spouse questionnaire

[kourts]

question 2. Where did you first meet.
I picked her up at the airport, Would I put that as the location for where we first met?

question 4/5 gifts

She visited me for a little over 2 months, would the gifts given then be considered gifts from our first meeting? or do the gifts from the first day only count?

6. details of first meeting
again, would the entire first time she was here count or just the first day?

9.details of after first contact/meeting
if the details count for the entire months she was here, should I repeat them again, or continue from after she left?

14/15.formal ceremony for engagement/marriage
I've never really heard of a ceremony to celebrate your engagement? and we had a civil marriage done, we had 4 people with us,we exchanged rings,slightly dressed up but nothing big. would I put yes or no for formal?

27.have you and your sponsor lived together
She visited me for a little over 2 months.I live with my parents, she didn't have an address here,didn't pay bills or anything like that. is that considered living with me?

[brin]

2. They want to know the location....ie: City
4/5. Some people think it's the gifts from the first meeting..some people think it's over the course of ur relationship..either way..I don't think it really matters...If she's visted u only once then u can put what ever gifts u exchanged during this period
6. Details of the first meeting is when u actually had first contact with her...ie: over the phone/ internet..
remember there is another Q which asks when u met in person...
9..details afetr the first meeting are how u had contact after the first introduction...if u met online...how u communicated after that...
14/15. It is a tradition in India to hv a formal ceremony of engagement...if u didn't hv one..explain why...it is also common India to have a large wedding with all the rituals and ND wants to see it...again..u if u hv a reason for a civil marriage u need to explain why u didn't hv one big ceremony
 27. No..she did not live with u...she was only visiting...when someone is visting it is not considered she/he is living there

I wuld suggesst u write a details explanation of ur relationship devlp/marriage in a separate attachment. This will help the IO understand ur case better. Good luck!

[kourts]

nope, shes Canadian and I'm American, no traditional big weddings in our culture like there would be in India.

also number 6 is in the section of first meeting in person.Only number 1 deals with first contact before meeting in person.

[tink23]

Kourts,
After you were engaged did you have a small party? Maybe you went out to dinner with your parents or some friends to celebrate? Had a few people over for drinks to celebrate?
I would think if you did something after in celebration of getting engaged you would put that here. Maybe say that it wasn't a formal celebration, but that there was some sort of celebration, even if it was just you, your fiancee and one or 2 friends going out for dinner, the engagement being the reason.

[brin]

Oppps...sorry...I'm so caught up with ND! 

But eitherway...I think u may need to explain  why u didn't hv a big wedding.

Also, as stated above u may want to tell them how u celebrated ur engagement. s...

And yes..u need to write down when u actually met in person.

[kourts]

Just the first day or the whole 2 months we first seen each other?

[missmini]

if u meet at the airport put that u meet there; if u write just city that's big, it's nicer to give details: restaurant, park, u picked her up....any of these points will make them easier to see the whole picture; if u meet at the airport and u didn't give any gifts for the 1st meeting then it could look ok (the airport is not really such a romantic place  )

for q 27, if she lived with u while she was visiting write it down!!! i think it looks good to have periods pf cohabitation, even for short time, that shows that u know each other better and how ur relationship developed....i mean if she comes to visit u and it would look that she stayed in a hotel, i don't think it would play in ur advantage....just put things as they are...plus if u were living with ur parents too that shows that they knew abt u from the very beginning, again in ur advantage;

for q 6 u write a small essay about how u met in person first time (not first contact)...ur feelings, how she travelled, how u waited for her, maybe prepared nice surprise dinner back home, stuff like that

the gift question they ask specifically abt the first meeting (which maybe is NO, it's ok, don't worry) BUT do write a note asking them to read details abt all ur gifts u have given to each other; and then on a separate sheet write them down: description, occasion, receipt, picture, anything u have..

i don't remember q9 exactly but u need to show history of ur relationship too at some point....descibe it from the moment of first meeting, until the engagement, marriage, present....maybe it goes with q9; also u need to show proof of communication (sms logs, phone bills, chats, emails)

abt ceremony i would put yes - it was in front of a judge right so it was formal

abt the reception - explaining that it's not in your culture makes sense to me....weddings r not the same in the world; but i'm sure u took her in a nice place to propose then u shared the news with family/friends, maybe u all went for dinner, write abt that; if u plan to have a bigger wedding later, say that too and explain why u didn't have it yet

good luck!

[kourts]

Thank you.  These questions could have so many possibilities for what they want that its hard to know what to put, but i guess more detail is better than less detail.

[kourts]

also I don't know the difference between a visit and her living with me, I don't want to say she lived with me if its not considered living and then have them say i lied.

