Conjugal App Questions

[HeyHeyHello]

Alrighty, so my boyfriend (Canadian) and I (American) are looking into a Conjugal visa, which I am hearing it is very hard to get accepted.

Why is that?

Now here's the story, my boyfriend and I met online last December, so it would be a year on Christmas. He's made two trips down to the states to see me. The first time was in April (that was the first time we met and he brought his brother along), we actually have pictures from the week he was here. Not many though. Also, my friends and family knew about him coming down. I even have statuses updates / wall posts that this happened. The second time he came down was in June. I had an away party and have pictures from the party. We made a little road trip up to Canada and entered via land border. So anyways, I stayed in Canada for about 5 months (I tried to extend my visit, but couldn't). We were staying with his family. His mum actually calls me her daughter in law, so obviously they really approved of this relationship. Now I have tried to enter Canada three times. First time, accepted. Second time, denied. Third time, the immigration officer gave me some advice, telling me to not come back again until I get whatever paperwork done or that I could prove I had strong ties in America, but he still let me enter. The second, where I was denied, I "voluntarily withdrew" my application to enter Canada. We have a lot of proof and chat logs to prove that this relationship is genuine Now my other questions are:

Does this prove that I have an immigration barrier? If yes, Should we apply for a conjugal visa due to the fact of an immigration barrier?
Does it say in the sponsorship guide of how to put evidence together?
And am I applying outland? The outland and inland apps looks all the same too me.

Oh and also, will they ask friends and families questions about our relationship? If so, what kind?

Thanks. I am so confused!

 

[Leon]

It is harder to qualify as conjugal because they will ask why you could not get married or live together for one year. So you seem to have an immigration barrier to Canada at the moment but that would not stop your boyfriend from coming to live with you, would it? They do say in the conjugal instructions that not wanting to give up a job is not a good excuse and they do not seem to care much if you do not have any income in the meantime. Of course there are people who get accepted but it is very dependent on the visa officer. You also have to show that you have combined your lives as much as possible without living together. They will ask if you have a joint bank account, if you support each other financially, if you have joint insurance policies listing each other as beneficiary etc.

If you are not in Canada, you must apply outland. For outland, you pick the forms where it says "my spouse is living outside of Canada".

 

[sidkrose]

Alrighty, so my boyfriend (Canadian) and I (American) are looking into a Conjugal visa, which I am hearing it is very hard to get accepted.

Why is that?

Now here's the story, my boyfriend and I met online last December, so it would be a year on Christmas. He's made two trips down to the states to see me. The first time was in April (that was the first time we met and he brought his brother along), we actually have pictures from the week he was here. Not many though. Also, my friends and family knew about him coming down. I even have statuses updates / wall posts that this happened. The second time he came down was in June. I had an away party and have pictures from the party. We made a little road trip up to Canada and entered via land border. So anyways, I stayed in Canada for about 5 months (I tried to extend my visit, but couldn't). We were staying with his family. His mum actually calls me her daughter in law, so obviously they really approved of this relationship. Now I have tried to enter Canada three times. First time, accepted. Second time, denied. Third time, the immigration officer gave me some advice, telling me to not come back again until I get whatever paperwork done or that I could prove I had strong ties in America, but he still let me enter. The second, where I was denied, I "voluntarily withdrew" my application to enter Canada. We have a lot of proof and chat logs to prove that this relationship is genuine Now my other questions are:

Does this prove that I have an immigration barrier? If yes, Should we apply for a conjugal visa due to the fact of an immigration barrier?
Does it say in the sponsorship guide of how to put evidence together?
And am I applying outland? The outland and inland apps looks all the same too me.

Oh and also, will they ask friends and families questions about our relationship? If so, what kind?

Thanks. I am so confused!

Hi, take a look at section 5.25 and 5.26 of the OP2 manual to see what they look for in conjugal relationships. They are harder to prove, but it has been done (even for American/Canadian relationships).

You are applying outland. Here are the forms:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Read the guides carefully as well.

I do not think it is common at all for CIC to contact friends or family members, however, it is common for common-law and conjugal couples to include letters of support from friends, family, neighbours, etc, saying that they are a genuine couple.

 

[HeyHeyHello]

Thanks guys. Another question is, since I am in America and he is in Canada, do we BOTH work on the outland application?

 

[HeyHeyHello]

Thanks guys. Another question is, since I am in America and he is in Canada, do we BOTH work on the outland application?

And oh, he's also going to be sponsoring me, if I didn't mention that. So is it outland or inland. Thanks I'm just confused.

 

[Leon]

And oh, he's also going to be sponsoring me, if I didn't mention that. So is it outland or inland. Thanks I'm just confused.

The location of the sponsor is not important. The location of the sponsored is. You can not apply half and half inland and outland. You have to pick one. If you are not in Canada and not going to stay in Canada during the duration of your processing, then you can not apply inland. That leaves that you must apply outland. Applying outland does have any effect on you visiting him, you still could if the immigration officers allow you in although it sounds like they already have you flagged.

