Just one opinion

[bobswife]

Hi everybody:
I think when one relation is solid,the people don't need show lot "proof"
The Oficials working in CIC have the focus in how long you been together
your situation in your own country,criminal record,good health.
I doubt it they see each document,photos,msn chat,etc, the more you try proof
your marriage or common and law (relation) with lot bla bla bla bla
My recomendation is this matter is don't put in your file to much papers
that just can make everything more confused for them.
Remember in immigration and borderlines in general in the whole world
specially Usa and Canada,They use the phsicology in the people.
Hope this help to somebody

 

[sbwv09]

That's an interesting standpoint, but I don't know if I agree. I've seen lots of cases on canlii where people are turned down for lack of proof.. but I don't know. As I told my husband after we crossed over and we were talking about the '6 month' rule and other things, if immigration wants to use it against you, they will. If they don't, they won't.

I really don't think it hurts to send the proof. Maybe people can overdo it, but I'd rather have too much than not enough.

 

[locolynn]

I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to the IO's opinion. And each office and each IO is as different as each case before them. There's definitely not ONE hard and fast rule.

Lynn

 

[canadianwoman]

I've seen cases rejected for not having enough proof - even my husband's. The visa officer said we didn't have enough proof, and the appeal judge who rejected the appeal agreed, even though we had a lot more proof for the appeal.
I've heard of visa officers saying that the applicant had sent in way too much proof, but in both of the cases I personally know, they were approved for a PR visa.
And length of relationship - I started dating my husband in 2001, and his appeal was rejected July 2010. He's never been in trouble and is in good health.

It's true that a big messy pile of papers will just confuse the visa officer, but the solution is not to send in less, but to organize everything well.

 

[HoneyBird]

everytime i read threads like this i get depressed. the problem is we did not submit alot of proof. While dating, we did not know that one day we will be married (realisation only came after one particular vacation), and we never saved the receipts from where we went or whatever, i am a cleaning fanatic, i never saved any of the emails from him, i have a pre paid phone and was not able to get more than 3 months of detailed calls out from the provider due to some country law. Even when I met his parents for the first time, we did not even think of taking a group picture! I am always amazed by the tonnes of evidence that people have here, from day one of the relationship, how the hell did they know they were going to be married from day one?? I always wonder if CIC officers don't question too much evidence, because if i get called to an interview, I am gonna say, I did not know I was going to be marrying this man from the first day i met him and i never knew to marry someone from your country required so much proof, thats why I just have what I have. In normal relationships, people don't hoard phonecalls, receipts etc. I think you need to investigate people who have tonnes of proofs, because they clearly read up about how to get PR via Marriage when they met their spouses from day one.

Sorry about the rant. But I am f*** pissed off about this whole immigration process and it pisses me off that I actually know people who married for PR and got through with it.

 

[sbwv09]

I think you need to investigate people who have tonnes of proofs, because they clearly read up about how to get PR via Marriage when they met their spouses from day one.

I understand the frustration, but I wouldn't go that far. We had a good deal of proof, all the way back to 2003, but we are sentimental kind of people who keep a lot of things. I would have had even more if my apartment hadn't burnt down in 2007. I understand that some people don't save anything, but some of us are 'saps' who save more.. and that doesn't make us criminals.

 

[boasorte]

Maybe people can overdo it, but I'd rather have too much than not enough.

[2]

But in case they do think your application isn't enough the best think to do is cross your fingers and hope for an interview request where you will be able to answer their questions.

 

[HoneyBird]

I understand the frustration, but I wouldn't go that far. We had a good deal of proof, all the way back to 2003, but we are sentimental kind of people who keep a lot of things. I would have had even more if my apartment hadn't burnt down in 2007. I understand that some people don't save anything, but some of us are 'saps' who save more.. and that doesn't make us criminals.

i understand your point. But do you take a picture of you and your date on your very first date? or save the receipt of that first date? Thats what i mean. Its just weird for me. I can understand, when the relationship progresses that there are pics etc. But from day one, strange!

 

[bobshynoswife]

In normal relationships, people don't hoard phonecalls, receipts etc. I think you need to investigate people who have tonnes of proofs, because they clearly read up about how to get PR via Marriage when they met their spouses from day one.

