My recent research on pre-arrival information experiences among Bangladeshi immigrants shows that immigrants consult various formal and informal information sources in the pre-arrival context, including friends and family networks, social media sources, and immigration agents. The core focus of my paper was on the information experiences of immigrants consulting formal information sources such as immigrant agencies. It is evident in my study that using immigration agents and government information sources was not always helpful for Bangladeshi immigrants in making informed decisions about their lives in Canada. Some immigration consultants in Bangladesh portrayed life in Canada as heavenly and did not share information about the initial settlement challenges immigrants face, including employment-related settlement challenges. The mismatch between immigrants’ expectations of life in a pre-arrival context and their actual experience after arrival was enormous. This was partly due to the lack of information about the reality of life for newcomers.

The study on the pre-arrival information experiences highlighted the danger of selective information-sharing practices of formal agencies such as immigration consultants, often exaggerated and false information about life abroad. These agencies may portray life abroad as heavenly and less stressful to attract more clients to their agencies. The “information crafting” concept I constructed may help understand various agencies’ information-sharing practices, including immigration agents. I defined “information crafting” “as selective information sharing, mainly positive information, sometimes with exaggeration and falsifications. In the context of immigration, information crafting is performed by information providers who deliberately select and share information to satisfy their business/purposes.”