mikeymyke said:
Wow congrats to you wintersnow! I remember you are the one who communicate using translation software to your wife. Give us details as to how you were able to overcome some of your red flags.
Thanks mikeymyke!
I guess the only real red flag we had was the length of time before we knew each other before we decided to get married. This caused the MC to question the genuineness of our marriage. The VO was completely out to lunch ... nobody even referenced his interview in Beijing. His judgment was completely prejudiced and not based on any fact discussed at the interview.
In order to prove we were genuine, we focused on the amount of time we have been in contact since we met ... we have video chat every day since late 2013 and I have visited her for 15 weeks in the past 2 years. I was able to produce transcripts of our chats and submit them as evidence. Our file ended up being 1800 pages long ... chats, emails, photos, proof of financial support, etc.
We also focused on the fact we discussed real issues like married couples do. We pointed out that we talked about having a baby, where her son will go to school, what she will do when she comes to Canada. We discussed how I am as a father to my step-son. Many things a serious couple would discuss. And my wife had the exact same answers I gave so it really added to the credibility.
We focused on convincing the MC that my wife is not the type of person to marry only for citizenship ... that she has a moral person. We pointed out that the nature of her work would indicate a person of high moral standards. We also pointed out that she raised her son alone without any support from her son's (deadbeat) dad. At one point the MC asked if she spoke to my step-son about having a new father ... I said she did not tell me but I was certain she would have because she was considerate. When the MC asked her this question she said she did ... so it echoed my understanding of her.
Language was discussed, but I assured them that given today's technology it is not an issue. Besides my wife has already come a long way with her English. She even showed comprehension of some of the simpler questions and answered a few in English.
Overall, I think the nature of our communication and the mountain of evidence really swayed the MC. I almost think he was sympathetic to our case before he came into the hearing.
