing immigration consultants are my students, and I’m proud of them.
What about client representation?
My humble beginnings in Chatham-Kent, Ontario included clients from Iran, Ukraine, Poland, the US, Spain, Philippines, China and Japan. However, as my experience and business grew, so did the diversity of my clients. I am proud to say my clients are now from 49 different countries. Of course, I assist them in a variety of situations. I have some corporate clients, as well. Toronto Wolfpack is one of them. Nonetheless, we mostly offer work permit and business visa services to our corporate clients.
Other than immigration and citizenship applications, I represent clients to the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada. I genuinely enjoy wearing the hat of a counsel and defend my clients in their immigration appeals or refugee claims. It’s an honour to be a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant.
How do I do all of this as an immigration consultant?
Other than content creation, I cannot do my job without the help of a fantastic team. My wife, who also holds a diploma in immigration consulting, has been by my side all these years. The Parsai immigration team consists of a group of talented, highly educated people. I consider myself lucky to have them by my side. Without them, running a smooth operation was impossible. I take this opportunity to thank every one of them.
It is noteworthy to mention our clients. You trusted us and allowed us to assist you. Your moral and financial support made this journey possible. Thus, I am genuinely thankful to you for your support and faith in my team and me. I wish you all the best.
Being an immigration consultant is not easy, but I love it because of my clients and my team.
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Al Parsai, MA, DTM, RCIC
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant
Ashton College Instructor – Immigration Consulting
Author – 88 Tips on Immigration to Canada
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