Advice?!?

[katie3234]

Hello!
I have posted numerous times on this forum, so hopefully my posts aren’t getting repetitive. I just want to make sure I understand everything, and do everything correctly the first time around.

1.) My husband is Albania – we just got married on June 4th (YAY) so we will be applying outland through Rome. Does anyone know the percentage of cases that go well and get accepted? Or where I can find this out?

2.) As I have said in another post my phone copaany (Koodo Mobile ... GRRR) wont release my phone records to me, and neither will the calling card company I use (VOX ... GRR) even though I registered the calling card. Will my not being able to show the fact that we kept in contact be bad? We kept in contact for 2 years through phone calls, and only the last year did we start using skype and email. So although he have proof through emails it only goes back 9-12 months where the calls go back over 2 years. What can a gal do?

3.) We had applied for a visitor visa for him, which he was denied. On the visa we said a few lies
- that he was never deported before ... he was deported from Greece more than 1 time, and given warnings to leave the country a few times
- When we applied Albania was getting all citizens to get new passports, so he applied for his passport on which they said that his birthday on his birth certificate had an error and was off by one day. So they changed the date of his birth certificate by one day despite his father arguing saying that he was actually born on the 21st of July and not the 22nd they still changed it to the 22nd ..... So on the visitor visa which was denied he had the birth date of July 22nd ..... Since then it’s been sorted and NOW his passport says July 21st which is the real date. How on earth do I explain that?

4.) In other people’s opinions would doing everything on my own with the past difficulties – the deportation and passport debacle be too complicated? Should I just get an immigration lawyer?

5.) Spoke with an immigration lawyer today who charges $3500 and I have to pay the visa costs, police clearance, medical and such on top of that – but he said that he would be able to get my husband here in 9 months ..... Which obviously would have wonderful and ideal .... Do you think by paying $3500 I would just be buying his confidence?

Any advice would be so helpful, and so appreciated! And sorry once again if I am being repetitive and slightly annoying with my posts. Just don’t want to make any errors that delay my having my husband with me.

 

[katie3234]

Ohh a bit of an add on

3.) Continued lies
- My mother wrote the invitation letter since I was in Albania with him and not working, in the letter she said that he and I met in Albania – which she knew was a lie as we met in Greece. At the time saying he has never been deported, and that we met in Greece seemed quit clever. Although now I realize how stupid it really was.
- Also on the supporting documents for the visitor visa the passport said July 22nd as being his birth date, which as stated above was wrong on the Albanian Governments behalf .... on the back of the photos, and invitation letter accompanying the application we wrote his birth date as being July 21st (correct bday). We didn’t mean to write the 21st as we were going off the new passport he had been given with the birth date of the 22nd. He wasn’t denied for any of this, he was denied because there wasn’t enough information.

 

[BeShoo]

5.) Spoke with an immigration lawyer today who charges $3500 and I have to pay the visa costs, police clearance, medical and such on top of that – but he said that he would be able to get my husband here in 9 months .....

I'm not sure what to think about your overall story. A lawyer might be a good idea in your situation, but I do want to say that you should ignore the claim of "9 months." A lawyer has absolutely no control over how long everything will take, so he really can't promise any such thing.

Also, that might be too much money. Do you need a lawyer to fill out paperwork for you? This is perhaps a less important thing for the lawyer to do, since you actually might be able to do it yourself, and for much less money. I you are denied and need to launch an appeal, that will likely require a lawyer but you're not there yet.

Check with a few lawyers, because the won't all charge the same price.

 

[campesinaj]

I agree with the previous poster, don't listen to any guarantees about lawyers. I would say take a good look at the paperwork first and see if you really do need someone's help - a lawyer won't be able to change the situation you have just explained.

I'm not sure about the lies on the previous application, maybe someone with that experience could comment.

As for the confusion with birth dates and phone records, you will just have to explain it like you did here. There's nothing you can do on these items and it's out of your control. So write a note explaining each point.