 

[AmericaninQuebec]

Just curious what you said at the border that got your denied entry? I've very rarely heard of American's being denied entry. I actually quit my job to come to stay with my boyfriend (we eventually got married) and they still let me in, because I told them I was only coming for the summer...

Next time you try crossing the border be careful what you say. You need to use terms that make it clear that you're not moving there, but rather coming to stay with your bf for a specific period of time. Have copies of your bank statements showing enough money to cover your expenses for the trip if possible.

If you do apply as conjugal partners I would not recommend spending extended periods of time in Canada with him, at least not prior to your application submission. You wouldn't want them questioning why you're submitting as conjugal partners instead of waiting and applying as common law partners.

Also, you will use the out-land application for both sponorship and permanent residency applications. I don't know why someone pointed out the "spouse is living outside of Canada" section, because obviously he's not. It's fine that he's in Canada, and honestly you could be in Canada too and apply out-land with no problem other than it possibly affecting your app as conjugal partners.

Good luck!

 

[lonely2011]

It should not be so hard to get approved in conjugal class but unfortunatelly it is. Immigration barrier is not the only thing they look at. They will want to know what prevents you from getting married. You might be lucky to get nice VO but I wouldn't count on that.

 

[canadianwoman]

You have to have been conjugal partners for a year before you can apply. You and your boyfriend met online in December 2010, right? So just because it is now December 2011 does not mean you can apply now. A conjugal partner is more than just a boyfriend or girlfriend. You will have to prove your financial affairs are joined as much as possible, and that your relationship is as close and mutually dependent as possible, and that it has been like that for at least a year. There is no way the visa officer will believe that your relationship has been conjugal for a year already. At some point in the last year your relationship may have become conjugal - so send in your application a year after that date, not just a year after you first met online.
It would be a lot easier to get the PR visa if you got married, in which case you still have to prove your relationship is genuine, but do not have to prove it has been conjugal-like for a year.

 

[sidkrose]

You have to have been conjugal partners for a year before you can apply. You and your boyfriend met online in December 2010, right? So just because it is now December 2011 does not mean you can apply now. A conjugal partner is more than just a boyfriend or girlfriend. You will have to prove your financial affairs are joined as much as possible, and that your relationship is as close and mutually dependent as possible, and that it has been like that for at least a year. There is no way the visa officer will believe that your relationship has been conjugal for a year already. At some point in the last year your relationship may have become conjugal - so send in your application a year after that date, not just a year after you first met online.
It would be a lot easier to get the PR visa if you got married, in which case you still have to prove your relationship is genuine, but do not have to prove it has been conjugal-like for a year.

^This is a good point. You should pick a time when your relationship began to be "marriage-like" and judge the year from then.

 

[rjessome]

You have to have been conjugal partners for a year before you can apply. You and your boyfriend met online in December 2010, right? So just because it is now December 2011 does not mean you can apply now. A conjugal partner is more than just a boyfriend or girlfriend. You will have to prove your financial affairs are joined as much as possible, and that your relationship is as close and mutually dependent as possible, and that it has been like that for at least a year. There is no way the visa officer will believe that your relationship has been conjugal for a year already. At some point in the last year your relationship may have become conjugal - so send in your application a year after that date, not just a year after you first met online.
It would be a lot easier to get the PR visa if you got married, in which case you still have to prove your relationship is genuine, but do not have to prove it has been conjugal-like for a year.

canadianwoman is right. Your relationship sounds like you began dating a year ago. That's not enough. Read the instructions on the CIC website:

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:
•You could have lived together but chose not to. This shows that you did not have the level of commitment required for a conjugal relationship. (For example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together.)
•You cannot provide evidence there was a reason that kept you from living together.
•You are engaged to be married. In this case, you should either apply as a spouse once the marriage has taken place or apply as a common-law partner if you have lived together continuously for at least 12 months.

 

[AllisonVSC]

You have to have been conjugal partners for a year before you can apply. You and your boyfriend met online in December 2010, right? So just because it is now December 2011 does not mean you can apply now. A conjugal partner is more than just a boyfriend or girlfriend. You will have to prove your financial affairs are joined as much as possible, and that your relationship is as close and mutually dependent as possible, and that it has been like that for at least a year. There is no way the visa officer will believe that your relationship has been conjugal for a year already. At some point in the last year your relationship may have become conjugal - so send in your application a year after that date, not just a year after you first met online.
It would be a lot easier to get the PR visa if you got married, in which case you still have to prove your relationship is genuine, but do not have to prove it has been conjugal-like for a year.

Concur. At the earliest, given your original post, you might be able to say the conjugal relationship started at some point during your stay in Canada. I think you would have a hard time establishing the start point at Christmas 2010 or the second visit to the US.

See the OP 2 Manual here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
sections on or about 5.23. through 5.26 for explanations of conjugal or "marriage-like" relationships, evidence etc. and see if those shed more light on how you should consider applying.

If you are interested, I am American and was approved in the conjugal class. If you want more info, PM me and I will be glad to tell you more about my situation.

Allison