IRCC immigration and visa application AI screening

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been running an 'advanced data analytics' and artificial intelligence (AI) pilot since 2018 to process temporary resident visa (TRVs) applications submitted from China and India. 

The system was extended to TRV applications submitted from all countries outside Canada in January 2022.

Visa applications are assessed on the basis of eligibility and admissibility. For straightforward applications, eligibility is approved solely by the model, while eligibility for more complex applications is decided upon by an immigration officer. 

All applications are reviewed by an immigration officer.

Risks and harms 🛑

IRCC's immigration and visa application AI screening system has attracted concerns about its impact on human rights and its transparency.

Human rights concerns

• A September 2018 report (pdf) by University of Toronto's Citizen Lab concluded the IRCC's pilot threatened to violate domestic and international human rights law in the form of bias, discrimination, privacy breaches, due process, and procedural fairness.

• The report cautioned that experimenting with these technologies in the immigration and refugee system amounts to a 'high-risk laboratory,' as many of these applications come from some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including those fleeing persecution and war zones.

• Citizen Lab called on the national authorities to freeze the development of AI-based systems until a government standard and oversight bodies are established. 

Algorithmic impact assessment

• In January 2022, the IRCC published an algorithmic impact assessment of its temporary resident visa application assessment system, concluding that the impact level of the system is moderate. 

• However, the assessment has been described as 'noticeably short and trite in detail', noticeably regarding how its scoring system works, the identity and degree of involvement of external stakeholders, and transparency.

Research, advocacy 🧮

• https://citizenlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IHRP-Automated-Systems-Report-Web-V2.pdf

• https://citizenlab.ca/2018/09/bots-at-the-gate-human-rights-analysis-automated-decision-making-in-canadas-immigration-refugee-system/

• https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/CIMM/Brief/BR11713740/br-external/BellissimoLawGroup-e.pdf

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666659621000160

• https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/centre-for-immigration-and-settlement/tmcis/publications/workingpapers/2021_9_Nalbandian_Lucia_Using_Machine_Learning_to_Triage_Canadas_Temporary_Resident_Visa_Applications.pdf

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/headline-politics/episodes/64723274/

• https://ipolitics.ca/2018/09/26/artificial-intelligence-at-border-could-infringe-on-human-rights-report/

• https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawas-use-of-ai-for-immigration-a-high-risk-laboratory-report/

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/human-rights-ai-visa-1.4838778

• https://globalnews.ca/news/4487724/canada-artificial-intelligence-human-rights/

• https://www.rcinet.ca/fr/2018/09/27/utilisation-intelligence-artificielle-immigration-danger-mortel-canada-citizen-lab/

• https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/09/26/researchers-raise-alarm-over-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-immigration-and-refugee-decision-making.html

• https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/report-says-use-of-ai-could-be-violating-human-rights/275501

• https://www.cigionline.org/articles/using-ai-immigration-decisions-could-jeopardize-human-rights

• https://www.cicnews.com/2021/03/new-tool-could-help-immigrants-decide-where-to-live-in-canada-0317588.html

• https://www.globallegalpost.com/big-stories/report-says-canadian-government-uses-immigrants-as-ai-lab-rats-76252680/

• https://theconversation.com/canada-should-be-transparent-in-how-it-uses-ai-to-screen-immigrants-157841

• https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/2020/how-ai-is-being-used-in-canadas-immigration-decision-making/

• https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/legal-market/legal-tech/2022/automatic-for-the-people