Do you have pictures or other proof of your relationship for the time perioud of the missing phone records? Plane tickets, receipts, etc. would help to show the timeline of your relationship. And you could get family & friends to write letters stating when you started dating or when they met him, etc. Not everyone saves every piece of paper so there are other options in these cases. Check around this forum for other people's proof and what they used - I found it very helpful when I was organizing our application.

good luck to you

 

[katie3234]

This is what the immigration lawyer said to me when I asked if he was sure about the whole 9 month thing,

"As far as phone records go we can work around that. Yes if we somehow are not successful (which will not happen) I will give you a discount on the appeal. We will communicate primarily via e-mail to fill out and correct information in the forms. You have more than a glimmer of hope Katie."

And yes I have photos, airline tickets and what seems like millions of emails! The whole process just really overwhelms me, and I am so worried that I will fill something out wrong, or make an error. And im sure as everyone knows its extremely hard being away from the one you love, and have committed your life to – so I really don’t want to risk delaying things at all based on an error on my part

 

[canadianwoman]

2.) As I have said in another post my phone copaany (Koodo Mobile ... GRRR) wont release my phone records to me, and neither will the calling card company I use (VOX ... GRR) even though I registered the calling card. Will my not being able to show the fact that we kept in contact be bad? We kept in contact for 2 years through phone calls, and only the last year did we start using skype and email. So although he have proof through emails it only goes back 9-12 months where the calls go back over 2 years.

Write the phone companies asking for your phone records; include your letters and their refusals in the application. Explain why you don't have phone records in the app. You can get a printout of your Skype log, and your emails. You were staying with him in Albania and Greece, weren't you? So show proof you were with him - photos, hotel and restaurant receipts, letters from your landlord stating you were staying with him - or similar letters from friends and relatives, plane tickets, etc.

3.) We had applied for a visitor visa for him, which he was denied. On the visa we said a few lies
- that he was never deported before ... he was deported from Greece more than 1 time, and given warnings to leave the country a few times

You'll have to tell the truth about these deportations in his PR application. There is a section where they ask if he has ever been refused a visa to any country or deported from any country. Just tick the 'yes' box and explain the circumstances. Don't say you lied on the visitor visa application - they might not check that closely. In any case, don't lie on the PR app - if you do and are caught, you may be refused and banned for misrepresentation.

- When we applied Albania was getting all citizens to get new passports, so he applied for his passport on which they said that his birthday on his birth certificate had an error and was off by one day. So they changed the date of his birth certificate by one day despite his father arguing saying that he was actually born on the 21st of July and not the 22nd they still changed it to the 22nd ..... So on the visitor visa which was denied he had the birth date of July 22nd ..... Since then it's been sorted and NOW his passport says July 21st which is the real date. How on earth do I explain that?

Just explain it as you did here. It is not his fault. Maybe also include any proof you could get - a letter or affidavit from his father about this, for example. A letter from the gov't admitting their mistake would be great.

You probably don't need a lawyer.

 

[katie3234]

Wonderful thank you for all your help! One last question about showing evidence of our relationship, should I add the Western Union receipts? It’s pretty one sided as I am the one sending money to him, but would it still be good to add to the other evidence?

 

[canadianwoman]

Wonderful thank you for all your help! One last question about showing evidence of our relationship, should I add the Western Union receipts? It's pretty one sided as I am the one sending money to him, but would it still be good to add to the other evidence?

Yes, include them. Evidence of support is one type of proof of a genuine relationship the CIC guidelines mention.
One-sided is OK. Money sent from the foreign spouse to the Canadian spouse could be questioned - the visa officer might claim the foreigner is paying the Canadian to sponsor him.

 

[katie3234]

Oh I hadn’t even thought of that! I’m so grateful for your help and advice, it’s so daunting reading about all the things you need to provide, and all the troubles people run into. I’m sponsoring him from Albania, and the more I read the harder it begins to sound. While you’re dating you never think that you will have any use for the phone bills, receipts and other things like that – so now running around trying to gather every scrap that can help is so mindboggling. I’m so worried that I will forget something that could help, or fill something in correctly.

Anyways, thank you once again!

 

[canadianwoman]

While you're dating you never think that you will have any use for the phone bills, receipts and other things like that – so now running around trying to gather every scrap that can help is so mindboggling.

