She gave birth 8 months ago but this permanent resident still can't bring her baby to Canada

It's been eight months since Anu Sehgalgave birth to her baby boy butshe's been waiting for Canada to let her bring him home ever since.

The 39-year-old, a permanent resident who lives in Toronto, had her little boy in India last year, but despite following all the right processes, still hasn't been able to bring him home.

Now, after multiple inquiries to the federal government with little word back, Sehgal wonders if moving toCanada was the right choice for her and her family.

"That was my main motive: to move here for a brighter future for [my] children," she told CBC News."I never thought that it would become such a problem."

Sehgal received her permanent residency in 2019. She originally planned to immigrate to Canada in2020, but then the pandemic hit.

Last year, another hitch: Sehgalcontracted COVID-19 inIndia. Herdoctors advised herto avoid travel, so she had the baby there, further delaying her move.

She finally arrived in Canada this past March, leaving behind her baby and husband, who has yet to apply for residency in Canada. The hope was that by the time she arrived, her son's temporary residency application would be approved.

It wasn't.Last month, shedecided to file apermanent residency application for her baby, hoping toincrease the chances of getting a response.

Case should have been expedited, say some lawyers

Immigration lawyers say Sehgal's applicationsshould have been easy to expedite on compassionate grounds,but could havefallen through the cracks of abacklogged and inefficient immigration system that's been made worse byCOVID-19.

As of May,the IRCC states there areroughly2.2million citizenship, temporary and permanent residency applications waiting to be processed about one million more than before the pandemic, according to theCanadian Immigration Lawyer Association (CILA).

"Why would you not issue the visitor visa in the interim so that the family can reunite?" saidimmigration lawyer Adrienne Smith, who works withBattista Smith MigrationLaw Group, based in Toronto.

According to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada'swebsite, the average time to process a temporary visa application for someone from India is a little more than four months.

In an email to CBC News, IRCC spokesperson Nancy Caron says the ministryprocesses 80 per cent of family sponsorship permanent residency applications within 12 months, andwelcomed more than 405,000 new permanent residents just last year. That'sthe highest annual number of newcomersin Canadian history, IRCC says.

But Smith says cases like Sehgal'scan create a vicious cycle: the more applicants follow up and inquire about their applications, the longer it can take to get them processed because immigration officials need to address those follow-ups, splitting their time between answering inquiries and getting applications processed.

She also sayslawyers will look tofederal court to intervene in especially egregious cases, which can strain resources even further.

Processing applications in a timely manner would "take the pressure off everyone," she says.

'People losing faith in our immigration system'

Ravi Jain, a member of theCILA, says immigration lawyers formed thegrouplast yeartofind ways toimprove the wayCanada processesimmigrants. He believes ifthe system isallowed to stay as is, it will continue to let down newcomersand Canadians alike.

"It's not just the reputation to foreigners that I worry about. It's also resulting in people losing faith in our immigration system."

In the IRCC's statement, Caron says that during the pandemic the department "prioritized the processing of temporary resident visas for essential workers" and for reuniting families, but has since shifted back to standard processing times.

Caron says IRCC is using $85 million in extrafederal funding to reduce application backlogs byhiring new processing staff and digitizing applications, among other measures. That's on top of the $2.1 billionthe federal government committed to help process and settle new permanent residents over the next five years.

But Jain says there needs to be greater transparency in IRCCprocessing times, applications, and reasons for refusals as well as better planning for emergencies that could affect processes, such as COVID-19.

"It's not good enough to say... 'We're spending all this money. We're hiring all these people,'" he said.

"You guys didn't pivot,and you're in charge."

Looking for answers

Meanwhile, Sehgalsays being apart from her sonhas led her to be diagnosed with depression. She says she's takingmedication to treat itand is looking into counselling.

She'salso considering legal advice and help from immigration consultantsto find the best way to move forward.

Sehgal wonders what would have happened if she'd beenable to give birth in Canada, or if she would have made the same choices knowing thatbringing her family to their new home would be such a struggle.

"I don't think I would have had the courage ...if I had known my infant would not be able to come."