Organizing relationship evidence

[dangerJones]

I realized while responding to another post here that it might be nice for me to share a little about the way we organized the evidence for our application. We tracked every piece of evidence in an Excel spreadsheet, even the stuff we didn't end up using. Every item had a code to identify it and help us to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. This helped us to better visualize gaps in the data and to make sure that we weren't missing any crucial pieces that would support major life events. The following is a very abridged sample of what it looked like (the real thing has many hundreds of items, including both the items we used and didn't use). Hopefully, this might be useful as a starting point for those who are struggling with putting together their applications. It also shows how we split the timeline of our relationship into different "chunks" or segments based on important events (i.e. the first time I visited Vietnam, our wedding preparations, the wedding itself, following visits...), making sure we had enough supporting evidence in each to give a balanced picture of our relationship.

Code	Type	Description	Date	Segment	Rationale
DC007	Document	MSN Chat transcript between D & Q (1st time openly discussing a relationship)	Jun 17, 2008	Pre-1st Visit	proof of relationship
DC009	Document	Email Conv. re: service in Vietnam	Oct 21, 2008	Pre-1st Visit	rationale of 1st visit; proof of relationship
DC011	Document	Email Conv. w/ Q (re: relationship questions)	Jan 21, 2009	Pre-1st Visit	proof of relationship (too long; only the first few pages used)
DT003	Boarding Pass	Boarding Stub (D) XX123 YOW-ORD Seat XX	Mar 27, 2009	1st VN Visit	proof of 1st visit
DT004	Boarding Pass	Boarding Stub (D) XX123 ORD-NRT	Mar 27, 2009	1st VN Visit	proof of 1st visit
DT009	Boarding Pass	Boarding Pass (D) XX123 NRT-SGN Seat XX	Mar 31, 2009	1st VN Visit	proof of 1st visit
DD011	Document	Chat transcript from streaming webcam (Stickam.com) during Engagement	Aug 4, 2009	1st VN Visit	proof of engagement
DD014	Document	Catering Contract w/ restaurant for reception - English translation	Dec 5, 2009	Pre-Wedding	proof of wedding
DC018	Card	Birthday card designed by D for Q, w/ cake	Jan 19, 2010	Pre-Wedding	proof of continuing long-distance contact
DC019	Document	Email Conv. w/ jeweller (re: wedding rings)	Jan 21, 2010	Pre-Wedding	proof of wedding
DC023	Document	Email Conv. w/ L (re: buying train tickets)	Feb 10, 2010	Pre-Wedding	proof of honeymoon trip
DC038	Card	Sample Wedding invitation		Wedding	proof of wedding
DR115	Rcpt Hotel	Receipt from honeymoon Hotel No. XXXX	Mar 14, 2010	Honeymoon	proof of wedding/honeymoon
DC034	Document	Email Order Confirmation from florist #XXXX	Jul 6, 2010	Post-Wedding	proof of relationship
DC037	Document	Email Order Confirmation from florist #XXXX	Nov 5, 2010	Post-3rd Visit	proof of relationship
DR228	Rcpt WU	Rcpt WU 500 CAD to Q XXX-XXX-XXXX	Mar 11, 2011	Post-4th Visit	proof of relationship

[AllisonVSC]

Impressive work and organization here. I hope the visa officer is delighted when s/he opens your file! It is great that you thought to share this with others too.

I just want to re-iterate that, as dangerjones said, this is a partial list so that people looking for what types of evidence to provide don't get the idea that documentation of travel and wedding details is all that is needed. I often cite the OP 2 manual as a guide for how to think about evidence. The section of the manual for processing members of the family class quoted below also contains a list of examples of the types of evidence (for parts a and more importantly b) which could be used to support a claim of a conjugal relationship.


5.26. Assessment of conjugal relationships
The following are key elements that officers may use to establish whether a couple is in a conjugal
relationship. These apply to spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners.

a) Mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all other conjugal relationships
b) Interdependent – physically, emotionally, financially, socially

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

[dangerJones]

Impressive work and organization here. I hope the visa officer is delighted when s/he opens your file! It is great that you thought to share this with others too.

I just want to re-iterate that, as dangerjones said, this is a partial list so that people looking for what types of evidence to provide don't get the idea that documentation of travel and wedding details is all that is needed. I often cite the OP 2 manual as a guide for how to think about evidence. The section of the manual for processing members of the family class quoted below also contains a list of examples of the types of evidence (for parts a and more importantly b) which could be used to support a claim of a conjugal relationship.


5.26. Assessment of conjugal relationships
The following are key elements that officers may use to establish whether a couple is in a conjugal
relationship. These apply to spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners.

a) Mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all other conjugal relationships
b) Interdependent – physically, emotionally, financially, socially

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Thanks Allison! Yeah, many different kinds of evidence are needed. What you posted is very helpful. I only found the manuals about a month before we submitted our application, and I wish I had known about them right away—all the answers are in there, basically. I suppose I could also post a longer list of the kinds of evidence we submitted to supplement this. There's so much of it that I'm a little hesitant though