IRCC靠AI工具批量拒签？移民律师、前签证官警告：批量处理正在侵蚀公平与透明

加拿大移民申请者和业内人士表示，他们越来越常收到一些“莫名其妙”的拒签信，这让他们怀疑案件是否真的由人工仔细审核过。

Immigration professionals and people applying to enter Canada say they're increasingly getting refusal letters they think don't make sense — leading them to wonder whether their cases are being fully and properly reviewed by a human being.

• don't make sense：没有道理，莫名其妙

• fully and properly reviewed：被完整而恰当地审核

• leading them to wonder：导致他们怀疑

多伦多移民律师马里奥·贝利西莫（Mario Bellissimo）在接触到一些案例后开始产生担忧。例如，他曾代理一宗案件，签证官以“未提供出生证明”为由拒绝，但实际上出生证明副本已经附在申请材料中。

Toronto immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo began to have concerns after seeing multiple examples, such as a case he worked on where the officer refused an application on the grounds that no birth certificate was included, even though he says a copy of the birth certificate was attached to the application.

• on the grounds that：以……为理由

• even though：尽管

• attached to the application：附在申请中

“这让我作为申请人和律师都感到担忧：究竟他们看了什么？”贝利西莫对加拿大广播公司（CBC）表示。

"It worries me as an applicant and as a lawyer for an applicant: what is actually being looked at?" Bellissimo told CBC News.

• worries me：让我担忧

• what is actually being looked at：到底真正被查看了什么

移民专业人士指出，加拿大移民、难民及公民部（IRCC）使用的“电脑辅助决策技术”可能是问题所在。

Immigration professionals like Bellissimo are pointing to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's use of computer-assisted decision-making technology as the problem.

• point to … as the problem：把……指认为问题根源

• computer-assisted decision-making technology：电脑辅助决策技术

虽然IRCC承认它确实开发了电脑程序，帮助官员更快地筛选和处理申请，但它否认这些程序会影响官员审查的全面性。

Although IRCC acknowledges it has developed computer programs that allow officers to sort and process applications faster, it rejects the idea these programs affect the thoroughness of officers' reviews.

• acknowledges：承认

• rejects the idea：否认这种观点

• thoroughness：全面性、细致性

IRCC表示，最终的资格和可入境决定由人工官员作出，并称被拒的申请人会收到“详细的函件”。

IRCC says human officers make the final decision on eligibility and admissibility for immigration cases. It says refused applicants get "thorough correspondence" from the department.

• admissibility：可入境性

• thorough correspondence：详尽的往来文件/通知

“关于申请人是否符合要求的决定，是由经过高度培训的官员作出的，他们会根据相关项目标准来评估每份申请。”IRCC在给CBC新闻的电邮声明中写道。

"Decisions about whether an applicant meets these requirements are made by highly trained officers who assess each application against the relevant program criteria," IRCC said in an email statement to CBC News.

• assess … against …：根据……来评估……

• program criteria：项目标准

然而，多位移民专业人士告诉CBC，他们担心一些IRCC官员在拒绝申请时，并没有核查所有提交的文件。

But multiple immigration professionals told CBC News they're concerned some IRCC officers are refusing applications without checking all the submitted documents.

“拒签绝不能侵犯程序公正。为了做到这一点，官员必须查看档案中的每一份文件。”安妮·博杜安（Annie Beaudoin）说。她曾是IRCC的高级移民官员，现在是一名移民顾问。

"[Refusals] should never infringe or breach procedural fairness. And in order to do that, it is required that the officer looks at every single document in the file," said Annie Beaudoin, a retired senior immigration officer for IRCC who is now an immigration consultant.

• infringe / breach procedural fairness：侵犯程序公正

“而最近有证据表明，这一要求并没有得到执行。”

"And lately, there is evidence that that is not done."

加拿大移民、难民及公民部（IRCC）长期承受着巨大公众压力，需要应对积压和漫长的处理时间，有些案件甚至需要数年。

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has faced immense public pressure to deal with backlogs and long processing times, which can take years in some cases.

• immense public pressure：巨大的公众压力

• backlogs：积压案件

• processing times：处理时间

IRCC在7月底公布的数据表明，它的系统中有超过220万份申请。其中，超过90.1万份超出了部门设定的处理时间标准，被视为积压。

Numbers released by IRCC at the end of July indicated there were more than 2.2 million applications in IRCC's systems. Of those, more than 901,000 had exceeded the department's time standards for processing and were considered back-logged.

• exceeded the time standards：超出时间标准

• considered back-logged：被视为积压

博杜安（Beaudoin），曾在IRCC洛杉矶办公室工作15年，她说自己2004年入职时，“压力要小得多”。

Beaudoin, who worked for 15 years in the immigration department's Los Angeles office, says that when she started in 2004, there was "much less pressure."

