Hey Habibti,
Yes I did have go through an ADR in September. Since my case was a bit complex, I hired an immigration lawyer. We filed under the conjugal partner class as we were unable to marry due to his pending divorce for over 2 years now. We were refused based on , the immigration officer felt that we did not meet the requirements of conjugal partners. So an ADR date was set.
You have 30days to file for an appeal. A couple of weeks later, you get a later confirming a date and time.
At that point, I contacted a few lawyers/immigration consultant and based on their knowledge and approach, I picked one.
We went through all the documents sent by CIC with a fine tooth comb. What I did was, address all the concerns the immigration officer had in his files notes. Starting from the beginning to the end. I made notes, provided explanations and gave a copy to my lawyer.
He suggested a long list of documents I should bring to support my case/+ he wrote a cover letter addressing all the VO's concerns.
We practiced back and forth , some questions the IO would ask? Such as .. : ADR Minister Counsel: What if I refuse you today? What will you do?? (your answer w/b something like, you would move to his country to be w/him), or , you seem like a nice girl?? Why not choose someone in Canada?? Why overseas?
So all the supporting documents/pictures in chronological order/ + cover letter explaining all the VO's concerns were sent before the ADR.
This will give the Minister's counsel time to review.
When I arrived,I met with the minister's counsel + his counsel ( I forget that he is called), my lawyer and myself.
He asked me a few questions, specifically regarding dates/times. When we met? when Did I return? When did we have "sex"?? (which I thought it was odd), how often we spoke, who knew about our relationship, when was my third trip, how long i stayed, who i met?, where did I stay?, his religion, his beliefs, how do i know he loves me, how much money did we send each other, credit card stmts, money transfers, who makes the decisions, a history of my past relationships, when did we plan on marrying, where?, he wanted to see my passport (but i forgot it)!, did we have a child yes, did we share custody (yes), etc...
While I am being interrogated by immigration, my lawyer flips through the docs and whenever the minister's counsels asks a questions, he provides the proof, while I am talking and shows him the documents.
So based on my answers, the minister and his counsel went to another room to discuss to make a decision. So they came back with a positive decision and made me sign an agreement.
So Habibti, if you know your husband in and out and can answer questions fluidly without any pause, know your dates, prepare your answers, if you get a reasonable Minister Counsel, you will succeed.
Make sure all the Vo's concerns are addressed once the documentation arrives. Unfortunately you're kinda in the dark and you are unsure how that vo based their decision.
