What now? Advice?

[eh??]

I have written a few posts before but I was just wondering if anyone could give me anymore advice.

Our spousalship application was refused as 1. I am a Canadian by birth and was living with my husband outside of Canada throughout the process. This claim is not applicable to me as I am entitled to do this as a Canadian by birth. 2. The officer claimed that I declared to be living in Canada since 2007 when in fact this is a trip I last made to Canada and clearly stated as such. 3. I needed to provide evidence of my plans to return to Canada with my husband (which I did). My husband is from a country that needs a VISA to vist and hence why I am waiting with him.

The lawyer I talked to mentioned the only issue of concern for him was the last as the plans I gave may not be seen as "enough" for this officer in my situation as I have been living out of Canada for years. It was a judgement call on his part. He states that the officer should have sent us a letter telling us to provide more evidence (which he didn't). Hence, he believes that I could appeal and IF the judge deems that an opportunity SHOULD HAVE been granted by the officer, I will get my chance at the appeal at which time I should have moved to Canada or get a job contract IN MY HANDS! Is there absolutely nothing else I can do? The whole point was to stick with my husband and I am now pregnant. Going through pregnancy alone seems unfair to both me and my husband!!


I feel that this is such a waste of time and that I want to just call and talk to the officer to get my chance sooner rather than later. Even better, I wish I could pop up at the office and JUST TALK TO SOMEONE!! Would someone talk to me? Unfortunately, this office doesn't take phone calls and I feel e-mailing after a decision was made pointless since this officer had made up his mind with no warning. There is absolutley nothing mentioned on my husband and so the only issue was me waiting it out with him.


Please people.... advice... anyone?

 

[minna]

so the sponsorship part of your application was refused?

if so, had you checked the box to have your application returned to you and fees refunded if the sponsorship was refused?

If you did - then you can just reapply. Sponsorship application is just $75 and this time you can provide more proof of returning to Canada. There are many options given for the kinds of things that are accepted as proof to return -- proof of renting an apartment, proof of having a job or being accepted to a school, proof of having a job. Many people here applying from out of Canada with their partners, myself included, wrote letters detailing their plans to return to Canada - including the steps necessary that will be taken in the future to finish up life overseas and return to Canada (ie. dealing with property overseas, contacting shipping companies re: furniture, getting pets the appropriate medical certificates). A notarized letter from a friend or family member stating that they are aware of your intentions to return to Canada and that they will provide you and your husband a place to stay upon your return is also helpful.

I personally included:
-letter of intentions detailing our plans to return to Canada (i.e. in July we submitted our application, in August, we will be contacting realtors to see about selling our house, etc etc - search the forum for more examples)
-a notarized letter from my parents stating that they are aware of our plans and happy and excited to let us stay with them upon our return to Vancouver, for as long as we need.
- several emails (I think I sent 4-5) I sent to prospective employers and in response to job ads. These are dated over the last few months and include the sentence "I am currently in the process of bringing my family back to Vancouver after 8 years of living in the US" Of course, I didn't get these jobs, but the email prove that I have been looking for a job there for months.

Hope this helps! Sorry you were denied. But if it was just the sponsorship part that was denied, then I would recommend that you just re-apply for sponsorship with additional proof rather than appeal. Appealing a CIC decision can take years, and then your husband's part of the application would still have to be considered.

 

[Leon]

You need to show plans to establish yourselves in Canada which could be job contract or offer, being accepted to a university, having arranged housing or at the very least you could get letters from friends and family saying they know of and support your plans and will help you when you arrive etc. I suggest you write a letter to appeal the officers decision showing some of that but at the same time get your friends/relatives in Canada to push by talking to their MP's.

 

[eh??]

Well not exactly, I was approved as a spouse by Mississauga and the appliocation was sent to the local VISA office for the second half. It was after many months of waiting did we recieve this refusal letter. Usually once Mississauga approves you then they go on to look at the applicant. Here though, the lawyer states that to have given us this refusal the whole process (thereby checking my husband to see if he qualifies) was completed. Can anyone verify this??

As for things we listed... I sent income taxes filed, health card, driving license still activated etc, Canadian bank account in use etc...Letters from friends, family and people in the community aware of our plans. I have mentioned before that I have a house in Canada that is being rented out and since they are good tenants I was planning on staying with my parents thereby having an income of sorts while working at my parents' business until we are settled. This lawyer suggested I have a contract signed by the time of my appeal and perhaps not work for my parents even though they are retiring and NEED the help!

I hope this helps to see if I did make an error or if this was the officer making a judgement call like the lawyer suggested. Reapplying now would mean waiting another 9 months and re-doing the application but I will NEED To be in Canada and seperated from my husband. Appealing gives us time to be together before having to relocate without him.


So is there anything else I can do at this stage? Can I try to contact the officer ?

 

[minna]

I'm still not sure I understand - your sponsorship was approved? Then it was not about your intentions to return to Canada, because that is covered in the sponsorship portion of the application. The visa office that processes the immigration application does not, to my knowledge, concern itself with the sponsorship part. I might be wrong about that, but that would not make sense to me....

