Trying to help a victim of marriage fraud, I need advice.

[justice for fraud]

I've been trying to help this woman who came into the shelter a few months ago. Her issue has now gone into immigration territory, and I'm completely out of my depth.

I've researched as much as I can, but not I'm stuck.

I'm hoping someone can lend me their knowledge & experience so I can continue to help her make it through this really unfortunate situation she's gotten herself into.

Her story.

• She married and sponsored an Indian man under the family class (inland, he was already here on a student visa).
• She is now coming to the realization that he has married her only to get his PR status and had intended to divorce her right after. There is much evidence to back this up .
• He received his PR status in Nov 2016, and talks of separation and divorce started right after. She found out in Sept 2017 that she was in a false marriage (one of his employees came forward to tell her all the things he was doing behind her back.)
• She came to us to get help with the emotional and psychological issues she was having, but when we found out the details, we realized that he was trying to use her for immigration purposes. She refused to believe it at first, but now she sees it too (this is very common in women who have been abused over a long period of time.)
• We've helped her get her case in front of the CBSA (through border watch hotline), and we believe that they have already held the admissibility hearing and issued a removal order based on the evidence we submitted on her behalf.
• He claims that he has appealed it, and is now trying to fight the removal order through the appeals division. His lawyer has advised him not to speak to her, and we've told her the same thing, but they continue to talk, and he uses every opportunity he can to get her to help him out of this situation.
• Throughout all this, he has been threatening her, her family, and any potential witnesses that may come forward with evidence to hurt his case. He has also physically attacked her family members when he's been confronted about the circumstances of their marriage.
• The police have been called many times, yet he has remained belligerent, abusive, deceitful, and very manipulative. Until recently, he was very outwardly aggressive, now he seems to have shifted his tactics to bribery and emotional blackmail.
• This woman has endured years of emotional , psychological, and financial abuse over many years with this man, while he has continued to take advantage of her weakness. I hope someone can help me understand this area of immigration a little better.

Knowing the following would help me, to help her.

• Is there any way to determine where in the process his case is at the moment (e.g. has a removal order actually been issued?, is he telling the truth when he says there is a hearing coming up?)
• What are people's experiences in IAD appeal hearings. She may be called to testify as a witness, and I'd like some advice on how I can help her prepare (if she chooses to appear).
• Is there any way for us to get access to more information on the proceedings taking place (for example, the removal order, the reasons why they issued it etc.)
• Given all the evidence, it's very unlikely that he will win any appeal, but we all know that the legal system does not always work as it should. Any advice offered is greatly appreciated.

 

[scylla]

No - there is no way to determine where in the process his case is. For confidentiality / privacy / legal purposes, IRCC only shares this information with the person who is the subject of the investigation.

Similar answer to the question around access to information - no, no way for her to obtain that.

 

[scylla]

If I were in her shoes, I would submit additional information / evidence through the CBSA border hotline submission process. If she hasn't already provided them with the recent police reports, any evidence she has of the blackmail (e.g. emails) - I would submit all of that immediately.

 

[justice for fraud]

We're still sending in everything we can find. At least now I know not to waste time looking for information from IAD. Thank you for the help.

 

[AHC]

you are doing a great job in finding all this information for this lady. It's because of these men or cases, that we, who are in genuine relationships, have to suffer. it's been a year since I got married and met my husband and still waiting for his application to be processed so that he can come here. I hope this lady gets justice and finds peace from the trauma she had to go through. i know it's not easy to get out (personal experience).

 

[zt2018]

No - there is no way to determine where in the process his case is. For confidentiality / privacy / legal purposes, IRCC only shares this information with the person who is the subject of the investigation.

Similar answer to the question around access to information - no, no way for her to obtain that.

This lady can't have access to her spouse's information, but she can have access to her's. She signed sponsorship undertaking, so she can request info if it is still in force. This will indirectly give her some indication if anything is going on. If he landed in Nov 2016, she is responsible for him till Nov 2019, so she has right to know.

 

[justice for fraud]

Thank you both.

The difficulty in working with this type of trauma is that the victim often tends to have a very large blind spot that they cannot get rid of. Whether it's willful ignorance, or plain just naivety, the person simply does not see what is happening to them, even though all the red flags are very obvious to everyone else.

I can't even imagine the pain another woman must feel after realizing that her marriage has been completely false. All I can do is to just remind her of the facts of her circumstances and help her see clearly until she can gain some stability in her life, and can learn to see things more objectively.

I have helped her find some more major red flags to submit to the CBSA.

• The fact that no one in his family back home knew of his marriage here is a very big red flag.
• The fact that he had tried to divorce her 2 months after receiving his PR status.
• His sister was shocked to find out he was married.

I'll help her continue to submit evidence. I hope that this is enough to help her get him out of her life so she can pick up the pieces that are left and move on with her life.

 

[zardoz]

Her sponsorship undertaking will only cease through timing out or the absolute final decision to revoke his PR status. While there are still appeals in progress etc, no useful information is going to come from enquiries about the undertaking status.