Yes, exactly. I started going out with my husband in 2001 in a different country. When I moved back to Canada in 2005, it never occurred to me that I might need old phone bills and receipts. I'm pretty sure the visa officer who interviewed my husband doesn't have her phone bills from 2001 either.

If you really find the process overwhelming, you can always go with a lawyer or immigration consultant. People on the forum generally advise you don't need a lawyer for a straightforward case, but your case is complicated by your partner's deportations.
But you can always come and ask questions here, and we'll all do our best to answer them.
Good luck!

 

[katie3234]

I have tried everything possible to track down phone bills – at first they told me I would need a court subpoena but now they say they don’t even have the records. I am genuinely concerned that my head may pop off my body from stress, and worrying! Really, who on earth keeps old phone bills, and receipts? So difficult and frustrating! And your right, I highly doubt if the tables were turned the immigration officer would be able to hand over old phone bills, cinema tickets, and other silly things.

In terms of evidence how does this stand up?:

Late November early October 2008- met my husband in Greece, where I was vacationing for 2 weeks. I have pictures from this time, and letters from the friends that were accompanying me on the trip about how he and I met, and the printed airline receipt.

May 2009 – Moved to Greece where he and I lived together. Have photos of our house, he and I together, and maybe can track some down where we are with others, may be able to get the old lease from the landlord in Greece, and I can get letters from my friend about us.

Late July early August 2009 – husband got deported. I returned with him to Albania. I have my flight tickets, and photos of myself, my husband and his youngest siblings. Same friend from Greece was in Albania so she can write a letter accounting for my time in Greece and Albania with my husband.

November 2009 – I returned home, I don’t have any phone information of my calling him since I can’t get the phone records, I have a few skype convos starting in November 2009 and emails starting in March 2010 when he got internet.

May 2010 – returned to Albania, got married on the 4th and left on the 5th. I have photos of us, and his family. His parents, older brother, a friend or 2, and grandpa will all write letters.

June 2010 – I am now in Canada, he is in Albania. We keep in constant contact through skype using it both for video chats and for placing phone calls, and also emailing through facebook.

Does the “evidence” above seem sufficient? Or will the time lapse from October – the beginning of May which I don’t have phone records for cause concern even if I get the phone company to write a letter saying they don’t have the records, and have my family write letters about how I talked with him on the phone on a daily basis?

 

[BeShoo]

I think the important thing is to makes sure the gaps in communication are minimized. Communication could be by phone, email, regular mail, in person, or whatever other method. Gaps where there was nothing at all are negative.

I've seen a case where a couple claimed to be in a relationship and had not contacted each other for 7 years! They got denied.

 

[katie3234]

7 years of not having communication, that’s crazy! Do you think if I explained that he and I were speaking on a regular basis through the phone, but I can’t get the phone records they would be semi-understanding? Also, I was looking through old emails and I have emails between my mom and myself where were speaking about him, my feelings for him, how hard it is being away from him and things like that, during the gaps in time – would that help me out a bit?

Since there is a significant gap in time from November 2008 – March 2010 since during that time I was calling him from my cell (can’t get the phone records) and calling cards, although during that time I also lived with him in Greece, in Albania and flew to visit him once.

 

[BeShoo]

I definitely think it would help to explain your regular communication and lack of phone records. It's not really proof, but you should definitely do that.

If you have any evidence that you visited and/or lived with him, that is also useful. They can't expect you to be phoning him long-distance while you're living with him.

I would definitely include the emails between your mom and you. That kind of evidence is definitely useful.

There is no gap from November to March, only between contact times, whether it is in person or by phone or mail or email. You said you had Skype calls. I think there is a record of those at least.

 

[canadianwoman]

Stress the evidence that shows you were living with him and visiting him. Cohabitation is better proof than phone calls in any case. Write a letter explaining your lack of phone records - with any proof, such as a letter from the phone company or a letter from family or friends attesting to the fact you were phoning him once a day - and your lack of email until 2010 - if he didn't have internet, they can hardly blame him.

The evidence you've mentioned sounds good.