I will make is short and brief.

I am dating a cuban. His storey is that he left cuba to marry an american, but got himself in trouble with the law ( charged with intent of arson, and threats). He was charged and was supposed to serve time but fled to canada before serving his time or applying for a common-law spouse visa (he never got married). Canadian immigration tried to deport him back to the usa, but they don't want him. And he cannot be deported back to cuba because of their laws. So now he sits in canada "in limbo". Canada has given him an immigration paper that recognizes him as "someone" but they have put so many restrictions in regards to what he can and cannot do. He can't go to school, teach, work in certain professions, he is not bondable, and worse of all he cannot leave.

What would be our first course of action?
What should he do to get something started in regards to getting back home? It has been
8yrs here in canada.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello l:

Well, if Cuba won't take him back, then they're NOT going to take him back. If he tries to get to the US, they'll put him in the slam and hold him after his sentence is up as an illegal alien, so I wouldn't head south.

Therefore, I think he should try to achieve political asylum status in Canada, and he's going to need a Canadian lawyer to do it.

excon

Although his crimes were in the US he can request a pardon from the Canadian government, if granted the pardon he could then apply for permenent residence and not have all these restrictions placed on him.

Check the link below, but again as excon said, he will need a lawyer

CIC Canada | Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/conviction.asp)