MONTREAL - A family scheduled for deportation to Guinea Sunday night claims its application for permanent residency on humanitarian grounds was lost in the mail.

A new application was filed, but the deportation order for Kankou Keita and her five children remains in effect, their lawyer told QMI Agency Saturday.

Salif Sangare said his clients need a stay on the deportation order so their new application for residency can be reviewed. However, the family said it was told to be at Montreal's Trudeau Airport by 6 p.m. Sunday evening.

Sangare said the family's file is with the minister of Public Safety or Immigration. Neither department could be reached on Sunday for comment.

Keita was denied refugee status after she and her five children arrived in Canada in 2007. She claimed she had her genitals mutilated in Guinea and she feared her two daughters would suffer the same fate if they returned.

Keita also claimed her daughters would be forcibly married upon their return.

Keita's request to have the refugee board's decision reviewed was denied.

Keita said she applied for permanent residency status on humanitarian grounds but claimed the paperwork was not delivered properly. The family said it paid residency application fees of $1,300 and paid $800 to a lawyer to handle the paperwork.

Supporters and friends of the family held a rally outside the Montreal offices of the federal immigration department on Saturday.