I applied for my husband April 2016, they called my husband for interview January 2017 and he did not pass the interview, this interview was in Brazil, I started the appeal in March 2017, but now I'm in Brazil living with my husband, and I do not know But how long will I wait.
Today I received this email from my lawyer,
We wish to inform you that we have received the documents we requested from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) regarding your last application for spousal sponsorship.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require additional information.
I would like to know if someone is going through this same process, and if this process is delayed a lot, so I have been aware for about 3 years, is that true?
2. PREPARING FOR YOUR APPEAL
What must I show to win my appeal?
To win your appeal, you must show that the decision made by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or by the Immigration Division (ID) is wrong in law or wrong in fact. Also, in some cases, the IAD Member may be able to consider humanitarian and compassionate reasons to allow your appeal even if the CBSA/ CIC or ID decision was correct in law and fact. It is your responsibility to show that your appeal should be allowed and not dismissed.
Do I have to provide any documents for my hearing?
Documentary evidence can be very important in helping you win your appeal. To show that the CBSA/ CIC or ID decision was wrong, or in some cases, that there are sufficient humanitarian and compassionate reasons, you may need to provide documents to be used at your hearing.
If you would like to provide documents, you must make two copies of each document (including any photographs or videocassettes). You must provide one copy to the Minister's counsel. You must also provide one copy to the IAD registry office, together with a statement of how and when you provided the documents to the Minister's counsel. The addresses of the IAD and CBSA/ CIC offices are in the letters or other notices that the IAD sends to you after you have filed your appeal. The documents must be received no later than
20 days before the hearing.
Before your hearing, the Minister's counsel will have provided you and the IAD with the appeal record. These are the documents in the CBSA/ CIC or ID file that are related to your appeal. The Minister's counsel may also provide other documents for the hearing, no later than
20 days before the hearing. You have a chance to provide documents in response to the documents from the Minister's counsel - these documents must be received no later than
10 days before the hearing. This exchange of documents is called "disclosure." If you or the Minister's counsel do not disclose documents properly, then those documents cannot be used at the hearing unless the IADMember allows this to be done.
If your documents are not in English or French, they must be translated. The translations and a translator's declaration must be provided together with the copies of the documents to the IAD and to the Minister's counsel. The translator's declaration must include:
- the translator's name,
- the language translated and
- a statement signed by the translator that the translation is accurate.
Even if you have provided copies of your documents before the hearing, you should bring the original documents to the hearing if you have them.
Can I bring witnesses?
You may bring witnesses to your hearing if you think this will help your appeal. Witnesses must be prepared to answer questions at your hearing (this is called testifying or giving testimony).
No later than
20 days before the hearing, you must provide certain information regarding your witness to the IAD and the Minister's counsel. In writing, you must:
- state the witness's contact information (address, and telephone and fax numbers),
- how long the testimony will take,
- your relationship to the witness, and
- whether you want the witness to testify in person, by videoconference or by telephone.
If the witness is an expert, you must also include a report signed by the expert giving their qualifications and summarizing their evidence.
If you do not properly provided the witness information, the witness will not be able to testify unless the IAD Member allows the witness to testify.
It is your responsibility to make sure your witness or witnesses appear at your appeal hearing. To make sure that your witness will appear, you may ask the IAD registry office for a summons, which is an IAD order to appear at the hearing that the witness must obey. There are special rules for providing a summons to a witness, along with witness fees and travel expenses - for further information, contact the IAD registry office.
What if I need an interpreter?
If you or any of your witnesses need an interpreter, you must notify the IAD registry office either in writing no later than
20 daysbefore your appeal hearing, or in person at the scheduling conference (Assignment Court). You must indicate the language and dialect (if any) that you or your witness needs. The IAD will provide an interpreter for your hearing at no cost to you.
What if my witness is not in Canada?
If your witness is in another country, you may ask the IAD Member to allow that witness to testify at your appeal hearing by telephone. You must tell the IAD before the appeal hearing, and you must make sure that your witness can be reached by telephone at the time of your hearing. Since you must pay for the call, you must bring a calling card from your telephone company that you can use to charge the call to a telephone number, or bring long distance phone cards. Note that the IAD will not allow you to use any phone card with less than two hours' international calling time available. Also, some companies' calling cards may not work very well, and if there are problems, the IAD Member might decide to go ahead without hearing from your witness.
3. YOUR APPEAL HEARING
What will happen at my appeal hearing?
- You will testify
If you have counsel, your counsel will begin by asking you questions so that you can give evidence related to your appeal. Before testifying, the IAD Member will ask witnesses to affirm (that is, solemnly promise) that they will tell the truth. Witnesses who want to swear an oath to tell the truth should bring their own holy book. If you do not have counsel, you may tell the IADMember what you think is important or you may ask the Member to ask you questions that the Member thinks are needed to decide your appeal. The Minister's counsel will also question you on the evidence you have given at the hearing because the Minister's counsel is there to argue against your appeal.
- Witnesses will testify
After your testimony, any witnesses you have will testify. This may include your relative testifying by telephone from another country. Any witness you bring to the hearing will usually be asked to stay in the waiting room and not join the hearing until after you have testified. The witness then will be called to answer questions. Your counsel may question the witness or, if you do not have counsel, you may question the witness or ask the IAD Member to do so. The Minister's counsel will also be able to question the witness and can also bring witnesses to testify. You have the right to question any witnesses brought by the Minister's counsel.
- Arguments will be made
After you and the witness or witnesses have testified, the IAD Member will ask you or your counsel to make the arguments or submissions in your case (explain why you think the evidence shows that the Member should allow the appeal). The Minister's counsel will also be asked whether he or she thinks you have proven your case. You will then be asked to respond to the submission of the Minister's counsel.
When will I know the decision in my appeal?
The IAD Member may be able to decide your appeal and give reasons for the decision at the end of the hearing. If not, the Member will tell you that the decision and reasons will be sent to you by mail at a later date, usually no later than 90 days after the hearing.