Nothing about my dating life with my husband was 'normal'. We talked for 3 months before ever meeting, and only saw each other for 55 days in our 2 years together. All of that proof...the emails, the ticket stubs, the postcards, the photographs....those were the only tangible bit of my relationship I had! I kept everything in a box so when I missed him I could look through it and feel closer to him.

As for other proof: I have a home based business so I keep my phone bills. His skype history is set to retain all history. It's as simple as that. We met in July of 08 and we never even looked on the CIC website until after we got engaged a year later. We were just lucky to have all of that stuff, and if the IO questions why we had so much proof, that's exactly what my husband will tell him.

I'm sorry you don't have much proof. Surely you have been collecting evidence since you put your application in though? Just bring that to the interview and explain yourself, and it will be fine.

 

[SaugaBoss]

i know someone who had an arranged marriage! and no interview was necessary...

they just got engaged and married after a couple months. also they were pakistani as well... so i guess it depends

 

[sbwv09]

i understand your point. But do you take a picture of you and your date on your very first date? or save the receipt of that first date? Thats what i mean. Its just weird for me. I can understand, when the relationship progresses that there are pics etc. But from day one, strange!

We did, actually, but that was because we had been dating online for 7 months before we could meet up, and as bobshyno'swife said, those were the things we cherished. It's actually making me sad all over again, all the things I lost in that fire..

Everyone is in a different situation and deem different things important to keep.

 

[HoneyBird]

I guess I am just fustrated!!!! And they need to jail those people using marriage as a gateway to PR. Cause the legit. people like us are suffering. I think if i ever met a person who indicates to me that they used it to get PR, i will clout them. Seriously. :-X Thanks for listening to my rant. And i guess i am not a sentimental person. Even after hubby and I talked to each other for 1 year on the phone, we didn't even take a picture the first time we met in real! lol. Alright. I see where everyone is coming from. Thanks for your point of views.

 

[sbwv09]

Everyone is different.. I wish CIC would see that!!

There was this guy that lived on our old street that told my DH and pretty much everyone that he was paid to marry his wife and bring her over from China.. he wasn't even ashamed! I wanted to report him but DH was afraid he would slander us to CIC if we did..

And their PR was approved in 3 months.. I've already waited 3 months!

 

[canadianwoman]

i know someone who had an arranged marriage! and no interview was necessary...

they just got engaged and married after a couple months. also they were pakistani as well... so i guess it depends

If arranged marriages are normal in the country the applicant is from, the visa officer will be perfectly willing to give the PR visa - the marriage just has to be 'normal' for their culture. So arranged marriages from India and Pakistan are sometimes rejected because they didn't have a huge reception, or because the wife was just a few years older than the husband, even though in a non-arranged marriage these factors would not matter.

I also wonder how the visa officers and CIC can expect people to have evidence from years ago when they first met. In my case I dated my husband for several years in Asia; when I moved home I didn't bring old utility bills and receipts with me. I don't like to take photos, and didn't have a camera, so we have no photos from then either. The only reason I would have had a lot of proof from 2001 on would be if it had been a marriage scam from the beginning! Instead, it is just a fairly normal relationship where I didn't expect to get married the first day I met him. We only have the huge number of phone bills that we do because I am a packrat - but even I didn't keep stuff from before 2005.

 

[nyssa]

I said this in another thread, but I will repeat it here as it makes sense here. I think what's truly important to understand is that obviously, as we have witnessed here, not everyone has the same amount of information. Some of us have everything from day 1, others absolutely nothing. Some of us have all pictures and no communication or a lot of phonecalls but no visits... you see where I'm going. We all can't have everything CIC is asking for, because this is real life. The Questionairres are designed to accomodate to everyone's situations, not yours alone.

That being said, it is important to showcase your strengths and explain your weaknesses. Don't have much? Why? That's all, just explain why. My husband and I have no evidence from when we lived together because we were in the US and never thought we'd be moving to Canada in life. So we don't even have a single piece of evidence for 2 years of living together and dating besides pictures. So we showcase those pictures and do our best to explain why and how he was illegal in the US.

People are accepted and rejected for various reasons, most of which we'll never truly figure out. Good luck everyone!