"I felt like Aaron was truly interested and not treating me as perfunctory. You feel like you’re not a number there, but you have an individual consideration that they take seriously."
A medical waiver was all that stood between Corey and his family being able to continue living in New Zealand. Aaron helped him get all his ducks in a row, which led to a successful outcome.
Corey Allen an architect from California, was working in New Zealand on a skilled migrant visa that was soon to expire. “We knew that we would either have to leave or we would have to find some other kind of visa. My employer said they really wanted me to get a visa so we could remain here longer.”
With his employer’s support, Corey prepared and filed his application himself and got through about eight months of the process before being informed that, because of his wife’s medical condition, visas for the family would not be likely. Unless he could provide a medical waiver.
His employer said, ‘Well, we need to get the waiver because we’ve already invested quite a bit into this as it is.’ It’s quite an expensive process, even to do it yourself. But they then said, ‘We need to make sure we get all our ducks in a row on this last push, so let’s see if we can consult somebody who’s done this before, someone who would have a much better idea of how to make sure everything is done correctly so there aren’t any technical disqualifiers or anything like that.”
A Sympathetic Ear and a Hands-on Approach
After speaking with Aaron, he picked NZIL on the strength of their proposed approach, their client referrals, and Aaron’s level of personal involvement. “Aaron’s the main boss there so I was surprised that he got involved with so many of the day-to-day cases. He’s a hands-on guy. He wants to be helping people individually and not just shunting them off to one of his clerks or staff to take care of their needs. That, to me, was a real attraction.”
At their initial consultation, Corey presented him with all the facts. “He was a good listener. He didn’t rush me. I didn’t feel like I was being pushed out the door to meet a scheduled timeframe. I felt like he was truly interested and not treating me as perfunctory. You feel like you’re not a number there, but you have an individual consideration that they take seriously.”
Aaron and the team are also on top of all the administrative details: “He sent me a list of everything that I needed, and he was very clear in his communications. He was timely; we met our deadlines without any issues. We worked together to determine the best submittals to include for the medical waiver. He certainly did have the background, experience, and a friendly approach. He wasn’t intimidating.”
Personable, Effective, and Efficient
By the time Corey was ready to submit his application, he realised he had no budget left for follow-up legal fees. His case was more or less concluded at this stage, so it wasn’t a huge deal, but it did give Aaron another opportunity to shine.
“He understood and was very polite about it. He didn’t just abruptly stop working on the file, though there wasn’t really anything left to work on but responses. But when email communications came back from Immigration New Zealand, he would send them to me with a kind explanation. And knowing that he’s not getting paid for the few minutes it took to do, he still was kind about it – and interested in the outcome. He didn’t just leave me hanging.
“My wife’s waiver was successfully granted, and I thanked him for that. I believe his help was influential and that it did keep things moving to a good timetable for us. I am grateful and would say Aaron is personable, effective, and efficient.”