If you did not check the box on the application that asks if you want your application returned and if sponsorship is denied, then you might have had the application forwarded to the visa office and they denied the immigration because your sponsorship was denied, but it might have little or nothing to do with the immigration application itself.

If you already have a lawyer- I'm sure they know more about your case than any of us here can know based on what you've shared. If I were in your position, I would ask your lawyer to explain what happened again, and help you to truly understand your options from here on out. If need be, maybe you need to find a new lawyer, if you currently lawyer is not able to explain things satisfactorily. I mean, posters on this forum may be able to help you, but we are (mostly) anyways, just going through the process, just the same as you. If you already have a lawyer, they would probably be able to give you better advice, if you trust them, anyways.

 

[eh??]

Hi minna,

I know this is confusing and I undretsand. I WAS approved by Missassauga and things were going swimmingly when suddenly the VISA Office sent us this letter many months later. I didn't have a lawyer then but I am researching now to see a. what happened and b. what my options are. Lawyers are funny the first one I talked to just gave me a "Plain good ol' Canadians are the ones who get screwed" speech and the second was a bit more inciteful. I did tick the box for appeal and have sent it in but IS there nothing else I can do at this stage? It's a long wait and a sad one at that especially since it seems to be a judgement call out of the blue with no chance to explain.

 

[Leon]

I did tick the box for appeal and have sent it in but IS there nothing else I can do at this stage?

Yes, you can get your friends and family to go talk to their MP's on your behalf and get some enquiries to immigration going. Sometimes visa officers make mistakes and sometimes an enquiry into the case going into the visa office can get the case looked at again and the mistake recognized.

 

[eh??]

Thanks

I somewhat talked to the lawyer about that too and he said that the justifications has some weight in favour for the officer as they weren't "concrete" and since it was a judgement call on his part. I guess I will need to cause some heck to get the case re-exmined... is that what you suggest Leon? I am sure I can get people to go to their MP's but what will that do exactly? For example, will many people signing a petition to re-open my case be enough? My community is small and tight knit so I think it is possible...

 

[Leon]

I do not know what a petition will do but MP's have a bit of weight with immigration so if an MP or two start asking questions, it could get the case re-examined. No guarantees but it's certainly worth a try.

 

[minna]

well - if your sponsorship was approved, and THEN the visa office said that they denied your husband's application because they doubted *you* would return to canada, that is very odd.

They shouldn't be concerned about you, if sponsorship was approved. Like Leon said, have your friends/family contact their MPs about the situation. It is entirely possible that a mistake was made.

And write a letter to the visa office that processed your case.

And don't hire any lawyer that tells you "good canadians get screwed" - hire one that seems to actually know how to respond to your situation.

 

[eh??]

Thanks for the support Minna and Leon,

One more question, do you think it will be helpful if I flew back even for a short while to visit the MP, my local immigration office and make some noise in Canada along with my family and friends? I think I can manage that before I am limited in my condition and I become officially stuck somewhere. Would that help or would just sending friends and family suffice?

 

[Leon]

I think it would be stronger if you speak for yourself because it's your case but it might not be necessary. Can you get a phone appointment with your MP? As you are not living in Canada and haven't been for a while, do you actually have an MP? Your parents going might have the same effect. Why don't you ask your parents to talk to their MP and see what they say before you pack up and go yourself?

 

[xyrus]

well - if your sponsorship was approved, and THEN the visa office said that they denied your husband's application because they doubted *you* would return to canada, that is very odd.

They shouldn't be concerned about you, if sponsorship was approved. Like Leon said, have your friends/family contact their MPs about the situation. It is entirely possible that a mistake was made.

And write a letter to the visa office that processed your case.

And don't hire any lawyer that tells you "good canadians get screwed" - hire one that seems to actually know how to respond to your situation.

This ODD situation happened with us too! MY Visa was denied cz they doubted my wife's intention to return to Canada. The refusal letter read - " I am convinced the sponsor would not reside in Canada once PR Visa is granted to the applicant. The day we received this letter, we were devastated and my wife rushed back to Canada the same day! After a few months, she got a job/leased apt. to prove ties. We have applied again now After we received the refusal letter, we submitted proof showing that my wife has gone back - Boarding pass, ticket, immigration stamp on Passport confirming arrival in Canada. We also submitted bank statement but in vain. We got an email back from Visa Office, Delhi that this case would not be re-considered! Keeping our fingers crossed this time! Good luck to u!

Now after reading the posts, I wish after going back she could've contacted the local MP requesting to re-consider the decision! too late now!!

 

[eh??]

Hi Xyrus,

Yes, we have met before on this forum. I am too scared to reapply as I have been told we may get the same negative result but it makes sense that if this is the ONLY reason for refusal moving to Canada may be a good option. I hope you keep me posted as to your outcome!

 

[xyrus]

eh??,

Will surely keep u posted! Wish u all the very best! Good Luck!