• much less pressure：压力小得多

她说，直到2018年退休时，经理们会经常提醒官员在一定时间内要处理多少案件。她感觉到速度被强调，而质量则被忽视。

She says that by the time she retired in 2018, managers would regularly remind officers of quotas for the number of cases to process in a given time. She felt there was a lot of pressure to go fast, and less emphasis on the quality of the work.

• quotas：配额，指标

• emphasis on quality：对质量的重视

IRCC在2018年开始使用一种叫做“高级数据分析”（advanced data analytics）的计算机模型来筛选案件，帮助官员作出资格决定。据称该系统可以将处理速度提高87%。

The department began to use a computer model in 2018 called "advanced data analytics" to sort cases and help officers make eligibility decisions. It claims the system can speed processing by up to 87 per cent.

• advanced data analytics：高级数据分析

• speed processing：加快处理

在一封电邮中，IRCC表示“高级数据分析”利用“机器学习技术”在数据中寻找模式，比如预测某一类申请人过去被批准的可能性。

In an email, IRCC said advanced analytics uses "machine learning technology" to find patterns in data, such as how likely it is that a specific type of applicant has been approved by an officer in the past.

• machine learning technology：机器学习技术

• find patterns in data：在数据中寻找模式

IRCC称“高级数据分析”不会推荐拒签；只有人工官员可以作出这一决定，而且必须基于他们自己的审核。

It says advanced analytics doesn't recommend refusals; only human officers can do this, "based on their own review."

• recommend refusals：建议拒签

• based on their own review：基于他们自己的审核

在“人工审核”环节，IRCC开发了一个名为Chinook的电子表格工具，官员可以同时审核和批准或拒绝多个案件。它还提供标准化语言来解释决定。

For the human review step, IRCC developed a spreadsheet-based tool called Chinook to allow officers to examine and approve or refuse multiple cases at the same time. It offers officers boilerplate language to explain their decision.

• spreadsheet-based tool：基于表格的工具

• boilerplate language：套用语言，标准化措辞

IRCC表示，Chinook只是帮助官员“简化信息展示”，工具本身不使用人工智能，也不会作出或推荐决定。

IRCC describes Chinook as a tool to "simplify" the displayed information for the officer. The agency emphasizes the tool itself doesn't use any artificial intelligence and doesn't make or recommend decisions.

• simplify the displayed information：简化显示的信息

• emphasizes：强调

但是，移民律师贝里西莫已就IRCC使用新技术提交了议员的意见书，因此担心它会导致办公室失踪或掠过部分申请。

But immigration lawyer Bellissimo, who has made submissions to parliamentarians on IRCC's use of new technology, worries it can lead officers to miss or skim over parts of applications. 

• miss or skim over：错过或略读

他说，他看到一些带有时间戳的决定表明该警官只考虑了几分钟，在贝利西莫看来，这不应被视为“荣誉徽章”。

He says he has seen some decisions with time-stamps that suggest the officer only considered the case for a couple of minutes, which in Bellissimo's view should not be viewed as a "badge of honour."

“这并不能让人对我们的移民系统有信心。我们需要一个公平透明的系统，才能让加拿大人相信它的存在对大家有益。”

"It does not instill the confidence we need in an immigration system to foster a belief that we are processing applicants in a fair and transparent manner to the benefit of Canadians," he said.

• instill confidence：灌输信心

• in a fair and transparent manner：以公平透明的方式

一份2018年的Chinook用户手册（通过信息公开获得）显示，官员可以同时审核多达1000个案件。

A 2018 Chinook user manual released under access to information suggests an officer can use the system to examine up to 1,000 cases at the same time.

• released under access to information：通过信息公开获得

• up to 1,000 cases：多达1000个案件

温哥华移民律师Will Tao（他曾以IRCC技术应用为主题撰写硕士论文）担心官员可能利用Chinook进行“批量”操作，对多个案件给出同样的答案。这种功能既可用于拒签，也可用于批准。

Vancouver immigration lawyer Will Tao, who wrote a master's thesis on IRCC's use of technology, is concerned that officers can use Chinook to take "bulk" actions, giving the same answer to multiple cases. The feature can be used for both refusals and approvals.

• bulk actions：批量操作

IRCC内部文件显示，官员可以利用Chinook一次性处理多达150个申请，且可以一次性把它们录入信息管理系统。

Internal IRCC documents state officers can use Chinook to make decisions on up to 150 applications, which IRCC says can all be added into its information management system at once.

