- Nov 6, 2009
- 282
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Accra, Ghana
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 30-01-2008
- Interview........
- 05-05-2009
My husband had his appeal today, and it was a disaster. Look at the ridiculous questions they asked us:
1. My husband's first language is not English, but he can speak it. But not well enough, I guess. They talked to him over the phone and they had a hard time understanding him. The judge chewed my lawyer out for not asking for an interpreter. I could understand everything he said, though. One time I repeated what he said, and the judge told me to shut up - I realize I'm not supposed to talk out of turn, but I could have cleared up some confusion if they had just let me. The two lawyers there were not native speakers of English themselves, which didn't help. When my husband said "three rooms and parlour", for example, they clearly had no idea what he meant, so I finally clarified "he said 'parlour'", but they still didn't understand, because they don't know the word 'parlour.'
2. I said my husband was kind to me and took care of me well; as examples, I said that when I visited him he cooked for me, brought me breakfast, washed my clothes and cleaned the apartment. The government lawyer wanted to know if I wanted my husband to come to Canada just so I would have a household servant.
3. They asked him what illnesses and chronic conditions I have, and he knew. But they then asked him the names of the medications I take, and how many pills I take every day. He was able to describe an asthma inhaler, but didn't know the names of the pills. I asked my sister - her husband of 25 years doesn't know the names of her medication either, and he is the one who picks it up at the pharmacy. As for the number of pills I take a day, it depends (based on blood sugar testing); my husband tried to explain this, but the judge said, "he's not answering the question. Just give us a number!" But 'just a number' isn't the right answer.
4. They kept on asking me if I would really be willing to go to live in Nigeria with my husband if the appeal is refused. Clearly, they didn't believe me when I said 'yes.'
5. They wanted to know why no one from my family was there at the appeal. My parents are both very sick - which was fully canvassed at the appeal, since it is the reason I came back to my hometown, leaving my husband. My sisters had to work. They also wanted to know why all the letters of support were from his family and friends, not mine. (My explanation, though I didn't say it: it is his intentions that are suspect, not mine. I have nothing to gain by marrying him.)
6. They asked him the name of the beach I go to in Saskatoon. My lawyer finally piped up and said, you know, the beaches in S'toon don't have names. They also asked him the name of the swimming pool I go to. My husband has never been to Canada - I think being able to pronounce 'Saskatoon, Saskatchewan' is probably good enough in the place name section of the interrogation.
7. My husband is very upset, and he keeps on saying, "but I knew everything they asked me!" And actually he did know almost everything, and we didn't contradict each other. My lawyer pointed out in her summation that "basically, you know, their answers were the same." And yet it seems that it was a disaster. The Minister's counsel and the judge were very disapproving. The judge was exasperated with him, and when his answers were too long kept on telling him to stop. Sometimes he would be trying to explain what he meant, and the judge would just get angry and tell him to stop talking. She said he was evasive, but it didn't sound like it to me or my lawyer - sometimes they asked him the same thing 10 times, true, but the first 5 times he didn't understand them, then the next 3 they didn't understand his answer, and the last 2 the judge was annoyed and started yelling (or maybe 'talking forcefully') at him. Once the judge said, "we've asked him 8 times when they decided to get married, and he can't answer," but I understood what he said: he said "I decided to get married in 2002, but my wife didn't decide until 2007." (That's true.)
8. The judge more or less said it is a marriage of convenience. My husband and I have been dating since 2001, so I would like to know how many marriages of convenience are contracted for 9 years. Mind you, we are getting better at this - at the embassy interview, the visa officer didn't believe we had known each other since 2001; they did at least seem to believe we knew each other back then this time.
Well, I just thought I'd vent.
1. My husband's first language is not English, but he can speak it. But not well enough, I guess. They talked to him over the phone and they had a hard time understanding him. The judge chewed my lawyer out for not asking for an interpreter. I could understand everything he said, though. One time I repeated what he said, and the judge told me to shut up - I realize I'm not supposed to talk out of turn, but I could have cleared up some confusion if they had just let me. The two lawyers there were not native speakers of English themselves, which didn't help. When my husband said "three rooms and parlour", for example, they clearly had no idea what he meant, so I finally clarified "he said 'parlour'", but they still didn't understand, because they don't know the word 'parlour.'
2. I said my husband was kind to me and took care of me well; as examples, I said that when I visited him he cooked for me, brought me breakfast, washed my clothes and cleaned the apartment. The government lawyer wanted to know if I wanted my husband to come to Canada just so I would have a household servant.
3. They asked him what illnesses and chronic conditions I have, and he knew. But they then asked him the names of the medications I take, and how many pills I take every day. He was able to describe an asthma inhaler, but didn't know the names of the pills. I asked my sister - her husband of 25 years doesn't know the names of her medication either, and he is the one who picks it up at the pharmacy. As for the number of pills I take a day, it depends (based on blood sugar testing); my husband tried to explain this, but the judge said, "he's not answering the question. Just give us a number!" But 'just a number' isn't the right answer.
4. They kept on asking me if I would really be willing to go to live in Nigeria with my husband if the appeal is refused. Clearly, they didn't believe me when I said 'yes.'
5. They wanted to know why no one from my family was there at the appeal. My parents are both very sick - which was fully canvassed at the appeal, since it is the reason I came back to my hometown, leaving my husband. My sisters had to work. They also wanted to know why all the letters of support were from his family and friends, not mine. (My explanation, though I didn't say it: it is his intentions that are suspect, not mine. I have nothing to gain by marrying him.)
6. They asked him the name of the beach I go to in Saskatoon. My lawyer finally piped up and said, you know, the beaches in S'toon don't have names. They also asked him the name of the swimming pool I go to. My husband has never been to Canada - I think being able to pronounce 'Saskatoon, Saskatchewan' is probably good enough in the place name section of the interrogation.
7. My husband is very upset, and he keeps on saying, "but I knew everything they asked me!" And actually he did know almost everything, and we didn't contradict each other. My lawyer pointed out in her summation that "basically, you know, their answers were the same." And yet it seems that it was a disaster. The Minister's counsel and the judge were very disapproving. The judge was exasperated with him, and when his answers were too long kept on telling him to stop. Sometimes he would be trying to explain what he meant, and the judge would just get angry and tell him to stop talking. She said he was evasive, but it didn't sound like it to me or my lawyer - sometimes they asked him the same thing 10 times, true, but the first 5 times he didn't understand them, then the next 3 they didn't understand his answer, and the last 2 the judge was annoyed and started yelling (or maybe 'talking forcefully') at him. Once the judge said, "we've asked him 8 times when they decided to get married, and he can't answer," but I understood what he said: he said "I decided to get married in 2002, but my wife didn't decide until 2007." (That's true.)
8. The judge more or less said it is a marriage of convenience. My husband and I have been dating since 2001, so I would like to know how many marriages of convenience are contracted for 9 years. Mind you, we are getting better at this - at the embassy interview, the visa officer didn't believe we had known each other since 2001; they did at least seem to believe we knew each other back then this time.
Well, I just thought I'd vent.
