Canada and Omar Maamon

Omar Maamon: It took another five years before he got his permanent residency in 2014, according to Toronto Star. However, by then, it was already too late for his two older boys — Omar and Maamon, who are now 24 and 20 — to be sponsored to Canada under a new law that restricts eligibility to children under 19, from the previous rule of under 22. That was the last time he saw them, and the Toronto man may never be able to reunite with his two older sons, thanks to changes made to immigration laws on humanitarian relief and age limits for family reunification during his 14-year battle for permanent residency in Canada.A former refugee, Al-Zawqari was approved only in principle on his humanitarian application by Ottawa in 2009. The sponsorship of his daughter, now 17, has already been approved. I was thrilled that I could finally bring them to Canada, said Al-Zawqari, 53, whose wife was killed in a car accident in Yemen in 2003. I have not seen my children for 15 years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.