2023年的一份简报中，IRCC称批量处理对应对不断增长的案件数量“至关重要”。

In a 2023 briefing note, IRCC described bulk processing as important for handling growing numbers of cases efficiently.

• briefing note：简报

• handling efficiently：高效处理

“这种对个体的批量化、一刀切处理，确实对系统造成了负面影响。”陶（Tao）说。

"This bulk and blanket treatment of individuals definitely has had a negative impact on the system," Tao told CBC News.

• blanket treatment：一刀切处理

• negative impact：负面影响

陶承认，IRCC认为这些工具不会影响官员的决定，但他认为“二者之间的界限非常模糊”。

Tao acknowledges IRCC's view that the tools do not affect the officers' decisions, but he thinks the "line between the two is quite thin."

• the line … is quite thin：界限很模糊

“它确实改变了决策方式。”他说。

"What it does do is it alters decision-making," he said.

Chinook 最早于 2018 年在一些 IRCC 办公室推出。2022 年通过信息公开发布的一份 IRCC 文件称赞了该工具在从安卡拉到伦敦等办公室提升案件处理效率方面的作用。

Chinook was first rolled out in some IRCC offices in 2018. An IRCC document released under access to information in 2022 praised the efficiency in processing cases that offices from Ankara to London were able to gain by using Chinook.

• rolled out：推出、上线

• released under access to information：通过信息公开发布

• praised the efficiency：称赞效率

• processing cases：处理案件

文件甚至提到，部分办公室因电脑问题导致“高效的处理官员每日处理量降至 60 件，而平时能达到 75 件以上”。

It even noted that computer problems in some offices meant "strong processing officers were down to 60/day compared to their usual 75+/day."

• noted that：指出

• strong processing officers：高效的处理官员

• down to 60/day：降到每天 60 件

• compared to their usual 75+/day：相比平时的 75 件以上

博杜安表示，她在从洛杉矶办公室退休前见过但从未使用过早期版本的 Chinook。

Beaudoin says she saw but never used an early version of Chinook before retiring from the L.A. office.

• early version：早期版本

• retiring from：从…退休

在过去一年作为移民顾问的工作中，她说她的一些客户收到了让人难以理解的拒签。

In the last year, in her work as an immigration consultant, she says some of her clients have received refusals she feels defy logic.

• refusals that defy logic：难以理解的拒签

例如，一份工签因“只提交了一份与就业相关的文件”而被拒，而实际上提交了多份文件。

She cites the example of a work permit refusal on the grounds that only one employment-related document was submitted, when in fact multiple documents were included.

• on the grounds that…：理由是…

• employment-related document：与就业相关的文件

“作为一名（前）移民官员，我对此深表同情和理解，因为官员们承受着巨大的压力，要极快地做出大量决定，”她说。“而问题正是在这个时候发生的。”

"As a [former] immigration officer, I have a lot of sympathy and compassion, because officers have a lot of pressure to do a lot of decisions extremely fast," she said. "And that's when these problems occur."

• sympathy and compassion：同情和理解

• pressure to do decisions extremely fast：极快做决定的压力

• that's when these problems occur：问题就在此时出现

IRCC 在给 CBC 的声明中表示，它会培训官员“仔细而系统地”评估所有申请，并“基于面前提供的信息”做出决定。声明补充说，是否能让签证官信服其符合签证条件，是申请人的责任。

In its statement to CBC, IRCC says it trains officers to "carefully and systematically" assess all applications and make decisions "based on the information presented before them." It adds that it's up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer that they meet the requirements for a visa.

• carefully and systematically：仔细而系统地

• based on the information presented：基于提交的信息

• it's up to the applicant：取决于申请人

• meet the requirements：符合条件

博杜安表示，移民部愿意承认并重新审视错误，但如果拒签基于对档案的不完整审查，这是不公平的。

Beaudoin says the department is willing to acknowledge and reconsider errors, but she says a refusal based on an incomplete review of a file is unfair.

• acknowledge and reconsider errors：承认并重新审视错误

• incomplete review：不完整的审查

• 其他移民专业人士也同样担忧。

• Other immigration professionals are equally worried.

• equally worried：同样担忧

8月13日，加拿大移民律师协会在一封致IRCC的公开信中写道：“在我们看来，引入自动化和分析工具来协助决策者，直接导致了越来越多既无意义又缺乏合理性的决定。”

In an open letter to IRCC on Aug. 13, the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association wrote, "The introduction of automated and analytic tools to assist decision makers is in our opinion directly linked to the increase in decisions that are neither meaningful nor well-reasoned."

• open letter：公开信

• automated and analytic tools：自动化与分析工具

• neither meaningful nor well-reasoned：既无意义又缺乏合理性