Good evening to you all!
First and foremost I'd like to thank all of the helpful people on this site who--already--have answered many questions that I had, and quelled many anxieties that I experienced throughout this process.
First, a bit of background about my situation:
I am Canadian, currently living in Alberta. I was born in Canada, but at a young age, I moved to the United States. A few years after this big move for myself, my sister, and my parents, I met a girl who very quickly ended up being one of my very best friend for years to come (not that we were not involved in a romantic relationship right away! Strictly platonic at that time). I moved away to Toronto for university after a few years, but we kept in touch. Years went by, and we again wound up in the same place in the United States, where our friendship continued, and eventually romantic interest developed. Of course, fate had it that I had to move away again back to Canada, where I now remain, and she is now in Florida. As this relationship developped, we travelled to see each other a substantial amount of times that I would estimate being around 20 trips of various length over the course of 3 years.
Since about last December, we started seriously considering the idea of having here move up to Canada by way of a work visa (probably through a LMIA), and that plan seemed (and still does) set in stone. We set a date for the move of January 2017.
On a very recent trip, I am proud to say that I asked for my best friend's hand in marriage, and she said yes! We have both decided that we would like to have a private ceremony, just the two of us, in a civil ceremony, to become officially married, as this is just the type of people we are: we travel just the two of us and do our own thing. Plus, we would like to save our money for future projects, such as traveling and buying our dream home someday soon, which is why we do not see fit to have a full on traditional wedding ceremony. We plan on doing so shortly, perhaps within the next two to three months.
Upon exploring the options and benefits available to us with regards to being a married couple, I thought that since we plan to have a life together, and build our live here in Alberta, it would be a good idea to apply for spousal sponsorship after we are officially married. However, my research on this forum and on some other far reaches of the internet led me to conclude that this may be a difficult situation with regards to our application!
Here are some of my concerns, and some solutions that I believe would plead our cause:
1. The civil ceremony itself
Some people seem to believe that this will flag our application as illegitimate. I understand that with adequate proof that the relationship and marriage are legitimate, the worry should be lessened. We do have pictures where we are both present dating back to 2005, as well as videos of events we both attended that corroborate these, though our appearances have changed now (it is almost 12 years later now!). As well, we have plenty of saved plane tickets, hotel stays, pictures from trips, conversations, and other proof that support the legitimacy of our (soon to be) marriage. Additionally, we have talked about each redacting an essay of sorts, telling our story from the very beginning. What else should we include? Is it risky to apply soon after a civil marriage?
2. "Marriage of convenience"
We are both established professionals. I am a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and she is an established dental assistant specializing in orthodontics. Essentially, she has nothing to gain financially or socially by marrying me, or by moving to Canada, since she would almost certainly make less money by moving to Alberta than if we moved to the USA. We just think that Alberta is where we want to build our future. Would the fact that she has nothing to gain by moving to Canada further legitimize our cause?
3. The delay between marriage and application
This is the part I feel will have the VO feel suspicious. We plan to send the application soon after our marriage is official. The truth is whether or not we apply she will be in Canada in January as a visitor, perhaps hoping to get a work permit. We are ready to declare dual intent should we send the application in, and we fully understand the implications. Are the reasons given in the other points above to justify the delay between marriage and applying?
I appreciate anyone reading this wall of text here and giving me some insight! We are not marrying for immigration purposes, as I've established. But I'm trying to see our application through the eyes of a VO, and hoping to gain perspective from others on this forum.
In short: she stands to gain nothing by marrying me and immigrating to Canada other than being able to live with me. She is not escaping a tough situation or looking to ditch me when she gets to Canada. I feel our marriage is legitimized enough by these facts and by our supporting documentation. What about you all?
Cheers! ;D
First and foremost I'd like to thank all of the helpful people on this site who--already--have answered many questions that I had, and quelled many anxieties that I experienced throughout this process.
First, a bit of background about my situation:
I am Canadian, currently living in Alberta. I was born in Canada, but at a young age, I moved to the United States. A few years after this big move for myself, my sister, and my parents, I met a girl who very quickly ended up being one of my very best friend for years to come (not that we were not involved in a romantic relationship right away! Strictly platonic at that time). I moved away to Toronto for university after a few years, but we kept in touch. Years went by, and we again wound up in the same place in the United States, where our friendship continued, and eventually romantic interest developed. Of course, fate had it that I had to move away again back to Canada, where I now remain, and she is now in Florida. As this relationship developped, we travelled to see each other a substantial amount of times that I would estimate being around 20 trips of various length over the course of 3 years.
Since about last December, we started seriously considering the idea of having here move up to Canada by way of a work visa (probably through a LMIA), and that plan seemed (and still does) set in stone. We set a date for the move of January 2017.
On a very recent trip, I am proud to say that I asked for my best friend's hand in marriage, and she said yes! We have both decided that we would like to have a private ceremony, just the two of us, in a civil ceremony, to become officially married, as this is just the type of people we are: we travel just the two of us and do our own thing. Plus, we would like to save our money for future projects, such as traveling and buying our dream home someday soon, which is why we do not see fit to have a full on traditional wedding ceremony. We plan on doing so shortly, perhaps within the next two to three months.
Upon exploring the options and benefits available to us with regards to being a married couple, I thought that since we plan to have a life together, and build our live here in Alberta, it would be a good idea to apply for spousal sponsorship after we are officially married. However, my research on this forum and on some other far reaches of the internet led me to conclude that this may be a difficult situation with regards to our application!
Here are some of my concerns, and some solutions that I believe would plead our cause:
1. The civil ceremony itself
Some people seem to believe that this will flag our application as illegitimate. I understand that with adequate proof that the relationship and marriage are legitimate, the worry should be lessened. We do have pictures where we are both present dating back to 2005, as well as videos of events we both attended that corroborate these, though our appearances have changed now (it is almost 12 years later now!). As well, we have plenty of saved plane tickets, hotel stays, pictures from trips, conversations, and other proof that support the legitimacy of our (soon to be) marriage. Additionally, we have talked about each redacting an essay of sorts, telling our story from the very beginning. What else should we include? Is it risky to apply soon after a civil marriage?
2. "Marriage of convenience"
We are both established professionals. I am a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and she is an established dental assistant specializing in orthodontics. Essentially, she has nothing to gain financially or socially by marrying me, or by moving to Canada, since she would almost certainly make less money by moving to Alberta than if we moved to the USA. We just think that Alberta is where we want to build our future. Would the fact that she has nothing to gain by moving to Canada further legitimize our cause?
3. The delay between marriage and application
This is the part I feel will have the VO feel suspicious. We plan to send the application soon after our marriage is official. The truth is whether or not we apply she will be in Canada in January as a visitor, perhaps hoping to get a work permit. We are ready to declare dual intent should we send the application in, and we fully understand the implications. Are the reasons given in the other points above to justify the delay between marriage and applying?
I appreciate anyone reading this wall of text here and giving me some insight! We are not marrying for immigration purposes, as I've established. But I'm trying to see our application through the eyes of a VO, and hoping to gain perspective from others on this forum.
In short: she stands to gain nothing by marrying me and immigrating to Canada other than being able to live with me. She is not escaping a tough situation or looking to ditch me when she gets to Canada. I feel our marriage is legitimized enough by these facts and by our supporting documentation. What about you all?
Cheers! ;D