[AllisonVSC]

I think what missmini is trying to say is to write that during the 2 month visit she stayed with you at your residence as that shows a deeper level of intimacy.

I personally would suggest you describe the whole first 2 month visit, including gifts, as the first meeting (my logic being that you met her and didn't part until she left months later). Once she left describe how your relationship developed and continued, how you communicated, when you saw each other again, etc, but you've got to do it the way it makes sense to you. There is no one right way to answer these questions and I think that is why some of the questions are so vague.

Yes, you had a formal ceremony. You said it was a civil marriage (officiated, right?) and you exchanged rings in front of witnesses.

[missmini]

yes Allison is right, these questions r vague and there r so many ways to answer; just try to put ur relationship on paper as best as u casn

but to clarify what i meant: in the question where it says to write the periods during which u lived together, i would also put the 2 months period when she stayed with u, from the date she arrived until the date she left

now, if the 2 months could b as the first meeting all together or separate, it's up to u, how it makes u more comfortable to write abt it and how it makes more sense to u, we r still debating that ourselves

[kourts]

okay then should I put the 2 separate weeks I visited her and stayed at her house down under the living together section or no?

[tink23]

I don't think, when you went to visit her on 2 separate occasions, for a week at a time (?) would be cohabitating. I would put this in section that will ask your wife "Has your sponsor ever come to visit you?" and within that question they give the instructions to write whether the applicant stayed with the sponsor at this location or not. Going on vacation for a week or two is not cohabitating. It is much different than when your wife stayed at your house with you for a two month period.

[canadianwoman]

question 2. Where did you first meet.
I picked her up at the airport, Would I put that as the location for where we first met?

Yes. You can mention in other answers that you met online.

question 4/5 gifts
She visited me for a little over 2 months, would the gifts given then be considered gifts from our first meeting? or do the gifts from the first day only count?

This question means only gifts given the first time you meet. In arranged marriages, such things are common. So your answer would be 'no.' However, I am sure VOs are used to people misunderstanding this question, and will not think someone is lying if they mention gifts given at other times.
In any case, definitely mention all gifts given to each other at other times somewhere in your application! It is good proof that your relationship is genuine.

6. details of first meeting
again, would the entire first time she was here count or just the first day?

It is the first day you met. The details of other time you spent together can go in other answers and in your relationship letter.

9.details of after first contact/meeting
if the details count for the entire months she was here, should I repeat them again, or continue from after she left?

Describe the rest of her stay with you for the two months, and then all the contact you have had since.

14/15.formal ceremony for engagement/marriage
I've never really heard of a ceremony to celebrate your engagement? and we had a civil marriage done, we had 4 people with us,we exchanged rings,slightly dressed up but nothing big. would I put yes or no for formal?

If you had no engagement party, then 'no' for that question. But if you took people out for dinner to tell them about your engagement, or had a small party with your family to tell them, you should mention that.
For the weddeing, here 'formal' doews not mean 'a big fancy wedding'; it just means 'did you actually get married in front of witnesses, with any type of ceremony?' So you should put 'yes' for this question. You definitely want to emphasize that you got married, and that it was a special occasion for you, even if you didn't have a lot of guests.

27.have you and your sponsor lived together
She visited me for a little over 2 months.I live with my parents, she didn't have an address here,didn't pay bills or anything like that. is that considered living with me?

It would not be considered living together for a common-law application. But for the purposes of this question, it is considered living together. List all time you have actually spent the night together in the same place under this question! (I guess one or two nights a week at the beginning of a relationship wouldn't count, actually.) But just list the two weeks you spent in a hotel together, then list the two months she stayed at your parents' house with you. And clearly explain that the one time you were staying in a hotel, and offer proof if you still have the hotel receipts; then clearly state you were staying together with your parents, and maybe get them to include that detail in a letter of support.

I have seen appeal cases where the judge questioned why the applicant had written 'no' to the cohabitation question, when they had in fact spent three weeks (or whatever) together in a hotel. As long as you are clear that it was just a temporary arrangement, they will not accuse you of misrepresentation. If you do want to answer 'no', because it was not long enough to be 'cohabitation' in your eyes, then at least include the explanation that, while you didn't live together, you did spend two weeks together in a hotel, and she did stay with you for two months with your parents.
In other words, answer 'yes' or 'no to that question, but make sure in both cases you mention the times you did stay together.

[kourts]

maybe I should a little more clear, the 2 months she visited me was all at once, 8/23-11/4  and the 2 weeks spent together was one week at the end of November at her house and a second time in January again at her house. It was not spent in a hotel.